blogTO | Posts by Derek

Doors Open Toronto 2012

Derek Flack — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:15:35 EDT

The Doors Open Festival is back for 2012 this weekend, offering the public access to many spaces throughout Toronto that are typically hidden from view or restricted in some manner. Now entering its 12th year, the event has never been more popular — which is great from a civic interest standpoint, but not so good for those who despise line-ups. To avoid spending an exorbitant time waiting around to get into places, one needs to prioritize which buildings he or she most wants to see and arrive at them early.

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What Ossington Avenue used to look like in Toronto

Derek Flack — Wed, 23 May 2012 07:46:24 EDT

Ossington Avenue used to have many names. Perhaps most notably (and confusingly) the stretch that now runs between Dundas and Queen West was itself known as Dundas Street until it was renamed in the early 20th century. According to the Toronto Archives, other streets eaten up by Ossington over the years include "Denison Street (By-Law No. 1115, 1881), Lancaster Road (By-Law No. 5470, 1910)... and Dundurn Avenue (Registered Plan T4395, 1924)." At one point Ossington also extended up to St. Clair, though that portion of the street was later renamed Winona Drive.

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Iconic West Queen West mural needs a new home

Derek Flack — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:44:00 EDT

It's been a fixture on West Queen West since 2009. Serving as the exterior facade at 1042 Queen West, the mural of a boy biting into a fish has brought a welcome dose of colour to a slightly tired stretch of the street for the last three years or so. And now it's on the move.

The Grid reported back in March that both the building at which the mural is placed and its neighbour to the east were sold to a single investor who plans on combining the properties. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the mural doesn't factor into the redevelopment scheme. It was, after all, intended primarily to cover up the worn exterior of an old printshop that had sat vacant for years.

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Chief Bill Blair issues statement about G20 policing

Derek Flack — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:07:26 EDT

What a week! First Rob Ford defied expectations by showing up at PFLAG's rainbow flag raising event at City Hall yesterday and today Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair has acknowledged that "there were things that were not done well" at the G20. As far as the latter goes, today's statement from Blair is carefully crafted to praise the TPS more than knock it, but has just enough of a remorseful tone to quiet some of the criticism directed towards him upon the release of yesterday's report from Office of the Independent Police Review Director.

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Rob Ford makes surprise appearance at PFLAG event

Derek Flack — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:57:46 EDT

Although he had previously indicated that he would not attend today's flag raising ceremony to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia at City Hall, Rob Ford unexpectedly sauntered onto the roof shortly after 12:30 p.m. to take part in the event. And, yes, in case anyone was wondering, the reception was unanimously positive as the mayor received multiple rounds of applause, first upon arrival and later when he read a proclamation decrying homophobia on the part of the City.

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A trip to the gas station in Toronto was once pure joy

Derek Flack — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:49:24 EDT

One of Toronto's stranger relics from the 1930s, the last remaining Joy Oil gas station is back in the news — though sadly only because there still isn't anything to report about what will ultimately become of the building. The Post's Peter Kuitenbrouwer outlines the predictable but frustrating bureaucratic process that's left the quirky landmark on Lake Shore Avenue West in a state of limbo since it was relocated and restored five years ago.

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What's the worst neighbourhood nickname in Toronto?

Derek Flack — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:23:13 EDT

"Roncy? That has to be the stupidest sounding neighbourhood nickname you use on blogTO." So went a conversation I had the other day with my partner (who evidently isn't always a fan of our titling practices). I don't mind Roncy myself — if indeed that is the diminutive for Roncesvalles (some would have it as Ronces or even Roncies) — but the discussion did get me thinking of other neighbourhood nicknames that I'm not much a fan of.

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Massive arts hub coming to West Queen West Triangle

Derek Flack — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:04:58 EDT

A new 36,000 square foot arts hub is coming to the area dubbed the West Queen West Triangle — and longstanding community group Active 18 has their fingerprints all over the project. To be built at the bottom of the still-under-construction Edge condo at Queen and Lisgar, future tenants of the space already include Gallery TPW, the Toronto Media Arts Cluster (TMAC), Interaccess, Le Labo, the Canadian Film Distribution Centre, Charles Street Video, the Toronto Animated Images Society, and the Images Festival.

