I found this mural in a laneway on the back of a cafe along Bloor St. I couldn't find any info about the artist but the image is quite nice don't you think.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
I was driving past an auto body shop when I spotted this green beauty parked out front so of course I pulled over immediately. It is a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air sedan - love those fender skirts! You don't see many of these from that year.
I found this bike a few weeks ago inside a bar on Queen St West. It was part of a promotion for "Cruiser an all day pale ale" that involved giving away bikes like this one. Pretty cool isn't it? I didn't win.
John St is a short street that runs from the park behind the Art Gallery Of Ontario (AGO), crosses Queen St West and then continues down to the Rogers Centre where our baseball team, the Blue Jays, play. The street is lined for most of its length with small restaurants and a move is on to make it a pedestrian only street some day. But for this summer the traffic has been squeezed into 2 narrow lanes and the rest of the road has planters, and tables and chairs, and in some areas these wonderfully painted Muskoka chairs all for relaxing. (Muskoka is a cottage area north of the city.)
Yet another condo is under construction just off Queen St West but this one looks as if it is going to be quite interesting when finished. This shot was taken mid evening so the gates were closed and no work was going on but the structure seems to have gone up really quickly. I'll be back for a few progress pics, I think!
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
It's hard to believe but this is the 2,000th post for Occasional Toronto - obviously more than occasional. For the occasion I present a beautiful version of the Canadian Coat of Arms that I found in the walkway of the Air Canada Centre (ACC) where our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team plays. The ACC is on the site of the former Toronto Postal Delivery Building and although 2 facades of the building with their art were retained and restored this coat of arms was on a side that disappeared. It and a few other lovely pieces are now displayed in the Centre. The motto, 'Ad Mari Usque Ad Mare', translates as 'From Sea To Sea'. This is a lovely detailed version of the coat of arms!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
Wandering along a laneway on a Sunday morning, I happened upon this pretty little garden and 2 signs by this back door. I could find no info at all about the Faktorie Gallery but Lane House seems to be an AirBnB apartment. You just never know what could be around the corner!
This is the last of the tryptic of murals that were installed outside City Hall during the PaAm Games. This one is by Fiya who does a lot of work with Shalak and Smoky who did did the other two. It was a temporary installation so it will be interesting to see where they turn up next.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This lovely church is located in the Weston neighbourhood of the city and was built in 1894 when Weston was a small farming village outside of the city but it is now right in the city. The parish was established in 1828 and a wooden church was built which burned in 1888 and resulted in the new brick church being constructed. That building originally consisted of the left half in this pic, basically from the front of the bell tower back to the left. the front half on the right was added in 1955. You can see the difference in the style of windows and a slight change in the roof. The cemetery has some very old graves - a few I saw were from the 1840s. Once more the doors were locked!
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click HERE to see more religious buildings from around the world.
I was sitting on a park bench when this very brave squirrel came poking about looking for things to eat. When she was only about 3 feet away she found something delicious that needed to be eaten immediately - no storing of this treat. Cute when they aren't raiding your garden aren't they?
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This is a recent shot from the Victorian Garden at Spadina House. There seems to be an ever changing array of perennials there (mostly Phlox in this pic) and they have all flourished this year. I hope winter holds off for a long time!
This table for table tennis has turned up recently in a local park right beside the playground. It will be interesting to see if it gets much use. I really like the design and somehow it reminds me of the Flintstones - I think it is the legs!
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
I spotted this cute sign in the service entrance of a restaurant as I wandered down a laneway! It gets the message across in a friendly way, don't you think?
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
It is the old commercial buildings with the unique tenants that make Queen St West so interesting. Pockets of it are being invaded by developers but overall it has retained most of its history. The seven addressses to the right in this pic were built in 1888 and make up the Noble Block, named after the widow Emma Noble who developed them, while the next two were built in 1895. All of them look to be in great shape after all those years.
This is the second of the wonderful murals that are on display at City Hall during the PanAm Games. The artist for this one is Smoky. I'll show you the last one next Monday.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This tiny Victorian Gothic church was built in Malton, a small town outside the city, in 1895 and served the parish of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church until it was bought by the St Matthais congregation and moved into Toronto in 1922. It served that parish until they moved to the church I showed you last week in the mid 1950s. The building has heritage protection as a fine example of a frame country church and at one time had vinyl siding which has been removed and the original style of framing has been installed. It now functions as a meeting place for a Sukyo Mahikari Centre which is a new Japanese religion.
