Don Mills Montage

Location: Lawrence Avenue, west of Don Mills

Date photo taken: 14 July 2019

Charles P. Staffer, a Hungarian born architect and artist, immigrated to Canada in 1957. He worked for the T. Eaton Company, designing and creating murals and other artworks. For the new store opening at the expanding Don Mills Centre, he created two murals, one for inside, and one for the exterior. Both drew on the surrounding neighbourhood for inspiration and both have survived the ongoing evolution of the mall, first to a fully enclosed shopping centre and then to the open-air retail and entertainment complex that exists today. When Cadillac Fairview demolished the old mall in 2006 both murals were removed, restored and then reinstalled. This one can now be found on the north side, facing Lawrence.

TerraCycle Cigarette Waste Receptacle

 

Location: Atrium on Bay

Date photo taken: 29 January 2020

It always makes me mad when I see smokers casually toss away their spent cigarettes. What makes it okay to toss a butt when you wouldn't treat an empty coffee cup the same way? I get that they're small, and that many people think they degrade quickly (they don't), and with a burning end you can't exactly stick it in your pocket. And of course there are those for whom a a coffee cup is the same as a butt, but it can't be everyone or else we'd be drowning in trash. The City of Toronto lists cigarette butts as one of the top litter items in the city and notes they are particularly problematic because they contain toxic chemicals. Some reports indicate that cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world. Businesses and organizations that want to be part of the solution can order these cigarette waste receptacles from TerraCycle and encourage their use. While the boxes are $100 each and facilitate collection, any individual or organization can take part in the UNSMOKE recycling program for free. They just need to collect up their cigarette waste - all parts of extinguished cigarettes, cigarette filters, cigar stubs, outer plastic packaging, inner foil packaging, rolling paper and ash are accepted - request a prepaid mailing label, and call UPS for a pick-up. Participants even receive TerraCycle points per pound of material collected. Points can then be redeemed for cash payments to the non-profit organization or school of their choice or toward a selection of environmentally and socially-minded charitable gifts. Butts collected are shredded and separated into plastics, papers, and organics which are then recycled. 

CPR Memorial Tablet

Location: Union Station

Date photo taken: 11 November 2020

During the First World War more than 11,000 employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway enlisted in the war effort. Of those, 1,116 gave their lives. This large bronze plaque is one of 23 identical memorials created by the Canadian Pacific Railway to honour their sacrifice. It was designed by Archibald Pearce of the company’s Engineering Department and features the following inscription:

This tablet commemorates those in the service of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company who at the call of King and Country left all that was dear to them, endured hardship, faced danger and finally passed out of sight of men by the path of duty and self sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten.

The names of the fallen, wounded and missing were not memorialized in bronze, but they were recorded in the pages of Canadian Railway and Marine World. 

Immigrant Family

 

Location: 18 Yonge Street

Date photo taken: 12 May 2021

American artist Tom Otterness is known for creating installations that bring humour and joy to public spaces. I myself can still remember the wonder I felt when I discovered his cartoonish characters festooning the New York subway. For his Toronto-based work, commissioned by Lanterra Developments for its property at 18 Yonge Street, the theme is a little less whimsical but heart-warming all the same. First envisioned as a group of tourists visiting the city, the sculpture morphed into this immigrant family grouping after a nudge from the developer. Toronto is, after all, a city of immigrants and the condo sits between Union Station and the port, both of which have been gateways for countless  newcomers.