Public art has the ability to make a neighbourhood better. It can even elevate its profile by taking underutilized public space and transforming it into something that helps shape the definition of a community. Yonge + St. Clair is lucky to have a collection of public artworks that not only stay true to the history of the intersection, but display the neighbourhood’s evolution towards the modern and the contemporary.

Earlier this summer, NOW Toronto released a list of 50 of the city’s best-kept secrets, focusing primarily on the murals, buildings, monuments, and landmarks around Toronto. Yonge + St. Clair had four works make the list: The Rosehill Reservoir, the St. Clair Mural, the Peter Pan Sculpture at St. Clair and Avenue Road, and the Story of Oils mural in the lobby of Imperial Plaza.

Those four pieces are excellent representations of the public artwork that has been present around Yonge + St. Clair for almost 150 years, but are just the tip of the iceberg. What other art is hidden around the area?

MOTHER AND CHILD, 32 HEATH STREET 

Yonge + St. Clair is home to a collection of pieces by renowned Canadian sculptor Florence Wyle, a resident in the area. Her 1947 piece, Mother and Child, was commissioned by the Canadian Mothercraft Society and sits outside their building on Heath St. Additionally, at the northeast corner of St. Clair Avenue East and Mount Pleasant Road is Loring and Wyle Park, dedicated to the two sculptors, who for many years had a studio established in the area.

RECLINING FIGURE, 95 ST. CLAIR WEST 

Outside of 95 St. Clair West rests a figure mounted in a horizontal position, lying on it’s back, and cut off at the knees with the barest stumps for arms. Commissioned by Imperial Life Insurance, the Reclining Figure was produced in 1967 by Canadian sculpture John Fillion and adds a compelling masculine presence to the street.

RELIEF FIGURES, 200 BALMORAL AVENUE 

Latvian born, Canadian sculptor Augusts Kopmanis was commissioned by the St. John’s Latvian Lutheran Church to produce this piece in 1968. This hidden sculpture is one of the most dynamic pieces around Yonge + St. Clair – the figures are initially only etched into the stone, but as the people become younger and more vigorous, they are given more depth until they penetrate the stone completely and acquire three dimensions.

SAILS, 22 ST. CLAIR EAST

Prominently placed between two flights of stairs leading up to the entrance of the Weston Centre, stands Sails by renowned Canadian sculptor, Gord Smith. This stainless-steel abstract welds three gleaming steel panels angled like sails on a boat that’s experiencing harsh winds. This 1981 abstract commemorates Garfield Weston and is one of only three prominent public sculptures in Toronto that honours an individual entrepreneur.

ELECTRIC GREEN, 75 ROSEHILL AVENUE

Over the years, the “Mysterious Date” faces by Toronto street artist Anser have become an unmistakable and irreplaceable part of the Toronto Street Art scene. Yonge + St. Clair has been home to his Electric Green piece since early 2014, being scrawled onto a small building across from the Rosehill Reservoir. Anser’s work shows an ability to meld “high art” portrait techniques into the contemporary graffiti scene, melding the old with the new.

Toronto has recently become obsessed with the small plates movement, with tapas, antipasti, mezze, and appetizers becoming more and more popular on local menus. There’s something about it that adds a level of sophistication that elevates the traditional dinner experience. For Yonge + St. Clair, hidden in a little courtyard just north of the intersection, sits Cava, which has been serving Spanish Tapas to midtowners long before the rest of city became obsessed. “We’re one the first restaurants in the wave of modern Spanish in the city,” explains Cava head chef and owner Doug Penfold, who just celebrated a decade in business, in the neighbourhood earlier this year.

Doug has more than 27 years professional experience in the food industry and has been with Cava since the beginning, becoming the restaurant’s head chef and owner in 2014. We sat down with him this week to talk Cava and life at Yonge + St. Clair.

Cava is an easy-to-miss restaurant tucked away in the courtyard at 1560 Yonge, and even though they’ve been serving the area for as long as they have, Cava is still considered a hidden gem by many.

