Bell Box - Jungle Ling

Location: Roseheath Ave. at Danforth
Date photo taken: 22 June 2013
Image #4 in the Bellbox Series

Another of the East Danforth Bell Box murals, painted in the summer of 2012. This one is by artist Jungle Ling, aka Dr. Love, and depicts the east end of Shudell Avenue in 1927, likely based on this archival photograph from the City of Toronto Archives. Shudell Avenue is nearby, running east-west between Jones Avenue and the TTC Greenwood yard, a few blocks south of the Danforth.

These murals were painted thanks to a partnership between the Yellow Door Learning Centre, Bell Canada, StreetARToronto and the Danforth East Community Association.

Red Eared Slider

Location: Pond at Riverdale farm

Date photo taken: 25 October 2012

The ponds at Riverdale Farm have all sorts of interesting things to watch, including lots of turtles. The day of this shot, there were four turtles visible, all red eared sliders. This image captures two of them - the second turtle’s head is just visible in the water, to the right of the log. This species isn’t native to Ontario. Normally they’re only found in the southern United States but they’ve become established elsewhere – including Toronto apparently – due to pet releases.

Masc – St. James Cathedral

Location: West side, near King Street
Date photo taken: 20 April 2013
Image 3 in the Mascs of Toronto Series

This is one of well over a dozen heads which grace the stately Cathedral Church of St. James at the corner of Church and King Streets. There are no known notes or references to these many faces in the church's archive so it is assumed that rather than representing specific people, they were instead generic ornaments thought to be appropriate to the building style and scope. When looked at together, one might suppose that they are meant to represent men and women from a range of positions in society and at the various stages of life.

The Giant Storybook Project

Location: 1135 Dundas St. E., between Carlaw and Logan
Date photo taken: 1 May 2013
Image 4 in the Mural Series

This magical mural is part of a large international project by street art duo Herakut. Beginning in September 2012, they began painting murals in cities around the world, each introducing characters from a new children's book. This is the fifth mural, entitled Jay and His Creative Spirit. The text on the mural reads “Was it the most glorious or the most monstrous moment when Jay met his Creative Spirit?”

For more information about the project, check out their Facebook page, and check out this short video documenting the creation process of the Toronto mural.