June 2017 - Toronto ON
Elicser Elliott “Tona as Marty McFly Disappearing Photos”
Floating man, floating down the river with an photo from the past clutched in his hand.
This is now hidden behind scaffolding and fencing for another construction project at Queen St. W and Soho. I was lucky that the gate was ajar.
I had set out to find this mural of David Suzuki on a street called Bulwer. It rang a bell and when googled I realized I had walked past it last week while on Spadina in Chinatown.
Intrigued by the name I found the following at the Historic Toronto site.
Bulwer is a short avenue, located one block north of Queen Street West, between Soho Street and Spadina Avenue. In the nineteenth century it was named Maple Lane and was where families maintained small homes. It was an ideal location as the street was close to the commercial shops of Spadina Avenue as well as those on Queen Street. The Spadina and Queen Street streetcars were close, so it was easy for the residents to travel to work anywhere throughout the downtown area.
The name Maple Lane disappeared in 1878, when they renamed the it Bulwer Street. It was likely named after the English statesman and author Edward George, Earl Lytton, secretaries for the colonies 1858-1859. He wrote many popular novels between the years 1827-1873 under the name Bulwer-Lytton. The name Bulwer may have carried more prestige, but the name “Maple Lane” was more charming.
David Suzuki painted by Kevin Ledo. June 2016, A Love Letter to the Great Lakes project, with Pangea Seed, Toronto, Canada. Exterior mural: “David Suzuki with Atlantic Salmon” 26’×64’
Bulwer St. Off Spadina north of Queen St.
Unfortunately there has been some tagging done.
David Takayoshi Suzuki, CC, geneticist, broadcaster, environmental activist (born 24 March 1936 in Vancouver, BC). A Canadian of Japanese parentage, Suzuki was interned with his family during the Second World War. He is known for his career as a broadcaster (including the CBC TV series The Nature of Things) as well as his work as an environmental activist.
Just west of Suzuki is this unsigned mural. So much detail!
