Fort York Mandala !

I completed my Fort York Mandala on Thursday, November 6, 2013.

It includes the Fort York Neighbourhood which goes from Wellington Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the CNE to the West and the CN Tower to the east.

Historic Fort York, known originally as The Garrison at York , is of course at the centre of the mandala.
The shore of  Lake Ontario once reached Fort York where the attacks by the United States troops took place.   Landfill provides ground for the  `condo sprawl ` which is spreading like an octupus along our waterfront.

Art Deco architecture designs are fantastic delighful highlights on the Tip Top Tailor Building , the Black and Crosswell Building ( now Omni ), Loblaws ( originally The Loblaws warehouse in the 40's, then a food bank and now a building in transition with scaffolding around its base, hopefully soon to be a new Loblaws in the area ) ) and the now completely obliterated Maple Leaf Baseball Stadium ( where great ball players such as Reggie Smith, Sam Jethroe and Phil Roof once played ) .  Take a walk around this area and look up at the art deco work on the facades of  the  3 aforementioned buildings.
 The Toronto Maple Leaf baseball team was part of the Boston Red Sox organization and it was through this system that Al Riverso of Toronto , a hot corner player who played at Christie Pits ( on a team along with Ken Dryden of hockey fame and the author of the bestselling book " The Game " )  was signed with Boston and went on to play for the Greenville Red Sox for several years.
By the way, it was a great sight watching Riverso and Dryden and Trigiani and Fleury and so many others
play ball ( in those days that we thought would never end,  my friend ) , under the watchful eye of their dedicated coach,  Fred Fess.  And I will never forget the wonderful scene of Murrey Dryden, the father of Ken Dryden, always standing on the east hill watching his son play ball.  I remember those days at the Pits very well.

Stadium Road is all that is left of this stadium which was demolished in the late 60`s.  Most people who live in the area with whom I spoke had never even heard of Maple Leaf Stadium.  Why can't I find an historical plaque somewhere around or streets named after some of the Hall of Fame stars who played there ???  It was built and they came....but why was it torn down into a pile of rubble I implore ????

I will continue with this post soon...please keep in touch for the next page.

In the meantime, here is the article written in The Globe and Mail featuring a report
on my mandalas :


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/signposts-of-a-new-toronto-cool/article4327620/

Since September 2007, I have created 35 Toronto Neighbourhood Mandalas :

1.  Kensington Market

2.  West Queen West

3.  Downtown Core

4.  The Beach ( s)

5.  College Street

6.  Church/Wellesley Village

7.  Riverdale

8.  Roncesvalles/High Park/ Bloor West Village

9.  Etobicoke

10. St. Clair/Wychwood

11. St. Clair/Yonge..Deer Park/Moore Park/Davisville/Yonge&Eg to Balmoral

12. Summerhill/Rosedale

13. Yorkville

14. Leaside

16. Scarborough

17. Blordale/Bloorcourt

18. Dundas West..Yonge Street to Roncesvalles

19. The Annex

20. The Junction

21. Ossington Village...Queen to College

22. Downsview..aka The Downsview Flying Club

23. King Street East and West

24. Olde Olde Toronto New...from the Ice Age to The Town of York to Toronto Today

25. Forest Hill

26. Weston

27. Cabbagetown

28. The Toronto Islands/Harbourfront Centre

29. The Canadian National Exhibition..past and present

30. Parkdale

31. North Toronto

32. East York

33. Fort York...just completed on November 6, 2013 !

34. St. Lawrence Market...The Market Block

35. Leslieville

One more mandala which I have painted is New York City.....mainly Manhattan.

I have now finally begun working on Davenport Road First Nations Trail ( goal : November 22, 2013 ) which will be followed by Mt. Dennis/Jane Street/Scarlett Road...all north of St. Clair and South of Eglinton .

Fort York Area and Davenport First Nations Trail are On the Way!

I have changed the order of my mandala creations and am now completing the Fort York area and Davenport Road First Nations Trail, hopefully by October' s end.
I will then begin New Toronto followed byMt.Dennis/Lambton/Scarlett Road and areas and predict their completions by the beginning of December.

I have been out and about taking photos, sketching, and soaking in the atmosphere of each one.

I look forward to sharing these forthcoming mandalas with you and will announce their completions.

An article appeared in The Globe and Mail newspaper in the Real Estate Section on October 1, 2010 by the Architourist  Dave Leblanc.
It is entitled :
" Signposts of a New Toronto Cool "

Just Google this title if you wish to read the article.

Thank you.

East York Mandala Now Complete After In-Depth Study of the Area !!!!! : ))))) Now creating Mt. Dennis/Lambton/Scarlett Road AND New Toronto !

I have spent the last few month doing a study of East York and have gathered enough information which I have included on my East York Mandala.  I am delighted to say that it is ready with a very sweet centre.  Can you guess what it might be ?  It has been a hidden treasure in east York for 43 years. 
And one of our Prime Ministers went to a schoolhouse there in his first 3 years of school.
So many little bits of info will have you reading and turning it around and around and around.

Completed May 16, 2013 !!!! North Toronto/Lawrence Park/Lytton Park/Teddington Park/Bedford Park Mandala Is Now Underway

I have been exploring these areas with a fine tooth comb and my sketch book.
There is so much to discover here, as there is all over our great City of Toronto.
Each neighbourhood is overflowing with memories of the past.  Take a journey
with me as I roam, stroll, breath in and "flaneurize " these miles throughout the area from Eg 'N Ave to Eg 'N Bay and Yonge 'N Eligible  to Yonge 'N York Mills.
A long spread, indeed !
So, I am sure that you can imagine how our forefathers toiled to settle the land.

I will mention many of them as I lay the foundation of this mandala.
Please stand by for its completion on March 15, 2013 when it will be ready for your curious eyes and hopefully intrigue you, my dear Toronto Neighbourhood Dwellers.