North Toronto
David Guinn and Drew Billau Mural
150 Eglinton Avenue East
This striking piece of public art on the side of a building by mural artist David Guinn and lighting designer Drew Billau adds a spectacular splash of colour to an otherwise grey stretch of Eglinton Avenue East. Guinn was inspired by the geometric abstraction art form, particularly the works of the late French artist Sonia Delaunay. The colours are meant to reference the 1980s with its prominence as a time of experimentation in technology. At night, the piece is illuminated via LED neon fixtures from lighting designer Drew Billau, making the colours burst from the night sky.
Blue Republic, Anna Passakas and Radoslaw Kudlinski 'Stargate'
150 and 155 Redpath Avenue
Emerging from two portals at 150 and 155 Redpath Avenue, this multi-component artwork, titled 'Stargate', animates the neighbourhood with a crew of intergalactic characters in varying states of materialization, transforming a busy and populated corner of Canada's largest city into a window of outer space. Embodying Toronto's energy and diversity, 'Stargate's brightly coloured protagonists remind us of our own feelings of arriving at a destination for the first time. Welcome their vibrant looks, enjoy their presence. Home at last.
Ilan Sandler 'What's Your Name'
In Front of 70 Roehampton Avenue
'What's Your Name' identifies NTCI students' past and present by reproducing their proper names and handwritten signatures on the sculpture's stainless steel surface. 'What's Your Name?' is often the first question we ask someone and by answering we announce ourselves to each other and to the world. During adolescence our relationship to proper names tends to change; a name is no longer something given but something made crafted and personalized through the deliberate art of the signature. Schools, and particularly high schools, are where the proper name and the signature intersect. Paper and print, which are the core tools of education, become dynamic sculptural forms on which an imprint of students' public and private identities is inscribed.
Panya Clark Espinal 'Fibonacci Feedback'
17 Broadway Avenue
Stretching the length of a high school athletic field, 'Fibonacci Feedback' acts as a visual articulation of a pattern of movement. Generated with the mathematical sequencing of the Fibonacci series of numbers, alternating blocks of the school's red and grey hues create a gradating rhythmic pattern. The fence acts as a backdrop to cheering fans.
North Toronto Collegiate Institute
70 Roehampton Avenue
North Toronto Collegiate Institute was originally located in North Toronto's Town Hall. It was founded there in 1910 but upon the amalgamation of North Toronto with the City of Toronto, the formal school building was built here in 1912. By 2002, the building was one of the oldest properties in the TDSB. The new school opened in 2010 and kept some of the Collegiate Gothic aspects of the old building in the school's new courtyard. It was constructed as a Gold LEED Facility' and North Toronto Collegiate Institute has since attained an EcoSchools Gold Certification. North Toronto Collegiate Institute has a prestigious reputation within the TDSB the school and boasts numerous notable alumni. They include Dan Levy, Keanu Reeves, David Cronenberg, Malin Akerman, Jim Cuddy and Keith Davey.
Catherine Widgery 'Mindshadows'
17 Broadway Avenue
Words are the building blocks for thought. They give shape to our ideas. These cubes embody the energy and power of words within a structure of reason and order. Yet thought is without physical substance so these words dissolve in the shifting light, personifying the effervescence of our intellectual journey. The sculpture is 70% open space: a metaphor for an open, permeable mind. These words were selected intuitively by North Toronto Collegiate Institute students to be evocative without any single interpretation.
2377 Yonge Street
2377 Yonge Street
This heritage-listed three-storey commercial building was first listed on City records in 1932. It was designed by architectural firm Sprachman & Kaplan, best known for designing about 70-80% of all movie theatres in Canada between 1919 and 1950, including the nearby Eglinton Theatre on Eglinton Avenue West. Both Harold Kaplan and Abraham Sprachman were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, and also designed many buildings for the Jewish community in Canada throughout the course of their career. Some of the notable architectural features found on this building include its motted brown brick cladding, brick and stone detailing, and stone entrance to the apartments along the side of the building on Broadway Avenue.
