The Great Beaver Quest

 

Location: outside Fire Station 33, Front and Princess

Date photo taken: 21 May 2026

Are you ready for it? The beavers have their balls, and are in position. Let the Great Beaver Quest begin! In honour of FIFA World Cup coming to Toronto, Old Town Toronto and STEPs Public Art have placed 51 specially painted beavers around the neighbourhood, one for each country competing plus a few extras, and are challenging locals and visitors alike to find them. The more you find, the more you can win. Download the free Scavify app and join the quest to take part, or just enjoy the thrill of finding them as you explore the streets and visit the businesses of Old Town. 

This beaver represents New Zealand and was painted by Elizabeth Wise. 

Dizzy

 

Location: Draper Park, Draper Street

Date photo taken: 28 March 2026

If you spend any amount of time walking anywhere in Toronto, you'll know that we're a city that loves our dogs. It's not so easy to tell how we feel about cats. Although I would argue that that's starting to change. More and more often I see people out with their cats on a leash or in giant backpacks equipped with multiple large viewing bubbles. I've also begun to realize that more and more cats - or more specifically, odes to cats - are quietly turning up in public spaces. This sculpture is one such example. It sits just inside tiny, peaceful Draper Park, looking out at the street. The park was created by landscape architects Claude Cormier et Associés (now CCxA) as part of their work for The Well, the giant residential and retail complex that Draper Park connects to on its eastern edge. The cat is said to have been inspired by a local resident, Dizzy, that Cormier saw several times while visiting the site. 

Bellbox - On vacation

 

Location: Wellington Street at Niagara

Date photo taken: 11 November 2021

Image #18 in the Bellbox Series

This mural is for everyone dreaming of a sunny escape from this snowy February weather.  You can thank artist Steven Twigg and Community Matters, the non-profit that runs the Bell Box Murals Program.

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. 

Traffic Signal Box - Painted Ladies

Location: Dundas St. West at Wimbleton

Date photo taken: 25 June 2024

Image #21 in the Traffic Signal Box Series

I have to admit, I have no idea if these are Painted Lady butterflies. They could very well be American Ladies, which are similar, or something else entirely. Both Painted Ladies and American Ladies regularly migrate between Mexico and Ontario, and while most of the time neither are particularly plentiful here, every once in awhile they will arrive in great numbers. 

Slurry management

 

Location: Laneway north of Queen, between Munro and Hamilton

Date photo taken: 15 March 2023

I've said it before but I love it when murals thoughtfully work existing infrastructure into their narrative. In this case Emily May Rose has her raccoons monitoring the flow of what I can only assume is some form of deliciousness while also keeping an eye on the posted notices. The work was created in 2021 as part of Women Paint Riverside, a partnership between East End Arts, Women Paint, Native Women in the Arts and the Riverside BIA.

Pepper's Food & Drink

 

Location: 189 Wallace Avenue

Date photo taken: 23 October 2023

Painted in 2021, this mural can be found on the west side of Pepper's Food & Drink, a take out spot with hot comfort food to go plus Korean  prepared foods and a wide selection of Asian snacks and ramen. As for this toad, what's in store? A tasty treat or a shocking snack? I'm leaning toward the former. Armed with that bottle, I think this toad knows exactly what it's about to chomp down on. 

Jarvis Street Gargoyle

 

Location: Jarvis Street facade, Jarvis Street Baptist

Date photo taken: 17 March 2017

This is one of several dragon-like gargoyles stationed on the exterior of Jarvis Street Baptist, the large, brown-stone church at the corner of Jarvis and Gerrard. Built by the firm of Langley, Langley and Burke, it was originally constructed in 1875 and then rebuilt in 1938 following a devastating fire.

Bat Box

 

Location: Corktown Common

Date photo taken: 19 June 2023

Walking around the eastern side of the hill at Corktown Common this summer, I noticed several of these installations. They're called rocket boxes and they provide roosting habitat for bats. Did you know that eight species of bat call Ontario home? Or that four of those eight are considered endangered? Habitat loss is one aspect contributing to their demise and these boxes help to provide a solution. That said, not a lot is known about the roosting habits of particular bat species, but several organizations are working to change that. The Toronto Zoo and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority are two of them, working together to record and monitor bat populations and habits. The square box mounted lower on the pole contains a mesh screen which captures falling guano from the box, which can be analyzed to determine what types of bats are roosting inside. I'm not sure who is responsible for installing these particular boxes but I hope that they are well received by the locals, both bat and human alike.

To learn more about bats, check out this publication by the Toronto Zoo. In addition to general  information, plans for bat boxes, and some myth-busting, it includes some unexpectedly adorable bat portraits.

Traffic Signal Box - Birds

 

Location: Moore Avenue at Mount Pleasant

Date photo taken: 21 June 2023

Image #19 in the Traffic Signal Box Series

Here's another signal box brought to life by the City's Outside the Box program. It was painted in 2022 by Erin McCluskey, her third signal box for the program, although her work can also be found on Bell boxes, construction hoardings and other projects around the city.  

