I thought that this mural was suitable for the last day of the year - the old guy leaving as the fresh new year gets ready to start. Hope you all have a Happy New Year's Eve!
This cool Neo-Gothic building was built in 1925 for General Motors as the McLaughlin Motor Company Showroom and it continued to be a car showroom until 2007. It has heritage designation so the structure itself has become a restaurant with a condo building rising from the former parking lot.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This cool station wagon was parked behind my local pub but it was gone by the time I went there later. It is a 1956 BelAir. Love the skirts and all that chrome!
Yet another laneway discovery, I quite like this abstract mural. I assume the artist is CBS but I'm not sure.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
Those reindeer really know how to play a jazzy tune especially with a few elves to accompany them. I don't know whether this float played music during the parade but I bet it did!
The Three Little Pigs seem to make an appearance every year at the Santa Claus Parade and this year they had nice warm sun to work in. Construction seems to have been going well at this point before the wolf arrived!
The last float in the Santa Claus Parade before Santa's Sleigh is Mrs Claus's dining room where the elves and Santa will be treated to a fine meal after all their work on Christmas night. The Santa float isn't the same without him so I didn't get a shot of it! Merry Christmas to all of you - hope you were all good and got what you wanted in your stockings.
The Mad Hatter served pizza on this float from the Santa Claus Parade which was sponsored by Pizza Pizza. There will have been a few little kiddies riding along on those little silver stools when the parade began.
These fine chickens were found on the fence on the Maple Lodge Farms (a supplier of chicken products) sponsored float at the Santa Claus Parade. I don't think they are in any danger of becoming part of the company product line. I really liked this float with the great red barn!
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
This is the Santa Claus Parade float sponsored by Tim Horton's which is the iconic coffee & doughnut stop for Canadians who drink coffee. (I don't.) I do love the Christmas sweaters that the creatures are wearing!
This float from the Santa Claus Parade was sponsored by Sears so it is suitable that "Darcy's Toy Delivery" comes loaded down with gifts!
The Thomas the Train float was waiting for its little load of passengers who will sit on those little stools beside the #1 train. I'm sure it was a popular float with the kids along the route of the Santa Claus Parade as it wound its way downtown.
Our Annual Santa Claus Parade took place a few weeks ago on a day that was very pleasant for the little kiddies to be sitting out for hours to watch it. One of my favourite floats was this one for the new Disney pic "The Good Dinosaur". And Christie Pits Park makes a great background it. I go down to the staging area on Bloor St several hours before the parade begins to get close-up shots of the floats but during the actual parade there will be kids in costume sitting on all the floats.
I spotted this vintage ambulance on Bloor St just before the Santa Claus Parade began so I think it was going to be part of the leadoff for the event. Elegant isn't it? I have lots of pics from the parade which I will show you over the next couple of weeks.
This house is on Queen's Park and was originally a private home when built but is now part of St Michael's College at U of Toronto and is used for offices. You can see yesterday's carving to the right of that fabulous turret. I love the little balcony above the corner turret. And that very old little fence.
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
This has to be some of the most beautiful carving I have seen on a house. And it has been beautifully maintained and possibly restored. Tomorrow I will show you where it can be found.
This is the entrance to the wonderful Burwash Dining Hall at Victoria College at U of Toronto. Those windows on the right are windows from the hall itself. So beautiful!
Another laneway find, I really like this flower which seems to be a group effort by several artists since I found a lot of signatures on it! A nice sight to drive by when you are arriving home!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This shot was taken from a 12th floor room in the north end of the city about 10 miles from the downtown skyline. The sun had come out for a few minutes just enough to highlight the steam from the downtown towers but the top of the CNTower is still in the clouds.
My dad is still in the hospital and so I have been unable to visit any blogs much. The shot was taken from his room.
This lovely spire belongs to St Basil's Church at St Michael's College at U of Toronto. You can see again how there are condo towers springing up everywhere in our city!
This is the main entrance to Spadina House which always makes me think of elegant people arriving for a fancy ball. Taken when we still had leaves and the sky was wonderful!