John Fisher Public School
40 Erskine Avenue
Opened in 1816, this school's original building was a log cabin (then called Eglinton School as it was located in the then village of Eglinton), steps away from the historic Montgomery's Tavern. The school burnt down and the current building was built in 1887 in the Edwardian Classical style. It was renamed in 1915 after the first mayor of North Toronto, John Fisher, who also happened to be the architect. It is to this day, the oldest school in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) as well as the board's largest French Immersion School.
Redpath Avenue Parkette
130 Erskine Avenue
This cute little parkette offers a small urban oasis nestled beneath the many residential towers dotted throughout this neighbourhood and contains a small playground for children.
Americana Apartments
141 Erskine Avenue
*Private property. Please observe from the street only. This striking heritage-listed apartment tower was designed by architect Uno Prii and opened in 1963. Prii designed many other prominent Modernist apartment buildings across Toronto, many of which stood out with their swooping curves and unorthodox shapes. His design concepts influenced new planning concepts that featured higher densities with large green spaces. Prii - who was born in Estonia and moved to Toronto in his 20s - ultimately designed over 250 buildings across the Greater Toronto Area, with his work continuing to inspire later generations of architects.
Explore North Toronto
Now is the time for residents to experience all that tourists have been raving about for years. Discover shops, stops, places and spaces on city main streets. Stay curious, Toronto.
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Don't Miss
Explore FREE Public Art Across the City. Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021-2022 is a year-long celebration of Toronto's exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it.
We hope that you enjoyed exploring this Toronto neighbourhood and found many other points of interest along the way. While StrollTO highlights some of the 'hidden gems' in the neighbourhood, there may be others that could be included in a future edition. Would you like to share a point of interest that you discovered in the neighbourhood? Email us at [email protected].
Neighbourhood Stroll
This small neighbourhood is the geographic heart of Toronto and among the densest and fastest growing in the city, with new condominium towers popping up amidst the older apartment complexes that came before them. This stroll features some of the great public art that has accompanied these new condominium towers, as well as one of those historic apartment complexes and some of the most well-known schools in Toronto. Many great shops can be found along Yonge Street in the Uptown Yonge BIA.
- David Guinn and Drew Billau Mural
150 Eglinton Avenue East
This striking piece of public art on the side of a building by mural artist David Guinn and lighting designer Drew Billau adds a spectacular splash of colour to an otherwise grey stretch of Eglinton Avenue East. Guinn was inspired by the geometric abstraction art form, particularly the works of the late French artist Sonia Delaunay. The colours are meant to reference the 1980s with its prominence as a time of experimentation in technology. At night, the piece is illuminated via LED neon fixtures from lighting designer Drew Billau, making the colours burst from the night sky.
- Blue Republic, Anna Passakas and Radoslaw Kudlinski 'Stargate'
150 and 155 Redpath Avenue
Emerging from two portals at 150 and 155 Redpath Avenue, this multi-component artwork, titled 'Stargate', animates the neighbourhood with a crew of intergalactic characters in varying states of materialization, transforming a busy and populated corner of Canada's largest city into a window of outer space. Embodying Toronto's energy and diversity, 'Stargate's brightly coloured protagonists remind us of our own feelings of arriving at a destination for the first time. Welcome their vibrant looks, enjoy their presence. Home at last.
- Ilan Sandler 'What's Your Name'
In Front of 70 Roehampton Avenue
'What's Your Name' identifies NTCI students' past and present by reproducing their proper names and handwritten signatures on the sculpture's stainless steel surface. 'What's Your Name?' is often the first question we ask someone and by answering we announce ourselves to each other and to the world. During adolescence our relationship to proper names tends to change; a name is no longer something given but something made crafted and personalized through the deliberate art of the signature. Schools, and particularly high schools, are where the proper name and the signature intersect. Paper and print, which are the core tools of education, become dynamic sculptural forms on which an imprint of students' public and private identities is inscribed.
- Panya Clark Espinal 'Fibonacci Feedback'
17 Broadway Avenue
Stretching the length of a high school athletic field, 'Fibonacci Feedback' acts as a visual articulation of a pattern of movement. Generated with the mathematical sequencing of the Fibonacci series of numbers, alternating blocks of the school's red and grey hues create a gradating rhythmic pattern. The fence acts as a backdrop to cheering fans.
