Metal Viking

Location: Dundas St. W. at Brookside Avenue

Date photo taken: 26 May 2019

Ever wanted to take a selfie with a Viking? The opportunity is yours in the parking lot of Dynamic Iron Limited, makers of custom wrought-iron work since 1970. While their website features lots of railings, window grills and furniture, it also includes a sculpture category with a few more whimsical designs. A project not (yet) featured on the website is the unique historical plaque erected in 2014 by the Junction's BIA. It highlights in part the the area's rich rail heritage and the base is fashioned from two train wheels donated by Metrolinx. John Mrsic, who runs the family-owned Dynamic Iron, welded them together. 

Happy Garbage Bin

Location: St. Lawrence neighbourhood

Date photo taken: 20 September 2018

I love subtle upgrades like this one. Unobtrusive and fun. 

Bracondale Hill

Location: Hillcrest Drive and Bracondale Hill Road

Date photo taken: 8 October 2015

Bracondale Hill is a residential neighbourhood located north of Davenport, between Bathurst and Oakwood. It takes its name from the stately home built by Robert John Turner about 1847, located at Davenport and Christie. When Turner's son inherited the estate, he helped establish Bracondale Village, selling hundreds of building lots around the home and building the village's first post office. In 1909 Bracondale was annexed by the City of Toronto. The date on the sign refers to the subsequent development of another subdivision by the Turner heirs on lands to the north and west of their family home. The character of the neighbourhood was set by the inclusion of a minimum construction cost per house. This varied between $4,000 and $7,500 depending on the location, quite significant sums for the period. The house that started it all was expropriated by the City in 1930 and demolished in 1937 to make way for Hillcrest Park.

Binoculars

Location: Teesdale Place near Pharmacy Avenue

Date photo taken: 27 February 2017

This mosaic is part of a larger community art project coordinated by Arts for Children and Youth in 2010 which enlivened the underground parking entrance and the walls of the basketball court adjacent to the Teesdale Community Centre in Scarborough. Local youths were hired to be arts leaders as the community helped with the construction of the mosaics. In addition to large projects like this one the group also holds community art days where they encourage passers-by to join them in the creation of small scale artworks. In this case participants were invited to create a small face on a peace of clay. Those small faces were later incorporated into the community murals.

255 McCaul

Location: 255 McCaul Street

Date photo taken: 4 September 2018

255 McCaul is large building built by the Toronto Board of Education in 1931 to act as its supply warehouse. It was designed by C.E. Cyril Dyson, the Board’s Chief Architect and the man responsible for such iconic Toronto schools as Jarvis Collegiate and Northern Secondary. The building still serves education, acting now as the Exam Centre for the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus. Completely retrofitted in 2008, the building was the university’s first LEED Gold building. It uses roughly 60 percent less water and 30 per cent less electricity than a typical building, despite its age. It accomplishes this in part through two large cisterns in the basement which collect water for flushing toilets and a large solar array on the roof. The building’s green attitude is brought to life by the living wall in the lobby.