Hot Ash Only

 

Location: Ashbridges Bay park

Date photo taken: 5 May 2021

It might seem odd to see a "Hot Ash Only" sign on a bin in a park in Toronto but if you consider that 33 parks across the city have firepits anyone can use, it starts to make a lot of sense. Especially if you've been to one of those parks on a gorgeous summer day and seen how popular a venue they are for all sorts of gatherings, including barbecues. All those hot coals have to be disposed of safely, in a way that doesn't start trash bin fires or put small feet at risk of burns. That's where these bins come in.

While firepits are free to use for small gatherings, if you plan to have more than 25 people at your event, or just want to ensure your chosen pit is available when you want it, you need to book in advance and pay a booking fee. If you'd rather bring your own barbecue, that's allowed but perhaps surprisingly, you need to make a booking for that too. And don't think you can scavenge firewood for your cookout - only charcoal and briquettes are allowed, at least in the city provided pits.

Cleaner's Action

Location: 1628 Dundas Street East, just west of Brock Avenue

Date photo taken: 9 July 2022

Apart from the size, you could almost describe this mural in Little Portugal as understated. The faded appearance is the result of the way in which it was created - not painted, but rather excavated. The artist, known as Vhils, creates his murals by chipping away at the layers already in place, revealing what is underneath. Which is a perfect fit for the theme of the mural. It features faces and scenes drawn from archival photos and reports, of women, predominently Portuguese immigrants, who worked as cleaners at Queen's Park. In the 1970s they came together and organized to demand better pay and working conditions and sparked a major labour movement that would become known as the Cleaners' Action. 

You can learn more about the labour movement and the women behind it on this site. For more information on Vhils and his creation of the mural, there is an interesting article by David Ganhão.

Drink Canada Dry

 

Location: 900 Queen Street East   

Date photo taken: 28 April 2019

This awesome vintage Canada Dry sign hangs out front of Eddie's Convenience on Queen Street East just west of Logan. Whenever I see vintage signs like this, I wonder about their story - when they were first hung and how it is that they have survived. So I turned to the city directories to see if I could discover anything. It turns out that Eddie's Confectionery, the business name that appears in faded letters at the top of the sign, first appears in the city directory at this location in 1954, operated by Sylvia Rosenbloom. The "Eddie" is explained if you look further back. In earlier years, the listing for this address simply read "Rosenbloom, Edward, confy". 

With stores on retail strips coming and going and changing from one type to another, it was interesting to me to discover that since this address first appeared in the city directory in the late 1900s, it has been occupied by a number of different people - Norman Shier, Geo Sernissi, Nathan Besserman, and perhaps others - but it was always a confectionery.

City of Toronto Archives

 

Location: 255 Spadina Road

Date photo taken: 9 April 2025

There's an awful lot to love about the City of Toronto Archives. Their collection contains millions of records that detail the history of our city and the people who have called it home. If you visit, you can get a glimpse at how all those documents are organized thanks to a huge viewing window installed just outside the Research Room. You can also take in an exhibit. A new one, Under the Wrecking Ball: Shaping Toronto’s Downtown 1960-1989, opens May 1. It takes a look at some of the large-scale land redevelopments that occurred during the post-war years in Toronto and some of the the buildings that were lost as a result.

If you can't get to the Archives during their somewhat inconvenient opening hours (Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4 pm), there are plenty of online exhibits to enjoy. Also, a significant portion of their 1.25 million photographs have been digitized and can be searched using their database. If you prefer a curated experience, there is also a section featuring some of the staff's favourite photos. 

Nyx 2025

 

Location: Trillium Park

Date photo taken: 22 March 2025

This eerie work is one of the 14 light-based installations you'll find scattered around Trillium Park right now. It's part of the free light festival being hosted in the park until April 4. The theme this year is Neon Dreams: Light and Colour and this work is by artist Thadea Decora with Vincent Glasheen. According to the artist's statement, the sculpture "reflects the artist’s feelings about AI and technology in all its wonder and horror" and was inspired by Jean-Léon Gérôme's 1896 painting Truth Coming Out of Her Well.

