Moose In The City

   In the year 2000, Toronto mayor Mel Lastman and the founder of McDonald's Canada decided to unleash about 300 moose into the city.  Originally, businesses purchased a fibreglass moose and it was uniquely painted by an artist. Now over 22 years later these moose can still be found popping up in unexpected places.   This is a list of the moose we have managed to track down, in no particular order.  Most of them can be found in Ontario, Canada. Visit them while you can as you never know when they may be off to a new home.

1 ) World Famous Moose  (1 McDonald's Place, North York)

    This moose stands outside McDonald's Canada Headquarters.  Its plaque says it is "World Famous Moose".  We think it should be called Ronald McMoose after the character it resembles.

   As an added bonus, this moose is located right next to a giant McCafe coffee cup.

2)  Lucky Moose  (393 Dundas Street West, Toronto)

    Lucky Moose stands on top of the Lucky Moose Food Mart.  The market might even have been named after the moose.  The logo on the sign however, has the horns of a cow.

3)  ATS Moose  (100 Vaughan Valley Blvd, Woodbridge)

 

    This all red moose stands in front of ATS Healthcare which provides temperature controlled transportation for medical purposes.

4)  Bay Street Moose  (4241 Dundas St W, Etobicoke)

    This moose is wearing his best suit and is ready for some wheeling and dealing on Bay Street.  When the day is done he is up on the roof of Gibson's Cleaners to get his suit dry cleaned.

5)  Yellow Moose  (1900 Steeles Ave W, Concord)

An all yellow moose with a few blue highlights stands out front of Alpa Lumber Group.

6)  Impact Tools Moose  (1170 The Queensway, Etobicoke) 

 

 

    Another all yellow moose is up on the roof of Impact Tools.  This one is wearing some sort of protective vest.

7)  Santa Moose  (50 Bonnie Dr, Simcoe, ON)

 

   Out in Simcoe, Ontario they do a special Christmas Panorama each winter.  Santa Moose who originally stood outside Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto makes a special appearance every year.

8)  Bluewinkle Moose  (8200 Warden Ave., Unionville) 

 

  

     This moose is located in the lobby area of the IBM Canada Software Lab.  This is a private company building so we were not sure if we would manage to get a visit.  We tried our luck and showed up one day.  The security guard was kind enough to let us take a few pictures.

 

 

    Bluewinkle even has his own IBM access badge with his name on it. 

  9)  Centreville Moose  (Centreville Amusement Park, Toronto Islands)

   This moose we know is no longer where we spotted it many years ago.  We were busy taking pictures of the touring cars we enjoyed riding in as children when this moose snuck into the shot.

  10 ) CuJo Moose  (1037 Little Britain Rd, Little Britain)

      This moose out in the town of Little Britain is named after legendary Toronto Maple Leaf goalie Curtis Joseph.  While you are there you can get some sweet treats at the Buttertarts 'N More store.

11 ) Florence Moosingale  (396 Moore Ave, Toronto)

 

    This moose is located outside of Integracare. Integracare provides health care services.  The moose was named after Florence Nightingale who was the founder of modern nursing.  Florence Moosingale could be the founder of modern moosing.

12 ) St. Clement's Moose  (21 St Clements Ave, Toronto)

    St. Clement's is a private school for girls and at least one moose.  This moose is all dressed up in the school uniform.

 

13 ) Global Moose  (222 Bremner Blvd, Toronto)

 

    This moose was found inside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  He is wearing a nice suit with flags from around the world.

 

14 ) Mountie Moose  (430 Pine St, Waubaushene)

 

     This moose used to be seen hanging around the CN Tower but has since changed locations.  He was all dressed up like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  When a beloved moose mascot named Wauby was damaged at a truck stop in Waubaushene, the Mountie was sent in to save the day. 

15 ) Angus Moose  (231 Mill St, Angus)

     Formerly known as Marty, this moose is now called Angus after the town where it resides.  At some point it was placed above the drive-thru of the local McDonald's.  It was repainted by local students when it moved from its original home at the Universal Studios offices in North York.

16 ) Northwest Moose  (20 Wynford Drive, Toronto)

      This moose is blue and white and stands outside a medical centre just across the steet from the Aga Khan Museum.  

