Canadian Artist of the Day

 Frederick H. Varley. "Sunflower Girl". 1921

Tuesday Treasures

 Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

Travel Tuesday

Image-in-ing

My Corner of the World

Postcards

August 2022 - Toronto ON

In 1869, Timothy Eaton sold his interest in a small dry-goods store in the market town of St. Mary's, Ontario, and he bought a dry-goods and haberdashery business at 178 Yonge Street in the city of Toronto. Click here to see the plaque on the original store in St. Mary's, we visited last month.

Pictured above is Eaton's main store, Eaton's Annex, mail order and factory buildings.

Construction began on the retail gem of T. Eaton Co. Limited in 1928 and was completed in 1930. Their Furniture and House Furnishings headquarters were designed by the architectural firms of Ross & Macdonald and Sproatt & Rolph. 

Also, a department store with “wearables and accessories,” the building originally extended from Yonge at Hayter Sts, through to College and Bay Sts. It was supposed to be a much taller building; however, due to the Great Depression, it was scaled back to 7 floors.

1930 – Looking northwest from Yonge St towards the construction of the Eaton’s College Street store. Notice Hayter St once intersected with Yonge St (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1266, Item 19440)

The Art Deco exterior of Eaton’s College Street is clad with ivory-coloured Tyndall limestone with accents of granite and stone carvings. There’s also Monel metal trim (a corrosion-resistant nickel and copper alloy) along with the door and window frames. The interior shopping concourse and elevator arcade were designed by Eaton’s own Interior Design Director, Rene Cera, and feature marble and granite.

Construction was blocking me getting a straight on shot.

Lady Eaton wanted to bring world-class culture to Toronto. She commissioned French architect Jacque Carlu to design the Seventh Floor. Along with Rene Cera, they designed the Eaton’s Auditorium, a 1300-seat concert hall, a restaurant called the Round Room and the foyer. Today, this grand event space is called The Carlu and is a National Historic Site of Canada. Click on the link to The Carlu to see the interior.

In 1973, Eaton’s College Street was one of the 490 buildings on Heritage Toronto’s initial induction list. When the CF Toronto Eaton Centre opened in ‪1977, the College Street‬ store closed, and the property was sold. The portion of the store that was located on the southeast corner of College St and Bay St was demolished for an office tower.

Today, the historic structure is called College Park. It’s a retail and office complex with residential space added to the building’s southern portion.

In 1905, Timothy Eaton, the department store’s founder, started the Santa Claus Parade. What began as a publicity stunt has become a celebrated Toronto tradition for over 115 years.

The first escalator in Toronto (and Canada), a wooden "traveling stair," was installed at the T. Eaton Co. store on Queen Street West 106 years ago. It was the first time shoppers could be automatically ferried between floors without having to ride an elevator.

Image from BlogTO.

1929 – Looking north up Yonge St with the construction of the Eaton’s College Street store on the left. Notice Oddfellows Hall and the clock tower of Fire Hall No. 3/St Charles Tavern in the background (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 16, Series 71, Item 7442)

My shot last week - August 2022. Oddfellows Hall and the clock tower of Fire Hall No.3 are still there.

That is the construction that was in my way. As part of the TTC’s commitment to safety and modernization, College Station (Line 1) will be getting a new second exit/entrance, and elevators to improve customer safety, accessibility and convenience.

This photo was taken in 2018 looking south on Yonge St.

This photo taken in 2013 shows the clock tower more clearly.

1950 – Looking northwest from Yonge St towards the Eaton’s College Street store. Notice Hayter St once intersected with Yonge St (City of Toronto Archives, Series 574, File 16, ID 49357)

My photo August 2022

UPDATE - just came across this photo.

Signs 2

 Joining Tom at Signs2.

Random-osity

Wordless Wednesday Wordless Be There 2day

August 2022 - Toronto ON

Along Queen St. W last week. Click here to see lots more photos including the costumes from Fan Expo.

T for Tuesday

 T Stands For is hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard

August 2022 - Toronto ON

From my wanders on Queen St. West and Yonge St. last week. Click here to see lots more photos including the costumes from Fan Expo.

Queen St. West - I thought this was perfect.

Window of Cocktail Emporium

At Yonge and College.

