Found this on a closed restaurant’s patio.
I adore the face.
It makes me think of the sun.
The rest of the mural….????
That does not look like authentic writing.
Here’s some writing, aka burners or lettering.
Says – In Sight
Says – Breathe
Says – Poser
Says – Putin Go Fuck Yourself, in Ukrainian
Says – Tensoe
What does below say? I’m not buying it!
Pics of Sun Face taken September 13, 2022
Other pics taken 2017 -2021
Toronto, Canada
No artist: a mural company
Only the floors are crooked!
I had moved to Toronto to attend College. I was a student, working my way through and living hand to mouth. Someone told me about this place where I could stretch my money.
In 2017, they tore it down. Please join me and my special guest, D.G. Kaye, a fellow blogger, writer and Torontonian, while we take a look at what was, and the creature it has become! First a bit of history.
D.G. Kaye – Honest Eds was an iconic landmark to the people of Toronto. It was one of our first bargain basement type structures that sold a lot of low-end stuff with everything from food to vacuums. It was pre, our Dollar Store days, even pre, Bi-way (what was known as a bargain franchise that came along after). Honest Eds was erected in 1948 and was torn down for yet, more condo buildings in 2017.
The store took up two blocks, facing one of our famous streets, Bloor St., as well as the side street, Markham St. where Mirvish bought up homes to expand the store. Originally, Honest Eds had the front door of the business on the Markham St. side because the taxes were cheaper than having the entrance on the front of Bloor St. Through the years of buying up surrounding properties, Ed Mirvish eventually extended Honest Eds two blocks long to the corner of Bathurst and Bloor streets, complete with a walkway, known as the Honest Ed Alley.
Resa – I adored walking down Honest Ed Alley, pictured above. I always found street art on my way there. Below, Honest Ed Alley today.
D.G Kaye – Besides the iconic structure, the people who shopped there, and its vast size that grew through the decades, Eds was also known for its great signage, just one of many, ““Welcome, don’t faint at our low prices, there’s no place to lie down”, full of cleverly written puns as advertising lure, and vast lighting that made one feel like they were entering a carnival – or Christmas.
Resa – I’ll never forget the first time I saw Honest Eds. It was like a midway without rides. My heart pounded, as my eyes widened. Debby, do you remember the first time you saw Honest Eds? How did you react?
D.G. Kaye – Do I remember? In some of my books I write about my childhood, having to spend every weekend at my grandparents’ house. When I became observant by the age six, I remember passing that corner when my Jewish-Orthodox grandmother (we were not) would take me and my two younger brothers at the time, for a Saturday afternoon longgg walk from her house, just west of Spadina, near Casa Loma, where we’d walk to Bathurst St. and pass Honest Eds as we walked down to see my grandfather at the family business, further south from Bloor.
D.G. Kaye -My grandmother wouldn’t use anything electrical on the Sabbath, so it was a long walk, lol. But my eyes lit up at the glitz and the feeling of amusement park, many Saturdays, it was always a busy corner. I always wanted to go in, but no shopping or money used by her on Sabbath, lol. Only after I moved away from home at 18, did I venture into Ed’s bargain basement prices, a place of everything and anything. Those were golden days.
Above- the way it was just after closing. Below – The way it is now.
Resa – How did you react when you saw the new Honest Eds corner above?
D.G.Kaye – It’s sad to look there when you knew what was there for your whole life. A lot of what’s become of our city makes me sad. It doesn’t have the same anything anymore. Like many other things in life that seem to be fading from our city, it’s another end of an era, the golden days of past. So I’m happy to be reminiscing about it here today with you.
Resa – Likewise! You mentioned the funny signage on the building. It sure made me laugh. My fave was “Don’t just stand there buy something!”
D.G. Kaye – I loved their marketing. I didn’t think about the marketing aspect of it when I was younger. But looking back at those hand-made signs, I have to admit how clever the advertising was for back then using puns in their marketing. Very clever and entertaining.
Resa – Markham Street was like a throwback from hippy daze. It was lined with cool cafes, handicraft shops and of course, Mirvish Books, one of Canada’s oldest and most popular independent bookstores.
