I just liked the look of this house that is in the Forest Hill neighbourhood. We don't often see homes here with tiled roofs and I wouldn't be surprised if they are actually some type of metal rather than the terra cotta you find in Europe.
Even on the hottest days of summer if you go down into one of the many ravines that run through the city it will be refreshingly cool. A lot of them such as this one have nice paths making it easy to run, walk, or ride a bike and of course to walk your dog. This particular ravine has a nasty swampy area that the dogs seem to love to get into!
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
In the 1800s various companies built roads around Toronto and they were allowed to collect tolls from those using the roads. Davenport Road was one of the main roadways passing by and this small cottage was built in 1835 at what is now Davenport Rd & Bathurst St and used as Tollgate #3. It was moved in 1895 and became a small residence a couple of blocks east until it was 'discovered' and moved back to the corner in 1993. Funds were raised to restore it and a small museum was built at the back giving the history of the tollkeepers. There is now a small park around it and the canoe planter I showed last Wednesday is in the park.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I just liked this view along Bathurst St on a hot summer day with the woman nearest us trying to stay in the shade while everyone else was stuck out in the sun!
I haven't posted any of UB5000's little yellow birds for a while but I recently happened upon some new murals that he has done. This one showing wee yellow birds as artists is on the side of stairs leading into an art supply store near Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), just off Queen St West. I love how the little guys are working together to get this painting of dogs in a canoe done!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This church, All Saints Roman Catholic Church, built in 1967, has to be one of the more unusual looking churches that I have seen. At first I though that it might be a hexagon but walking around the outside you can see that it is irregular in shape - not sure how many sides it has. I would love to see the inside but once again it was locked! It feels as if it might be partly below grade but I am not sure.
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click HERE to see more religious buildings from around the world.
This is the scene on Christie St on a Saturday beside the Wychwood Barns where the Farmers' Market takes place every Saturday morning. People come from all over by car, by bike and a lot by foot. And as you can see by the bike with training wheels in front, people of all ages come to the market!
This building on College St was built in 1910 as Latvian House, a cultural centre for the Latvian community in the city. The community outgrew the building years ago and a new centre was built and this became mostly office space for several years. It was sold to developers a while ago and plans are afoot to construct a 3 storey commercial building here but since this Classical Revival building has heritage listing its facade will be retained as part of the new development. We will have to wait and see how it looks. On the far bottom right you can see an actual phone booth still standing.
I have shown you this fence, that surrounds the 6 acre grounds of Osgoode Hall, from the inside before (HERE) but have never shown it from out on Queen St W. Osgoode Hall houses various courts and also the Law society of Ontario and is located right beside our City Hall.
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
The people who own Snakes and Lattes Cafe on Bloor St have opened a bar on College St and have appropriately named it Snakes and Lagers Board Game Bar. I took this pic early on a Sunday morning so the drapes were pulled but when I looked on-line it seems to be quite nice inside. Love that name!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This is the second floor pool hall at the Rivoli, a bar on Queen St West. This was taken just as the evening began but with 11 vintage tables available it soon filled up. The tables range from an 1870s one to a 1960s one, all in great condition! And there is a full bar upstairs as well as downstairs on the main floor.
We take our raccoons seriously in Toronto and there hundreds of thousands of them living here, sometimes causing havoc but also entertaining. This particular raccoon with trumpet was spotted on a utility box outside The Rex Hotel, Jazz & Blues Bar on Queen St West. He may have just stepped outside after a gig in the bar. The artist for this one is Blackburn who has also done a couple of other raccoon murals around town.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
The PanAm Games are taking place here and along with the athletics there is a large cultural side to the event and our City Hall is one of the prime entertainment locations. Three very colourful stages have been set up in the square in front of the hall as well as this large TORONTO sign which lights up at night. These pics were taken early last Sunday morning when it was quiet but each day hundreds of people gather for concerts and fireworks in the evening.
I first showed you this Annex neighbourhood house back in April of 2012 (HERE) when it had been gutted and was undergoing a complete renovation and having some additions done. I recently passed by and was so pleased to se that all of its wonderful 1890s features have been maintained although I'm sure the interior is very modern. I shudder to think what this house is now worth in our crazy real estate market!
The grounds at Spadina House have many wonderful tree specimens and this Maple has to be one of the most beautiful. It is huge and looks so very healthy!
I found this Foxglove flowering in the garden at Spadina House which I showed you on Tuesday. I love the colour and the beautiful markings on it!
