This beautiful building is the Kadampa Buddhist Temple which is located on a residential street downtown with the result that there always seem to be cars parked in front when I go by but this time there was a bit of a space to catch it. The building was constructed in 1904 as a Christian church but was sold and renovated into the temple in 2006 with the traditional Symbols of a Buddhist temple installed. The Vajras (thunderbolts) on each corner of the roof represent bliss, the 8 symbols on the wall depict aspects of the spiritual path, the deer over the door symbolize realizations of wisdom, and the Dharma wheel over the door symbolizes the continuation of Buddhist teachings in the world. The temple is open most days for various events and classes as well as for meditation.
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click here for more religious buildings.
I was running an errand this week when I happened upon these Blue Thistles along the sidewalk so of course I grabbed the camera from my bag and here they are! The blue was so beautiful in the sunshine and we have had so much rain that all the green served as a perfect backdrop.
Toronto is teeming with dogs, especially downtown and this has resulted in a lot of conflict between dog owners and non-owners over dogs running loose in the parks. One solution has been to create these fenced-in dog areas in many of the parks that have enough space. Dog walkers don't have to worry about the dogs leaving the park and the dogs have a ball running around, although this group of dogs all seem to be big guys so I wouldn't want to take a mini dog into there at this time. Another drive-by pic!
If you continue down the laneway from yesterday's post, you come upon the entrance to the cigar factory and to Uniq which is an entertainment group involved in organizing events. This type of small factory is one of my favourites and I only hope that it survives the condo invasion and with a little TLC, flourishes.
I had heard there was a Cuban Cigar factory hidden away down a laneway off King St W, so Monday being a holiday here I went on a search and found Frank Correnti Cigars at the end of this lane. Apparently they are Canada's only manufacturer of Cuban cigars, bringing in the tobacco leaves from Cuba and hand-rolling them in this small building. And the "Buca" round sign toward the right of the pic marks the entrance in an old factory to a very cool looking Italian restaurant which unfortunately wasn't open but certainly looks deserving of another visit. This area is crawling in restaurants and new condos and it makes you wonder how long the cigar factory will stay in this location. A successful exploration!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click here for more signs.
The Princes' Gates mark the eastern entry to the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) which are located right downtown along the lakeshore and are the site of the CNE, numerous trade & retail shows, a hockey arena, soccer field, and also the Toronto Indy race which takes place in a couple of weeks. The Beaux-Arts gates were designed by Toronto architects Chapman and Oxley, and the sculpture of winged Victory was done by Charles McKechnie although the sculpture was badly deteriorating and was replaced in 1986 with an exact scale polymer plastic copy. The gates were opened in 1927 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Canadian Confederation and have been known since as the Princes' gates because 2 of the royal princes came to the dedication. This was a drive-by/red-light shot!
I spotted this mural on one of my expeditions along the laneways off Queen St West but somehow I neglected to make a note of the artists. It is really well done and I love the
message!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click here for more murals.
And a Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians - have fun!!
