Tempo

Location: St. Clair West station

Date photo taken: 25 September 2013

If you've ever found yourself in St. Clair West station, you might recognize this blast of colour. It's a small piece of Gordon Rayner's extensive mural which adorns the mezzanine level, one floor above the trains. When the Spadina line was built in the 1970s, the TTC selected a number of Ontario artists to produce art for each of the nine stations on the line. While some of the pieces have since been removed, the majority are still in place and stations on other lines, in particular the new Sheppard line, also feature large installations. With a little time and for the price of a TTC ride, you can take a tour of this spaced out gallery of Canadian art.

Attention - Coyotes

 

Location: Bloordale Park North

Date photo taken: 25 November 2021

With Stanley Park's coyotes in the news lately, I thought I would share some local coyote information. With all of our parks and ravines, it's not surprising that Toronto is home to coyotes but did you know that the City of Toronto offers an e-learning course called Coyotes in the Urban Landscape? There's also a webpage that sets out lots of tips and information on what to do and not do when you encounter a coyote. My favourite is definitely Be big and loud: Jump up and down, wave your arms, yell “Go away coyote!” It's not just a bit of fun - yelling "Go away coyote" alerts nearby pedestrians and pet owners that there's a coyote in the vicinity. Other take-aways include: do not approach them, never feed them,  and do not turn your back or run away from them.

Tulpi chairs

Location: Centre Island
Date photo taken: 3 August 2021

On the Toronto Islands, a number of tulips bloom year round on a small grassy area adjacent to the Centre Island ferry terminal. Oversized and bright orange, they are the creation of Dutch designer Marco Manders and they won top prize in the Street Furniture Design Category at the 2014 - 2015 A'Design Award and Competition. That's right, these blooms are actually chairs. The tulip shape and self-folding design ensures that the seat is protected from pooling water and bird droppings, and they can be rotated 360 degrees. The material is also highly durable and 100% recyclable. These particular chairs were gifted to Toronto by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands when they visited in 2015 so it makes sense that they are all orange, but if you wanted a little variety in your own personal Tulpi garden, they do come in a variety of colours, and even illuminated versions.

Speaking for the trees

 

Location: James Street

Date photo taken: 5 September 2021

For those of you not familiar with Dr. Seuss, this is the Lorax, an environmental spokesthing from the 1971 book of the same name. In that story, the Lorax spoke up to protect the trees. On a walk in Long Branch this weekend this Lorax, along with a multitude of more generic but informative lawn signs, alerted me to a similar battle currently going on in this west end neighbourhood. Residents are campaigning to save the Black Barn Maple which is under threat due to a development proposal. At 160 years old, this maple is one of the oldest surviving trees in this part of the city and it is still healthy and going strong. Residents hope to keep it that way but so far the City has not moved to protect the tree. I personally hope they will, or that the builder will get creative and find a way to work around the maple. Heritage trees can be a powerful symbol and any mature urban tree is a valuable asset. 

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." 

Capital

Location: Berkeley Street, south of Front

Date photo taken: 30 August 2020

It's CNE time again, which is how I often refer to this last few weeks of summer. Except of course that summer really continues for a few more weeks, and oh yes, the Ex has been cancelled for another year. Rather than digging out something from a past visit, I thought this week I would share a piece of CNE history that exists outside of the fair grounds. Back in 1928 the Electrical and Engineering Building was added to the Exhibition. Inside were featured modern wonders made possible by electricity. Outside were decorative columns and oversized figures created by Charles McKechnie, the same person responsible for the iconic winged figure atop the Princes' Gate. The building was demolished in 1972 but some of the decorative items were salvaged. Some can still be seen at the CNE, but somehow at least three ornamented capitals found their way to Toronto's Free Theatre (TFT). Perhaps it was just good timing. The theatre was founded in 1971 and it began performing out of the converted Consumer Gas building on Berkeley shortly after. In the 1980s TFT merged with CentreStage and Canadian Stage was born. The Berkeley Street Theatre is still a Canadian Stage venue and the capitals are still on the front lawn.