Artscape Horn 1

Location: Artscape Gibraltar Point

Date photo taken: 12 July 2018

While it may look like a remnant of a vintage early warning system, this horn is actually half of a two-piece art installation by Mitchell Fenton. Commissioned by Artscape, this piece originally sat atop their Liberty Village location at 60 Atlantic Avenue but it was relocated when that project closed in 2012. The companion piece can be found on the roof of another Artscape facility at 900 Queen Street East.

Communicating

Location: North side, 481 University Ave.

Date photo taken: 7 May 2019

This sunken relief carving is one of two panels designed by Canadian sculptor Elizabeth Wyn Wood. Both are meant to represent communication. While the woman holds a paper scroll, author John Warkentin argues that the inclusion of a bird, sun and clouds, combined with the impression that she is floating, are meant to indicate that the information is being sent through the air. This building was commissioned by Canadian communications giant Maclean-Hunter. Known for publications such as Maclean's magazine and the Financial Post, Maclean-Hunter began diversifying into radio in 1961, the same year that this building opened.

Inner City Gate

Location: Elizabeth Street, north of Gerrard

Date photo taken: 12 December 2017

While it may be unusual for large pieces of public art to move around, it's certainly not unheard of. But what happens to the art when it moves? This piece, Inner City Gate by Kosso Eloul, today sits on a small grassy mound outside the Elizabeth Street entrance to Toronto General Hospital. While it looks at home there, it was originally created for the urban square at the TD Centre. There it reflected, on a more human scale, Mies van der Rohe's black office towers, and the pieces were arranged to imply movement, as if the sculpture were glimpsed in mid-stride. The artist felt that the move to the new location changed the personality of the piece. It is now more firmly-rooted and solid, creating a monumental entrance to the hospital complex behind. 

Louis B. Stewart Observatory

Location: Hart House Circle

Date photo taken: 16 February 2017

The Louis B. Stewart Observatory, located in Hart House Circle and home to the University of Toronto's Students' Union, used to be something very different. It even used to be somewhere different. The Royal Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory, considered to be the birthplace of Canadian astronomy, was first built in 1840. Measurements taken there helped determine that sunspots caused fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field. At the time, it was located to the west of its present spot, close to where Convocation Hall now stands. In 1855 the log building was replaced by this more solid structure, but as early as the 1890s, development around the site was rendering it unsuitable for its original purpose. The use of metal for streetcar tracks and in the construction of modern buildings was interfering with the magnetic instruments, and light pollution eventually posed separate challenges. In 1907 the telescope housed under the dome was moved and the building was donated to the university. It was subsequently torn down but thanks to the efforts of Louis B. Stewart, it was reconstructed in its present location. It would provide a home for a number of different functions over the next 45 years before becoming the home of the Students' Union. 

In this photo the dome is painted to resemble a Poke ball. It has become a tradition to re-paint the dome under cover of night. Other treatments include a rainbow, a mushroom from the Mario video games, and a storm trooper helmet.