With Toronto in the swing of Bike Month, it seemed appropriate to focus on two-wheeled transport in my Vintage Toronto Ads column on
Torontoist. This week,
a bike modestly promoted by its manufacturer.
You can also catch my most recent Historicist column,
covering the sole fatality of the Great Toronto Fire of 1904.
***
Last week, I headed down to the Bloor to catch a fundraiser for the
Toronto Cyclists Union, a
Rocky Horror-style presentation of
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. A valet lot for bicycles was set up in front of the theatre (alas, I took the subway down - I intended to finally get my bike on the road this weekend, but the weather gods had other ideas). I was surprised to find out how many people I knew in the audience who, like me, had never seen the movie. Can't say I was a big Pee Wee fan at the height of his popularity, nor were most of my peers - it was that age where you (temporarily, as it turned out) reject things that seem childish in nature, even if they really were aimed at adults. At 10, I would have scratched my head; at 32 I clapped along with the audience and those reenacting the movie onstage.
***
After the show, a band of psychogeographers met outside the theatre for a northwesterly stroll. We were accompanied by a reporter from CIUT -
listen to the story.
This sign on the pool at Christie Pits was not altered with Photoshop. We did not take up its invitation. Elsewhere in the park, drumming, dancing and the scent of frankincense filled the air.
Left: one of the "sharrows" for cyclists that have been added to Hallam Street.
Right: One of Shawn's favourite signs in the city, located at the northeast corner of Dufferin and Dupont.
A series of tiles on the wall of the Wallace Emerson Community Centre, south of the Galleria.
We ended up at the corner of Dupont and Davenport, where a fenced off ramp once led up to Regal Road Public School. While the fence is high at the top, the barrier at the bottom is easy to hop over. A short trek up the ravine is rewarded with a great view of the neighbourhood below and the downtown skyline (Davenport and Bristol is the intersection depicted above).
All photos taken May 29, 2008. Full set on Flickr.
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