Bell Maintenance Hole Cover

 

Location: everywhere
Date photo taken: 25 November 2020

The streets and lots of Toronto are dotted with circular metal discs. While most of us walk and drive over them daily, rarely do we stop to take notice. That's a shame really as some of them are quite pretty. While Toronto, for the most part, may lack the stand-out designs found in some other cities, our covers still have a certain charm. I'm particularly partial to the Bell Canada ones, with their pattern of hexagons. The central logo also appeals to the history nut in me. Thanks to it and a cool timeline on the BCE website, I know that this particular cover was installed sometime between 1965 and 1976.

NeaTO: While most of the city's covers are standard issue, Toronto does have a few unique designs underfoot. The very first NeaTO post back in October 2012 featured one of them - the sewer access covers in Regent Park.

TinEye

 

Location: 233 Queen St. W., just west of Sherbourne
Date photo taken: 8 April 2021

I love this mural. It's colourful and fun and it makes me smile. It's also a corporate logo. TinEye, the company that occupies this building, is an image search and recognition company. Their robotic mascot was added to the front of the building last fall. If you're interested in design, or just want to know more about this friendly looking fellow, the TinEye blog has an article on what went into creating the logo.

Walking the dog

Location: Church and McGill Streets

Date photo taken: 10 April 2021

This is part of a decorative screen running down the length of the driveway behind a new condo development at 365 Church Street. It obscures the wall behind it, letting just the right amount of its rough charm shine through, and the figures add a touch of life to what might otherwise be a lonely lane. It was designed by NAK Design Group and built and installed by Eventscape in 2017.

Glowing Heart

 

Date photo taken: 7 April 2021

Location: all over

I've been feeling a lot of love on my nightly walks lately. These small but mighty heart lights have been popping up in windows all over my neighbourhood. They seemed to come out of nowhere. The first night I noticed them I counted 4 within 10 minutes. Now there are even more. I was very pleased to discover that their proliferation was not the result of a two-for-one sale on Amazon. The hearts are the work of Moss LED, a company based in Mississauga. They primarily create LED products for film and television, but during the pandemic they started making these Hero Hearts to show support and spread the love. According to their website, they now have 5 full time people creating these lovely lights. If you're the kind of person who likes to see behind the scenes, check out the Made in Canada post on the company's website for a walk-through of how the hearts are made.