Redpath Rails
AUGUST 2010 | Acrylic on Canvas | 9″ x 12″ | View Larger »
This painting shows the view along Queen’s Quay East looking westward from Jarvis Street on the Toronto waterfront. The railway tracks are abandoned, fading into gravel alongside the paved street. On the left of the painting is the Redpath Sugar Refinery, painted with an aqua blue dolphin mural (no doubt representing all the dolphins that live in Lake Ontario!) In the distance on the right is the yellow-grey bunker of the Toronto Star building, located at the foot of Yonge Street, which is (depending on who you trust) either the longest street in the city, the region, the province, the country, or the world. [map]
This street is rapidly developing. Just out of view to the south is the shiny new Sugar Beach, a colourful sandy beach that has been welcoming Torontonians since earlier this summer. Just to the west is the newly constructed Corus Entertainment building, and beside that a new George Brown College building is currently under construction. This once dreary and derelict area is suddenly springing to life.
In a few short years the abandoned railroad tracks shown in this painting will be gone, replaced with a wide leafy boulevard, sidewalks, trees, bike lanes, and walking trails. I can’t wait: as much as I enjoy documenting the history of Toronto, I also enjoy seeing progress.