Sunday, March 27, 2011
Spring frost on Periwinkle
A few weekends ago I was at Atty's place and up early on a weekend (I know hard to believe...). I noticed quite a lot of ground frost and got a few shots of the periwinkle in the backyard.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Chicago Sept 2009
I've been going through photos and thought I post some stuff that was taken a while back. In 2009 Atty and I spent the Labour Day weekend in Chicago to celebrate my 50th birthday. The city of Chicago is slightly larger than Toronto in population but differs in many ways to Toronto. For one the downtown core is comprised of many more skyscrapers. Architecture has always been a part of Chicago and even today it offers tours highlighting the architecture. In fact Chicago was where the first skyscraper was built in the 1880's. Frank Lloyd Wright the famous American architect started his career in Oak Park a suburb of Chicago. The Obamas have a home in Oak Park as well. Jazz is also a fixture in Chicago and we took advantage of that by going to a Jazz Festival as well as some clubs by Lincoln Park.
The Chicago river divides the city but also provides an opportunity for viewing it as well. Tours as well as a Water Taxi service provide a means for getting around and also viewing Chicago from a unique perspective.
The waterfront area in Chicago has plenty of parkland, a marina, an aquarium and a museum. The area is very people friendly and puts what Toronto has to shame.
We were able to get around on the EL which is Chicago's Elevated Subway. The EL provides access to both of Chicago's airports (O'Hare and Midway) and outlying suburbs. Atty and I used the EL to get around all weekend as it was convenient and inexpensive.
One interesting tour Atty and I took was in a suburb of Chicago called Oak Park. The tour was of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright studio and a few of the homes he designed in the area. It was a fascinating tour and the homes have a unique timeless look about them (they hardly look like they were built in the 1900's).
We were fortunate enough to be in town while Chicago had it's Jazz Festival going on down at Millenium Park (on the waterfront). We were able to have some drinks and take in some of the many acts that performed at the festival.
On our way back home after attending the Jazz Festival we stopped by some art exhibits including a lit, interactive water fountain. The light show and video display were fun to watch!
The balance of our final day was spent touring downtown and viewing some of the sights including a large sculpture in Millenium Park called the "Cloud Gate". The sculpture is also called "The Bean" by locals as it resembles are huge chrome plated jelly bean.
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| Carbide and Carbon Building (completed 1929) |
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| The Wrigley (1924) Building |
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| The Wrigley (1924) Building |
The Chicago river divides the city but also provides an opportunity for viewing it as well. Tours as well as a Water Taxi service provide a means for getting around and also viewing Chicago from a unique perspective.
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| The Chicago River |
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| Water Taxi on the Chicago River |
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| Chicago Cultural Center, (formerly Chicago Public Library, 1897) |
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| Chicago Cultural Center, (formerly Chicago Public Library, 1897) |
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| Chicago Cultural Center, (formerly Chicago Public Library, 1897) |
The waterfront area in Chicago has plenty of parkland, a marina, an aquarium and a museum. The area is very people friendly and puts what Toronto has to shame.
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| Chicago skyline from Aquarium, Grant Park |
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| Grant Park, Chicago waterfront |
We were able to get around on the EL which is Chicago's Elevated Subway. The EL provides access to both of Chicago's airports (O'Hare and Midway) and outlying suburbs. Atty and I used the EL to get around all weekend as it was convenient and inexpensive.
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| The EL (Elevated Railway/Su |
One interesting tour Atty and I took was in a suburb of Chicago called Oak Park. The tour was of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright studio and a few of the homes he designed in the area. It was a fascinating tour and the homes have a unique timeless look about them (they hardly look like they were built in the 1900's).
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| House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Oak Park, (built circa 1900) |
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| House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Oak Park, (built circa 1900) |
We were fortunate enough to be in town while Chicago had it's Jazz Festival going on down at Millenium Park (on the waterfront). We were able to have some drinks and take in some of the many acts that performed at the festival.