D.G. Kaye – Exactly. It’s those little nook and cranny places that we knew about and visited that were part of the interest that our city had with its diversity. Places where people could meet other people with similar interests. Now it’s condo mania and people attached to their cell phones. The social aspect has diminished in so many ways.
Sometimes it’s best not to look back just because of things like this, the big teardown of an era.
Resa – Gate 3 is Markham Street now. There is a house with art on it, but I couldn’t get in. Looks like there are still a few houses left, and looks like they are being torn down.
Resa – It was a crazy up and down labyrinth inside. I always got lost, and I always had fun. Debby, I feel sad. I have a sense of loss, and not just loss. I have a feeling of impending doom about the future. Am I over reacting? Do I make any sense?
D.G. Kaye – It was like a funhouse lol. I’m 100% with your feeling. It does feel sad because it was a symbol and part of the times, our times. We lived in such a great time, and the city was much different back then. I found the city much more interesting back then. I loved Bloor/Bathurst area through my twenties. They had great authentic international restaurants, especially, a few great Hungarian restaurants I frequented often. It feels like the little great hotspots we both knew in our heydays have been taken over by condo buildings everywhere and big businesses, with now traffic laden streets and crime.
Resa – Debby, I found this art of Honest Ed (dated 2017) in an alley near by.
D.G. Kaye – This is such a great likeness in caricature of Ed.
Resa – Honest Ed began the practice of giving away 1,ooo turkeys every Christmas, in 1989. As a veggie, I was somewhat freaked out. However, the people that lined up were not well heeled. Were you aware that Honest Ed gave away 1,ooo turkeys every Christmas? Now Westbank, the corporation redeveloping the site where Honest Ed’s once stood, is keeping the tradition alive.
D.G. Kaye – I didn’t know that for a long time, and honestly, I think you’ve just reminded me for a second time. I’m glad to hear that he was that charitable. I’m also glad to hear the new corporation is going to keep up that tradition.
Resa – Does that make you feel any better about the redevelopment?
D.G. Kaye – I think it’s a great gesture, but no. I don’t feel that iconic corner should look like more building towers. It was a historic landmark – just like what they did with Maple Leaf Gardens. Don’t get me started.
Resa – Debby, I found this in the same alley as the Honest Ed art. For those who don’t know, the Annex is the area of Toronto which we have been talking about, where Honest Eds was located.
Resa – Debby, I can’t thank you enough for being here today. I’m not sure if what Honest Ed’s has been replaced with is progress, or a Tower of Babel. I do know that I think it is ugly, unfriendly and that I could not have done this post without you.
D.G. Kaye – Lol Resa, you make me smile. I love your forthrightness. You remind me of me. And it sounds like we both wear our hearts on our sleeves. I think that’s an artist thing. I’m with you – a Tower of Babel. I love your honesty, and your giving me the freedom to write here like you – brutally honest. This was so much fun sharing this experience with you. I’m always in awe of the artwork you’re always discovering. It was my pleasure collaborating with you here at your blog. 🧡
D.G. Kaye is a nonfiction/memoir writer, writing from her life experiences and self-medicating with a daily dose of humour. Live Laugh Love and Don’t Forget to Breathe! {click on her pic and go to her blog!}
Pics taken by Resa – 2017 & 2022 (save the old b&w – uncredited)
Toronto, Canada
The Artists:
A friend gave me a gift from one of the handmade signs inside Honest Eds. Everything was sold. These signs sold for $2.00. A few months later I saw them framed and for sale at a curio place. $125.00. They sold in a week.
I fell in love with this old but well preserved bird. It could be a heron.
It must have been even more wonderful when it was a fresh painting.
Pics taken by Resa – September 13, 2022
Toronto, Canada
The Artist: unsigned or behind the trash
The Emmys are tomorrow night. I hope they pay some tribute to Nichelle Nichols.
Nichelle was one of the first African American female actors to appear as a main character in a tv series. She went on to work with NASA.
When she considered leaving the show, Martin Luther King Jr. convinced her to stay aboard the Enterprise because she was such a positive role model.
