Mimico Creek, 1920

Location: Dundas St. W. at Cabot Court
Date photo taken: 30 October 2013
Image 18 in the Mural Series

This large mural is one of many in Toronto's "Village of Murals", located along Dundas St. W. between Kipling and Islington. It was painted by John Kuna in 2006 and it depicts typical fall activities along Mimico Creek in 1920. Mimico Creek is truly an urban waterway,originating in Brampton, then traveling through Mississauga and Toronto before emptying into Lake Ontario at beautiful Humber Bay Park. As might be expected, water quality is generally poor but the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority is working to change that. They provide programs such as workshops and guided walks within the watershed to help community members see how small changes can make big differences within the local environment.

Born This Way Mural

Location: Humber River Recreational Trail, where it passes under the 401
Date photo taken: 22 May 2015
Image 17 in the Mural Series

This is one small section of a long, beautiful mural painted this May by Essencia Art Collective. As the title suggests, the mural seeks to address discrimination based on sexual orientation and it is yet another legacy of the Pan Am games being hosted here. Like the vuducatz work featured a few weeks ago, it's located on the Pam Am Path, where the Humber River Recreation Trail passes under the 401, just south of Pine Point Park.

Nature Man

Location: Croft St.
Date photo taken: 29 August 2013
Image 16 in the Mural Series

Croft Street is one of Toronto's hidden treasures. While there are a few homes here, it's technically a lane so it's pretty quiet in terms of traffic. It's also a very colourful place thanks to the many garages which have been covered with murals. This is a detail from one of my favourites, and I thought that this cold snap in the dead of winter was a great time to share it. It was painted back in 2006 by Viviana Astudillo as part of a larger anti-graffiti program targeting Croft St. She was still a teenager at the time.

Senator Restaurant Mural

Location: South-facing wall of the Senator Restaurant, Victoria St south of Dundas
Date photo taken: 19 August 2014
Image 15 in the Mural Series

This large mural on the Senator Restaurant is a marketing piece that pre-dates Toronto's recent infatuation with civically-funded mural projects. It was painted by Bill Wrigley, who launched Wrigley Designs back in 1980. This mural was done in 1987, making it over 25 years old. It's stood up very well and I happen to think the overall weathering and muting of the colours suit the vintage design. If you want to see what it looked like back when it was freshly done, visit Wrigley's website.

Fowl Play

Location: On the west-facing wall of Birds and Beans Café, 2413 Lake Shore Blvd. W.
Date photo taken: 10 May 2014
Image 14 in the Mural Series

This mural is part of a project by Lakeshore Arts, in partnership with Mimico-by-the-Lake BIA and other partners, to bring some colour and beauty to their neighbourhood. Their proximity to the lake supplied the theme - all of their projects will feature water in some way. I love the unique vantage point chosen for this mural, and the feel of the underwater scene is beautifully rendered. The view of the goose -  or duck perhaps? - adds some whimsy. I love how the tree in foreground blends right in.

The mural was painted by artists Patrick Thompson and Alexa Hatanaka, and it is yet another mural project sponsored by StreetARToronto. It was unveiled in September 2013.

The Bluffs as Viewed by Elizabeth Simcoe, ca 1793

Location: Kingston Road, east of Sharpe Street
Date photo taken: 9 September 2013
Image 13 in the Mural Series

This picture represents about half of the mural that appears on the west side of the building at 2384 Kingston Road. Painted in 1992 by Risto Turunen, it shows Elizabeth Graves Simcoe in a small boat, viewing the Scarborough Bluffs, or the highlands of Toronto as they were then known. As the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, she took the opportunity to explore much of Upper and Lower Canada. With a keen eye she documented what she saw, creating hundreds of watercolours and keeping a diary, which has since been published. To learn more about this remarkable woman, visit Travels with Elizabeth Simcoe, an online exhibit by the Archives of Ontario.

This mural was painted as part of the Heritage Trail project which saw 12 murals relating to Scarborough history painted along Kingston Rd.

Elicser and His New Bathurst Street Mural

Location: East side of rail underpass on Bathurst, north of Dupont
Date photo taken: 7 July 2014
Image 12 in the Mural Series

Last year the railway underpass on Bathurst, just north of Dupont, got a lot more interesting. Street artist Elicser was selected to produce a mural on the west wall as part of the City of Toronto's StreetARToronto program (or StART for short). The program, which is part of the city's transportation division, provides funding for murals across the city with the dual goals of encouraging walking by making the city brighter and more pleasant, and reducing vandalism. Underpasses are a specific target as are traffic signal boxes but any public or private surface is eligible.

The 2013 mural is entitled We Built This City and includes imagery inspired by the neighbourhood, its businesses and residents. Now Elicser is back, painting the east wall of the underpass. Can't wait to see the final product!

Shadow Puppet Rabbit

Location: Bathurst Street, north of Davenport
Date photo taken: 10 April 2014
Image 11 in the Mural Series

This shadow puppet rabbit is one small part of a long thin mural that stretches up the west side of Bathurst Street from just north of Davenport to just shy of Burnside Drive. The mural was unveiled in November 2013 amid controversy, not over its content, which is largely whimsical and nostalgic, but because the City hired Faile, an artistic duo out of Brooklyn, to create it. Many felt that hiring out-of-town artists was a slap in the face to local talent. The City defended its decision in part by pointing out that we couldn't expect other cities to commission our artists if we weren't willing to do the same in return. Another aspect to the controversy was that despite having designed the mural, the execution was not done by Faile but by junior members of their team.

