Hugman

 

Location: The PATH, Exchange Tower

Date photo taken: 8 September 2024

If you've been in the Financial District in the last few weeks, you might have noticed a bit of a quiet invasion. Scattered inside and out, across several properties, are a number of Hugman sculptures. These crude human figures, which range from pint-sized to roughly adult height, are the work of Nathan Sawaya, an American artist, and they are made completely out of Lego. What started out as a street art project in New York has now spread to cities around the world. Brookfield Properties is responsible for bringing Hugman to Canada, first to Calgary, and now most recently, to Toronto. While to some eyes the tree-hugging stance may evoke thoughts of protest, Hugman just likes to hug. According to signage, the series was inspired by the simple idea of embracing others. 

Pigeon tracks

 

Location: Front Street East

Date photo taken: 28 November 2013

This week, a bit of unpremeditated street art. It may be hard to make out in this photo, but this section of freshly poured sidewalk features the meandering tracks of one or more pigeons. Curious as to how quickly a pigeon would have to arrive on scene to leave its mark like this, I was surprised to be told it would have to be within a few hours at most. Depending on conditions, a full-grown person can walk on concrete poured as little as 24 hours ago and not leave a mark. 

Tentacles

 

Location: Bremner Blvd.

Date photo taken: 1 July 2021

It made me smile when I spotted this on the pavement outside the Ripley's Aquarium. I think this is actually a film that's been applied to the ground, but it reminded me a bit of the sweet little chalk drawings that David Zinn creates. Unfortunately he lives in Michigan, but that's not that far - I live in hope that he'll visit Toronto one day. 

Tetris

Location: Yonge Street
Date photo taken: 23 February 2017

A not great picture of a simple but oh so awesome window treatment on Yonge Street, posted to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of Tetris. Crazy! Yes, it was originally released in June 1984. This window belongs to the Riddle Room, a game cafe which also offers 4 different escape room experiences.

Happy Garbage Bin

Location: St. Lawrence neighbourhood

Date photo taken: 20 September 2018

I love subtle upgrades like this one. Unobtrusive and fun. 

Beach (2793 km)

Location: Toronto Scupture Garden, King & Church

Date photo taken: 4 March 2019

Earlier this week I was walking and scolding myself for not dressing warmly enough when I encountered this message. It stopped me in my tracks. It was created, as far as I could tell, out of simply ice and snow. If it had contained a QR code for a travel agency, I'd probably be on a plane right now. I wonder which beach I'd end up on? 

Flower Hearts

Location: Maclean Avenue
Date photo taken: 1 May 2013

I'm going to guess that these charming hearts are long gone but they sure brightened my day when I spotted them on the base of the street lamp posts along Maclean Avenue years ago. Happy Valentine's Day!

The Reds

Location: Mattamy Athletic Centre, Carlton and Church

Date photo taken: 29 January 2017

Back in January 2010, the historic Maple Leaf Gardens building at the corner of Carlton and Church was gutted in preparation for its transformation. While the Loblaws store on the main floor was the first thing to open, the majority of the building would remain dedicated to sports, becoming the new athletic centre for Ryerson University. During the process, certain key elements of the building's history were retained and incorporated into the new development. Some, like the marquee on Carlton Street, are obvious. Others are more like Easter eggs, there for those who take the time to look. High up on the Carlton Street wall, above the main lobby and next to the elevator bank, is this row of original red stadium seats.

The Mattamy Athletic Centre is open to the public most days between 6 am and 10 pm. They also host free community skate days about once per month. The next one is being held on Family Day, from 1 to 4 pm.

Birds

Location: Gerrard Street East

Date photo taken: 20 February 2016

When I first walked by this house on Gerrard, I thought "How nice, two birds sunning themselves on this cold winter day". I was almost right. A second look revealed that the birds were actually small figurines. I can't decide if that's even more charming than the real thing.

The Bat Signal

Location: Yonge and Eglinton
Date photo taken: 19 April 2016

Spending time at Yonge and Eglinton recently I was in awe of the number of sites either currently or soon-to-be under construction. The building boom in Toronto doesn't seem to be slowing down. I took a look at the city's planning applications site and 141 new applications have been submitted to the city in the last 180 days. That seems crazy!

With all of the construction happening, it's nice when the sites offer you up a nice little surprise. Those working on the future site of eCondo right at the corner of Yonge and Eglinton have injected a little fun into their workplace, painting their crane's hook block with the Batman symbol. I also noticed that the crane's working arm is strung with Christmas lights but I haven't been around at night to see if they are turned on. Perhaps that's purely a seasonal thing.

If you want to learn more about cranes - like how they manage to stay upright when they shift all that weight - there's a great page on them on the Science - How Stuff Works website.

Is it friendly?

Location: Victor Avenue
Date photo taken: 14 March 2015

Seeing this hand reaching out from the grate in the sidewalk gave me a start at first, but I quickly decided it was a friendly hand. What you can't see is that it's reaching out toward another green hand extended from another grate further down the sidewalk. I feel like if I dropped my keys down that grate, whatever this hand is attached to would retrieve them for me.

Walk Here

Location: In the sidewalk, Bloor St. W. at Brock Ave.
Date photo taken: 9 June 2014

This little bit of sparkle in the sidewalk is part of a street art project initiated by the Bloordale community called the Walk Here Bloordale Community Garden. Local residents were invited to a drawing workshop where they were encouraged to think about the many ways that flowers pop up in our lives, then to draw a flower that reminded them of a time when they either gave or received a flower. One hundred of these drawings were transformed into small stainless steel sculptures by artist Dyan Marie which were then embedded in the sidewalk along Bloor Street when the city re-paved it in 2013. This is a great example of how a local Business Improvement Area can work with city services to positively influence their neighbourhood.

The Bloordale BIA formed in 1976 and their mandate is: Improving the atmosphere, appearance and the economic viability of Bloordale, Bloor Street from Dufferin Street to Lansdowne Avenue. Coming up on July 19 - 20, they are presenting the BIG on Bloor Festival.

Ogre and Friend

Location: just off Brimley Road South
Date photo taken: 5 September 2013

I don't know anything about these guys except that I love them. I discovered them on the back of a concrete divider, one of two blocking the entrance to a disused road running off of Brimley Road South just up the hill from Bluffer's Park. If you know anything about them, please leave a comment!

Bugs!

Location: The Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. w.
Date photo taken: 22 January 2014

The venerable Royal Alex Theatre seems to have a bit of a bug problem. Despite the chilly weather currently plaguing the city, two over-sized insects have taken up residence on the outside of this heritage theatre. They are there as part of the publicity for the new adaptation of Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, in which one family's life is thrown into turmoil when their son wakes up to find himself transformed into a gigantic insect. The play is running until March 9th. Who knows how long the critters will stick around?

Giant Goldfish

Location: Pond at Riverdale Farm
Date photo taken: 25 October 2012

When the ponds at Riverdale Farm were covered with green algae in the summer, I noticed that something underneath was coming to the surface and eating, or breathing, or something. I was intrigued. With cooler weather, the pond cleared, and one day while searching for movement, I saw this guy. I’m guessing it’s a released pet goldfish, grown large in the relative freedom of the pond.