Metropolis

 

Location: City Hall

Date photo taken: 1 April 2015

Just inside the main doors of Toronto City Hall, on the east wall, is this large scale work by David Partridge. It's really worth a visit. This image shows the central portion, and it really doesn't do the piece justice. 

The winner of an art competition held in 1974, this "nailie", as it is sometimes called, is the artist's interpretation of a great city, or metropolis, with its central core, its ravines, and its suburbs. It's called a nailie because it's constructed of over 100,000 individual nails, made of different materials and hammered to differing depths. The effect elicits comparisons to both the topography of a city, and to the individuals that inhabit it. As an added bonus, the durable materials allow for perhaps greater interaction than a piece of public art would normally afford. William Denton, as part of "Listening to Art", even drops a coin down through the nails and records the sound as it pings its way to the bottom (jump to about 10:50 to catch the sound).

Dumpster Fire

 

Location: 48 Pelham Avenue

Date photo taken: 7 December 2022

More awesome raccoon antics courtesy of Emily May Rose, paired with the work of Erika James. The wall was done in 2021 as part of a Laneway Jam organized by KJ Bit Collective and supported by the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council.

Brick Obelisk

 

Location: NW corner of Dundas & Carlaw

Date photo taken: 9 January 2021

While the artist may have chosen to name this piece Brick Obelisk, it is in fact made of Corten steel which has been cut with an intricate pattern. Lit from within by LEDs, the lines are even more pronounced at night. For those who take a closer look, and are perhaps familiar with the area's geography, some elements may begin to look familiar. Pierre Poussin, whose artist statement notes that he thinks art should be "tailor-made for the space it inhabits," overlaid maps of the area from various eras to create the pattern, and the shape was inspired by the smokestacks that once dotted this formerly industrial area. Together, they form a fitting ode to the neighbourhood's past and a beautiful addition to the intersection.

75th Canadian Infantry Battalion Memorial

 

Location: 70 Birmingham Street
Date photo taken: 5 September 2021

Walking along Birmingham Street in the New Toronto area of Etobicoke, I was surprised to encounter a World War II era vehicle parked next to a winding path. When I went for a closer look, I noticed that the building behind the carrier had a plaque affixed to an exterior wall. It turns out the building is the home of the Toronto Scottish Regiment, a Primary Reserve infantry regiment, which means that it's part of the Canadian Armed Forces but members serve mostly part-time while holding regular civilian jobs. The plaque is dedicated to members of the 75th Battalion, a predecessor of the Toronto Scottish Regiment. The 75th Battalion was formed during World War I and during the course of the war, over 5,500 soldiers served in its ranks. It was awarded 16 Battle Honours and one member, Captain Bellenden Hutcheson, a Medical Officer, was awarded the Victoria Cross. The home of the Regiment now bears his name. 

Text on the plaque:

France      Belgium
1916    1917    1918

To honour the memory of one thousand and eighty two officers, N.C.O.s and men of the Seventy-Fifth Canadian Infantry Battalion B E F [British Expeditionary Force] who gave their lives in the Great War. 

The 75th Overseas Battalion is perpetuated in the Canadian Militia as The Toronto Scottish Regiment. 

Mayan mural

 

Location: Symington Avenue, north of Dupont

Date photo taken: 17 November 2022

This Mayan figure stands facing north, part of a larger mural spanning the west side of the rail underpass on Symington Avenue. Between tagging and flaking, this mural, created around 2009, has seen better days, but this figure, and Isis on the south end, remain relatively unscathed.