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click HERE to see more religious buildings from around the world.
Today the pinecone-shaped cauldron for the PanAm and ParaPanAm Games will go dark as the final closing ceremonies take place for the ParaPanAm event today. It has been an interesting month in the city without the traffic chaos that had been predicted by many! I took this pic from the stairs of the Rogers Centre where our Toronto BlueJays baseball team plays. In the middle right below our flag you can see some of the historic railway cars that are displayed in Roundhouse Park - I'll have to do a post on them one day.
This is one of the doors leading from Union Station's Great Hall, which I showed you yesterday, out to Front St. Incredible details everywhere in this hall!
This is the Great Hall inside Union Station which I showed you the outside yesterday. This is the ticket hallway and it is 250 ft long by 88 ft tall at its highest point. It is a spectacular space to enter and brings back the image of the old elegant days of rail travel.
If you arrive by rail in Toronto you arrive at Union Station which is located right downtown and is the main station for crosscountry trains, trains from the USA, commuter trains, the new train from the airport, and even the subway stops here. You can imagine how busy it is during rush hours! The Beaux Arts building was built in 1927 and has a heritage designation and has just undergone an extensive upgrade while still keeping the historical aspects intact. I'll show you inside tomorrow. And of course I was photo-bombed by the CN Tower.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
The cauldron is lit again - this time for the ParaPanAm Games which run here until August 15. I like this view with the CN Tower in the background!
As part of the display at City Hall during the PanAm and ParaPanAm Games there is a triptych of wonderful murals that have been set up. This side of the group is by the artist Shalak whose work I really like and have shown you her work before - click the label below to see them. I will show the other 2 sides over the next couple of weeks.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This lovely little church, St Matthias Anglican Church, is located right across the road from the rather odd 60s church I showed you a couple of weeks ago and it was the reason I had pulled over in the first place. I love its proportions and the wonderful simple cross on its so 50s steeple and how it relates to the cross in the centre of the stained glass window. I imagine when it was built in 1957-58 the church was surrounded by greenery but now is surrounded by housing on all sides.
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click HERE to see more religious buildings from around the world.
Another lunchtime spent at James Gardens admiring the flowers and trying to stay cool. After all the rain we had in June it seems as if there are more flowers around this year than normal. I'm not complaining!
I was walking along Queen St West one afternoon a couple of weeks ago and could hear great music coming from somewhere and discovered this scene across the road in front of the Horseshoe Tavern. There was a whole band with horns, drums and guitars out playing a set in the sunshine while being filmed, probably for a video. By the time I crossed over they were taking a break but bystanders who had been dancing and cheering were signing release forms so I imagine this will soon be on the web!
This is the side patio at Spadina House as it looked on a fine summer early evening. Wouldn't it be an elegant place to sit out and have a meal? I'm not sure if they ever have any events out there or not.
I think the lovely railings count as fences so I am linking to Good Fences. Click HERE to see fences from around the world.
I took this early on a Sunday morning when the curtains were closed in this small shop along College St but it isn't difficult to figure out what their specialty is! And it is hard to miss its bright colours.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I first posted a pic of this fountain, titled "Salmon Run", back in August of 2011 (here) when it was bone dry as has been the case for much of the time since its installation in 1991. There have been many leakage problems with it but it is finally fixed and was ready to be a feature beside the PanAm Games Cauldron which I showed you on Sunday. It was designed by artist Susan Schelle and features 60 salmon swimming upstream as they do each spring in real life. Let's all hope they keep on running here for a long time now!
I found this mural near Grange Park which is beside Ontario College Of Art and Design (OCAD) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and which is the location of daily Tai Chi sessions all year round. I could find no info on the artist for this one.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This is the cauldron that was lit in front of the CN Tower during the PanAm Games which ended here last Sunday. It will be lit again on August 7 when the ParaPanAm Games begin. It was designed by the creative team of Cirque du Soleil and manufactured in Hamilton Ontario with each panel on the pinecone representing one of the sports involved in the games. It was impossible to take a pic without someone posing in front of it!
The August theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is "Bicycle" and this pearly pink bike beside the green e-bike really caught my eye when I saw it a couple of weeks ago. The pink goes so well with the sign in the window of the barber shop behind it!
Taking part in the Bicycle theme. Click HERE to see more bicycle pics from around the world.
