Poop power

 

Location: Rolling Mills Road

Date photo taken: 7 October 2020

When I first saw this post, it was the cute little cut-out of a dog at the top that caught my attention. The diagram on the front, with the words "Dog waste only", got me intrigued. It turns out these bright green pillars are an innovative new way to dispose of your pooch's poop and turn it into something positive. This pillar sits atop a concrete containment well sunk into the ground, where the poop is collected and kept safely contained. Out of the sun, the contents remain cooler and smell less. The bins are emptied regularly and the waste is delivered to a facility that converts it into energy. With approximately 230,000 dogs in Toronto according to the city's website, that amounts to a lot of energy potential. The condo development in the Canary District was the first in Toronto to have these collectors installed but it seems like such an elegant solution that I'm hopeful more will start popping up around the city. 

Laughter Solves Depression

 

Location: Noise barrier along the rail corridor, viewed from Sudbury just south of Queen St. W.

Date photo taken: 11 November 2021

This mural, encapsulated within a large letter S, is one small part of the gigantic mural that stretches along the sound barrier adjacent to the railway lines running through West Queen West and Liberty Village. While not that noticeable at street level, the wall is highly visible from the adjacent condos, and Urbancorp, developers in the neighbourhood, were responsible for keeping the space from becoming an eyesore. Attempts to cover the barrier in ivy met with little success and the wall was repeatedly and extensively tagged. The eventual solution was to accept that the wall was the perfect canvas and offer it up to street artists. Large blocky letters marked out in white primer, spelling out Toronto, Parkdale, West Queen West, and so on, provided over 50 street artists with individual canvases on which to contribute their own visions. If you want to learn more, a short documentary was created detailing the project. 

History of Yorkdale Mall

 

Location: Yorkdale Mall

Date photo taken: 9 December 2018

Yorkdale Shopping Centre, located at Highway 401 and Allen Road, opened in 1964. At the time, it was billed as the largest enclosed shopping mall in the world and it was definitely something new for Toronto. According to the Toronto Star, approximately 100,000 people visited on opening day. Since opening, the mall has consistently reinvented itself, having gone through four major renovations to date. On a visit not that long ago, I was delighted to discover that one of the interior hallways leading to the washroom facilities had been given over to a display of vintage photographs of the mall. A space that in many such facilities is overlooked and often bleak had been transformed into a gorgeous gallery celebrating the development of this cultural space. It was really interesting to study the archival images and then re-emerge into the modern mall and note the differences and similarities. Definitely worth a look on your next visit, even if you don't need the facilities.. And for those interested in urban development and the future of shopping malls, you might want to check out the ambitious redevelopment plans currently being put forth for Yorkdale and its surroundings.

Torrent at Redpath Refinery

 

Location: Redpath Refinery, Queens Quay at Jarvis

Date photo taken: 1 June 2022

Depending on where you live in Toronto, I think it's sometimes easy to forget that we're a waterfront city. And even if you're a fan of our waterfront, it's easy to forget that it was once dominated by shipping piers and industry. One of the few remaining remnants of this industrial past is the Redpath facility at the foot of Jarvis. According to their website, Redpath is Canada's oldest food company, in operation since 1854. The refinery on the lake front was opened in 1959 and the official opening ceremony was attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Today it receives regular shipments of raw sugar on ships such as this one. Did you know that there are websites that let you learn about and track ships like this? For example, this ship, which is the bulk carrier Torrent, was built in 2010 and sails under the flag of Cyprus. Before arriving in Toronto, its last marked location was Montreal, and before that, Brazil. Fascinating.

Fun fact: The green arm at the right of this image is a large claw which reaches into the hold and unloads the sugar. You can stand and watch it, and if the wind blows just right, you can actually smell the raw sugar. 

Bell Box - Long Branch Public Library

 

Location: Thirty Second Street at Lakeshore

Date photo taken: 10 July 2021 

Image #15 in the Bellbox Series

The mural on this Bell Box is an ode to books and to the Long Branch Public Library, which it sits just beside. This branch was opened on May 26, 1955 by the Village of Long Branch. In 1967 it was taken over by the Etobicoke Public Library Board when the Village amalgamated with the Township of Etobicoke, and in 1998 it became part of the Toronto Public Library system. The branch is home to the Long Branch Historical Society Local History Collection as well as a large collection of materials in Polish, and an art exhibition space. 

The mural is the work of Naz Nahidi and was painted as part of the Bell Box Murals Project in 2020.

Clandestinos on Sutton

 

Location: Sutton Avenue, east of Sackville

Date photo taken: 17 April 2021

This strikingly beautiful figure forms the left portion of a building length mural tucked away on Sutton Avenue. It's the work of Clandestinos, an artistic duo consisting of Bruno Smoky and Shalak Attack.

TRAFx post

 

Location: Tommy Thompson Park

Date photo taken: 8 May 2021

Where I work, May is Data & Analytics month. In honour of that, I present this post. This particular one is located in Tommy Thompson Park, but it is just one of many installed by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to collect usage data for their trails. The post contains a TRAFx trail counter. As the sign on the post is careful to point out, it doesn't contain a camera. What it does have is a special sensor designed to count people using the trail. The sensor works by detecting the infrared wavelength that people emit. So if you see a post like this the next time you're out enjoying one of Toronto's many trails (the city provides maps to help you find a trail near you), know that your presence has been noted.