Warden Avenue underpass mural
There’s a new mural being painted on the railway underpass at Warden Ave. south of Danforth Ave. that’s so spectacular it’s literally stopping traffic.
It’s a sweeping mural of the Scarborough Bluffs and includes a portrait of Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe.
Elizabeth Simcoe is credited with naming Scarborough after writing in August 1793 that the Bluffs reminded her of the limestone cliffs in Scarborough, England.
Artist Andrew Horne painting underpass mural
Murals on both sides of underpass
The mural, which is on the western wall of the underpass, measures 16 by 94 feet.
And that’s just half of it.
Next spring the eastern wall will be painted with an image of the Bell Estate and the horse-drawn wagon of Mitchell’s store, a famous early landmark in Birch Cliff.
The entire project will measure 360 square metres.
De Anne Lamirande
Artist De Anne Lamirande
The artist responsible for the mural is De Anne Lamirande of Airways Airbrushing and Sign Co. who says she’s delighted by the positive response from the community.
“People are so supportive, walking by and giving us the thumbs up, and “beep beep”. People are loving it.“
Lamirande is working with artists Andrew Horne and Emelia Jajus and discovered after one day that they had never seen the Bluffs in person before. Lamirande took her colleagues on a field trip and says it had a big impact:
“We went down and they were going “Oh wow!” now I know exactly what to do. They came back so inspired after actually seeing it live instead of on a reference photo,” said Lamirande.
Unlike the three birch tree murals that were completed on Kingston Road this summer with grants secured by the organization “Mural Routes”, the latest mural is an anti-graffiti measure being paid for by the City of Toronto.
Artist Andrew Horne painting underpass mural
Bridging the communities
The underpass marks the dividing line between Ward 35 and Ward 36 (Birch Cliff) and it was Ward 35 councillor Michelle Berardinetti who secured funding. Mural Routes has also been involved in the project.
Lamirande says when she paints the pillars in the middle of the road she’s going put birch trees on the south side to tie in with the existing Birch Cliff murals and oak trees on the north side to represent the community of Oakridge.
“The bridge will bridge the two communities together,” says Lamirande.
It’s hoped there will be a public unveiling of the mural when it’s finished in June.
A fantastic idea in a high-traffic area that really gives a good impression of the neighbourhood. A big return on a modest investment.
It has been a very rewarding job so far, look forward to getting back to it and speaking with people mid March.