Gates On Bloor St W

 

When walking along Bloor St W by the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)  you will come upon these gates which lead to a lovely pathway through part of the U of T campus. Most people don't notice the entrance and pass by but it it is a tranquil path which I will show you for the next few days. It is called Philosophers Walk.

View Through The Gate

 

I was walking along and looked down the narrow space between 2 commercial buildings when I saw the women walking there. Then I realized that it was a photo of the women attached to another inner gate which provides some privacy to a courtyard down there. I really like the effect.

Contrast

 

This gate is found at one of the entrances to University College at U of Toronto. It is actually the route from the playing field which I showed a couple of days ago. I love the contrast between the wonderful 1960s gate and the 1890s cloister of UC.

Modern Gate

I've always liked this 1960s style gate in its location leading to one of the very old cloisters at U of Toronto. There is such a contrast of styles.

Closed For The Season

This gate was spotted at the Sunnyside Bathing Pavillion at Sunnyside Beach. It was built in 1922 as a place for bathers to get changed but these days during the summer it has a cafe and is also a place for weddings and other events. It closes for the winter. I like the gate.

A Gateway

These gates are found on Bloor St W between the modern addition to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the Royal Conservatory of Music. Called the Queen Alexandra Gates and built in 1901, the gates originally stood at Bloor & Avenue Rd to mark the entrance to Queen's Park Circle.  They were moved to this location in 1962 and tomorrow I will show you where they lead to. I'll have to go back in winter when there are no leaves on the trees so that you can see the wonderful lanterns better.

A Gate

I really like this gate which was spotted out front of one of the Victorian homes in the Yorkville neighbourhood.  So much effort put into a functional object is good to see.

An Annex Gate

I've always liked this gate that is at the entrance to the back garden of an Annex home and have tried several times to catch it when it is closed but with no luck. Even against the brick wall you can see the lovely swirling patterns of the metal.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate it.

Through The Gate

This is a view through the gate in the stone wall that surrounds the grounds of Spadina House with a view of part of the house. The grounds were closed that day but I could see the tracks of someone who had been cross-country skiing around the perimeter on another day.

Wooden Gate

I spotted this nicely aged wooden gate while wandering along a laneway trying to maintain my social distance from the many people who were out walking that day. Someone took the time to put some nice patterns on a gate which opens into their back garden. This pic also gives you an idea of how close the houses in the older parts of the city to each other.

Manor Gate

 These are the gates into the grounds of an old manor home just north of Casa Loma. They are never closed but do offer a bit of elegance to the area.

Gates

These beautiful gates are found at the entrance to the grounds of a large home in the Forest Hill neighbourhood. It is rather unusual to find gates guarding a home in the city but this has been the home of Toronto Maple Leaf hockey players and also various actors in the past and so they may have needed them to provide some privacy. I can remember going to the door of the house in my neighbourhood where one of the hockey players lived when I was a kid. He was always pleasant but thinking back I wonder how often he was disturbed.

A Grand Gate

This gate is located almost directly across Yonge St from yesterday's pic and it leads to a courtyard that is very pretty especially in summer. The building is U-shaped and was in very rough condition until undergoing a huge renovation and restoration several years ago. It now has some commercial space on the main floor and exquisite residential in the rest of the building. Wouldn't we all like to have a tour?

Through The Gate

I took this pic about a week ago when we still had a lot of ice and snow around and had a wonderful winter sky as a background. This is a view of Spadina House through one of its gates which aren't used at this time of year.
Happy Spring to all of us northerners!

Pawtection

I spotted this great sign on the gate of a house in the east end. Now that is what I call friendly protection. And the handle is cool too! 
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Ravine Gate

This gate probably led to a home which had been in this ravine along the Humber River but since Hurricane Hazel in 1954 there have been no homes allowed in the floodplain of the river. The small wall on the right side shows the flagstones which are found along much of the Humber River and which have been used in many local gardens. My parents have a patio of these stones.

Horror At The Casa

Casa Loma has a special event going on through the month of October called "Legends of Horror" which involves a self-guided tour through the 5 acre gardens and then into dark chambers beneath the castle itself. Looking through these gates I could see various ghoulish vignettes which had been set up along the path. I don't think I will be taking the tour!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.

Back Garden Entrance

I've been roaming through the Forest Hill neighborhood a lot and there are many older estate homes with large grounds. This one has a wall around its back garden and a beautiful gate leading into a large space which even has that fairly substantial greenhouse you can see. Interestingly the front of the house has no fence at all.
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.

Luscious Gate

This gate with its luscious growth of ivy leads into the garage and back garden of a lovely home in the Forest Hill neighbourhood. You can tell that this is a well-treed area. I'll show you the house tomorrow.
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.

Beyond The Gate

I showed you an elegant gate a couple of weeks ago (HERE) and was passing by the property last week on a sunny day and caught a pic of the whole place. There is actually a lot more property off to the right. Sorry about the bit of sun flare in the middle.