SPUDway

Location: East side of 625 Richmond Street West

Date photo taken: 11 April 2019

Here's a fairly early mural by Toronto born graffiti artist SPUD. Completed in 2005, this mural stood alone on the side of this building for almost 10 years before being joined by a colourful group of characters. But they're for another post.

Brew Buddies

Location: 297 Victoria Street, between Gould and Dundas

Date photo taken: 15 September 2015

These figures can be found palling around over the doors of the limestone-clad heritage facade at 297 Victoria Street, which today is part of the Ryerson downtown campus. The facade was recently incorporated into the newly constructed Heaslip House which houses the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Studies but for those who look closely, and who can identify the flora depicted, there are clues to the origins of the building. O'Keefe House as it was once known was constructed in the late 1930s to serve as the head office of Canadian Breweries Ltd., which bought up or merged with many smaller breweries after the end of prohibition, including, in 1934, the O'Keefe Brewery, located on Victoria Street. This relief includes both grain and hops, key ingredients of beer.

Fudger House Courtyard

Location: Bleecker Street south of Wellesley

Date photo taken: 6 December 2014

Fudger House is a very solid, rather boring brick building built in the 1960s. It fills the block between Sherbourne and Bleecker, pushing right up against the sidewalk on the latter. Once upon a time it seems to have had an exit onto Bleecker but at some point that door was bricked up. Then around 2010 that closed off space was transformed into a window of sorts. A trompe l'oeil mural has been painted over the brick, creating the illusion of an entryway into the inner courtyard, complete with decorative iron gate and a fountain within. This long term care facility does indeed have a courtyard, and while I've never seen it, I like to think that this is an accurate representation. 

This building currently offers 250 long term care and hospice beds but this site once provided housing for a much younger crowd. Sherbourne House, also known at various times as Sherbourne Villa and Fudger House, began its life as a grand Victorian mansion. In 1916 it was purchased by H.H. Fudger, president of the Robert Simpson Company, to provide safe and reputable lodgings for the young women who worked for the compamy.

Revolving Doors

Location: 1 Adelaide Street East
Date photo taken: 7 February 2018

I spend a lot of time thinking about how people use doors. Strange but true. Two behaviours fascinate me: over-use of disabled assist buttons and avoidance of revolving doors. The pandemic has changed my attitude toward the first, but revolving doors are a good Environment Day subject. Originally designed in the 1880s to prevent the "entrance of wind, snow, rain or dust" they are now recognized for their ability to curb unwanted air flow (think cold air blasting you when you walk by a store's open door in the summer). This can result in significant energy savings, but only if people use them. Sit and watch the entrance to a building with revolving doors however and you'll notice that a lot of people avoid using them if they have another option. Oxford Properties is one company trying to change that. They have decorated the revolving doors in several of their downtown locations with green leaf patterns and included wording about energy efficiency in an effort to win users over.

NeaTO: Students at MIT were curious enough about the phenomenon of revolving door avoidance to author a study on the subject. When they polled people about their door choices, attitudes toward revolving doors boiled down to fear, loathing and laziness: fear of getting trapped, either entirely or just an arm, leg or bag; distaste at potentially having to share the space with a stranger or have them dictate the speed of rotation; and complaints about the effort required to push the door.