17 ) Incredible Moose  (30 St. Regis Crescent N, North York)

     This colourful moose is standing outside of Incredible Printing.  It has different type faces on it.

 

18 ) Zeus Moose  (169 South Rd, Devonshire, Bermuda)

     This moose is not in Ontario, Canada.  He can be found wearing his Bermuda shorts in the land that invented them.   He moved from Canada to the Bermuda Botanical Gardens, in Bermuda of course.

19 ) Sweet Molly's Moose  (352 Queen St E, Unit #1, Acton)

    
  This moose can be found hanging out inside a British bake shop surrounded by sweet treats.

  

20 ) Canadian Crane Moose Trio  (60 Saunders Rd, Barrie)

 

     These three moose can be seen on the roof of the Canadian Crane building as you head northbound into Barrie on the 400 Highway.  We haven't had a chance to get a good photo yet.  We are either speeding past headed north or distracted as we slowly stop and start headed southbound with the cottage country traffic.  Perhaps the Good Life Fitness parking lot on the west side of Highway 400 would give us a good view to finally get a picture. 

21 ) Green & Ross Moose  (3899 Highway 7, Woodbridge)

     This green moose is outside of an Active Green + Ross Tire And Automotive Centre.  

22 ) Stanley Moose  (St Leonards Ave and Mount Pleasant Rd, Toronto)

     This moose can be spotted looking off of the roof of a private residence along Mount Pleasant Road.  

23 ) Police Moose  (40 College St, Toronto)

     Police Moose is ready to serve and protect at the Toronto Police Headquarters.  He even has a moose calf with him helping to keep watch over the Police Museum.   

241 ) Kennedy Road Moose  (2 Antrim Crescent, Scarborough)

 

     The Kennedy Road Business Association sponsors this moose.  The moose thanks you for supporting the many businesses located between Lawrence Avenue and the 401.

 

  

25 ) Excalibur Moose  (100 Princes' Blvd , Toronto)

 

     This moose was found hiding down the hallway on the far east end of the Enercare Centre (Formerly Direct Energy Centre).  He has scenes from years of the Canadian National Exhibition painted on his body.  He also has golden antlers and wears a crown.

 

26) Cherry Shirt Moose  (1405 Denison St, Markham)

 

    This moose is wearing a cherry shirt, jean shorts and little red shoes. Also maybe too much blush?

Well, there are all the moose that we have found for you.  Only a couple of hundred more to go.  If anyone has recently found a missing moose let us know in the comments.  We will update this list if we locate any more on our travels.

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Map of Our World

Moose In The City Toronto Map , Moose In The City World Map

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Post # 311

A Weekend In Paris

 Location: Paris, Ontario, Canada
Address: 106 Grand River St N.
Date: March 2022
Website: www.brant.ca

    Even though travelling is a little harder these days, we still managed to get away for a weekend in Paris. Paris, Ontario that is. Paris was not named after the city in France, but named for the nearby deposits of gypsum which were used to make plaster of Paris.  Paris has often been referred to as the prettiest little town in Canada. The restaurants and other businesses on the main street look out over the Grand River. We visited on a cold weekend in the off season and still found a lot to keep us entertained.

    Paris, Ontario is only about an hour and a half drive from Toronto.  As we approached the town even the street signs wanted to remind us that we were not really that far away.

      We stayed in the Arlington Hotel which was built in the 1850s and is now a boutique hotel with themed rooms.  The hotel stands tall and proud at the corner of William Street and Grand River Street.

   Each room of the Arlington is themed for a different artist.  We stayed in the most Parisian room of them all, the da Vinci suite.  Why not have the Mona Lisa hanging directly over your bed?

    The elevator of the hotel was decorated like a TARDIS time machine from the Doctor Who television shows.  TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space.

    The Grand River that flows past Paris is almost 290 kilometres long and ends its journey at Lake Erie.

   Despite the cold, we decided to walk from town and check out Penman's Dam.  We could feel the warmth of Paris calling us back.

  Penman's Dam was created to run one of the mills for Penmans Limited Clothing Company.

