Posts Tagged ‘Graffiti’

I put in a request to the Toronto Fire Department for permission to take pictures from the top of the local Firehall’s tower adjacent to Queen and Woodbine in order to take panoramic shots of the local area. This is for a future story in the BTRA newsletter that compares the modern view against that of a panoramic set of shots taken from the Firehall tower shortly after it was built in 1905.

Here are a couple of panoramic views showing the view east from the tower looking towards downtown via Queen Street East:

East Panorama from The Beaches Firehall Tower 1

East Panorama from The Beaches Firehall Tower 2

Compare these to the view from the same vantage point from over a hundred years ago, from a panorama I stitched together taken from shots taken in the tower circa 1905 that were in the Toronto Municipal Archives. You can see the old Woodbine Racetrack, and muddier-looking Queen Street stretching off into a much smaller downtown Toronto core.

East and South Panorama from Beaches Firehall Tower circa 1905

I also took some panoramic shots directly to the south, east and north. Here’s a panoramic shot looking southward:

South Panorama from The Beaches Firehall Tower

Looking westward:

West Panorama from The Beaches Firehall Tower

And looking Northward:

North Panorama from The Beaches Firehall Tower

Unfortunately all of these shots suffer from too many darn trees in the way to properly see the houses and buildings properly. Will have to see if I can request to go up the tower again sometime after the leaves are off of the trees.

I was shown around by local Fireman Mr. Lalonde, who is also an amateur historian who has done a lot of research on the background of the Beaches Firehall. Here he is pointing out some old signatures on the old wooden box that once protected the original clock’s escapement mechanism, with signatures (primarily) of the fireman who worked at the station dating back to the 1910s:

Mr. Lalonde Pointing at Some of the Old Fireman’s Signatures

Firehall Signatures 1

Firehall Signatures 2 (from the 1910s and Later)

One of the more poignant ones was of the fireman who were here at the firehall on 9/11:

Firehall Signatures 3: Firemen Present at the Beaches Firehall on 9/11

Today Erika started her long weekend from work on the set of “Republic of Doyle”, and she took us all to the first place she wanted to show to us: Bay Bulls, where she had gone sea kayaking earlier in the year.

Some pics from Bay Bulls:

“150262” Out of the Water for the Off-Season

Mishell the Mermaid Statue at Bay Bulls

Small Waterfall at Bay Bulls, Newfoundland

Huge Spools of Oil Pipeline Equipment, Bay Bulls

Seven Eagles Coming into Port at Bay Bulls

St. Peter and St. Paul Church Facade at Bay Bulls

One of the most fascinating things at the St. Peter and St. Paul Church is their gate, made up of four cannons topped with statues of saints: the “cannonized saints”. The two larger cannon are Enlgish, and the smaller ones to each side are French:

The “Canonized Saints” Gate at St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Bay Bulls

Coming Back from Sea Kayaking in Bay Bulls, Newfoundland

Annie and Erika Getting Out of their Sea Kayak at Bay Bulls, Newfoundland

Everyone was hungry after kayaking, so we went to what is by reputation is the best fish and chips restaurant in Newfoundland: “By The Beach“. I ordered the Captain’s Plate so everyone could try a bit of everything. Here’s what it looked like:

The Captain’s Plate at “By the Beach” Restaurant

It was easily the best fish and chips I have ever had. Period.

Then off to Cape Spear, which is the furthest east you can go and still be in North America.

Annie, Erika and Vanessa at Cape Spear, the Most Easterly Part of North America

It was also the place where during WWII a battery was put in place for defense. The guns and the concrete remains of the old battery are still in place.

Old Naval Gun at WWII Base Cape Spear

Hairy Eyeball Graffiti in Old WWII Base Cape Spear

Then back to home base to rest before dinner at an upscale pizza place Erika wanted us to go to. While we were waiting for our table to be ready at that place, we headed over for some local music and ended up in Kelly’s Pub where we saw Ray O’Leary play most of a set:

Ray O’Leary Playing at Kelly’s Pub