While walking to Little Italy for brunch I spotted this great mural on the wall of a building on Bloor St W in Koreatown. I love that great dragon and his placement on a streetscape. The artists for this one are Allan Render, John Nobrega, and Stacy Kinder. You will have to pardon the garbage bins which seem to be a blight in so many areas.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This home is directly across the road from Casa Loma and being so large I think some people get the impression that it must be some type of museum like Spadina House on the other side of the Casa. I took a similar pic back in 2010 and there were no private property signs then (HERE). Built as a private home this is now a convent.
We had a bit of a hot spell a week ago and I spotted this Goldfinch taking advantage of one of the waterfalls at the Veterans Centre at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He was having a grand time splashing about in the cool water.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This moose is found on a grassy knoll in front of the zoology building at U of Toronto. Called Mooseconstrue, it was created by the well known Toronto artist Charles Pachter. You can see in the pic it has some earmuffs hanging from an antler but hopefully they won't be needed for a few months yet.
Every time I pass by this fountain in the Annex neighbourhood I have to stop for a look. I posted it a year ago in August and thought I would catch it again before our fountain season ends. It is a design by architect Uno Prii whose work you can see if you click the label below.
Tim Hortons is the largest fast food restaurant chain in Canada, famous for its coffee and doughnuts and named after the legendary hockey player, Tim Horton. I can walk to at least 5 of the outlets in a short time. Tim founded the chain with a partner and was involved in the operation until his death in a car accident in 1974. This is the first time I have seen this pic of Tim displayed outside one of the shops so I had to stop. He was a rough and tough defenceman with our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs and was with them to win 4 Stanley Cup championships in the 1960s. They haven't won again since 1967!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
While everyone else was looking at Casa Loma or taking pics of it, this young woman was moving about looking for the perfect selfie to take home. I'm not sure if she ever took much time to look directly at the building!
This great mural was found on the side of a corner store along Dundas St W near last week's mural. The artists for this one are Peru, who did the little guy on the left and the patterns, and Bruno Smoky who did the head and the fish on the right. You can see more of Smoky's work by clicking the label below.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
Cold-hardy Hibiscus plants are perennial and have been flowering here for the last few months and will continue until the frost hits. Also known as Rose Mallow, some like this one are the size of a dinner plate!
I have seen more Monarch Butterflies this year than I have in ages. It seems that every time I go outside there is one fluttering about often quite high in the air and heading south. Off to Mexico I hope!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
While wandering around the U of Toronto campus I stopped to take a pic of the Soldiers' Tower at Hart House and found that I was photo-bombed by the CN Tower visible from down by Lake Ontario. The Soldiers' Tower was built to commemorate the members of the university who gave up their lives in the two World Wars and has their names listed as well as a carillon up top.
This is a view of yesterday's Jackman Law Building taken from the far left corner of the structure showing the courtyard and mature trees that have been protected throughout the construction. It is very hard to get permission in Toronto to cut down a tree and one must put up protective fencing to protect them or face large fines if they are injured during the building process.
The Jackman Law Building at U of Toronto was finished in 2016 and consolidates various departments that were spread across the campus. Designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, this curved wall follows the exact curve of the neighbouring road. I'll show you another view tomorrow.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This is the ceiling in the rotunda of the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) just inside the newly restored entrance on University Ave. The mosaic is composed of a million squares of Venetian glass which were individually cut from thousands of larger sheets of glass. The words in the middle say "May all men know his work".
While wandering along Dundas St W I happened upon this horned creature painted by Birdo. It looks like it has been here for a while since parts of the mural have started to peel but you can still see the wonderful style of the artist. Click on the Birdo label below to see more of his work.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
Still at the ROM this really large geode of amethyst was on display in one of the niches in the rotunda near Aphrodite that I showed you a couple of days ago. It is probably over 3ft high. The creations of nature are amazing!
When I entered the ROM this huge image of a butterfly was on the wall right beside the doors. It was about 4ft x 8ft in size and so gorgeous!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
While I was at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) a few weeks ago to catch a pic of the red bus I wandered into the restored original entrance to the museum to check out the new look. This statue was in one of the alcoves of the rotunda. This marble Aphrodite Of Knidos is a 2nd century AD Roman copy of a 4th century BC Greek sculpture by Praxiteles. Copying is not a new thing!
This building in the Annex neighbourhood houses the Italian Cultural Institute which is the cultural section of the Italian Consulate in Toronto. The house is beautiful and I really like the yellow & black sculpture out front but I could find no info about the artist. The Institute offers courses in Italian and houses a library and also has various exhibits throughout the year.
There has been a show of paintings from the Rembrandt era on at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) all summer and it is in its final days now. During the show this large tube of paint has been spilling forth art onto the pavement in front of the ROM. The flowers have faded after being walked over all summer but the concept still works so well!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
The Pape subway station on the Bloor line was modernized a few years ago and a lot of art was included in the makeover. These abstract photos by Allan Harding MacKay are just a few of the many which he has installed in the station - some realistic and some abstract.
I spotted this large mural on the side of a wine store along Dundas St W. It is nicely done and so suitable to the location. The artists seem to be a crew of artists called One Day Creates.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
It is Dahlia season here and there are some real beauties around. I caught this one just a while after a light rain shower and those white marks on the lower petals are actually reflections in water drops still clinging to the flower.
This miniature Dachshund was all smiles and attentive until I pointed the camera at her and then she refused to look up. I would put the camera behind my back and she was full of smiles but as soon as the camera came back, down went the head. A wee bit camera shy!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This is the last pic from my perch in front of the ROM as I waited for the red bus to arrive for a "Red" picture. This is what was the Park Plaza hotel until recently renamed the Park Hyatt Hotel and it is under total renovation while being converted into condo apartments and hence the scaffolding around the bottom. The hotel has heritage protection and so the exterior will be exactly the same as when built in 1936. There was a famous roof top lounge and patio until 1990 that was mentioned in Margaret Atwood books including "The Edible Woman" (my favourite), and "Cat's Eye". It had a fabulous view over the museum, Queens Park, U of T, and all of downtown. The lounge and patio are being renewed and will be well worth a visit when they open again.
This is the next door neighbour of yesterday's condo tower across from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). It references its location also by calling itself the Exhibit condos. I like the skewed look of the building but the plants on yesterday's balconies were much more appealing.
As I sat waiting on yesterday's planters this was the view looking across Bloor St from the Museum. The condo tower directly across is called Museum House and was completed in 2013 with prices starting at around $2 million and going much higher. The signs you can see really push location with the Museum Tavern, Museum Dental, and Museum House visible.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
While waiting for the red bus in Monday's post to arrive I was sitting on one of these raised planters in front of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) along Bloor St W. In the background is the Crystal addition designed by Daniel Libeskind which opened in 2005. The whole area along Bloor St in front of it was left as a barren empty space until this year when the planters and trees were installed and a raised courtyard for performances and just relaxing was opened. It makes a huge difference to the streetscape.
On the way to catch a pic of yesterday's red bus I happened upon this utility box decorated with a happy girl in a red skirt. The artist for this one is Melika Saeeda. I like her style.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
The September theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is 'Red', obviously a favourite colour of mine. My pic for the theme features one of the red sightseeing buses that you see all over downtown. I have found these touring buses to be a great way to get an overview of a city when travelling and it looks like a lot of people agreed with me on this day.
Taking part in the theme Red. Click HERE to see more red from around the world.