Canadian Artist of the Day

Lake Huron No. 1

Jack Chambers 1970–1971

Monday Mural

 I'm linking up at Monday Mural

August 2022 - Toronto ON

“We Are Nurses — We Answer the Call,” a public awareness campaign reminding Canadians of the enormous contribution—and sacrifices—made by the country’s nurses during the pandemic.

Designed by the artist collective Oneday Creates—which describes itself as “a creative team finding unique ways to deliver impactful messages and connect with the public across a variety of mediums”—the 28-storey mural depicts four nurses looking out over the city. It also features a QR code that launches an augmented reality component that brings the nurses to life via voiceovers and links to stories from the front lines of Canadian healthcare. Scanning the code also takes viewers to a dedicated landing page at WeAreNurses.ca.

MURAL UPDATE

August 2022

At Queen St. West and Ossington - I took this photo in 2017 and posted it here. I went by August 2022 and the mural and building are gone. I do remember seeing it in either 2020 or 2021.

August 2022 - Queen St. West and Lisgar - Also on the same trip this was painted over.

I had posted it here in 2019.

Canadian Artist of the Day

Glenn Priestley. "Yardsale". 2003

One Word Sunday - STRAIGHT

 One Word Sunday

Death Valley CA

Canadian Artist of the Day

Anne Savage. "Canoe Fantasy"

Breakfast at the Rex

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

Sunday Post

Queen St. W Toronto

I forgot to mention that last Friday while I was waiting for the bus the lawn was full of robins! Yes, that is the construction in the background where they are working on the loading dock driveway. Normally the bus would pull in there to pick passengers up but we are using the main gateway instead.

 Saturday was our lazy day. I watched a couple episodes of Great British Bake Off, Grantchester and John watched golf. We both did some online window shopping.

Sunday laundry had to be done. 

John went downstairs to use the golf simulator. I cut a plant back and rooted some of it. I also had some plants rooting so I planted them. I took the bolting basil and rosemary off the balcony and potted for indoors.

This was too leggy so I cut it back and put the cuttings in water to root.

This was the top of the large floppy one I threw out, it is almost ready to plant.

We finally got rid of that bag on the balcony with an old plant in it.

Monday was a rainy day with no plans (because of the rain)!

We reviewed our Newfoundland Labrador itinerary and made the last reservations required until we leave Newfoundland.

Click here if you missed last Monday's mural at Dundas Square.

And click here to see two large gorgeous murals I also found last week!!

Last week's Tuesday Treasures was also from my Queen St. W walk.

This week's T for Tuesday featured some adult refreshments we had sampled.

John booked the simulator and I finally went down to see it (and mail a package).

I went to the drug store, $ store, Winners and Longo's for this and that.

Wednesday John golfed and he took this photo as he waited at a light in Mississauga. On a clear day we can see them from our condo looking west. This is affectionately known as the Marilyn Monroe building due to its curves. It is a residential condominium twin tower skyscraper complex in the five-tower Absolute City Centre development, The larger of the two towers twists 209 degrees from the base to the top, making it very similar to Turning Torso in Malmö, Sweden, Currently you can buy a 2 bed 1 bath about 750 square foot for about $580,000. A good price outside the city of Toronto.

 I wandered up to College Park to get some photos for some other posts.

I'd never heard of the Polaris Music Prize - this from the 2020 competition.

The Polaris Music Prize awards $50,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration for genre or record sales. Additionally, the nine other nominated acts whose albums make the 2020 Short List will receive $3,000 each courtesy of Slaight Music.

Backxwash – God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It - was on the short list.

If you look closely at the red sandstone building (Oddfellows Hall) they are filming Orphan Black:Echoes. 

College and Church

Church St.

Gold sneakers on Dundas E.

Happened to hear the helicopter on the hospital roof and it suddenly lifted.

Waiting for the bus.

Thursday I spent a few hours at a friend's place setting up Zoom on her laptop and then teaching her how to use it. I also did some other computer tasks for her.

Friday John golfed. I took the streetcar to Queen St. West to find a mural I had spotted but was busy with my phone so I missed it. Instead I got off at Dufferin and strolled along, spotted a few new murals along with other stuff.

Gladstone Hotel 1889, is Toronto's oldest continuously running hotel, named after the British prime minister.

I cannot believe that Curry's Art is no longer there. It closed August 15.

Drake's Hotel.

I stopped here for lunch and should have had the chicken, instead, I chose poutine, which wasn't very good.