“The neighbourhood has been extremely supportive of us,” Doug shares, “You don’t get to ten years without the neighbourhood wanting you to be here, and we’re very thankful for that.”

Doug employs a “nose-to-tail” sensibility in the dishes Cava creates, focusing largely on Spanish cuisine, with flavours and dishes from other Latin countries playing a large roll in the restaurant’s food.

“Spain’s food culture is that of sharing and we’ve brought that to Cava – it’s a large menu that’s meant to be shared,” explains Doug, “typically we’ll suggest a tour of things anywhere from four to six dishes depending on how you and the rest of your table is feeling.”

The frequently changing menu begins with small plates of Spanish Croquettes with a Caper-Sultana Sauce ($4.00) to various Pincho’s ($4.50 to $9.50).

Cava’s Fried Japanese Eggplant ($15.00) has a crisp outer layer gives way to a soft core of eggplant. Sitting atop tangy tomatillo sauce and fresh cheese, the dish is brought into focus with a sweet drizzle of honey and the smoky/saline complement of Japanese bonito flakes.

‎Supple cubes of skewered venison leg are given a flash-sear atop the hot plancha. Marinated in achiote, roasted garlic, and orange juice, the delicate meat is rested upon earthy sautéed red cabbage and is available for $17.00.

Large pieces of butter-basted sweetbreads sit with slightly bitter shredded radicchio, slivers of poblano‎ chilis, and pieces of crunchy walnut. Cava’s Veal Sweetbread ($26.00) is lifted by a zippy yet subtle walnut vinaigrette.

Finally, Cava’s Cider-broiled Sablefish ($30.00) is marinated in miso and apple cider, and the moist fish is broiled and complemented by nutty Italian black rice, and delicately wilted escarole.

“Cava is very much a progressive kind of dinner when compared to the traditional meal of an appetizer, main course, and dessert.”

Along with their extensive menu, Cava also offers over 40 wines by the glass and over 200 different bottles to aide in your culinary experience.

In regards to the Yonge + St. Clair community, Doug has been very thankful. “The neighbourhood has been fantastic and the people living here are great. This community deserves to see more quality services and businesses come back into the neighbourhood.”

This summer Cava began having Sunday brunch as a thank you to the community. “We’re just trying to do good things for the Yonge + St. Clair neighbourhood because they’ve been so good to us.”

“With all the development, and what the Westons and Slate are doing, there’s a lot of room for growth and quality to come to the area.”

“It’s been a lot of fun – ten years later and we’re still very passionate, we’re still pushing, we’re still well known in the city.” Along with Cava, Doug has a second restaurant in Yorkville called Chabrol, and is “slowly working on some other projects.”

“With everything we do, it’s slow and steady. We like to make things that last, things that are quality, and things that matter.”

Cava is open everyday from 5:00PM to 10:00PM.

Images provided by Cava Restaurant

Now only a few months old, the St. Clair Mural has become a staple to the atmosphere and energy of the Yonge + St. Clair community. Images of the mural dominate the intersection’s geo-tags on social media, and it has received international recognition and praise. It’s improving on what’s an already great contemporary scene growing in the community. Last week, one of the St. Clair Mural’s major collaborators, the STEPS Initiative, celebrated their 5^th Birthday on the rooftop patio of Yonge + St. Clair’s Scallywags with cake, music and live painting by local artist Nick Sweetman.

It was a rainy Thursday evening at Scallywags, but the atmosphere was light and jovial as key members of the project and the community came together to celebrate STEPS and the St. Clair Mural.

The STEPS Initiative is a Toronto-based charitable public arts organization that has become known for leveraging unlikely sites for cultural projects. “We enjoy working within the existing built form,” explains Alexis Kane Speer, founding director of STEPS, “working with the age and infrastructure of a space in areas that don’t typically hold cultural projects.”

One of those areas ended up being the western facing wall of 1 St. Clair East. “It’s all about how together we can leverage our built environment as a host to new cultural spaces and conversations,” continues Speer. “The conversation about this new cultural space at Yonge + St. Clair started when site partner Slate Asset Management recognized what they had in front of them – a giant blank canvas. They understood the role that public art plays in city building initiatives, and we feel fortunate that they decided to do so with STEPS.”

