Islington's Early Murals

A partnership of the Village of Islington Business Improvement Area (BIA), the Heritage Etobicoke Foundation, and Toronto Economic Development, The Islington Mosaic celebrates our shared community history, its defining moments and rhythm of life, how we looked and what we did for fun through the years.

It began as a pilot project, a community building initiative designed to link contemporary residents with the area's roots. Painted in 2004, Islington's first mural was a test painted on plywood panels but area residents loved it. The project has since gained a reputation for having the best quality murals in the city.

Thanks to contributions from business and community members and local developers, grants from Toronto Economic Development and donations in-kind from Benjamin Moore, Village Paint and Russ Dilworth Scaffold, twelve amazing murals have been produced to date. Three more will be added this fall. The ultimate goal is to transform Dundas St West, Kipling to Islington, into an outdoor gallery.

To see the designs for this year's murals click "2009 Murals" on the left side bar on the home page of this website...

Photos of Islington's existing murals can now be found in several places. Try these:

Click on "Islington's murals" on the left side bar on the home page (Click on the individual photos to make them bigger.)
Historian Alan Brown has excellent photos of Islington's murals. To visit his webpage on the Islington Mosaic please log onto: http://www.torontohistory.org/Pages_GHI/Islington_Mosaic.html
Also log onto www.etobicokehistorical.com and click on Islington Mosaic for more images and information.

About the Murals:

Mural 1 – "Faith of Our Fathers”

By graphic artist, Peter Lee, painted by muralist Olaf Schneider in 2004

Islington’s first mural was a pilot project painted on plywood panels secured to the narrow wall overlooking the Village Trattoria at 4901 Dundas. Designed by graphic artist Peter Lee and painted by Islington muralist Olaf Schneider, the mural commemorates the old Wesleyan Methodist Church and manse once located just east of the mural site.

This mural has chipped and faded. It will be replaced in 2009.

Mural 2 – "The way we Were, Islington ca 1900”

By John Kuna, 2005

Located at 4972 Dundas and painted in photographic representational style, this 20’ x 40’ mural is part of a unique, historical diorama. Painted in 2005 by Toronto artist, John Kuna, it depicts Dundas Street as it appeared at the turn of the century.

Designed as a "window to the past” – one that can be measured against the reality of the present which surrounds it – the image includes Hopkins’ store, once located at 4906 Dundas, the Wesleyan Methodist Church which was across the street and the little bridge that then spanned Mimico Creek.

Collaged from area photos, including one of famous Islington photographer Walter Moorhouse’s own family, this work incorporates images of real people from the area.

Mural 3 – " Islington, The way we Were, Part II”

By John Kuna, 2006

Located at 4984 Dundas, this mural is directly opposite Mural 2. Like bookends, they flank a little plaza with the first mural looking east and this one looking west along Dundas Street from Cordova Avenue, ca. 1912.

In keeping with the "Window to the Past” theme, it shows the old Islington Hotel and drive shed as well as neighbouring shops then located on the north side of Dundas Street at Burnhamthorpe Road. At that time Burnhamthorpe Road was located west of its present location. It ran between the Islington Hotel and Clayton’s Butcher Shop.

The hotel’s drive shed stretched across the current intersection which has now been reconfigured to connect Burnhamthorpe Road and Cordova Avenue.

Mural 4 – "Timeline: Islington Then and Now”

By John Kuna, 2006

Located at 4959 Dundas, on the wall facing Goodwill, (originally the Etobicoke Hydro Building and later old Islington Postal Station "A") this mural is a continuum showing Dundas Street at three stages in the area’s history.

The left side of the mural shows Dunn’s Store as it looked in the 1880’s. It was located at 4850 Dundas (now the Second Cup) and, at that time, flowering catalpa trees bordered the south side of the street from Mimico Creek to Cordova Avenue.

The cars in the central portion of the mural are from the 1950s. The right side of the mural shows Islington in 2006 and depicts the shops in the block where the mural is located.

Mural 5 – "Honouring Islington’s Volunteer Fire Brigade”

By John Kuna, 2007

Located on the east wall of Edwards Builders’ Hardware at 4988 Dundas, this mural honours Islington’s volunteer firemen who were once based in this block and who, each winter back in the 1940s, blocked Mimico Creek below Montgomery’s Inn to create a much used and loved skating rink.

Painted by artist John Kuna, the design ingeniously incorporates a boarded window in the back of the building, using it as the serving window for the little hut from which volunteers played ‘dance’ music and served hot chocolate and other delights.

The finished work is a photo-realistic mural 41’ wide and 23’ high.

Mural 6 – "Welcome Mural

"Designed by Peter Lee, Painted by Jim Bravo and students from Etobicoke School of the Arts, Hanna Reynolds and Tongson Chen

This 14' x 41' mural is located on the west wall of Thyme 4 Pizza & Pasta at 5164 Dundas St. W, (at Kipling). It is positioned at the western gateway to the BIA and welcomes passers-by to historic Village of Islington.

Designed by graphic artist, Peter Lee, the mural portrays the historic buildings which appear in the BIA’s silhouette logo seen on village street signs and banners. The silhouette is framed by shadowy high-rise buildings of the present and a road of gold, peopled by figures from the past, leads into the village.

This mural was recently painted over...

Mural 7 – "Riding the Radials", by John Kuna 2007

By artist John Kuna, mural seven is located on the east wall of the Royal LePage West realty building at 5110 Dundas St West. Although this mural is small – only 14’ x 18’ - it is blockbuster design painted in a style reminiscent of old postcards.

