Serra's Shift worth US$8 million?

Photo by Barry Wallace

Another year has come and gone and once again Richard Serra's monumental sculpture 'Shift' languishes, mostly undetectable, on land owned and fenced-off by Hickory Hills Investments (Great Gulf Homes) in King City.   Shift was commissioned in 1970 (completed in 1972) by art collector Roger Davidson and appeared on his family property, south of the village.   45 years later, Wikipedia states: "Serra's studio estimates that a commission of this nature would now be valued at between US$7 and US$8 million".   One can't help but wonder, as Shift's concrete body cracks and crumbles, how many years it has left, particularly if nothing is done to formally preserve and protect it in a legal and financially-sustainable fashion.   A critic once described Shift as 'brutalistic', but art appreciation aside, what is truly brutal are Shift's dim prospects.
Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace

A Christmas tradition...

Photos by Barry Wallace

'Wedding Dance' AMARYLLIS

Hadeco Amaryllis ~ South Africa

For many years, Linda has insisted on having an amaryllis in the house at this time of year.   They come in many colours, of course, but this year we have a beautiful white one, named 'Wedding Dance'.   At Christmas, our amaryllis might usually be found in the centre of the dining room table, on the living room coffee table, or in the middle of a picture window.   But this year, this white amaryllis was so serenely stunning that we placed it on the kitchen counter, in front of a window, where we see it, up close, dozens of times everyday.   What a treat.

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Barry Wallace

Martin Street ~ King City

                                                                                                                             Photo by Barry Wallace

So far, it's been a non-winter and now it's almost the new year.   The photo above could easily have been taken anytime over the past several weeks, but it was taken on Sunday, December 28th of LAST YEAR (2014).   The weather and the times indeed are a changin'.

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Barry Wallace

Locale logo logistics long time coming

It's been just over three years since Locale Restaurant Bar & Lounge opened in King City's old and historic Crawford Wells General Store, in the centre of the village, at Keele Street and King Road.   The dining establishment was an instant success and appears to be continuously thriving.   For all of those three years, and even though the sign on the front of the building said Locale, the signage on the north side of the restaurant continued to advertise the previous businesses.   As of a week or so ago, the long-standing confusion has been rectified.   Pictured at left, is a brand new Locale sign on the north side of the restaurant.   Best wishes to Locale in the new year.

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Barry Wallace

    

Not all horses are big at Dog Tales Sanctuary

Photo by Barry Wallace

Anyone driving near Dufferin Street and the 19th Sideroad can be forgiven if they think that the Dog Tales Sanctuary is all about heavy draught horses.   There are 50 to 60 of the big beautiful beasts roaming the fields there, at any given time.   But there is also a handful of rescued ponies and a small but striking, chocolate brown and white donkey in a small field of their own, away from the big guys and gals.  The Dog Tales dogs are all inside kennels in one of the barns, but they also have an outside exercise yard. Nevertheless, the dogs are not all let outside at the same time, in the way the horses are.   Visitors are welcomed on Sundays between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

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Barry Wallace 

Two views of Marylake

 Photos by Barry Wallace

The day before Christmas on Mary Lake, north of King City, large rafts of Canada Geese and a pair of Trumpeter Swans were seen being pushed about by high winds, on a day that was otherwise sunny and remarkably warm.   Meanwhile, mere steps away, the inside of Marylake Shrine was presenting a dramatic visual contrast  to the lakeside view.  

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Barry Wallace

Schomberg nativity scenes

St. Mary Magdalene's Anglican Church

St. Patrick's Catholic Church

Schomberg United Church

Photos by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace

All that's needed is a little snow

 Photos by Barry Wallace

The Iron Horse Ranch

Weston Road ~ south of Pottageville

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Barry Wallace

Late December on the Oak Ridges Trail

 Photos by Barry Wallace

...between Marylake & Pine Farms Orchard

Greenery and open pools of water are still to be found in late December on the Oak Ridges Trail, north of King City.   In the photo below a hand-crafted forest flag, of some sort, shares space with a trail marker on a tree...a gesture or memento perhaps from one hiker to a partner.

 

Above, a green moss doily covers an old tree stump.   Below, oak leaves carpet large plots of the forest floor beneath the trees for which the trail is named. 

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Barry Wallace

King's Ridge Marketplace

 Photos by Barry Wallace

The main pedestrian entrance to King City's new King's Ridge Marketplace, at the north-west corner of King Road and Dufferin Street is seen above as the decorative gateway receives sculptural architectural elements and identifying signage.   Tenancy at the new shopping centre appears to be over the 50% mark and should be filled completely at some point in the new year.   Coppa's 50,000 sq. ft. food marketplace should be open by mid-summer.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

New subdivision underway in King City

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Old Jimmy Cairns farm disappears

The physical development of the old Jimmy Cairns farm on the 15th Sideroad, west of Keele Street, is underway.   The site sits between Kingscross Estates on the south and Villanova College to the north.   The last Cairns family member to work the farm was the late Elmer Cairns, who took over the farm from his father, Jimmy Cairns.   There are still some longtime King Township residents who refer to the 15th Sideroad as the Jimmy Cairns Sideroad, and that name was in use throughout most of the last century.   For decades in the 1900s the Cairns home was the only residence on the 15th Sideroad, between the 4th Concession (Keele Street) and the 5th Concession (Jane Street).   The Cairns family name dates back to the early 1800s in King.   On the west side of King Township, the Cold Creek Conservation Area sits on land that was once owned by two Cairns brothers in the mid-1800s.   They were uncles of Jimmy Cairns.   The new subdivision development took quite some time to become a reality.   A number of issues arose that took much negotiation to settle.   Longtime residents of Kingscross Estates objected to development so close to their country estate homes. Even as the development gets underway, there are issues, such as buffer zones, still in the settlement phase.   In the photo below, one of the six Kingscross residential properties that adjoin the new development site, can be seen behind the new subdivision site.