This little parkette in the foreground is being constructed on the site of the old Women's College Hospital and those arches are supporting a few of the old sculpted windows from the original building. The large building on the left is the new hospital and the other buildings are condos and office towers in the financial district. I have to go back when the park is finished for some shots but I like that they are retaining a bit of the history of the site.
I showed you this sculpture back in 2010 but thought I would try for new image with different lighting. You can see the other one if you click on the McElcheron label below. It is one of many from William McElcheran's Businessman series.
This is one of the doors into one of the many government buildings that are located around Queen's Park. I love the details around the windows too!
Another laneway find, this looks like a nervous goat to me. It looks like the artist is Travis.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This very old coach house is located behind the library at St Michael's College at U of Toronto but from this direction it looks to be surrounded by condo towers which are going up all over the downtown area of the city. It is being used for something but I couldn't tell what and most of the windows have been closed in.
This black squirrel had been digging about beneath this bush until I came along and then climbed up and gave me a dirty look from behind its dirty nose. There are a lot of chubby squirrels around so winter must be close to hitting us!
If you walk through the opening beside yesterday's gate you enter Philosopher's Walk and this is a shot from half way down the walk looking back up to the entrance on Bloor St. The walk follows the route of the now buried Taddle Creek as it winds its way through the U Of Toronto campus between the Faculty of Music and Trinity College. I showed you a pic of the walk when the trees were green back in September of 2010 (HERE). And yet more condos are under construction as you can see by the crane!
This fence is located on Bloor St at the entrance into Philosophers Walk which I will show you tomorrow. In the background you can see the "Crystal" addition to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) which I have shown you several times. The fence itself is said to be from the early 1900s.
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
I'm not sure if you have neighbourhood watch signs in your area but ours usually have little houses in the middle of the sign and not Xena The Princess Warrior! This is obviously a safe neighbourhhod with the protector of those who are unable to defend themselves on duty. That is the kind of innocent mischief I love. Bravo to someone!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
The December theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Shop Window and my contribution is this elegant window from Holt Renfrew, an upscale store on Bloor St. All the supplies are there for gift wrapping Christmas presents and the 2 mannequins on the right are actually revolving on the rolls of ribbon. It is hard to take a window pic without a reflection especially on a sunny day.
Taking part in the theme day. Click HERE to see more shop windows from around the world.
I spotted this mural on a garage door in a laneway just off Dundas St W and at first though it was an official sign. But no, it is a mural by the artist Random, aka Spencer Harrington, who has done many murals around town. I like the childish hand and the coloured crayons. Not sure what is supposed to mean though.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This is St Peter's Catholic Church located on Bathurst St at Bloor St west and it has been here since 1925 when it replaced a smaller church on the site. Unfortunately after all those years, in 2012 the bell tower was in danger of collapse and so the congregation raised over $400,000 to fix it and save the church.
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click HERE to see more religious buildings from around the world.
I still have a few pics from autumn which I like and this one was taken as I wandered through Queen's Park a couple of weeks ago when I took the pic of Edward Vll on his horse. It was a glorious sunny day and the trees were casting such wonderful shadows onto the leaf-coverd grass. This park is basically a circle with lots of vehicular traffic moving around the outside of it but you tend to forget that when you are there among the trees. And interestingly it seems that all the trees have been tagged with small identity cards which made it fun to explore.
This pic was taken by sticking the camera lens between the bars in yesterday's fence. I like the way the blue track leads the eye towards the CN Tower visible in the distance. I assume the track is blue in honour of the Varsity Blues teams that play at the stadium.
I was wandering along Bloor St past Varsity Stadium which is home to the Toronto Varsity Blues, the athletic teams of U of Toronto, and I just liked this view of the bleachers with the lights against the sky. Varsity Arena is accessed through here and the building behind the bleachers is part of the Royal Conservatory of Music. This is a busy section of Bloor St!
