05: Winter 2006
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Adventures in North York
Living downtown, it's easy to forget just how suburban much of Toronto is. We may not like suburbia, but it's probably the most common Canadian...
By Matthew Blackett -
Fluffing up the park
I was recently invited, as an arborist, to attend a one-day park refurbishment event sponsored by Home Depot at Matty Eckler Park across from Gerrard...
By Matthew Blackett -
Liberty Village hits benchmark
The Henry Moore outside the AGO may have been turned into an improvised chaise longue by lunchtime OCAD students, but Liberty Village has art that...
By Matthew Blackett -
Art up your alley
It's a standard issue narrative: in the shadow of a more outgoing, attractive older sibling, the younger, homelier sibling, feeling neglected, turns...
By Matthew Blackett -
How did that get there?
What is your favourite piece of public art in Toronto? "That's like asking me which child I like best," says Terry Nicholson, Manager of...
By Matthew Blackett -
Dogs and landscaping
In 1837, a block of land between Richmond and Adelaide, along Brant Street, was set aside to serve as a market square for the newly developing west end of...
By Matthew Blackett -
Hometown touchstones
RACE = MORALITY. This was the line that began my eight-year relationship with a Toronto phone booth. I was 18 and had ducked into a booth in the downtown...
By Matthew Blackett -
This is my neighbourhood
Whimsical pencil sketches of bicycles sit alongside brightly coloured pictures of birds and flowers. Enthusiastic drawings of cars, rows of houses, and...
By Matthew Blackett -
Wayfinding your way
I was riding my bike through Forest Hill late at night recently when the neighbourhood street lights went out. Up until that point, I had only been paying...
By Matthew Blackett -
World’s tallest free-standing poster
Some of the best public art reacts to the changes a city undergoes as it grows, and like all cities, Toronto is constantly evolving. Along with the new...
By Matthew Blackett