Paint Your Faith

Location: South west corner of Church and Shuter
Date photo taken: 3 February 2013
Image 10 in the Mural Series

This colourful mural is called Paint Your Faith. It is a project by WonderCafe which is affiliated with the United Church of Canada. It is a joint effort by four graffiti artists, two from California - Chor Boogie and Siloette, and two from right here in Toronto - Mediah and Elicser. It was unveiled in September 2009. Interviews with the artists and info about the project can be found on the project's website.

Uber5000 Mural - Victoria Park

Location: northeast corner of Kingston Road and Victoria Park Avenue
Date photo taken: 9 September 2013
Image 9 in the Mural Series

This is one small detail of a fabulous wrap around building-sized mural unveiled last summer at the corner of Victoria Park and Kingston Road. It was done by Toronto based artist Uber5000, aka Allan Ryan, and it was commissioned as part of the City's efforts to combat graffiti. Every bit of the mural is fun and whimsical but I love this part in particular for its clever incorporation of building infrastructure. In case it's difficult to make out in the picture, the artist has transformed some clunky hardware on the side of the building in to a large gold medallion.

Toboggan Hill Mural

Location: 5112 Dundas St. W.
Date photo taken: 17 April 2013
Image 8 in the Mural Series

This is another mural from the town of Islington, this one with a delightful winter scene. Set in the 1920s, it shows children enjoying a day of tobogganing behind Montgomery's Inn, and is based on a photograph from the Islington archives. The mural was painted by John Kuna in 2011.

Toronto's Tallest Mural - 200 Wellesley

  

Location: South side of 200 Wellesley, at Bleeker

Date photo taken: 20 October 2013

Image 7 in the Mural Series

This shot of colour on 200 Wellesley may just be the tallest mural in the world. At 32 storeys, the artists are hoping that it qualifies for a spot in the Guinness record book. A community project, the mural took 2 months to complete and was done with the help of lots of teenage artists under the direction of lead artist Sean Martindale. The upper portion of the mural, depicting a phoenix, was done by Jason Rouleau and Ryan Dineen of Toronto Muralists. The colourful phoenix was chosen as a fitting symbol for both the building, which suffered a six-alarm fire in 2010, and for the resilient spirit of the neighbourhood.

Autumn Foliage - Leventhal Mural

Location: Side of railway overpass, Macpherson Ave. west of Avenue Rd.
Date photo taken: 25 September 2013
Image 6 in the Mural Series

These beautiful fall trees are part of a much larger mural by Ian Leventhal located on the side of a railway overpass along Macpherson Avenue. After the surface was tagged several times, the neighbourhood took action. Local artist Celia Squires did some touch ups and the fixing of the mural became a community affair and point of pride.

Garage Raccoons

Location: Laneway between Markham and Bathurst streets
Date photo taken: 19 August 2013
Image 5 in the Mural Series

Detail of a mural painted on a garage door in one of Toronto's many laneways. It was painted by Annex Creative Services in the summer of 2011. The full mural features other examples of urban wildlife.

The Giant Storybook Project

Location: 1135 Dundas St. E., between Carlaw and Logan
Date photo taken: 1 May 2013
Image 4 in the Mural Series

This magical mural is part of a large international project by street art duo Herakut. Beginning in September 2012, they began painting murals in cities around the world, each introducing characters from a new children's book. This is the fifth mural, entitled Jay and His Creative Spirit. The text on the mural reads “Was it the most glorious or the most monstrous moment when Jay met his Creative Spirit?”

For more information about the project, check out their Facebook page, and check out this short video documenting the creation process of the Toronto mural.

Fishing in Mimico Creek Mural

Location: On an east-facing wall at 5096 Dundas St. W.
Date photo taken: 17 April 2013
Image 3 in the Mural Series

The area around Islington Avenue and Dundas Street West was once the Village of Islington, with the first permanent settlers arriving in the early 1800s. Today, the strip of Dundas between Montgomery Road and Kipling Avenue is the focus of the Village of Islington Business Improvement Area. They have chosen to tell the history of this corner of the city through a series of 20 murals, spaced along Dundas. This image is a portion of a mural entitled Fishing in Mimico Creek and was painted, like most of the other murals, by John Kuna.

If you want to learn more, visit the BIA’s website to find out about guided mural walks, or check out Heritage Toronto’s Islington Village iTour and let it lead you on a tour of the neighbourhood.

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.

Allan Gardens Temporary Mural

Location: Construction hoarding, south side of Allan Gardens. Detail from south side, along Gerrard St. E.
Date photo taken: 25 October 2012
Image 1 in the Mural Series

In January 2012, the south portion of Allan Gardens was fenced off to act as the main construction site for the city’s water main replacement project. As the site will remained fenced off until 2015, Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam pushed for the construction hoarding to be beautified. The result is the Nindinawemaaganidok / "All My Relations" Mural. Covering almost 220 meters, this wall is the work of 21 community artists and depicts local and national indigenous history. Funding for the project was provided by C&M McNally Engineering.

The artists: Natasha Naveau, Rosary Spence, Gwen Lane, Angela Malley, Judy Rheume, Gary M. Johnston, Amanda Murray, Rebecca Baird, Cotee Harper, Graham Curry, Briana Stone, Lyndsey Lickers-Nyle Johnston, Isaac Weber, Honey Smith, Shelby Rain McDonald, Paula Gonzalez-Ossa, Kalmplex, Adrion Corey Charles, Ron Razor and Steven Henderson.