Urbex

Urban Exploration

Doors Open 2012: TTC Roncesvalles Carhouse

Some photos taken on May 26, 2012, at the TTC's Rocesvalles Streetcar House, during Doors Open Toronto.

Here's the direct link to the set on Flickr.

Blurred View

Blurred View

July 18, 2011. Looking through the window of one of the vacant studio spaces at Planet Storage (formerly Viceroy Rubber), Dupont St. at Dundas St. West.

Reminds me of my "Filth Trees" window photo at Tower Automotive, which I like much better than this one.

DOOWTSEW: A shadow of its former self

DOOWTSEW: A shadow of its former self

April 9, 2011. The shadow of the abandoned Westwood Theatre's rooftop sign.

Westwood Theatre: Curtain Call

Westwood Theatre: Curtain Call

April 9, 2011. Westwood Theatre, at Six Points in Etobicoke. This west end Toronto landmark, closed since 1998, has been gutted and used for storage, a movie set, and a home for raccoons. It now just sits waiting for its eventual demolition and land redevelopment.

This is the view into one of the empty theatre spaces from up in the projector room.

Westwood Theatre: Projector Room

Westwood Theatre: Projector Room

April 9, 2011. Inside a projection room of the former Westwood Theatre at Six Points in Etobicoke. This place has been pretty much stripped bare, but it still provides an interesting high-up view into the theatres, which you don't normally get.

There's a cool bit of Canadiana here: A piece of an old Victoriaville Custom Vic 1000 hockey stick is bolted to the wall, which I only noticed after taking a closer look at the photo a day after shooting it. Victoriaville hockey sticks are no longer made. Due to their strength and rigidity, I've seen busted hockey sticks find second lives in bike trailers, fence posts, benches, and more.

Westwood Theatre: Extinguished

Westwood Theatre: Extinguished

April 9, 2011. A set of fire extinguishers inside of the abandoned Westwood Theatre at Six Points, Etobicoke.

Westwood Theatre Sign

Westwood Theatre Sign

April 9, 2011. California has the "Hollywood" sign, Etobicoke has the "Westwood" sign. Though not nearly as monumental, this former theatre's rooftop sign is a bit of a landmark in Toronto's west end. As condos sprout all around the Six Points interchange (where Kipling Ave, Bloor, and Dundas Streets all meet and tangle into a pile of asphalt), the Westwood Theatre sits vacant and stripped of most of its interior, waiting for the land to be redeveloped. The Ontario government was planning on building a new provincial courthouse here, but this plan was scrapped in the most recent budget.

On Saturday, I went with some fellow photographers for a peek inside...

Tower Automotive: The chimney's final sunset

Tower Automotive: The chimney's final sunset

September 22, 2010. 6:47PM. This was the final sunset that the Tower Automotive chimney would see. It was half-demolished, and the job was finished the following day.

This is the view from the northernmost end of the Tower Automotive property on Perth Ave, right next to the Church of the Firstborn (this area is currently being used as some kind of wood-chipping lot). The homes on this southernmost stretch of Perth Ave. now have a very different streetscape surrounding them.

The rest of my photos from the September 22 chimney demolition are here.

Tower Automotive: Chimney Demolition

Tower Automotive: Chimney Demolition

September 22, 2010. This was the day that the demolition of the Tower Automotive chimney on Sterling Rd. finally began.

I dropped by the site for a final look on my way to work, and saw them move some of the equipment in. I couldn't stick around for very long though, so I didn't get to see very much of the demo. I went by again on my way home from work and the chimney was only half-gone, and still being slowly chipped away by the demolition machines. Small crowds of people were stopped on the Railpath and Perth Ave. to watch as this thing slowly come down.

Some people were disappointed that it wasn't taken down in one big blast of dynamite. That would have been cool to watch, but it's way too close to peoples' homes.

They actually halted the demolition at around 6:30pm, shortly after I took this photo, and then finished the job the following day.

Inside GO Transit's Willowbrook repair facility

Inside GO Transit's Willowbrook repair facility

September 18, 2010 was the GO Transit / Metrolinx Family Day, which was held this year at their Willowbrook train yard. I was pretty excited to go, much like a little kid at a toy store, and was really looking forward to exploring this place and seeing the trains up-close.

We arrived kind of late, and ended up spending a big chunk of time taking a train through the "train wash", which is basically like an enormous car wash. Sounds cooler than it really was, as we didn't really see anything because it was so dark.

After the train wash, my time to tour the facility was very limited, so I didn't get many pictures. But the staff at the repair facility were super-cool and gave me a short personal tour and a look inside a couple of the locomotives. All-in-all, a very fun time, but I wish I spent more time touring.

More photos from that day, though nothing spectacular, are here.

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