Bank of Nova Scotia Mosaic

Location: formerly in the ABM vestibule of the bank at Queen Street East at Church

Date photo taken: 27 March 2018

I wonder how many people entering the former Scotiabank branch at the corner of Queen and Church stopped to admire this mosaic? Dating to approximately 1929, it's a beautifully detailed rendition of the bank's seal, which is made up of elements which reflect the bank's Maritime roots and the industries on which the early wealth of the region was based. These include a merchant sailing vessel, a codfish, and a plow with a sheaf of grain. The shield is surrounded here by thistles representing Nova Scotia's Scottish heritage. When the bank vacated the building in 2018, this seal was removed to ensure its long term preservation.

Concourse Building Entrance

Location: Adelaide St. W. at Sheppard St.

Date photo taken: 11 February 2018

This gorgeous entryway graces 100 Adelaide Street West, also known as the Concourse Building, which opened in 1928. Canadian artist and Group of Seven member J.E.H. MacDonald and his son, artist Thoreau MacDonald, designed the decorative elements of the building including the colourful mosaics which adorn the entrance. Depicting the four elements and various Canadian industries, these mosaics, along with the rest of the south and east facades, were retained when the rest of the building was demolished to make way for the new 40+ storey EY Tower.

Binoculars

Location: Teesdale Place near Pharmacy Avenue

Date photo taken: 27 February 2017

This mosaic is part of a larger community art project coordinated by Arts for Children and Youth in 2010 which enlivened the underground parking entrance and the walls of the basketball court adjacent to the Teesdale Community Centre in Scarborough. Local youths were hired to be arts leaders as the community helped with the construction of the mosaics. In addition to large projects like this one the group also holds community art days where they encourage passers-by to join them in the creation of small scale artworks. In this case participants were invited to create a small face on a peace of clay. Those small faces were later incorporated into the community murals.

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.