“They were incredible partners in making this project possible, and were supportive in every stage of this project’s development, including reaching out to their business partners in the area when we needed to garner additional sponsorship to make it possible.”

Alexis spoke often to how fortunate she felt towards all the supporters, artists, funders, and community partners STEPS had worked with over the years. “We felt very fortunate to have a great public response to this project when we set up tables in libraries and office lobbies to survey the community about what they wanted to see on that wall.”

When you take a closer look at the mural’s design, you will see recognizable Toronto landmarks like the CN Tower, St. Lawrence Market, and the Royal Ontario Museum, mixed with the A-frame architecture that is very characteristic of Yonge + St. Clair, and local businesses like Scallywags. The city’s vast green spaces and ravines are also illustrated in the form’s curvature, which are all reflections of what the community shared with STEPS by participating in community surveys.

“This mural is a perfect example of what’s possible when a strong public, private, and community partnership comes to life. It took over 10 months of hard, hard work to bring a design that is truly reflective of Yonge + St. Clair,” adds Speer.

“It is a step towards creating an identity for this neighbourhood and this city,” preached Ward 22 City Councillor Josh Matlow, who spoke at this event. “It’s the first step in showing the world that we are a creative, vibrant centre of arts and culture.”

Alexis was proud of how STEPS has evolved and changed the makeup of the city since its founding in 2011. “We have always been shamelessly attracted to challenges, especially ones that push ourselves and others in the cultural development and business sectors to think outside the box,” or in the St. Clair Mural’s case, the wall.

“So let’s allow art to do what art does best – start conversations, challenge the way we organize our community, and ask if there are other ways of building and maintaining our cities,” concludes Speer.

“It’s been a wild ride and we’re excited to see what the future holds for us.”

This week the Yonge + St. Clair Blog spoke with Andrew Moor, CEO and Director of Equitable and EQ Bank, a bank with roots in the neighbourhood since the early 1990’s.

We sat down to talk about EQ Bank, the rise of mobile in Canadian banking, and his feelings about Yonge + St. Clair. Andrew Moor joined the company in March of 2007 and in his tenure has seen the assets under Equitable grow to $14.4 billion, establishing Equitable as a major participant in Canadian banking.  

What sets Equitable and EQ Bank apart from other banks?

We’re what you’d typically call a challenger bank, or a bank with no branches. Equitable is the 9^th largest bank in Canada, but we operate entirely through digital and brokers, with the majority of our employees working out of the Yonge + St. Clair office.

What effect has smart phones had on the banking industry?

It has had a massive effect. EQ Bank is the first bank in Canada that was born in a mobile world, and the traditional set up of even online banking – sitting at your computer – is no longer the climate. Everything is moving towards becoming more phone-enabled; being able to sign up for an account, manage and monitor transactions, depositing cheques remotely, and EQ Bank was founded with mobile banking in mind.

Although, there are limitations with digital banking – you can’t write cheques or receive paper statements, but it’s a step towards the future and thinking about banking in a new way.

Mobile is the wave of the future. 

How does going mobile from the beginning separate you from the big banks?

With EQ Bank having a much smaller rental footprint, none of those street front location costs play a factor and it allows us to do things like offer the highest savings account interest rate in the country, or avoid charging fees for e-transfers – we even allow our customers to pay their bills through their saving accounts.

We have a great situation at Yonge + St. Clair, as we can run our entire bank from floors 3 through 8 at 30 St. Clair West. When you think about the cost that the big banks have to bear with having all those branches, with the advertising positioned as “come on in and we’ll take care of you.” It’s enormously expensive to deliver good service without either the product suffering, or the customer paying for it in some way.

So does this mean that EQ Bank doesn’t offer chequing accounts?

The one big thing we do that is unique in the Canadian marketplace is that your payroll can come into your savings account with a 2.0% interest rate on it, and you can pay your bills and send money to your friends directly out of that same savings account.

