Over and above the photographic holdings at the City of Toronto Archives, the best representation of the changing nature of this city's streetscape over the last 30 years or so is surely the work of Patrick Cummins. A photographer with a keen eye for minor architectural details — be it alterations to signage or the makeshift renovations that tend to accompany a building's change in ownership — his images subtly capture the ebb and flow of our city's existence, right down to its weather and economy.

The TTC's new CEO, Andy Byford, is currently dealing with the first public relations crisis on his watch, and monitoring how he deals with it will likely tell us more about his management prowess than the types of soundbites we've heard at events like the unveiling of new washrooms at Finch Station. Distracted TTC operators — whether it be on account of texting or reading the newspaper — aren't anything new, but they pose a particular problem when you're trying to sell an image of the TTC in which customer service is priority number one.

One of the more rewarding posts that I've put together for our historical Toronto series highlighted vintage signage around the city. A hodgepodge of fonts and styles, these signs exemplified the more mom and pop nature of the city's business scene at the turn of the 20th century and into the 1970s. But, as photographers like Patrick Cummins have demonstrated so clearly, it's not as if such signage has just faded into oblivion altogether over the years. Much has been lost, to be sure, but if you care to look for it, there's plenty of unique signage that adorns the Toronto streetscape.

Spadina Avenue is long overdue for the visual history treatment on this site. Although it may not compare to Yonge in terms of importance and length or Jarvis in terms of (former) beauty, Spadina is one of those crucial thoroughfares around which the city developed as it pushed west from the area around the St. Lawrence Market. Whether on account of its proximity to Casa Loma, the dominant presence of Knox College, the public lavatory at Queen St., or just the wide expanse it cuts through the heart of the city, Spadina is one of those streets for which we have lots of archival photos.

The work that Hariri Pontarini Architects have done in restoring the Bloor Cinema — now known as the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema — was already impressive, but today the project feels almost complete with the installation of the pièce de résistance: a deco-inspired marquee that reaffirms the theatre's importance at Bathurst and Bloor.

In case there was any doubt that Mayor Rob Ford could somehow manage to derail plans for an LRT network in Toronto — you know, that project we used to call Transit City — a report released by Metrolinx today makes it clear that the provincial transit agency is on board with the wishes of city council.