The green space on CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) property adjacent to Shaw Street provides a place for patients to access nature as part their recovery and a meeting ground where the West Queen West neighbourhood interacts daily with the CAMH community.

As part of Queen Street Redevelopment, they made some improvements to this green space, recently renamed TD Commons.

It is also home to the White Squirrel sculpture!
 

It had started out grey and cloudy but then this.

New flower shop across from Trinity Bellwoods.

On the same block is The Paper Place with TYPE,a bookstore as a neighbour.

Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church

I also spotted another mural being painted! She is the artist, I'm not sure who she is.

Terrible picture, but the story is, I was going to kill time in the Royal York Hotel lobby, when she appeared, reminding me that Fan Expo was on! So I headed over to check out the costumes. I skipped the 2 PM bus and caught the 2:45 instead.

Here she is again. 

Thousands of comic book fans, anime viewers, film enthusiasts and cosplayers are in Toronto for the annual Fan Expo Canada convention — the first in two years without COVID-19 restrictions.

There was a table at the Convention Centre entrance to "check your props".

Click here to see the celebrities that will be in attendance.

No, I have no idea who she is supposed to be...

Check out Mom and her boys.

They were busy gushing over each other's costumes.

Along with the Fan Expo attendees, there were Blue Jay fans heading to the stadium, lots of tourists going to/from the aquarium and CN Tower,and the Haribo bear was handing out samples. It is a busy place!

A family affair!

Taken from the bus as we turn the corner at Front and York.

 IN THE NEWS

Back to last week's news story about a Bell Media exec asking "who approved letting her hair go grey" regarding the hiring of news anchor Lisa LaFlamme, Dove Canada has released an ad campaign #KeepTheGrey!

Wendy's (burger chain) went grey as well. Her hair is normally red.

This cartoon was published.

AND THIS!!!

"Sports Illustrated Swimsuit" joins greying list of brands supporting Lisa LaFlamme“

We’re going grey with [Dove] in support of women aging confidently on their own terms,” tweeted the magazine on Thursday. “We were so proud to feature @mayemuskon our May ’22 swimsuit cover — living proof that beauty only gets better with age.”

Unfortunately she is Elon Musk's mother.

AND THE LATEST!

Michael Melling, has gone on leave from his role as the head of CTV News after anchor Lisa LaFlamme's sudden departure from the network's newscast caused an uproar. (Michael Melling/Linkedin, George Pimentel/The Canadian Press)

He was her boss and the one who said "who approved Lisa going grey?".

COOKING

I'm trying to use what we have in the house as we are going away for the month of September.

Saturday - Chinese curry chicken - John will never say no to this. We had focaccia with it.

Sunday - finished the last of the short ribs in a slow cooker stew. Leftovers were lunch on Wednesday.

Monday - made meat sauce for spaghetti and focaccia.

Tuesday - lamb doner kababs with pitas and red onions, tomatoes, hot sauce and tzatziki. I used pork instead as there was NO lamb in the store, so strange as they usually have a selection. The pork was not as tasty as lamb.

Wednesday haddock (last in freezer) fish cakes with Thai red curry paste, red onions, jalapeno with tzatziki and Caesar salad.

Thursday chicken tenders and salad.

Friday steak green peppers onions and beets.

WATCHING

Darkness Falls - Anderson Falls rated one star from RogerEbert.com.

Runaway Jury 2003 American legal thriller film based on the John Grisham book that we both read years ago.

We watched Industry, a television drama series.
Industry "follows a group of young graduates competing for a limited set of permanent positions at Pierpoint & Co, a prestigious investment bank in London".
The initial season explores graduates from all walks of life as they compete for Pierpoint's limited number of available full-time employment opportunities. The graduates include Harper Stern, a Black upstate New York native who uproots her life in pursuit of success at Pierpoint's London branch, despite having lied about the university from which she graduated; Hari Dhar, a state-school graduate and child of Hindi-speaking immigrants; Augustus "Gus" Sackey, a gay Black British graduate of Eton and Oxford; Robert Spearing, a white working-class Oxford graduate who is eager to please but taken by surprise by the change in social mores concomitant with high finance; and Yasmin Kara-Hanani, a privileged, well-connected child of Syrian parents with an underachieving, drug-addled boyfriend.

READING

Another week of little reading. I am slogging along with This Might Hurt. I struggled at the beginning with how many narrators there were, as did many reviewers. It is a typical cult story but I am curious about the outcome.