***your phone will magically turn good pictures into bad. Try looking at this post on a bigger screen if you can***
To Book City in the Beaches
This morning, I finished up the last chapter of a fat book that I have been reading for a few weeks. I had a new title in mind so I decided to take a walk from my place to the Book City in the Beaches neighbourhood. Book City is one of the last independent bookstores so, in an effort to support small business, I try to buy most of my books there. And, lucky for me, they had a single copy of the book I wanted. This long walk would take me along most of Queen Street East through Corktown, Leslieville and to the Beaches (named for the white sand beaches nearby along the shore of Lake Ontario).
Return flight
Since I had my camera with me and since I don’t get to the Beaches very often, I decided to take a few photos on the 7km walk home. Compared to the rest of Queen Street, this area has some truly old and interesting low rise architecture and businesses. Some blocks of Queen Street East are so quaint, they almost have the old-time feel of a cottage-town main street. The commercial areas are mostly undeveloped (so far). There is even a gas station right out of the 1950’s with pumps that look like refrigerators, full service attendants in uniform and a round glass reception area. I am excited to take some pictures of it at night! Coming soon!
The Photos
I had not planned on posting about this so I was just taking random pictures for fun. The photos are not really meant to be representative of anything. I just liked enough of them that I wanted to share them. They are generally in chronological order from the Beaches travelling west back towards Corktown.
Time for a pint….Colourful old-school aquarium shop. You don’t really see too many of these around anymore. When I was a kid, fish were very popular pets and every shopping mall had a huge aquarium shop. I did see many just like this one in Japan and Korea with tanks of pet fish and plants on the sidewalk.Melba Studios: I just like the look of this place. The old windows and the green paint. I think it is a ceramic studio.Maru Japanese Bistro. These rainbow benches are all over the sidewalks here.There is something about hand painted signage that i just love. The graphics here are so cool. The colours too. And the globe lights…so retro.Dave’s Hot Chicken and electric bike delivery guy. These guys are such a part of the cityscape now. When I go walking and I don’t see one of these guys for awhile, I feel like maybe I have gone too far and it’s time to turn back towards home.Old pawnshop.Boston Discount Store at Queen and Boston StreetJack Black, Pet M.D. Queen Books.This is a corner garden centre and cafe. I like the mural but I wonder why it is 11 o’clock? There is a lot of colour everywhere in this neighbourhood. It is the first thing I noticed. A lot of Toronto, especially newly redeveloped Toronto is…well…”neutral”.Wonderful bulky old building with original windows and paint. Those apartments up top must be incredible. Ali Baba’s…good quality fast food.Riverside Bridge/Queen Street Viaduct crossing over the Don River. “This river I step in is not the river I stand in”. That’s a Heraclitus quote…feel free to discuss amongst yourselves in the comments. I don’t recommend stepping or standing in the Don River these days. I am pretty sure that clock is broken.4644 and 4441 meet face to face on the Riverside Bridge. These colours make me happy: the vibrant TTC red framed by the dull green bridge. It’s a good picture.“Who is Jesus?” billboard beside faded Bay Cat Hospital sign. I had a cat neutered here once but I have not read the Bible in some time.Concrete bridge-support art.Speaking of colourful, Thruway Muffler is the sickest colour of pink. This crazy bubblegum colour covers the entire giant auto repair garage. Beside it is Spaccio: commissary kitchen, grocery store and restaurant that is part of the Terroni group. They have the absolute best frozen take home pizzas, a bargain at 2 for 20$. Poke bowl billboard with float plane.I like the lines, light and colours here. These old brick factory buildings are real beauties.“Scenic Route” art posted on a row of boarded up and abandoned houses on River Street.A rare selfie…Hello Neighbour
The End
Hope you enjoyed some of these photos. Queen Street at the Beaches is lined with fun and unique shops and restaurants and is definitely worth a visit. I will be back soon for some night photos. As always, if you have anything to say, even if it’s just “Hi” feel free to comment below.
I just looked at these on my iphone. It is incredible how badly it crushes all the detail and distorts all the colours in the pictures…try a big screen!
Hi
Hi, nice to meet you. Thank you for visiting my world wide web page!
I just looked at these on my iphone. It is incredible how badly it crushes all the detail and distorts all the colours in the pictures…try a big screen!
Yes, every detail gets compressed out of the photos. They look like trash!