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
This is the info sign included as part of the murals I have shown over the last two days. The murals' purpose is to promote the Green Line which is a proposed 5 km long linear park which will run along a Hydro corridor just north of the railway tracks that run through the city south of Davenport Road. There are already several small parks that are established but more need to be formed as well as some access to established parking lots is needed to connect the green spaces. For more info you can check out the Green line site HERE. I took a walk with the group in the spring and it will be super thing when and if it is ever finished.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This is the second half of the mural I showed you yesterday - it is across the road from yesterday's. A bit of a homage to Johnny Cash and also to a project I will tell you about tomorrow. Unfortunately there is still a railing in the way!
Sometimes there is nothing you can do about an obstruction in the way of your pic and this is one of those times. I spotted this mural leading into a railway underpass on Dovercourt Rd, under the hydro corridor that runs along beside the tracks. The artist is the well-known Montreal artist, Roadsworth, aka Peter Gibson. I will show you the other side tomorrow and give you the background story on Wednesday.
Taking part in monday murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
I still have a few autumn pics saved up but I wanted to make sure I post this one. This Japanese Maple lives in the gardens at Spadina House and it looks lovely all year but particularly in the fall!
This is a shot of the restaurant, Via Vai, whose seats and tables I showed you yesterday. I love the tilt of the whole place and all the glass which enables you to see the wonderful artwork inside. The large fresco as well as other smaller pieces were done by Italian artist Sandro Martini and were part of the public art component required by the city in new large developments. I will have to go inside one day to get some pics!
I shot this pic about a week ago on a cool but sunny day when no one wanted to attempt sitting on these stainless steel seats. They look great though don't you think? I'll show you a pic of the front of the restaurant tomorrow.
Taking part in Weekend Reflections. Click HERE to see more reflections from around the world.
This statue is found right in the centre of Queen's Park where our provincial legislature building is located. The subject is Edward VII and the piece was designed by English artist Thomas Brock and was installed in New Delhi, India in 1919. After becoming a republic India was ridding itself of signs of British imperialism and the sculpture was removed and was eventually bought by a wealthy Toronto businessman who felt that our city lacked a good sculpture of a man on a horse. It was installed here in 1969 and is passed daily by hundreds of U of Toronto students as they pass from one side of the campus to the other.
I have showed you the inside of the Sea Witch Fish & Chips shop before (click HERE) but just recently noticed their sign/mural on the wall of the shop. I quite like it! And their fish & chips are great.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I have shown you the greenhouse on the grounds of Spadina House before (click HERE to see it in spring) but not in Autumn's wonderful light. It was late afternoon so the shadows were long especially on the converted stable behind it.
This mural has been recently painted over another one which I liked but it is so good that I won't complain. The artist is Jimmy Chiale and he has done several other good murals around town and I think he has also opened a gallery showing contemporary art. He has put a message on this one that it took 3 days and 30 hours which must mean that he works quickly to put all that detail into it!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This century old building had been a Baptist church until the 1970s and then had other uses until finally being purchased by a developer who seems to have done a nice job of dividing it into 5 lofts each of which is quite large. It is located just off Yonge St in the toney Rosedale neighbourhood so the lofts sell for a lot of money when they become available.
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click HERE to see more religious buildings from around the world.
I watched a flock of Canada Geese slowly walk across the road in James Gardens a couple of weeks ago. They stayed on the other side for about 10 minutes and then they all walked back to their original place!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This is a shot of the Princes' Gates which mark the eastern entrance to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) grounds downtown by the lakeshore. It was taken at 2:30 am on Halloween night in a gentle rain and there were still lots of people out and about in costumes. For more info about the gates and to see a shot I took in daylight back in 2013 click HERE. The banner towards the top is advertising the Royal Winter Fair which takes place at the CNE and which ends this weekend.
This fence and gate protects a lovely courtyard that belongs to a private residence on Yonge St in the Rosedale neighbourhood, probably the most expensive area in the city. Yonge is Toronto's main street and most of the it is occupied by commercial buildings and this building itself had housed stores and some apartments before being totally restored and a large part of it turned into a luxury dwelling. I'd love to see the inside!
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