Most other banks require you to move money between savings and chequing accounts, but why is that? Our worldview on the matter is that fewer and fewer Canadians write cheques so it doesn’t make sense for most to have two accounts.

We’re trying to change that view of how banking should work.

You’ve mentioned the 2.0% interest rate from your Savings Plus account. EQ Bank generated a ton of buzz when it released that account last year. How has the reaction to this savings account educated Equitable about Canadians and their finances?

What it showed you is that Canadians are not necessarily satisfied with the options provided by the big banks and they’re prepared to try something new. We certainly hoped that would be the case when we launched the digital bank, but it turned out that Canadians were really looking for better solutions.

I recall reading that EQ Bank had to establish a weekly cap to the number of accounts it could open when it launched due to demand, is that still happening?

That was such a strange thing to happen – who has ever heard of a queue to sign up for a bank account? We did indeed have to set up a digital line-up to deal with demand at the time, but today anyone can visit our website and sign up.

What’s next for EQ Bank?

We’ve really only taken the first step in what’s going to be a long journey. Our goal is to become the bank that is widely regarded in Canada for offering the very best product and service to Canadians. It’s a pretty lofty goal, but we think we’ve got some great infrastructure to do that – we’re built on a great technology platform and have wonderful people that are committed to that cause.

In the next few years we want to keep on delivering new products and services that make sense for everybody, and work towards being known as a safe, simple, and trustworthy bank.

Any tips or advice for young Canadians just starting out on their financial journey?

Shop around. Don’t just walk into your parent’s bank branch and think that they will have all the answers for you. Go and compare and see if there are better answers out there. I really do think that a majority of Canadians are too complacent about their banking, but like buying anything else, you have to shop around and see what the best option is for you.

What drew Equitable to establish their Corporate Office at Yonge + St. Clair?

We’ve actually been here since 1992 and what drew Equitable to establish their office here was because many of our customers on the savings and GIC side were thought to live in midtown, so it was an effort to be more convenient to the customer.

We actually just renewed our lease at 30 St. Clair West as we really do enjoy the area; it has great transit connections, it’s a good location for employees that live uptown and downtown to commute to, and it’s a place that has its own unique feel. It’s not lost in the canyons of downtown Toronto, with a very unique neighbourhood character to it. It’s kind of cool in some ways.

You also have a lot of other facilities around here like the Goodlife Fitness, Moksha Yoga, and many other things that people want. Yonge + St. Clair has everything we need without being swallowed up in the downtown noise. 

What’s your favourite lunch spot in the area?

Capocaccia for sure. Go down and see Sal at Capocaccia, he’ll look after you. [laughs] 

[Laughs] Thanks Andrew. 

Cheers.

Images provided by EQ Bank

Yonge + St. Clair is a community that takes pride in the sophisticated – exquisite food, contemporary art, and refined culture. While art and culture is constantly getting better in the neighbourhood, it’s important to appreciate the contemporary work that’s here, now. Last weekend, Yonge + St. Clair’s own Muse Gallery held their opening for Canadian Contemporary Artist Su Sheedy’s solo show “Quiet Out Loud.”

Su Sheedy was born and raised in Toronto and has lived in Kingston, Ontario since 1992. She began painting full time in 2001 and since then has marshalled her fascination with surface effects into a substantial art practice.

Sheedy has always had a great deal of interest in the preservation of the Canadian wetlands, which can be seen across all of her previous painting series titled Marsh, Pond, Bog, and Lichen. Her abstracts appear to be a lush blend of wildflowers, vines, grasses and reeds with patches of water or even snow. Su Sheedy’s works are anything but typical paintings – they have a frenetic energy that is calmed and restrained by her use of natural beeswax and tree resin. The translucence of the beeswax and her dynamic colour range engages the viewer like the 3D atmosphere of a backlit aquarium.

“I began the Pond series in 2009 as a homage to the wetlands near my home in Kingston, Ontario. My painting process is instinctual, spontaneous and quite physical. Rich layers of pigmented beeswax are gouged into, poured, and torched creating rowdy and random markings.”

