I was up on a bridge over railway lines looking for graffiti or murals when I spotted this roof garden atop a converted factory just off Sorauren Ave and so zoomed in for a pic. This street was lined with factories along the railway tracks until all the industries left and they became artist studios but gentrification has occurred and they are almost all converted to expensive lofts. This building was a Rawlings baseball glove factory in it's previous life but now contains 10 lofts, some with private elevators!
I didn't notice the ghost sign at the top until viewing the pic on my computer and I can't make it all out so will have to go back for a close-up. I have a feeling that it was something else before Rawlings was there.
Staying in the park, Jean Sibelius Square, from yesterday I though I'd show the architectural highlight of the park renewal - at least for me it is. This wonderful washroom pavilion replaces what had been a horrible, concrete, bunker-like structure that you knew you didn't want to enter!
Jean Sibelius Square Park is a small (about 1 acre) park in the middle of the Annex that has just undergone a few $100,000s worth of renewal including fancy climbing structures and climbing walls but the concrete wall with the park's name seems to be a popular balance beam for the kids. Just goes to prove that sometimes simple is better! The park is over 100 years old and in 1956 was renamed after John Sibelius following lobbying by the Toronto Finnish community.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click here for more signs.
This one-time commercial bakery has been converted into an artist's loft and studios as is happening all over the city. I like how the bars needed for the commercial usage have been repurposed to hold back a window box of geraniums caught here in the light of early autumn. A little hidden treasure!
I found this sort of cute little guy in a laneway in Kensington Market wearing his T.O. hat and backpack so he may be a tourist. T.O. is our abbreviation for Toronto but I'm not totally sure if it stands for Toronto Ontario or it's just Toronto with the middle cut out. Either way I like this guy - he looks a bit like someone that I know! I was unable to find out who the artist is.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click here for more murals.
I thought that I would show you a close-up of some of the deco carvings found on yesterday's building since it is difficult to see them in larger shots. The whole structure is decorated with these fabulous symmetrical motifs. I love it!
This building which was built as the Canada Permanent Building, but is now CIBC Mellon, is just around the corner from the Concourse which I have shown for the last 2 days. It was completed in 1930 and designed by architect F. Hilton Wilkes and has to have one of the most spectacular entrances in Toronto with its coffered barrel vault and ornate Deco detailing.