The mural is set in the 1920's and depicts the old Guelph Radial Line that ran behind this site linking Islington to communities from Lambton Mills to Guelph during the years 1917 to 1931. That was before the subway transformed Islington into a bedroom community. At the time it was a destination for family outings and weekend picnics.

Mural 8 – "Briarly - Gone but not forgotten"

By John Kuna, 2007

Painted in Post Impressionist style, this mural is 22' x 60' feet and faces Turner and Porter’s Butler Chapel at 4933 Dundas. It depicts the property known as Briarly, home to the Montgomery family from 1870 to 1989 – when it was demolished by developers; but, rather than become a theme of mourning and end, the mural was conceived as an image of endurance and renewal, conveying a sense of comfort, peace, home and family.

Also known as the Gunn house, Briarly was built in the 1840s. It was originally a frame Regency style cottage built on the south side of Dundas, just east of Montgomery’s Inn. In the 1850's it was greatly altered to have an Italianate appearance.

Although the heritage community lobbied to have the home maintained and restored, Etobicoke Council defeated a motion 7 to 6. Briarly was subsequently demolished. Town houses now occupy the site at 4681 Dundas.

Mural 9 – Harold G. Shipp’s "FIRST HIGH FLIER!”

By John Kuna, 2008

Located at 4994 Dundas, this 16’ x 50’ mural illustrates the following story:

"In May of 1944 an eighteen-year-old E.C.I. (then Etobicoke High School) student named Harold G. Shipp convinced a pilot, who ferried Lancaster bombers from Toronto to England during the war, to fly over the school’s football field and drop hundreds of leaflets a few of which could be traded for a ticket to the school dance. The concept was brilliant but it went awry when a wind came up scattering the leaflets across the Chinese market gardens near Montgomery’s Inn.

Imagine the impending disaster as hundreds of excited football fans converged on the field to find a winning ticket, trampling the carefully tended cabbages in the process.”

Mural 10 – "Portraits from the Past"

"By Sarah Collard, 2008

Inspired by old area photos, Manitoba artist Sarah Collard has created a gallery effect on the 19’ x 32’ wall at 4884 Dundas. The mural is actually four separate works, each depicting a "slice of life” from our village’s collective past.

These include: "Apple Packers,” Bigham family orchards ca. 1917; "Islington’s First Car,” a 1917 Chevrolet owned by the Appleby family; "Sunday Afternoon,” a scene showing famous Islington photographer, Walter Moorhouse’s own family on their veranda at 34 MacPherson Ave (now Aberfoyle); and the "Village Shoemaker,” Mr. Nelson, as he appeared early in the 20th century.

Mural 11 – "Mimico Creek, ca. 1920

" By John Kuna, 2008

Mimico Creek was a key factor in attracting settlers to the Islington area, as was Dundas Street itself. Islington Avenue did not extend south of Dundas until around 1962. Before that time, and before the Shell station was built on the north side of Dundas at Islington, artists gathered on the steps of T. Montgomery’s Inn to paint the glorious fall colours.

In this 17’ x 55’ mural we see Mimico Creek ca. 1920, winding through the valley, framed by sumac, spruce and pine, with the house then below Montgomery’s Inn shown at right.

Mural 12 – "Gordon’s Dairy"

By John Kuna, 2008

Painted on the front of the Islington Seniors’ Centre at 4968 Dundas, this 11’ x 24’ mural depicts Gordon’s Dairy, a local landmark once located on that site. The original building had a yellow-tile front and a lunch counter and dairy bar inside. In the 1940s the dairy was a popular hang-out for area youth, and Gordon's horse-drawn milk wagons were a familiar sight on Islington streets.

Murals 13, 14, and 15 may be seen by clicking on the "New 2009 Murals" on the left sidebar on the home page.

About the Artists:

The first mural in the Islington Mosaic was designed by graphic artist Peter Lee who has also created banners, posters, brochures and other promotional materials for the Village of Islington. Located at 4901 Dundas, that mural was a pilot project painted on plywood panels by Islington muralist, Olaf Schneider.

Mr. Lee also designed the entrance mural located at the western gateway to the village. Located at 5164 Dundas, that mural was painted by lead artist Jim Bravo and students from Etobicoke School of the Arts.

Manitoba artist, Sarah Collard, has added an exciting new element to the Islington streetscape. Her four new mini murals can be found on the west wall of the old Musson house at 4884 Dundas.

By the end of the year, Toronto artist, John Kuna, will have painted twelve murals in the village. Much more than murals in the strict sense, each one is a little history lesson, a genuine historical reconstruction, showing a slice of life and real people and places from various stages in Islington’s history. With Mr. Kuna’s painstaking attention to aesthetic and architectural details, these works not only commemorate our community’s rich heritage, they are a legacy for future generations.

Mr. Kuna has been a professional artist since 1998 with works on view in 30 cities across Canada and the United States. These are his first murals in a public forum.

An investment opportunity...

We are currently seeking community partners. The Heritage Etobicoke Foundation will issue charitable tax receipts for donations of $20 or more. Donations of $500 or more will be acknowledged on the mural's plaque and on'Paint the Street' festival posters, flyers and other promotional materials. Why not invest in a mural and help us create a visual legacy from the past for Islington's future?

To make a donation, make cheques payable to "The Islington Mosaic in Trust” and mail to:

The Islington Mosaic / Heritage Murals Project
c/o Village of Islington BIA

P.O. Box 234, Station D

Etobicoke, ON M9A 4X2

To see old photos of the area, visit the on-line archives at http://www.etobicokehistorical.com/. Click on "Old Islington" on the side bar and also see numbers 21 - 29 of the "Photos" section.

Village of Islington BIA