Tyeth has made a lovely light saber, as part of his tribute to her.
nuqneH and welcome to the other franchise of the final frontier….Star Trek. Today I present my tribute to the actress and space pioneer Nichelle Nichols who portrayed Lt Nyota Uhura in the original Star Trek series (and the first six movies) and sadly passed away recently. It was the news of Nichelle’s passing and a conversation with my friend Resa (from Graffiti Lux and Murals – Link: https://graffitiluxandmurals.com/ ) about Star Trek, the Emmy’s and Nichelle’s role that prompted me to create a saber in Ms Nichol’s honour.
Nichelle was (and still is) THE Lt Uhura, communications officer from the original show and canon movies. Uhura however was very nearly named Lt Sulu but this was changed to help the show’s creator, Gene Roddenberry achieve a diverse cast and George Takei’s character was named Sulu instead. Whilst reading for the part of Uhura, Nichelle had a book with her titled…
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Beauty from Holly – Motion in Poetry
There is a bird whose wings are the shades of a rainbow.
When he grieves sighs pervade the caves of broken dreams.
His sound is the laughter of children flowing like rippling rivers.
His tongue drips the honey of desert flowers and his eyes are an ocean of shimmering shores.
When he is thirsty he sips viscous dew from feathers painted in his colors.
When adventure calls we lift our wings and fly away.
Art by Timothy Parker
Okay, I’m way behind visiting blog pals! I dislike the reader, and prefer to visit your actual blogs. I need to try and catch up!
Charlotte Hoather’s Art Gown needs me to focus until I get a good start. After all, it will be the first Art Gown that I will be sending to someone to actually wear. She’s my fave soprano, and is the 1 person I know who actually needs gowns.
Drawings are done for the next Gowntoons instalment, on Art Gowns.
I need to work on the post, and AGM Holly’s input is critical. So, I need time for emails, critique and whatever else the 2 of us do.
Time – the most intoxicating perfume of all. With this time I’ll visit you from GLAM or from Art Gowns. I look forward to visiting!
When I return with my next GLAM post, I should be all cleared up….maybe.
Pics taken by Resa – August 2, 2022
Toronto, Canada
The Artist:
Unsigned, I think I know, but guessing is just guessing.
“In memory of my mother, Sylvia L. Schreiber … your laugh still echoes.”
Merril D. Smith’s mother passed away in the early days of Covid, in the days when there was no holding of hands, no kisses, no embraces and a veil of lonely shrouding all hearts.
Nonetheless, Merril does not pour a bucket of inconsolable tears into her poems, but rather flows with a river, a river that has many rocky climbs to solid land and ancient trees reaching over its waters. It is upon this river she reflects.
I was 10 poems into the book. Then, on one of my street art hunts, I came upon this mini-mural. There is a constant flowing of blue, with abstract flowers and leaves. I thought, this is like Merril’s book.
To me the blue ribbon is the river, with all its tributaries. Everything else, each flower and leaf is a poem, an insight, or a ghost washing the shore.
The author uses many styles of poetic writing, to effectively create messages. Combined with familial love & experiences, her knowledge of history and adoring appreciation of nature, this book is a rendering of heart.
Always sincere, never maudlin, Merril’s poems have swept me onto the river of ghosts.
With the author’s permission, I get to include 1 short poem or part of a longer poem, in my review. After much deliberation, I have chosen:
One poem titled – In Memoriam: Their Names is “Inspired by the plague graffiti found on the walls of Cambridgeshire church”. I found the impetus evoking and the poem shivering my eyes.
Click on the ghost pic below and go read a fabulous article about this graffiti from 1515.
I’m sure you are piqued by In Memoriam: Their Names. So, to read this coup de maître, and the rest of Merril’s masterpiece, click on my last ghost offering below. It will take you to her book on Amazon.
OR, if you are boycotting Amazon (like me), you can buy a PDF, Print or Kindle copy from “Nightingale & Sparrow”. Just click on their moniker below, and you will be on its page. (They take PayPal!)
Graffiti Lux Art & More 
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