Primrose

 

Location: Bay north of St. Joseph

Date photo taken: 28 March 2022

You are loved, Donkey! Get well soon

That's one of the many messages that have been written on the casts of this adorable donkey sculpture in Clover Hill Park. At first I wondered if the casts had been added as a prank, but no. Canadian artist Myfanwy MacLeod took inspiration from a real live foal named Primrose who was outfitted with pink casts to help her underdeveloped legs form properly. Cast in bronze, and larger than life, the donkey is a playful send-up of the traditional equestrian monument. This work was commissioned by the City of Toronto, selected via a competition led by the City's Economic Development and Culture division, and financed through Section 37 funding. 

Louis B. Stewart Observatory

Location: Hart House Circle

Date photo taken: 16 February 2017

The Louis B. Stewart Observatory, located in Hart House Circle and home to the University of Toronto's Students' Union, used to be something very different. It even used to be somewhere different. The Royal Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory, considered to be the birthplace of Canadian astronomy, was first built in 1840. Measurements taken there helped determine that sunspots caused fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field. At the time, it was located to the west of its present spot, close to where Convocation Hall now stands. In 1855 the log building was replaced by this more solid structure, but as early as the 1890s, development around the site was rendering it unsuitable for its original purpose. The use of metal for streetcar tracks and in the construction of modern buildings was interfering with the magnetic instruments, and light pollution eventually posed separate challenges. In 1907 the telescope housed under the dome was moved and the building was donated to the university. It was subsequently torn down but thanks to the efforts of Louis B. Stewart, it was reconstructed in its present location. It would provide a home for a number of different functions over the next 45 years before becoming the home of the Students' Union. 

In this photo the dome is painted to resemble a Poke ball. It has become a tradition to re-paint the dome under cover of night. Other treatments include a rainbow, a mushroom from the Mario video games, and a storm trooper helmet. 

255 McCaul

Location: 255 McCaul Street

Date photo taken: 4 September 2018

255 McCaul is large building built by the Toronto Board of Education in 1931 to act as its supply warehouse. It was designed by C.E. Cyril Dyson, the Board’s Chief Architect and the man responsible for such iconic Toronto schools as Jarvis Collegiate and Northern Secondary. The building still serves education, acting now as the Exam Centre for the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus. Completely retrofitted in 2008, the building was the university’s first LEED Gold building. It uses roughly 60 percent less water and 30 per cent less electricity than a typical building, despite its age. It accomplishes this in part through two large cisterns in the basement which collect water for flushing toilets and a large solar array on the roof. The building’s green attitude is brought to life by the living wall in the lobby.

Zen West

Location: St. Michael's College grounds, NW corner of Bay and St. Joseph St.
Date photo taken: 24 September 2013

This precarious looking sculpture is the work of Kosso Eloul. It was created as an edition of two, and its twin can be found in Tokyo, Japan. While simplicity and geometry are hallmarks of his work, this  idea of duality is one that he also acknowledges as an influence. "In Canada, every outdoor sculpture is a twin. I am keenly aware of this duality. I study it and count on it when I conceive my works... It's solid, it's there, but it's never the same. Not only does it change moods with that of the viewer, but it also changes appearance with the passing of the day, the changing shadows.... And so, my sculptures have a distinct and refreshingly different personality, a different meaning in the white of winter to that of the colours of summer." Quote from "Celebrating With Sculpture", a 1991 exhibit catalogue.

Stormtrooper

Location: University of Toronto Student Union Building, Hart House Circle
Date photo taken: 10 November 2017

Each year the dome of the Student Union Building in Hart House Circle is given a fresh, often whimsical new paint job. This is not a scheduled or even officially sanctioned bit of maintenance, but rather a clandestine operation carried out at night by a group of Engineering students referred to as the BFC. Their motto is Disrupto Ergo Sum and they engage in "seemingly random acts of happenstance, mystery, and s(h)neaky shenanigans". Past designs have included a Pokemon ball, a pumpkin, and R2-D2.

Zoo Woods

Location: St. George south of Harbord

Date photo taken: 6 May 2016

Walking along St. George Street, thru the heart of the University of Toronto's downtown campus, you pass this small, wild looking patch of green. This is Zoo Woods, a project undertaken in 1994 by the Zoology Landscape Committee to recreate the Beech-Maple forest environment that once predominated in this part of southern Ontario. Many of the plants here were rescued from the Altona Forest, a remnant of the beech-maple forest within the GTA which was cleared in 1994 to build a subdivision. With increased interest in fostering native species and increasing biodiversity within urban areas, learning spaces like this one can play an important role. To see what the space looked like prior to the project, or to download a map of the woods, check out the Zoo Woods webpage.

Rock Garden

Location: Huron Street, north of Russell, University of Toronto

Date photo taken: 21 October 2015

Parked in the grass along Huron Street is an eclectic collection of boulders. Despite their size and proximity to the sidewalk it's easy to pass by them without a second glance. If you do look a little more carefully however you'll notice that the rocks have small plaques affixed to them, identifying just what type of rock you're looking at, where it came from and how old it is. In all, this urban rock garden contains 19 specimens from around Ontario.

Mooseconstrue

Location: University of Toronto campus, at the corner of St. George and Harbord Streets
Date photo taken: 14 July 2011

This moose silhouette is one of many moose-themed art pieces by Canadian artist Charles Pachter. It's fabricated from corten steel, otherwise known as weathering steel, which does not require painting and forms a stable rust-like appearance when exposed to the elements. The steel from which this piece was cut is also on campus, forming a companion piece entitled Moosedemeanour. Both pieces were donated to the school by Pachter, a former alumni. He also donated a number of his letters and documents to the school's Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.

Norman Bethune

Location: Queen's Park Crescent W. just north of College
Date photo taken: 8 July 2014

This statue, located on the paths leading to the University of Toronto Medical Sciences Building, is relatively new. It was unveiled at the end of May and pays tribute to Canadian physician, humanitarian, and U of T alumni, Norman Bethune. This year marks the 75th anniversary of his death and this statue is part of the university's Bethune Legacy Celebration.

Bethune is depicted wearing traditional Chinese clothing and a stethoscope, which recalls his time spent in China training their medical practitioners and treating the sick and wounded during the Second Sino-Japanese war. This statue, and other Legacy iniatives, were funded through a donation from two Chinese businessmen, Zhang Bin and Niu Gensheng. The sculpture was created by Toronto sculptor David Pellettier.

Literary note: Norman Bethune and his mobile blood banks make an appearance in Matadora, a recent book by Toronto author Elizabeth Ruth.