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Barry Wallace

Future of King City Garage's old site?

 Photo by Barry Wallace

Hoarding has recently appeared on the street-front of the former King City Garage site, on Keele Street, just south of the King Road.   A reader of this blogsite asked a couple days ago if I knew what was going to be developed on this property.   King's Planning Department says no application has been submitted for a building permit.  A usually reliable source tells me that the site will probably be a mixed-use development, with commercial at street level and residential apartments above.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Pastoral setting disappears

 Photos by Barry Wallace

New homes loom behind heritage buildings

The multi-million dollar homes being built at Kinghorn, by Genview Development Corporation, present a new backdrop to the historical buildings of the King Heritage and Cultural Centre.   The 1851 King Christian Church, fronting on the King Road, is pictured above.   The museum and old train station on the site are also now at a loss of the former bucolically transcending rural scenery, lying to the north alongside the East Humber River.   The heritage and cultural centre, of course, benefited from the gift of a new building which will be a huge asset for the whole of King Township. 
    

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Barry Wallace

Rose at library welcomes winter solstice

Photo by Barry Wallace

King City library's December rose

The winter solstice is just three days away and the King City library branch is welcoming the first day of winter with a lovely pink rose growing in a flower bed, up against the front of the building.   The seasons are askew and depending on who you speak to, there are those who dislike it and those who love it.   I am of the the latter.

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Barry Wallace

Kingcross Estates re-invents itself

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Back in the very late 1950s, Joe Gelleny introduced one of the most elegant, country estate home developments in all of Canada.   It was located between Keele and Jane Streets, at the north end of King City.   Now, 55 years later, a transformation is underway.   A transformation that could conceivably see every one of the original homes torn down and replaced with grand soaring mansions, two and three times larger than the originals.   Pictured at top is the home that probably attracted more drive-by spectators, in the early 1960s, than any other house in the development.   I saw many of these homes being built and spent one summer, when I was 17 years old, working for Joe Gelleny's brother, who did most of the roof shingling of the new homes.   One blazing hot summer was enough of that for me.   Below are photos of some of the new homes transforming Kingcross Estates.

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Barry Wallace      

New pet food store at King's Ridge Marketplace

Photo by Barry Wallace

Global Pet Foods opens in King City

On the road + riding the rails near Eversley

                                                                                                                              Photo by Barry Wallace

Several times over the last two weeks I've noticed railway track maintenance vehicles at work on each side of Dufferin Street, just north of the new King's Ridge Marketplace development.   I'm fascinated to see what appear to be normal street vehicles turn onto the tracks, at the crossing, lower steel wheels onto the train tracks and head off to do track maintenance.   Even at 74 years of age, I find stuff like this makes me feel like a wide-eyed kid again.   I remember back in the 1950s, putting pennies on the railway track at the railway crossing in the middle of the village and collecting the flattened coinage after the trains had passed...pretty exciting stuff!

Photo by Barry Wallace

Here's a photo (above) from a couple of years ago of another one of those vehicles that could drive on roads, as well as ride the rails.   The photo was taken at the Dufferin Street crossing also.   Meanwhile, below, is a photo from the King Township Historical Society of a bicycle adapted to ride the rails of the Schomberg & Aurora Railroad in the early 1900s.

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Barry Wallace

Kettleby round-about underway

Photos by Barry Wallace

After months of site preparation, the first major traffic round-about in King Township is under construction.   The top photo shows the crossroads location of Keele Street and the Aurora-Lloydtown Road, south of Kettleby.   In the middle photo a large extension of an existing culvert seems to accommodate the expansion of the overall intersection.   The siting of the round-about was skewed slightly southward in consideration of nearby households.   The design is meant to mitigate serious auto crashes that have plagued the site over the years. 

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Barry Wallace

Christmas in 12 days ~ plants are budding

Pictured above are two of the plants budding in our King City garden right now.   On the left is a climbing hydrangea and on the right is a peony.   I don't think this is a good thing, but won't probably know for sure until next spring.   The times we live in are interesting, if not a bit disconcerting.   I can't help but wonder if my great grandchildren, when they are my age, will be putting bouquets of peonies on their Christmas dinner table, or maybe Saturday's global warming accord in France will make my fantasy speculations moot.   (Photos by Barry Wallace)

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Barry Wallace

New King City park named for the Langdons

 Photos by Barry Wallace

This new park in the south-west part of King City is scheduled to open in the spring of 2016, but parts of it are already being used by the surrounding residents in the new subdivision, in which the park sits.   The location sits between Robert Berry Crescent, on the north, and Langdon Drive, on the south.   The Langdon name is well-known in King Township and far beyond for the school and coach buses business founded by Blyth J. Landgon and operated by him and his sons, John and Jim, during the second half of the last century.   The company is now part of First Student, the largest school bus line in North American.   The longtime former residence of the Langdon family is the house immediately north of the Anglican Church, on the east side of Keele Street in King City.

 Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace