Easter Bunny at work

Location: Cabbagetown

Date photo taken: 28 March 2024

Large inflatables aren't just for Christmas and Hallowe'en anymore. While not as prevalent as at those other times of year, I was surprised how many yards were sporting various egg and bunny themed blow ups. What makes this yard display special is something you can't see in this picture - dozens and dozens of painted eggs spread all over the yard. 

7 Wellesley Cottages

 

Location: 7 Wellesley Cottages

Date photo taken: 6 March 2022

Stumbling across the Wellesley Cottages is akin to suddenly finding yourself in Narnia. That might seem a little extreme but hear me out. The way to the cottages is not obvious. True, there is a small street sign denoting Wellesley Cottages on Wellesley east of Parliament which marks the entranceway, but only the truly curious or those with some prior knowledge are likely to be lured in. It's just an access after all, but at the end sits a little laneway out of time, containing seven 19th century cottages. A small detached building like this one sits at either end of the lane, in between which sit a row of 5 adjoining workers cottages. Originally approximately 400 square feet each, they housed carpenters, labourers, a clerk and a tinsmith. Now they generally boast modern interiors with carefully disguised extensions, and list for what you'd expect a house in this affluent neighbourhood to fetch. This one, No. 7 is particularly interesting. Not so very long ago, it seemed out of place on the street. It sat alone at the end, small like its neighbours, but covered in wooden shingles and lacking the distinctive steep gable over the door. One publication referred to it as "an unkempt runt of a building". A renovation around 2010 that significantly extended the living space also returned the facade to its previous historic appearance. Thanks to Google streetview, 2009 view, you can see the difference for yourself. 

Laneway garage mural

 

Location: Jefferys Lane

Date photo taken: 1 June 2023  

Walking Toronto's laneways, you never know what you're going to find. A pick-up basketball game maybe, or a gorgeous lilac in full bloom. Or a garage covered by a lovely mural. This is the work of Kingston, Ontario born artist Oriah Scott.

Here's the Ben Wicks

 

Location: South wall of 426 Parliament Street

Date photo taken: 19 May 2022

Ben Wicks was many things - Toronto resident, writer, media personality - but he was best known for his cartoons. Starting with the Toronto Telegram in the 1960s, his work eventually appeared in newspapers across Canada and the United States. And eventually on the wall of a building in Cabbagetown. It turns out Ben Wicks was also a would-be restaurateur. His self-named restaurant The Ben Wicks opened at 424 Parliament Street in 1980 and remained open for over 30 years, although the majority of that time it was owned and operated by Robert McEnirney, Wicks having realized very quickly that his talents lay in other areas. The Ben Wicks, like Wicks himself, is now gone, but the mural remains and has been joined by a heritage plaque, tucked away on a nearby railing.

Cabbagetown Heritage Conservation District

 

Location: Sumach at Carlton

Date photo taken: 18 September 2013

To help communities across the province highlight and protect areas within their boundaries that have unique heritage value, the Ontario Heritage Act provides municipalities with the ability to designate Heritage Conservation Districts. While changes are permitted within these spaces they must adhere to certain rules and principles to ensure that the characteristics that make these places special are not lost. Within the City of Toronto this means that anyone in an HCD who wishes to make changes to the street-facing portion of their property needs to apply for a Heritage Permit. Property owners in these areas may be eligible for restoration grants or tax relief to help compensate them for having to adhere to the standards. 

The Cabbagetown Heritage Conservation District is actually comprised of 4 separate designated areas with two more being proposed. Sumach and Carlton, where this sign was snapped, is part of the Cabbagetown North HCD which was designated in 2004. Others include Cabbagetown-Metcalfe (2002), Cabbagetown South (2005) and Cabbagetown Northwest (2007). 

Fudger House Courtyard

Location: Bleecker Street south of Wellesley

Date photo taken: 6 December 2014

Fudger House is a very solid, rather boring brick building built in the 1960s. It fills the block between Sherbourne and Bleecker, pushing right up against the sidewalk on the latter. Once upon a time it seems to have had an exit onto Bleecker but at some point that door was bricked up. Then around 2010 that closed off space was transformed into a window of sorts. A trompe l'oeil mural has been painted over the brick, creating the illusion of an entryway into the inner courtyard, complete with decorative iron gate and a fountain within. This long term care facility does indeed have a courtyard, and while I've never seen it, I like to think that this is an accurate representation. 

This building currently offers 250 long term care and hospice beds but this site once provided housing for a much younger crowd. Sherbourne House, also known at various times as Sherbourne Villa and Fudger House, began its life as a grand Victorian mansion. In 1916 it was purchased by H.H. Fudger, president of the Robert Simpson Company, to provide safe and reputable lodgings for the young women who worked for the compamy.

Hatch

Location: Winchester Public School, Ontario Street

Date photo taken: 6 January 2019

This mother bird and chicks are part of a larger mosaic called Hatch, located on the west side of Winchester Public School. Designed by Anna Camilleri, it was created with the help of over 400 students and staff at the school and is one of five public art projects in the neighbourhood overseen by Red Dress Productions. If robins are a sure sign of warmer weather to come, I present these ones as a reminder that winter won't last forever. 

