183 Dovercourt -The Argyle Lofts

Location: Corner of Dovercourt Rd. and Argyle St.
Date photo taken: 19 April 2014

This beautiful building is known as the Argyle Lofts but once upon a time it was the home of the Ideal Bread Company. Built in 1919, each floor was specially designed to house a stage in the bread-making process. The third floor for example was where the baking of the bread took place and it had higher ceilings to accommodate the ovens.

According to the Heritage Toronto plaque on the side of the building "Montreal architect Sydney Comber designed this factory building in Edwardian Classical style... Window design is unique to each level and reflects the original separation - by factory floors - of the processes of bread production. In the final stage, bread wagons were loaded from the ground-level archways on Argyle Street."

The building ceased to operate as a bakery in 1957 and was used for various purposes before being converted to lofts in 2007. It was designated as a heritage property in 2003.

The Walking Red

Location: Outside The Wine Rack, Jarvis & King
Date photo taken: 7 April 2014

Red wine and The Walking Dead, two of my favourite things on one sign. How could I not love it? It certainly caught my eye but it wasn't the first chalk board to grab me at this location. Previously I was stopped dead in my tracks by Audrey Hepburn. These wine-related takes on popular culture are the work of Scott Lucescu, a Toronto-based illustrator who started doing these boards for The Wine Rack about 2 years ago. Check out his website to see the latest Walking Red board and more including Breakfast at Zinffany's and my favourite,Where the Wine Things Are.

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.

Kimono

Location: Textile Museum of Canada, 55 Centre Ave.
Date photo taken: 2 April 2014

The Textile Museum of Canada is currently showcasing a number of beautiful kimono as part of the exhibit 'From Geisha to Diva: The Kimonos of Ichimaru'. A number of special events have been organized in conjunction with this exhibit including a tea and chocolate tasting tomorrow night and an evening with a fashion historian. The exhibit was organized by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and can be seen here in Toronto until May 25.

Entry to this special exhibit is included with regular admission, which is $15. Wednesday nights are Pay-what-you-can from 5 - 8 pm.

Cherry Blossom Windows

 

Location: Bay Street at Richmond

Date photo taken: 28 March 2014

The temperature is finely starting to creep up and today it felt like spring. The snow is almost all gone, which while wonderful, has left the city looking very drab. The first of the flowers have not yet appeared to break up the monotony of the city’s browns and greys and it will probably be a while yet before our muddy parks start to look green. If you need a hit of colour to remind you of what’s coming, The Bay Queen Street store has a cherry blossom theme in their Bay Street windows. The incredible dresses in the display are beautifully colourful too. 

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.

Giant Panda

Location: Toronto Zoo

Date photo taken: 9 March 2014

There are lots of new things to see at the Toronto Zoo right now. There's a baby giraffe, a baby gorilla and of course Humphrey, the adorable polar bear cub. There is also Er Shun and Da Mao, two giant pandas on loan from China. Pandas are endangered and with less than 1600 animals currently living in the wild the study of captive pandas is considered crucial to ensuring their continued long term survival. Lots of different aspects of panda behaviour and care will be studied during their visit including nutrition and reproduction. The Toronto Zoo also prides itself on its behavioural enrichment programs - finding ways to positively stimulate captive animals and encourage behaviours which closely match wild ones - and they will be designing and conducting studies on enrichment activities for pandas. Er Shun and Da Mao will be in Toronto until 2018 when they will move west for a stay at the Calgary Zoo.