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Guu owners to open new ramen restaurant on Baldwin

Derek Flack — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:41:06 EDT

For every Wild Wing there's a promising new ramen joint? If only the world was so kind. But at least that's the case for Baldwin Village, where the owners of Guu Izakaya and Guu SakaBar have decided to open up their third Toronto location, Kinton Ramen, just down the street from where the corporate wing palace is also ready to set up shop.

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What Queen West used to look like in Toronto

Derek Flack — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:08:33 EDT

Queen West seems a natural street to knock off as I continue to fill in some of the more obvious gaps in our collection of historical photo posts. Although Yonge Street is typically considered the most important street in Toronto (and for good reason), it wouldn't be difficult to make the argument that, at least historically speaking, Queen Street deserves consideration for that title.

Part of the reason for this, as is explained in the Queen Street West Heritage Conservation District Plan, is that Queen (then known as Lot Street) "was the baseline established by the Royal Engineers, when they laid out the town of York (now Toronto) in 1793." At the behest of Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe, much of York was divided into 41 lots, the boundary lines of which define our current streetscape.

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What Yonge and Eglinton used to look like

Derek Flack — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:08:45 EDT

It's time to head a little north for a dose of Toronto history. Given the manner in which the city developed up from Lake Ontario, it's understandable that there aren't as many historical photos of areas above Bloor Street, but that's not to say that they escape documentation altogether. A place like Yonge and Eglinton, for example, is actually quite well represented in our municipal archive.

Most of the photos below date back to the middle of the 20th century or later, but the few that I've been able to rustle up that pre-date the 1950s paint a picture of sleepy intersection with a small core of comercial properties. Even when the subway arrives in 1954, there's yet to be much in the way of density. Fast forward to the mid-1960s and the character of the intersection and surrounding area has, however, changed dramatically.

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Liberty Village print shop a photographer's paradise

Derek Flack — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:57:24 EDT

The exhibition space at this Liberty Village print shop might not serve as the operation's modus operandi — that would be, you know, the whole printing thing — but for up and coming photographers looking to get their images on display, it'd be tough to find a better place in Toronto.

Read my profile of 44 Wide in the galleries section.

5 Toronto Jane's Walks worth checking out in 2012

Derek Flack — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:44:50 EDT

There are few better ways to get a crash course on a street or neighbourhood than by heading out on one of the many Jane's Walk offered each year in early May. Led by knowledgable folk who range from urban planning experts and local councillors to engaged neighbourhood residents, if exploring Toronto is your thing, this weekend (May 5 and 6) has some action in store for you.

In an effort to avoid repetition, I'll keep this subjective list of recommendations fresh by not repeating any walks we highlighted last year. But if you haven't been out for one, Himy Syed's walk, Retracing Stop Spadina, is a good intro to how these things work and also highly informative. Also worth checking out if you havent already done so is Jason Kucherawy's Toronto graffiti walk, which'll take you to some of the best street art pieces in the city.

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Rob Ford threatens Toronto Star reporter outside home

Derek Flack — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:02:14 EDT

You've probably heard the news already — that the police were once again called to the mayor's house last evening, this time after an altercation of some kind with Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale who was working on a story that brought him in close proximity to the Ford home in Etobicoke. Depending on whose account of the evening's events you believe, altercation might not even be the correct word. What sounds most likely is that Ford completely lost control and threatened a reporter who was merely doing his job.

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A visual history of Bloor Street

Derek Flack — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:01:10 EDT

A comment containing a great photo of the old sign at Duffy's Tavern on our post yesterday inspired me to fill in yet another gap in our series of historical posts about Toronto: Bloor Street. Although we've devoted some attention to the intersection of Yonge & Bloor, the rest of the street hasn't received its well-deserved time in the spotlight. That's a bit of an oversight when you consider just how important an artery it is for this city.

I suspect, however, that Bloor gets somewhat overlooked when talking about Toronto's grand streets because north/south corridors like Yonge and Spadina played a more important role in the early development of the city. When Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe created Toronto's Park Lots in the 1790s, Bloor was the northern terminus of the long narrow estates that would eventually determine the general shape of the downtown streetscape.

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