Purple cat

 

Location: Laneway near Davenport and Uxbridge

Date photo taken: 7 December 2022

For today, a splash of colour. This kitty is part of a larger wall featuring the work of three different artists. This is by Jieun (June) Kim and while this picture doesn't do the colours justice, it gives you an idea of her glorious, trippy style. 

Berry buddies

 

Location: Laneway north of Dundas, just west of McCaul

Date photo taken: 4 September 2018

I wanted something spring-like for this week and have opted for this mural by Sarah Cannon (@nightarcade). With the plucky mouse figure and its unlikely partner, it just makes me happy. It's yet another mural in the laneway transformed back in August 2018 by a WomxnPaintTO event.

Beware: red-winged blackbirds

 

Location: Corktown Common

Date photo taken: 12 October 2021

Living in Toronto, most of us have been conditioned to recognize robins as one of the early signs of spring. In terms of feathered harbingers of nicer weather to come, I would also put forward the red-winged blackbird. While perhaps less evenly distributed across the city than robins, they are very common in Southern Ontario and just as distinctive. If you spend any time in parklands that are near water, you have likely seen them. Their bright red epaulets make them highly visible, and they're pretty loud as well. If you hear one in the spring, I advise you to not to stare. As the sign above notes, "Birds may exhibit aggressive behaviour protecting their young." Showing too much interest may lead to a close encounter. As someone who has experienced this first hand, it's not an experience I care to repeat. If you hear a red-winged blackbird, especially in the spring, I suggest you try to remain as non-threatening as possible: stick to the path, keep moving and do not stare or actively search out the nest.  

Lapin

     

Location: Stackt Market, Bathurst Street

Date photo taken: 14 September 2019

It doesn't deliver chocolate eggs, but I thought this fellow was a pretty good stand in for the Easter Bunny. It's by Quebec artist Laurence Vallières who normally creates her largely animal-inspired sculptures out of cardboard. This particular one however was created with wood and the white corrugated plastic known as coroplaste, allowing it to stand up to both the elements and to its admirers. She originally created the work for the 2019 edition of Montreal's MURAL Festival, where it sat on the street, a glowingly bright white. The pink paint job was done when it was relocated to its new home in Toronto later that summer.

Heavenly Waters

Location: Queens Quay, west of Jarvis

Date photo taken: 30 August 2020

Starting in 1981 Robert Wyland began painting large scale murals, dubbed Whaling Walls, around the world. This is one of two that he created in Toronto, although the second one, at the ROM, is now listed as extinct. This one can be found on the north wall of the sugar shed at the Redpath Sugar plant on Toronto's shoreline. It was created in 1997 and it's a bit special in that it was co-signed by Robert Hunter, the Canadian environmentalist who co-founded Greenpeace and spent years campaigning against commercial whaling. 

Wolves of Bay Street

 

Location: Guild Park and Gardens

Date photo taken: 9 April 2022

These two howling wolves are the work of Canadian sculptor Jacobine Jones. Born in England, she  received classical training in London before making Canada home in 1932. Within a year of arriving she was working on architectural commissions as well as creating art in her own studio. This panel, which became known as the Wolves of Bay Street, was one of several she created for the Bank of Montreal's new building at the corner of King and Bay Streets. When the building was demolished less than 30 years later, the panels were salvaged and now sit, with many other old architectural elements, in the Guild Park and Gardens in Scarborough. 

Note: Some of Jones' work remains at the corner of King and Bay. Across the street from the Bank of Montreal sits the The Bank of Nova Scotia building. Inside the grand banking hall hangs a large sculptural mural by Jones, the largest in Canada at the time it was installed.

Barksy

 

Location: Berczy Park

Date photo taken: 4 December 2022

Berczy Park is always full of dogs, and for the holiday season, the Old Town Toronto BIA has added one more. This is Barksy, and he's taken up residence in the park. If you snap a photo with him and post it to social media you could win a $100 gift card to your favourite Old Town Toronto business. Ho ho ho! 

Black-capped chickadee

 

Location: Leslie Street

Date photo taken: 8 May 2021

The relatively new postal sorting station at the corner of Leslie and Commissioners is decorated down the length of Leslie Street with oversized versions of various stamps, all of which feature birds. This particular stamp is from the third and final release in the Birds of Canada series which was issued in 2018. At that time, a domestic stamp in Canada cost $0.85 if you bought it as part of a booklet. Thanks to the introduction of the "permanent" stamp concept in 2006, that same stamp, if you still had it in your drawer, would get your Christmas card mailed today, despite current rates sitting at $0.92. 

These stamps were designed by Mike Savage and the chickadee is the work of illustrator Keith Martin.

Lynx

 

Location: Sherbourne north of Lakeshore   

Date photo taken: 11 July 2022

I love stumbling across wildlife in the city, even when it's just a cut-out pasted to the wall. This lynx surprised me as I walked under the railway corridor north of Lakeshore on Sherbourne. A fisher with a fish clenched in its jaws is under there too. I have no idea who put them there or why. If you know, please leave a comment!

Update: Mystery solved!! This is part of the street art project known as Downtown Critters, and their website promises lots more to come.

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.