736 Dundas St. E.

Location: Dundas Street east of River

Date photo taken: 29 April 2015

While this building may currently be called the Tannery Lofts, the building itself never housed a tannery. The name was inspired by an earlier business located slightly to the east. A one storey tannery building was built by H.B. Johnston in 1910, when this block of land still had a River Street address. In 1913, a new factory was built for the Adam Beck Cigar Box Manufacturing Company. Located on the new extension to Wilton Avenue, which would later become Dundas, it is this building that is now the Tannery Lofts. Originally 3 storeys tall, the building was designed by famed Canadian architect John M. Lyle, better known for designing banking halls, Union Station and the Royal Alex Theatre. In 1931, the property was acquired by G.H. Wood & Co., makers of paper cups and assorted sanitary products.  It would undergo conversion to lofts in 2007, at which time two additional floors were added.

Fun fact: Adam Beck of the cigar factory is the same Sir Adam Beck who founded the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario and whose statue can be found on University Avenue.

Toronto Hydro Timeline

Location: Wood Street and Reverend Porter Lane

Date photo taken: 15 September 2015

At first glance, this fence around the back lot of the Toronto Hydro building near Carlton and Yonge just seems to have a bit more visual appeal than your standard security fence. Look a little closer however and you'll notice dates andphotographs incorporated into the design. If you start at the eastern edge of the fence on Wood Street and walk back toward Yonge, you'll find a timeline of events related to the history of Toronto Hydro. In this panel, you discover that in 1934 cable chamber covers began to appear along city sidewalks as electrical equipment moved underground.

If you want to learn more about power and the city without visiting the fence, check out Toronto Hydro's history page.

Great White Shark

Location: north side of Hooters, NW corner of John and Adelaide

Date photo taken: 20 June 2019

This is a small section of a mural that covers the north wall of 280 Adelaide St. W. The entire piece is dedicated to sharks. This is my favourite bit, in part because of the lovely light effects on the great white, but also because of the hook. I really appreciate it when artists take structural elements that are in the way and find ways to creatively incorporate them. In this case, the tangle of wire becomes fishing line. 

This mural was a project by Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans, which is a public art program by the PangeaSeed Foundation.

Ontario shield

Location: Palmerston Avenue
Date photo taken: 11 May 2019

Walk the residential streets of Toronto and you'll see the whole gamut of yard treatments from manicured lawns to wild looking gardens to parking pads. I prefer yards that show a bit of character so I think this one is pretty nifty. In case you're wondering, it's the shield of arms for Ontario. The top portion is the St. George's cross, which is the flag of England, and represents the province's early ties with that country. The three maple leaves on the lower portion represent Canada as a whole, depicted in Ontario's official colours of green and yellow. If you were to add a moose to the right, a deer to the left and a polar bear above, you'd have the province's coat of arms.

Fun facts: Ontario's floral emblem is the trillium, the official tree is the eastern white pine, the official bird is the common loon and the official mineral (yes, there is one!) is the amethyst.

Businessman Walking

Location: Commerce Court South, Wellington, between Yonge and Bay
Date photo taken: 5 April 2018

This striding fellow is one of several bronze businessmen scattered around the city, mostly in the downtown core. Each one sports an overcoat, hat and briefcase and all are of the same portly dimensions. Captured in mid-stride, in thought or acknowledging a fellow, their placement and selective variety creates the sense, at least for me, that you are encountering not different figures, but rather the same one, just going about his business. They are the work of Canadian sculptor William McElcheran.

To find this guy, enter Commerce Court from the Wellington Street side, near the coil-mounted Jump sign, and go up to the upper level. As a bonus, it's sitting next to a scale model of Commerce Court.