I posted a pic of one of the Homegrown National Parks last year (HERE) and since then I have spotted quite a few of them around the west end of the city. They began as a campaign to establish a green corridor along the route of one of our now-buried creeks but I think that it has broadened to create a larger corridor. This bottomless canoe has been nicely planted and is located at the corner of Davenport Rd & Bathurst St, a busy corner for traffic and highly visible.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
Spadina House is a restored historic manor located beside Casa Loma and which is now a museum. Part of the museum is its 6 acre garden which includes an orchard, sweeping lawns, and this wonderful Victorian garden. The garden contains more than 300 species of flowers and vegetables which are all interspersed with pathways running through it. This is a view of the back of the manor house, taken a few weeks ago.
I showed you a group of the bunnies by Poser a couple of weeks ago and recently spotted another of his urban creatures in a laneway off Queen St West. He has fierce-looking teeth but also a heart and a wee halo so I think he isn't to be feared!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This is Saint John Bosco Roman Catholic Church which was built in 1961 to serve a predominately Italian congregation but as the years passed the neighbourhood has changed and the main group served is now Portuguese with a couple of Italian & English masses. I like its style and it looks as if there is some major stained glass but yet again the doors were all locked!
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click HERE to see more religious buildings from around the world.
The opposite side of the goose pond from yesterday's shot shows the stream that feeds the pond. It runs through the manicured part of the park and drains a couple of smaller ponds up the hill. It's a beautiful park to wander about in or sit and read a book on a hot day since there always seems to be a breeze. The geese have all disappeared to somewhere!
Actually this little bridge crosses a stream that drains the pond where the geese were in yesterday's pic. It does lead into a totally naturalized area of James Gardens which makes for a nice escape from the city sometimes!
Taking part in Weekend Reflections. Click HERE to see more reflections from around the world.
I took this pic at the end of May of this man taking pics of all the Canada Geese near a small pond in James Gardens in the Etobicoke neighbourhood. The place was teeming with geese then but about 3 weeks ago they all disappeared! The ducks have taken over and I'm not sure but I think the city park employees may have rounded up the geese and moved them out of the park, something which they have been doing along the Lakeshore. The ducks don't seem to mind at all!
I thought this was the perfect name for a Laundramat and I bet a lot of lone socks have turned up inside there!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
For the ceremonial reopening of a local grocery store after undergoing extensive remodeling they had a huge variety of free samples on offer. The most beautiful had to be this fire-breathing dragon made of sushi to advertise the new sushi bar. It was hard to grab a quick pic before the monster was torn apart and eaten by all the humans on hand but I did my best. He even had little feet with long claws!
As you can see from the snow on the ground in this pic, this is not a recent catch but rather was taken in March along Croft St laneway just south of Harbord St. I'm not sure of the artist but someone appreciates the neighbourhood showing its mixture of commercial buildings with residential houses.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This is a pic of the College Street United Church located at Bathurst & College St, a very busy corner in the city. A grand Gothic Revival church was built here in 1885, large enough to hold 1,200 people, but as the years passed the congregation shrank and the building needed a lot of upkeep. In the 1980s most of the church except for the original tower was demolished and 7 stories of condos were built above the church. The church still occupies the whole ground floor but I have no idea what it looks like inside. Quite a change!
Two streetcar lines intersect at this corner, hence all the lines & wires in the pic.
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click HERE to see more religious buildings from around the world.
I showed you this Catalpa tree back in May (HERE) when it had no leaves but I wanted you to see how it leans over Davenport Rd. I've been watching it a few times a week since to catch it when its flowers opened. About a week ago it finally blossomed and it looks gorgeous! It had been entered in the Great Toronto Tree Hunt to find the finest trees in the city but it didn't win, unfortunately. A tree specialist did come by to check it out and estimated that it is 125 years old and is still very healthy which is good to hear.
When I walked by the pond in the middle of Wychwood Park I was looking for the turtles that usually are sunning themselves on a log in the middle of the pond but instead found this wonderful Black-Crowned Night Heron who was busy scanning the water for fish! You can even see his long white head plumes that they have during breeding season. It seems he is here for the summer since he has been around for several days now but I'm not sure if the turtles are happy about him using their log! The log has been anchored to keep it in place, hence the ropes. Click HERE to see a pic of the pond from Aug '13 when it was covered in duckweed but you can see the log out in the middle.
Taking part in WEekend Reflections. Click HERE to see more reflections from around the world.
This gate opens up to a tree-lined walkway into the Wychwood Park neighbourhood which is a private community in the middle of the city. It is private in that the community owns the roads and common areas but it is still open to the public to enter and I often walk there. I've shown many pics that you can see if you click the label below. Tomorrow I will show you what I found this time!
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
The July theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Upside Down and I chose this pic which I took back in May and kept to use today. This was taken on the roof deck of the Rotman School of Management at U of Toronto and part of the deck has this reflective cover over it giving us a wonderful reflection and turning the world upside down. That is the Robarts Library across the road in the background.
To see more pics showing Upside Down from around the world, click HERE.