Traffic Signal Box - Spring Birds

 

Location: Denton and Pharmacy

Date photo taken: 15 March 2025

Image #20 in the Traffic Signal Box Series

While the temperatures may have dipped again, spring is definitely in the air. The birds are once again making themselves heard and I've seen more than one flying with a twig or a bit of fluff in their beak. So as a nod to all the busy avians out there, here's a pretty signal box painted by Sam Roe. 

Vimāna (N1 Starfighter)

Location: Sculpture Garden, King & Church

Date photo taken: 29 October 2024

When the months are dark I have a special fondness for installations that brighten the night. I also love space epics and science fiction so this sculpture, installed in the Toronto Sculpture Garden as part of the Toronto Biennial of Art last fall, brings me joy. Rajni Perera creates a futuristic-looking spacecraft from modern materials such as acrylic and LED lights while evoking the look of a traditional paper lantern. 

From the descriptive panel: The work explores themes of spacefaring and immigration, incorporating the Sanskrit term vimāna (which has various meanings related to flying) to challenge Western narratives of advanced aerospace technology.

A&W Root Beer

 

Location: 2856 Dundas Street West

Date photo taken: 27 January 2024

In case it's not obvious, what you're looking at here is a door handle. I love the quirkiness of it and the nostalgic look and it seemed like a good post for the current times.  

With the tariff turmoil we're all experiencing lately, and the desire to buy Canadian, A&W has been put forward as a good alternative to American fast food chains. I was bit confused when I first Googled for confirmation as the first thing I saw were ads featuring mugs like this one but bearing the slogan "All American Food." That's because there are A&W restaurants in the U.S. and they are American. A&W in Canada started out as part of that same American company but it's now completely separate and 100% Canadian owned and operated and has been for decades. So go ahead and enjoy that frosty mug.

Slayer

 

Location: 739 Queen Street East

Date photo taken: 17 February 2025

Slayer Burger is a Toronto burger chain that proudly proclaims their love of heavy metal. This is the mural on the Queen East location and it features Slayer founding member and co-lead guitarist Jeff Hanneman. There's another one of him inside. The distinctive style, more apparent up close, is the work of Toronto-based calligraphy artist Rei Misiri. 

Given the name of the company it might come as a surprise that the mural at the first location doesn't pay tribute to a Slayer band member. Fans of the genre will likely not be surprised to hear that the mural there features Motörhead founder, lead singer and bassist Lemmy.

Tiny Tiny Homes

 

Location: St. James Park, Church and Adelaide

Date photo taken: 13 February 2025

The shoveled pathways and wooden stoops lend a real neighbourhood feel to this small gathering of huts located on the western edge of St. James Park in the heart of downtown Toronto. The huts are actually portable emergency shelters created by Tiny Tiny Homes to provide a safer alternative to tent living for those experiencing homelessness. The gathering of neat little homes isn't without controversy however as the shelters were placed without City approval and there is a push to have them removed. It seems they'll stay in place for at least a while longer however as Mayor Olivia Chow has intervened, hoping to find a resolution that benefits everyone. 

Celebration of the arts

 

Location: East wall of 290 Adelaide Street West

Date photo taken: 5 February 2022

On a big blank wall next to a parking lot at John and Adelaide is this gorgeous tribute to arts and culture. It's by Alexander Bacon, a Canadian graffiti artist, and was created as a Partnership Project through StART in 2019. If you're curious, the portraits he has incorporated are of real people, whom he credits in his Instagram feed as @que_rock_, @anniecwh and @allblckerthing.

People Walking 2006

Location: 333 Bloor Street East

Date photo taken: 10 July 2019

Mirroring the hustle and bustle of a weekday late afternoon, figures of light traverse this large black screen positioned just steps away from the sidewalk on Bloor Street East. There are nine figures in total although I only know this from reading about the piece - their appearances are randomized so while watching from the sidewalk, the impression is of a much greater multitude. Commissioned by Rogers, and billed as Toronto's first LED-based piece of public art, it was created by British artist Julian Opie. On his website, I found it interesting to see what other cities feature "walking" pieces like ours. Spoiler alert - they include Shanghai and Taipei.