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| Chicago Jazz Festival |
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| Chicago Jazz Festival |
On our way back home after attending the Jazz Festival we stopped by some art exhibits including a lit, interactive water fountain. The light show and video display were fun to watch!
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| Crown Fountain, Millenium Park |
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| Crown Fountain, Millenium Park |
The balance of our final day was spent touring downtown and viewing some of the sights including a large sculpture in Millenium Park called the "Cloud Gate". The sculpture is also called "The Bean" by locals as it resembles are huge chrome plated jelly bean.
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| Downtown Chicago from Millenium Park |
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| Cloud Gate sculpture (aka The Bean), Millenium Park |
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| Atty and I reflected in The Bean, Millenium Park |
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| Looking up from under “The Bean”, Millenium Park |
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| Downtown Chicago |
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| Atty |
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| Looking into Red |
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| Water Tower (1869) and John Hancock Tower (1970) |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
College Street
Spent this past Sunday walking along College Street between Dufferin and Bathurst Streets. It's an interesting area that transitions from Portuguese to Italian neighborhoods. It's a wonderful area to visit during the 3 seasons of the year other than winter. College has a wide sidewalks along this stretch of the street and local restaurants and cafes take advantage of the space. There are lots of places to stop for a bite and people watch.
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| One of many cafes on College St |
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| Flowers at a local green grocer |
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| Tulips hint at Spring being just around the corner... |
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| One of the alleyways new College and Davenport |
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Down on the Boardwalk
I'm fortunate to live not far from both High Park and the lakeside boardwalk of the west end beaches. It's a great area to go for a walk and clear your head after a busy day at work. The area also offers a lot in the way of subjects to photograph. The Humber River Pedestrian bridge is one of the many subjects that has caught my eye. The boardwalk also offers some beautiful views of the Toronto skyline. Below are a few shots taken at various times down by the lake.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Winter's here ...
A visual reminder of winter. Well it is Canada after all so winter brings cold weather and snow which is what we'll be getting over the next few days here. This shot of a frost pattern was taken by a kitchen window before the sun had a chance to melt it.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Gladstone Hotel
Anyone that knows me also knows that I love old buildings. As I travel to and from work along Queen Street every day I see quite a few older buildings. Queen Street has an abundance of older buildings as it was one of the main thoroughfares through Toronto from the very beginning.
The Gladstone Hotel is located in Parkdale on Queen Street just east of Dufferin. The neighbourhood is a bit run down and ‘artsy’ but is turning around these days and still has a certain charm about it. The Gladstone Hotel has always caught my eye because of it’s distinctive architecture (very Victorian and ornate). You can just tell when taking a closer look at this hotel that a lot of attention was paid to detail during it’s construction. There are castings of lions and dragons which decorate the building in many places. There’s a lot of ornamental brickwork and even the flagpole holders have ornate iron work. It’s really a beautiful building which we can still enjoy today due the current owner’s efforts at restoring the building. The Gladstone Hotel was built in 1889 and it is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Toronto. The first photo is courtesy of the Toronto archives. Over the past year I made several trips out to the Gladstone to take some photos which follow. I hope this gives you a sense of what I see when I pass the Gladstone each day.
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| Queen Street looking east towards Dufferin St - The Gladstone Hotel in the distance (circa Nov 1897) |
The Gladstone Hotel is located in Parkdale on Queen Street just east of Dufferin. The neighbourhood is a bit run down and ‘artsy’ but is turning around these days and still has a certain charm about it. The Gladstone Hotel has always caught my eye because of it’s distinctive architecture (very Victorian and ornate). You can just tell when taking a closer look at this hotel that a lot of attention was paid to detail during it’s construction. There are castings of lions and dragons which decorate the building in many places. There’s a lot of ornamental brickwork and even the flagpole holders have ornate iron work. It’s really a beautiful building which we can still enjoy today due the current owner’s efforts at restoring the building. The Gladstone Hotel was built in 1889 and it is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Toronto. The first photo is courtesy of the Toronto archives. Over the past year I made several trips out to the Gladstone to take some photos which follow. I hope this gives you a sense of what I see when I pass the Gladstone each day.
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