Traffic Signal Box - Anna Bucciarelli

Location: North east corner, Gerrard and Sherbourne
Date photo taken: 16 February 2017
Image #9 in the Traffic Signal Box Series

This latest traffic signal box to be featured on NeaTO was painted in 2016 by Anna Bucciarelli. The design pays homage to the traditional Ukrainian decorative style known as Petrykivka which generally features plants, especially flowers, often accompanied by birds, on a white background.

Owl and Raccoon

Location: East end of Carlton Street

Date photo taken: 30 January 2018

What happens when a tree dies in the city? While dead trees provide homes for birds and animals, when they are located along the street or in a park, they also represent a significant safety risk. For this reason, the city's Parks, Forestry and Recreation division will come and remove it. When an oak tree on the edge of Riverdale Park West died several years ago however someone came up with a twist on the idea. While the majority of the tree was removed, the bottom portion of the trunk was left intact. Jim Menken, a chainsaw artist, then worked his magic. Drawing inspiration from the shape and quirks of the tree, he populated the stump with some local wildlife. Apparently the original tree was so diseased it was hollow inside, so another stump had to be brought in from the city's wood lot, but it all worked out in the end.

Note: Over the past several years, due in large part to the emerald ash borer, the City has had to remove a lot of trees. Traditionally, these have been chipped and then disposed of. While researching this blog, I read about someone who thought this was a waste and did something about it. Sid Gendron now operates a sawmill that takes urban wood and turns it into wood products that local businesses can use. Read more about Sawmill Sid in this National Post article.

Toronto Necropolis

Location: Winchester St. between Sumach and Bayview
Date photo taken: 3 November 2017

Tucked into a quiet corner of Cabbagetown, the Toronto Necropolis is a deceptively large and beautiful cemetery. The entrance sits across the street from the bucolic Riverdale Farm, and from there the grounds stretch west toward the Don Valley, sloping down to Bayview. Wandering through it you will encounter lovely trees and shrubs, lots of birds and squirrels, and graves dating back to 1850. The "Resting Place of Pioneers" within the cemetery contains the re-interred remains of almost 1000 early residents of Muddy York who were originally buried in the Potter's Field at Yonge and Bloor. There are many other burials of note including William Lyon Mackenzie, Ned Hanlan, Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, Jack Layton and Canadian servicemen killed in action.

Gordon Sinclair Lane

Location: runs between Sumach Street and Riverdale Park Road in Cabbagetown
Date photo taken: 25 October 2012

Toronto is criss-crossed with over 3000 lanes and just as neighbourhoods have their own identities, so too do their laneways. I love how this one looks in the fall, with the ivy and overhanging leaves turning brilliant colours. Several initiatives over the years have attempted to bring these spaces more into the community eye. The Name Your Lane project in 2006 encouraged people to turn these spaces into places. The Laneway Project takes it a step further, working to help communities activate and improve their lanes.

In 2008 the Cabbagetown Preservation Association sent a request to City Council to name 42 lanes in the area. Each name in some way reflected the history of the area. Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian media icon, was born on nearby Carlton Street. If you're interested in commemorating a person, event or thing through a lane name in your neighbourhood an application is available on the city's website, and the Laneway Project offers a how-to guide.

Hope in the City Mural

Location: Gerrard, just east of Parliament

Date photo taken: 23 July 2016

This mural, painted on the side of Double Take, a second-hand store operated by the Yonge Street Mission, was unveiled in 2013. The hands are meant to represent not only a range of cultures but also different socio-economic backgrounds, reflecting the demographics of both the neighbourhood and the people the Yonge Street Mission serves. The hands reach for the sky, a gesture, as the name of the mural implies, of hope, but also of inclusion and strength. The mural was executed by a local team, Toronto Muralists.

Lemur

Location: Southeast corner of Sherbourne and Gerrard
Date photo taken: 17 October 2015

The theme of the images on the colourful hoarding kitty-corner from Allen Gardens eluded me at first. Painted in bold colours are mice, opossums, bees, ladybugs, birds and other creatures familiar to Toronto, but then thrown into the works are two lemurs. It wasn't until I had walked away that it struck me - pollinators. Not being used to seeing lemurs in the back garden, I didn't make the connection at first but the 20 panel artwork, by Nick Sweetman, is "inspired by all forms of pollinators from bees to bats and of course the wind".

The work is a PATCH Project. Their tagline is Public Art Through Construction Hoarding - Curating the City, One Site at a Time. This particular space will eventually be an Oben Flats development, but the group intends to landscape the empty lot and open the space for community use until construction begins.

Number 9 Audio Mural

Location: West facing wall, 222 Gerrard St. E.
Date photo taken: 25 October 2012
Image 2 in the Mural Series

Since 2004 this building has been the home of Number 9 recording studios. When in 2008 the Cabbagetown BIA offered a mural to a local business and they declined, Number 9 stepped in and offered up the side of their building. Owner George Rondina worked with the artist, Ryan Dineen, to design the mural. Obviously he wanted the theme to reflect his business, but the trumpet was included for more personal reasons – it was the instrument his father always wanted to learn to play.

As a side note, Number 9 Audio Group is releasing a Christmas CD with proceeds going to support the Children’s Wish Foundation. If you need a few fresh new songs for your seasonal collection, check it out.