vic.gedris.org - Wallace Bridge

Rail of Light: Doubleu

vic — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:26:01 +0000

October 3, 2010. One more photo from Rail of Light during Nuit Blanche. This photo of the lights on the Wallace Ave. Footbridge was taken from the West Toronto Railpath, looking through the "W" of the Wallace Ave. sign. You can see that sign in this photo.

You can see all of my Rail of Light / Nuit Blanche photos in the complete gallery here.

Rail of Light, as seen from the Railpath

vic — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:53:35 +0000

October 3, 2010.

I've fallen way behind on posting my "daily" photos here. So much to do, so little time...

Here's another one from the Rail of Light exhibit during Nuit Blanche. This is the view from the West Toronto Railpath, underneath the Wallace Ave Footbridge. This gives a good overview of the whole project: Richard Mongiat's light installation on the bridge above the tracks, Jeff Winch's video projection underneath the bridge, and even train-related artwork on the fence by some local kids.

It was actually pretty busy under this bridge with many people coming through to check it out. But the long shutter speed used for this photo just caught some of the "ghosts" walking by.

Rail of Light and the Bloor GO Station

vic — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 10:00:00 +0000

October 3, 2010. The Rail of Light art installation on the Wallace Ave. footbridge during Nuit Blanche illuminates the railway tracks below, to "shed light" on the railway expansion controversy. This is the view from the GO Transit Bloor Station, just south of the bridge.

Rail of Light: Goofy self-portrait

vic — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 10:00:00 +0000

October 3, 2010. A self-portrait in front of the Rail of Light exhibit, which took place on the Wallace Ave. Footbridge and West Toronto Railpath during Nuit Blanche. I took the photo from the north end of the vacant Glidden Paint site, just north of the bridge.

The Rail of Light installation aimed to "shed light" on the controversial railway expansion project happening below.

I will post some non-goofy photos next. It was fun taking pics here at night.

Sunset on the Railpath

vic — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:10:08 +0000

Went for a walk along the West Toronto Railpath and around the 'hood one evening a few weeks ago. The Crossways apartment complex at Dundas and Bloor was lit up nicely by the setting sun.

Looking south along the Railpath, just north of the Wallace Ave. pedestrian bridge, 2010-06-06.

Railway car and Wallace Bridge

vic — Sun, 30 May 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Same as yesterday's photo, but with a view of what's inside the railway car: a bunch of steel plates being used during track construction.

Photo taken 2010-05-15.

Georgetown tracks, railway car, and Wallace Ave. Bridge

vic — Sat, 29 May 2010 10:00:00 +0000

May 15, 2010.

Another photo from a Saturday afternoon walk in my 'hood. This lone railway car has been parked on the tracks near Wallace Ave. for the past few weeks, and it occasionally gets moved around. Looks like it's being used to store things for some of the ongoing track work in the area.

This was also an excuse to play with my wide angle lens (Canon EF-S 10-22mm) again, as I haven't used it in a while.

Wallace Ave. Bridge, Junction Triangle

vic — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 03:00:00 +0000

They say "a picture is worth a thousand words".

I was walking home from the Dundas West subway station on Friday evening and decided to take this photo from the Dundas St. side of the Wallace Ave. pedestrian bridge. I always enjoy the view from here, especially since it contains two of our neighbourhood's most iconic sights: The bridge itself, and the old G.E. Water Tower near Lansdowne Ave.

When I came home and took a closer look at the photo, it struck me that there are many things going on within the frame of this picture. Little bits of history, neighbourhood icons, and changes that are happening rapidly. Here's what I spotted. Maybe there are some things I missed?

The Wallace Ave. pedestrian bridge that connects our neighbourhood to Dundas St. West at Glenlake Ave. was built in 1907, I believe. It's just over 100 years old now and has been a major visual and physical symbol of this neighbourhood since it was built. It's the only railway crossing on the west side of the Junction Triangle between Bloor and Dupont Streets (well, only "legal" one, anyway). Some historical photos of this bridge from the City of Toronto Archives are posted here.
The former General Electric water tower on Wallace Ave. between Campbell and Lansdowne is visible from many parts of the neighbourhood, and is a well-known symbol for this area. The current owners of the building next to the tower even named their new business after it: Tower Storage.
The controversial Metrolinx Georgetown South Service Expansion project, is happening right here. The rail corridor is in the process of being expanded to accomodate a major increase in GO commuter trains and a new airport rail link service.
The former Glidden Paint and Varnish site at 370 Wallace Ave, now a grassy field, has been cleaned up of its former industrial contaminants. This site was a source of pollution and jobs for residents of our neighbourhood in the past, but now it's uncertain what the site will be developed into. This spring it has turned into a sort of unofficial dog park.
The West Toronto Railpath officially opened up last year. This pathway and linear park along the rail corridor forms the western border of our neighbourhood, while acting as an active transportation corridor for walkers and cyclists, a meeting place for residents, a playground for kids, and so much more. A truly excellent new feature of this neighbourhood.
The Brownstones on Wallace townhouses are currently under construction after many delays. You can see some of the construction hoarding on Wallace Ave. on the right side of the photo. This is another example of former industrial lands in our neighbourhood being redeveloped into residential spaces. However, even this brings up controversy, regarding density and provision of services.
The Seventh Day Adventist Church at Perth and Wallace has recently gone up for sale. You can faintly see this church through the trees just below the water tower. Will another church take it over? Will it get developed on condos like some other recent church conversions in this city? It will certainly be interesting to see what happens there.
Artwork and graffiti, ranging from legally curated, to unofficially installed, to downright destructive can be found along the Railpath and Wallace Ave. bridge. Some of these bright pieces of art really add a strong splash of colour to the rail corridor.

Anything else interesting in this photo? You can see a larger version here.

Wallace Ave. Bridge

vic — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Yet another photo of the Wallace Ave. pedestrian bridge. Looking east across the bridge and down Wallace Ave. towards the old G.E. Water Tower.

This is a similar view to the winter pic I posted back in January, but now everything is turning green.

Winter morning view from the Wallace Ave. bridge

vic — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

A GO train on the Milton line heading toward Union Station. I took this photo from the east side of the Wallace Ave. pedestrian bridge.

On the morning that I took this photo, there was a near white-out blizzard that seemed to last only a few minutes. I grabbed my camera as I got ready to head out the door so that I could take some nice winter photos of the neighbourhood while walking to the subway. Unfortunately, the snow nearly stopped by the time I got outside. Ohwell, I still had a nice walk to Dundas West station through a small amount of fresh snow, and I was able to enjoy the view from the bridge.