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September 2, 2010: A rainy day on the West Toronto Railpath. I dropped by here again after work to take some more photos of the Tower Automotive demolition, and there was a short burst of heavy rain while I was taking my pics. I whipped my umbrella out and kept taking a few more photos, and enjoyed the new shine and reflections that the rain provided.

More photos from September 2 are here.

If I were to take a photo from this same spot today, barely a month later, it would look completely different with that building and chimney gone. The Railpath and the rain are still there today.

The end of August and into September was not a kind month to the vacant Tower Automotive property on Sterling Rd. In the span of a month, all of the buildings on the property have been demolished, besides the iconic 11-story industrial tower. The amazing old facades along Perth Ave. and Sterling Rd. were knocked down first, followed by the boiler house, and eventually the old chimney stack.

I took this photo inside the boiler house on August 28th 2010, just after demolition had started. A few days later, it was gone.

I will post a few more photos from this demolition over the next few days. I sure took alot of pics here, but I want to remember how it looked, and be able to compare it to whatever gets developed here over the next few years.

Another exterior shot of Ontario Redi-Mix on Wade Ave. This is the view from Erwin Krickhahn Park on Rankin Cres. in the Junction Triangle.

It will be interesting to see if this place gets re-used (doubt it), pillaged and vandalized (probably), and eventually torn down to be replaced with something better (probably, but who knows when?).

August 10, 2010.

The rest of my photos from Redi-Mix are posted here.

Looking down from the upper level of the vacant Ontario Redi-Mix plant on Wade Ave. There's a decent view of the surrounding area up here: The Redi-Mix gravel yard, GO Transit's Barrie Line tracks, and over into Erwin Krickhahn Park in the Junction Triangle. Probably an even better view from up on the silos. :)

The rest of my photos from Redi-Mix are posted here.

I was taking a photo of this sign at the vacant Ontario Redi-Mix plant on Wade Ave., when a fellow explorer/photographer walked into the frame. I actually like this photo much better than the one I was trying to take.

August 1, 2010.

The rest of my photos from Redi-Mix are posted here.

The gravel yard at Ontario Redi-Mix on Wade Ave., near Bloor and Lansdowne. The shovels remain where the former employees left them at the end of their final shift.

August 1, 2010.

The rest of my photos from Redi-Mix are posted here.

Exploring the vacant Ontario Redi-Mix concrete facility on Wade Ave., near Bloor and Lansdowne. Much of the site is completely encrusted with many years worth of concrete dust, often settling into really interesting patterns and shapes, especially under the silos where the concrete was pumped into cement trucks for delivery.

August 1, 2010.

The rest of my photos from Redi-Mix are posted here.

Drumming group Pound For Pound performing at Perth Square Park in the Junction Triangle, July 25 2010.

This was part of a Sunday picnic series in the local parks, with music organized by the Junction Triangle Rail Committee to help bring awareness to the rail expansion projects in our neighbourhood.

The rest of my photos from this picnic and performance are here.

The Bloordale Pantry's pancake eating contest during the New Bloor Festival, Saturday July 24 2010.

I caught this round of the contest after grabbing some lunch / escaping the rain at the Bloordale Pantry. After lunch, the rain went away for long enough to have this round of the contest so I watched it all go down. The crowd was cheering, syrup was spilled, kids were stuffing their faces...all in good fun. I'm surprised nobody puked. :-) The kid in blue ended up winning this round.

A short while later, I saw him eating more pancackes. A true champion who loves his sport.

Looking into the window of the Toronto Free Gallery (currently the "Change" exhibit) during the New Bloor Festival on Saturday.