Lightning on a Clear Day

Location: 95 The Pond Road
Date photo taken: 22 September 2018

The Quad at York is a student residence made up of a pair of U-shaped buildings. The various east and west-facing sides of the building are etched with a series of branching patterns. I was drawn to the lightning but there are others, equally beautiful. They're impressive from a distance, and even more engaging up close where you can see the shifting colours in the designs. They are the work of Montreal artist Nicolas Baier.

Traffic Signal Box - Nuthatch

Location: Jane St. at Alliance Ave.

Date photo taken: 7 September 2018

Image #10 in the Traffic Signal Box Series

Here's another traffic signal box that got spruced up in 2015 thanks to StreetARToronto's Outside the Box program. The artist is Erica Balon, also known as EGR, whose style I love.

Frederick and Duke

Location: Corner of Frederick and Adelaide

Date photo taken: 7 February 2018

Image 8 in the Remnants Series

This stone marker on the corner of George Brown's St. James Campus building is not a reference to Shakespeare but rather a reminder that Toronto is a city in constant flux. Back when this building was built in 1872 by Christie Brown & Co., maker of good cookies, the streets which ran east to west between King and Queen looked different than they do today. They were more disjointed and in some stretches they were called by different names. As seen on this 1884 fire insurance map, the street which ran between Jarvis and Parliament, north of King, which is today part of Adelaide, was at that time Duke Street. North of it was not Richmond, but Duchess. Hence, this now curious street marker.

Lacey and Layla Portrait

Date photo taken: 4 September 2018
Location: Laneway north of Dundas, west of McCaul

In August, Womxn Paint hosted an event in the laneway that curves between D'Arcy and McCaul, just north of Dundas. They invited female identified artists to come out and transform the garages along the lane with art. The organization's goal is to empower women through art, and in the process, to diversify the public art experience throughout the city. This mural was done by Lacey Jane and Layla Folkman, a professional art duo based out of Montreal. Check out their Instagram feed for some images of the event in progress.