   The area around the dam is a launching point for some of the canoe and kayak groups in the town.

    As we were leaving the dam, it started to snow. Snow in Paris, France is a rare occurrence, but in Paris, Ontario it is quite common.

  The only other travellers we saw near the dam were a pair of dogs all by themselves.  We headed back to the warmth of our hotel.

  We ventured out again to explore the town.  At the north end of town is a mural showing Hiram Capron.  Hiram was the founder of Paris and lived and died in the town he helped incorporate in 1849.

   At the south end of town is a clock and a war memorial.  "Lest We Forget" the men and women of Paris who were lost during war. 

  Paris is also known for its use of cobblestone in the construction of many buildings around the town.  Cobblestone Common is the name of a park located beside the river.

  Charles Mitchell house is a good example of cobblestone used in construction.  If you look closely you can see all the little stones mixed into the front wall.

  A local pub is even called The Cobblestone in honour of all the stones used in town.  We'll drink to that!

  The rest of town has some interesting places to visit and more interesting architecture.  You can also tell stories of your trip and dream of being in Paris, France.  "I read the most interesting book in a library in Paris".

    There are many different churches to see in Paris.  Nothing quite compares to Notre Dame Cathedral.

  The Paris Jewellers had an Eiffel Tower in their window to further make you feel like you are in a different Paris.

  Frog legs have long been a delicacy in Paris, France.  Chocolate Sensations offered many sweet treats including chocolate frogs.  They are just solid milk chocolate in case you were wondering.

  Just as we started to feel as if we were somewhere in Europe, we spotted a Canadian hardware chain.  The local Paris Home Hardware reminded us where we were.  Not a bad place to be.  We enjoyed great food, interesting architecture, a quirky hotel and more.  We were told we need to come back in the summertime when the city is filled with flowers and at the peak of its beauty. 

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Map of Our World
Paris, Ontario

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Post # 310

Little India

 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 1432 Gerrard Street East
Date: Feb 2022

    Little India is the name given to a stretch of Gerrard Street East between Greenwood and Coxwell avenues.  It is named after the many Indian restaurants and businesses in the area.  We took some time to take a walk through this part of Toronto.

   We started our journey just south of Gerrard Street East on Greenwood Ave.  The people on the back of this building were also headed north.

      The next building paid homage to the clay brickyards that used to reside in the area.  The mural shows children playing in the streets and the signs above list some of the brickyards.  Some of the brickyards are John Price, Taylor, Wagstaff, Russell and more.  The building also used to hold the Brickyard Bistro.

   The brickyards used to operate further north on Greenwood Avenue.  Once all the clay in the area was used, the yards became a city dump and finally became the property of the Toronto Transit Commision for adding trains to the Bloor Danforth subway line.

    We visited the Greenwood Rail Yard during one of Toronto's Doors Open days.  As part of the event we were given a free subway ride around the yard.

    We headed along Gerrard Street and finally encountered our first bit of India.  At Glenside Avenue we were greeted by a giant peacock painted on the wall.

   As with most of Toronto, no area is all just one culture or style.  Right across from the peacock is a little bit of Greece at the Athens Villa apartments.

  One thing that we noticed a lot during our walk was elephants.  There were elephants up on the rooftops.

   If you knew where to look.

    There were elephants on the fence outside of the local library branch.

  There were also dancers, tigers and the Taj Mahal.

   Here are a few more works of art we noticed on our walk on Rhodes Avenue.  There was a group of cats waiting to pounce on a bird.  There was also a spray painted koala and Uncle Pennybags, better known to some as Mr. Monopoly.  Lastly, as we made it to Coxwell Avenue we came across Super Dave Convenience which always reminds us of the late, great Super Dave Osbourne. 

  These are only a few of the treasures hidden in Little India, we will have to return again when we can explore further.

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Map of Our World
Brickyards Mural , Peacock Mural, Little India Elephants, Toronto Public Library - Gerrard/Ashdale Branch, 1465 Koala, Swizzle Cats, Utility Box (Uncle Pennybags), Flower In A Jar
Athens Villa, Super Dave Convenience
TTC Greenwood Yard

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Post # 309