- North Toronto Collegiate Institute
70 Roehampton Avenue
North Toronto Collegiate Institute was originally located in North Toronto's Town Hall. It was founded there in 1910 but upon the amalgamation of North Toronto with the City of Toronto, the formal school building was built here in 1912. By 2002, the building was one of the oldest properties in the TDSB. The new school opened in 2010 and kept some of the Collegiate Gothic aspects of the old building in the school's new courtyard. It was constructed as a Gold LEED Facility' and North Toronto Collegiate Institute has since attained an EcoSchools Gold Certification. North Toronto Collegiate Institute has a prestigious reputation within the TDSB the school and boasts numerous notable alumni. They include Dan Levy, Keanu Reeves, David Cronenberg, Malin Akerman, Jim Cuddy and Keith Davey.
- Catherine Widgery 'Mindshadows'
17 Broadway Avenue
Words are the building blocks for thought. They give shape to our ideas. These cubes embody the energy and power of words within a structure of reason and order. Yet thought is without physical substance so these words dissolve in the shifting light, personifying the effervescence of our intellectual journey. The sculpture is 70% open space: a metaphor for an open, permeable mind. These words were selected intuitively by North Toronto Collegiate Institute students to be evocative without any single interpretation.
- 2377 Yonge Street
2377 Yonge Street
This heritage-listed three-storey commercial building was first listed on City records in 1932. It was designed by architectural firm Sprachman & Kaplan, best known for designing about 70-80% of all movie theatres in Canada between 1919 and 1950, including the nearby Eglinton Theatre on Eglinton Avenue West. Both Harold Kaplan and Abraham Sprachman were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, and also designed many buildings for the Jewish community in Canada throughout the course of their career. Some of the notable architectural features found on this building include its motted brown brick cladding, brick and stone detailing, and stone entrance to the apartments along the side of the building on Broadway Avenue.
- John Fisher Public School
40 Erskine Avenue
Opened in 1816, this school's original building was a log cabin (then called Eglinton School as it was located in the then village of Eglinton), steps away from the historic Montgomery's Tavern. The school burnt down and the current building was built in 1887 in the Edwardian Classical style. It was renamed in 1915 after the first mayor of North Toronto, John Fisher, who also happened to be the architect. It is to this day, the oldest school in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) as well as the board's largest French Immersion School.
- Redpath Avenue Parkette
130 Erskine Avenue
This cute little parkette offers a small urban oasis nestled beneath the many residential towers dotted throughout this neighbourhood and contains a small playground for children.
- Americana Apartments
141 Erskine Avenue
*Private property. Please observe from the street only. This striking heritage-listed apartment tower was designed by architect Uno Prii and opened in 1963. Prii designed many other prominent Modernist apartment buildings across Toronto, many of which stood out with their swooping curves and unorthodox shapes. His design concepts influenced new planning concepts that featured higher densities with large green spaces. Prii - who was born in Estonia and moved to Toronto in his 20s - ultimately designed over 250 buildings across the Greater Toronto Area, with his work continuing to inspire later generations of architects.
Accessibility information: All points of interest are visible from paved sidewalks. Due to extensive construction on Eglinton Avenue East, please cross the street with caution.
The StrollTO itineraries may follow routes that do not receive winter maintenance. Please review winter safety tips and for more information contact 311.
Soundtracks of the City
From global superstars to local favourites and ones to watch, the Soundtracks of the City playlists all feature artists who have called Toronto home. Whether it’s a lyric about the neighborhood, an artist representing a cultural community, or a tie-in to the StrollTO itinerary itself, all the music reflects connections to an individual ward or the City as a whole.
Music was chosen based on an artist’s Spotify presence and each song’s broad appeal, as well as its associations with the cultures, languages and ethnicities that reflect Toronto’s neighborhoods and diverse music scene. Soundtracks of the City combines 425 songs that feature more than 500 different local artists or acts, showcasing songs in 23 different languages.