Toronto legend who dresses in giant duck costume now has his own streetcar stop
An underground Toronto icon has transformed a TTC streetcar stop to look like a giant duck, and it's a totally on-brand move for the viral folk artist, who is known for walking the city streets dressed in a giant pixelated duck costume.
With a name like Lewis Mallard, it's no surprise that this multidisciplinary artist has taken a duck-themed approach to his works. Mallard has been gaining attention around the city since 2023, when social media lit up with photos and videos of a bizarre human-duck hybrid roaming the streets.
A guy in a duck costume is winning over hearts in Toronto https://t.co/PPt55QfvbP #Toronto #Duck
— blogTO (@blogTO) May 17, 2023
And Mallard is back at it this spring, returning to city streets in his trademark duck getup — but with a new twist. This year, Mallard has his own TTC streetcar stop on College Street.
Duckspotting. Local street artist Lewis Mallard brings joyful colours to drab TTC streetcar stop on College.#streetart @blogTO @westendphoenix @CBCToronto pic.twitter.com/8Uq7H8RyiB
— Martin Reis (@BikeLaneDiary) May 21, 2024
Mallard has transformed a concrete barrier at the east end of the Bathurst and College streetcar island into his own likeness.
Mallard wrote on Instagram that the idea to transform a TTC stop stemmed from a digital rendering idea produced last year. He says that he "got a lot of funny looks as I went about my business" painting the installation, adding, "let's hope it remains unmolested for a while!"
And people aren't hating it.
One commenter on X writes, "This is beautiful. We need more art on our streets to make them more lively, engaging and pleasant. For years, we have been letting our public spaces go in decline when a little investment and thought can go a long way in improving them."
Union Station concrete barriers on Front St next please
— nicolas bello 🐀 (@nbellotoronto) May 22, 2024
The street art was also warmly received on Reddit, where one user wrote "Toronto needs more of this in general. I have always been kinda meh on how not spruced up the city is in these ways. I'm glad the CafeTO barriers are painted blue now, unironically it makes them look way better."
As to whether the duck art was sanctioned by City officials, the TTC's Stuart Green tells blogTO, "I'm not sure how the duck got there, but it's beautiful."
Green calls the installation "a fun and creative way to brighten up the commute along this stretch of College," and I'm inclined to agree with him on that.