Twenty years a registered massage therapist, Sheedy remains interested in cellular memory, sensory perception, and our visceral response to texture. Her works reside all across Canada and she has been Chief Hanger and Adjudicator in several Art Exhibitions.

‘Quiet Out Loud’ is open at the Muse Gallery until October 13^th.

A few buckets of paint. Two paint brushes. Hundreds of spray cans. That’s what it took for UK street artist Phlegm to complete the massive 8-storey mural that now rests on the west side of 1 St. Clair West. It’s truly a sight to behold. From a distance, the 8-storey  human form can clearly be seen sitting back in a contemplative pose. But the power of the piece is in the details that slowly emerge as you draw closer. Let’s explore how the St. Clair mural came to be.

Phlegm is an anonymous street artist hailing from the United Kingdom’s own Steel City, Sheffield. Phlegm originally gained prominence through his ink drawings and comics that portrayed highly detailed figures and characters that drew the viewer in. It was not until he started painting his creatures as murals that he received more widespread fame. He has received worldwide recognition for his fantastical scenes of curious beasts, mystical contraptions, and shrouded figures. His pieces can be found all around the world – across England, Germany, Norway, Australia, and now, Toronto, Canada.

Over the course of just twenty-eight days Phlegm arrived to the site and painted from 8AM until the sun baked him and his assistant, Stephanie Bellefleur, off the wall. Phlegm would burn through around 10 spray paint cans a day, adding detail to the mural at a rapid pace while Bellefleur assisted with the logistics, such as working the swing stage, managing supplies, and providing an artistic second opinion when needed.

But how did this project come to be?

In partnership with the City of Toronto’s StreetARToronto program, the project was initially conceived and co-funded by Slate Asset Management, which owns all four corners at Yonge + St. Clair. Slate was looking for something big to kick off a campaign that will revitalize the neighbourhood and foster a new vibrant culture. “We saw a tremendous opportunity as the whole  area  had  been  overlooked –  we  didn’t  see  any  reason  for  that,”  said  Slate Managing Director, Lucas Manuel.

With StreetART, Slate also brought in award-winning public arts organization, the STEPS Initiative, to produce the public art landmark on the western wall of their 12–storey building. STEPS is a Toronto-based organization that allows citizens to take action in creating more vibrant and connected communities through what they call ‘public space ARTivism.’ CBRE, CIBC, Rexall, and Dulux paints also generously supported the project, with Ward 22 City Councillor Josh Matlow giving a strong endorsement. “Yonge and St. Clair is one of Toronto’s most desirable neighbourhoods, and creating a landmark piece of public art in collaboration with one of the world’s most influential street artists, reflects the area’s unique geography.”

In regards to the piece itself: “I chose to work with the human form because it’s really what the city is,” explained Phlegm during an interview with STEPS prior to the project “We view it from the inside as a small part looking out at this huge, almost unfathomable complex network. Like a body, a city has all its functions.” Phlegm sought out to create a piece that integrates the natural urban elements and lush landscape of the Yonge + St. Clair community as an important part of Toronto.  Amidst iconic Toronto landmarks like the CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum, and Gooderham Building, sits the local Yonge + St. Clair pub, Scallywags – a nod to the neighbourhood and the venue sitting right below the piece, with a direct view from their rooftop patio.

“Roads move through it like arteries.” Phlegm continues, “the geology of land informs the shape of the city like a skeleton. Buildings fill the space like skin and muscle. The movement of water and waste, the parks and green space like lungs.” With STEPS, Phlegm’s design was surveyed with extensive outreach to the Yonge + St. Clair community to help determine how the piece can best reflect the neighbourhood. The pensive figure is the collective result of hundreds of community input surveys, conducted both online and in person. With the addition of Toronto landmarks, the city’s extensive ravine system is also represented in the work.

“I like to imagine the huge population of a city, not just now but by everyone who has ever lived to make it what it is today,” finishes Phlegm. “A city is really just a mark left by all those billions of people that added to it and made it what it is.” And now Phlegm has left his mark on this city.

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To read more about the project, please visit the news section of YongeStClair.ca.