Then and Now Series: Around Church-Wellesley Village

Having roamed Toronto streets since 2010 for my walking guides, I’ve been wanting to revisit so many places to take AFTER photos, just for the fun of it. Who doesn’t like a BEFORE & AFTER?

As we are in the midst of Pride Month, it seemed a good idea to start by revisiting my Church-Wellesley Village circuit. While I was there, I noticed many new hidden gems, not to be missed when you visit the area.

Here are my FIVE favourite new urban sights as I discovered them during my walk, complete with a few Then & Now combos and photos for the ambiance.

Old and new things along a 2.5 kms circuit (closest subway station: WELLESLEY) .

1. Understory Café (505 Church St)

It opened in January 2026, feels like an oasis. They value people talking to each other, so laptops are accepted only on a few seatings. When I visited, there was a little octopus den under one of the benches!

2. Casa Courtyard (50 Charles St E)

There’s more than meets the eye in the new award winning courtyard hidden in the new corridor connecting Charles to Hayden Streets. It had rained the day before my visit and I first thought the corridor had been partially flooded. Looking closer, I saw the root-like pattern etched in the shallow reflecting pool. Sunlight, clouds, puddles, and reflections continuously redraw the courtyard. So, no two visits look exactly the same.

What a successful PODS (which stands for Privately Owned Publicly Accessible Spaces (POPS). They are the result of agreements with the City, that developers provide in exchange for additional density or as part of planning approvals.

Funky sinus wooden bench over dizzying pavement across from 50 Charles.

3. Yonge Street Linear Parks (between Charles and Dundonald Streets)

The cheerful Scarlet Door Café (15 Charles St E) marks the entrance to the Yonge Street Linear Parks. It shares the space with The Crows Nest Barbershop (or is it the other way round?)

The Crows Nest in Scarlet Door Café's space.

The three parkettes covering 325 metres run directly over Yonge subway line. They have been fully revamped in 2024. Corten steel portals unify the look across George Hislop Park, Norman Jewison Park and James Canning Gardens.

When I visited on a weekday, there were many people of all age and apparent occupations enjoying the beautiful day in the three parks.

From George Hislop Park, we can see glimpse of the alley generously painted by veteran artist B.C. Johnson

4. Art installations in the Yonge Street Linear Parks

Set in George Hislop Park (between Charles St E to Isabella St) the pink brick road is actually an immersive art installation called The Dance, created by Toronto landscape architect and artist Scott Norsworthy. Pink bricks are spread unevenly along the wide path, pulling into what looks like a dance floor. Look up when you pass the portals for a different kind of selfie! They are covered with reflecting surfaces.

Adjacent Norman Jewison Park (between Isabella St and Gloucester) offers a unique Indigenous poetry installation called Autochthonous ~ Infinite Aspects of Connection, by Toronto artist Catherine Tàmmaro, of Wyandot (Wendat) and Italian ancestry. The art is subtle. Once I noticed that a poem was cut into one portal, I had to see them all.

Barney's Fountain in Norman Jewison Park is a memorial to Barney, film maker Norman Jewison's yellow Labrador retriever.

Neo Coffee Bar (12 Gloucester St, just off the park) is very Japanese-style modern, with yummy treats.

5. The Garden of Lost Boys (corner of Church and Alexander)To be admire from the sidewalk, the lovely garden was Initiated in 2020 by local gardener Luke Plourde. He got permission from the owner of the vacant lot to transform ii (from his own pocket) into a memorial to friends and community members lost during the AIDS crisis. In 2024, the Church-Wellesley Village BIA began providing financial support for infrastructure and maintenance, it received a Community Builder Award and won recognition from the Toronto Garden Society.

Collages of silhouettes of people kissing on west side of Dapper Lane.

Then and Now:…

BEFORE shots from 2014. AFTER shots from 2026.

Bathhouse Raids mural by Christiano De Araujo and Troy Brooks

Seen at parking lot at 412 Church St. It represents the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids considered a turning point in Canada's LGBTQ+ rights movement. Yes, it’s faded a bit under the sun and the yellow police car has unfortunately been painted over. I really wish maintenance funds were systematically allocated to these big mural projects so the message is clear that people STILL care about them.

The 519: LGBTQ History & Community designed by John Kuna and painted by Christiano De Araujo

Set in Barbara Hall Park (519 Church St). One of the largest murals created for WorldPride 2014, serves as a giant visual timeline of queer history.

Before and after of the parks within the Yonge Street Linear Parks 

James

Norman Jewison Park (2026)

A 2.5 kms walk around Church Street in Church-Wellesley Village.

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!