All across Toronto there are residential streets lined with uniform, unremarkable homes. So when someone breaks the mould with a strange front yard or weird architecture, it tends to stand out. Some express their individuality with front yard ornaments, others through bold design.
Here my picks for the weirdest homes in Toronto.
The half house
During construction of the Village by the Grange, many of the homes that once lined the west side of St. Patrick St. were bought and demolished by developer Windlass. The owner of #54 1/2, however, was a staunch holdout. While the other properties in the six-house terrace were demolished, the middle one stayed standing, its pitched roof sliced perfectly in half.
The elephant house
Sally the white elephant has been in James Lawson's Yarmouth St. front yard for years. Originally part of an OCAD thesis, Lawson rescued the giant pachyderm from destruction and installed it on his property in 2003. Visitors sometimes leave offerings for the model: beads, cash, sometimes a confessional note. In 2013, Lawson gave weather-worn Sally a much needed facelift.
The doll house
Everyone in Leslieville knows about the doll house on Bertmount Ave. The unsettling front yard is crammed with figurines, dolls, and stuffed animals, all of which face the street and give passers by the distinct feeling of being watched. Judging by the various Google Street View snapshots, the collection of toys is constantly evolving, growing, and changing.
The wood cake house
Corks, small pieces of wood, and sliced pieces of pool cue ("wood cakes") adorn the Clinton St. home of Albino Carreira. From a distance, the effect is to make the texture the brick semi detached property look like it's made of gingerbread. So far, it seems, the wood cakes only cover the front of the house.
The terracotta house
Built in 1905 by J. Turner Sr., probably in an effort to promote his construction business, this Jerome St. property is covered in oversized clay tiles, many of them intended for use on much larger buildings. Once fashionable, terracotta tile fell out of style in the 1890s, and, according to the Toronto Region Architectural Conservancy, Turner took advantage of the sudden abundance of stock when building his house.
The cube house
Built in 1996 on an awkward patch of land between Eastern, Sumach, and the Adelaide DVP ramp, the cube house was inspired by the works of Dutch architect Piet Blom. Current tenant Martin Trainor has recently been renovating the Corktown landmark. In 2011, Trainor told the Globe and Mail he hoped to make cubes a tourist destination.
The Greek house
Toronto has lots of neo-classical buildings, but none as eccentric as the Parashos household on Shaw. The two-storey home is covered in Greek-inspired columns, pilasters, and other antique-looking stone sculptures. The family name is displayed proudly over the side alley in a faux Roman font and the whole thing is topped with what looks like a light-up star.
The Western house
On Regal Rd. near Dufferin and Davenport there's a bizarre home with a statue of a First Nations man on horseback in the front yard hovering over two upside down cowboy boots stuck in the ground. The little patch of land that faces the street has been turned into a rocky, desert landscape in the style of a Western scene painted by artist Frederic Remington.
The assemblage house
What's that in the front yard of 550 Manning? Well, according to Metro, it's a mix of wood and other materials glued together with orange insulation foam. The assemblage is the work of resident Guiseppe Rauti, who started putting material on his front lawn 18 years ago. He told reporter Lia Grainger that kids and other visitors like to stop and take photos.
The tiny house
If there's a smaller house in Toronto, the owners of 128 Day Ave. don't know about it. At just 29 square metres, the property was squeezed into gap intended for a laneway access road in 1912. It only has three rooms: a living area, kitchen, and back bedroom with a wall bed. The tiny house is the only one on this list known to have inspired a song.
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
What did I miss? Add your suggestions in the comments.
Image: Chris Bateman, Derek Flack/blogTO, dtstuff9, Tanja-Tiziana, scienceduck, Michael Greco/blogTO Flickr pool.
by Chris Bateman via blogTO
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