Timeline: Islington Then and Now

Timeline: Islington Then and Now

Timeline: Islington Then and Now

Artist

John Kuna

Title

Timeline: Islington Then and Now

About

It depicts cars from the 1950s and Musson’s General Store in the 1880s; The right section illustrates a modern shopping scene in the commercial strip where the mural was painted in 2006.

The Way We Were, Islington ~1900

The Way We Were, Islington ~1900

The Way We Were, Islington ~1900

Artist

John Kuna

Title

The Way We Were, Islington ~1900

About

This mural collages images from several photos of the area including those of the family of Islington photographer, Walter Moorhouse. Also depicted, Hopkins’ store, then at 4906 Dundas, the Methodist Church and manse across the street and a little bridge that spanned Mimico Creek.

The mural is ingeniously integrated into its setting. The sidewalk in front of the shops becomes the footpath in the mural and, from some angles; even the tree at the left appears aligned with the tree behind the building.

Fishing in Mimico Creek

Fishing in Mimico Creek

Fishing in Mimico Creek

Artist

John Kuna

Title

Fishing in Mimico Creek

About

This mural completes the Children at Play trilogy also present on Riding the Radials at 5110 and on Toboggan Hill at 5112 Dundas W.

As this area is undergoing environmental restoration, this mural is intended to educate what the creek’s former ecosystem may have looked like and what improved creek life could return to. It includes largemouth bass, rainbow trout, pumpkinseed sunfish, common shiner, white sucker and blacknose dace. Look for the common snapping turtle, the leopard frog tadpole, the diving beetle, the crayfish and the dragonfly nymph.

Faith of Our Fathers II

Faith of Our Fathers II

Faith of Our Fathers II

Artist

John Kuna

Title

Faith of Our Fathers II

About

The work tells the story of the Islington United Church from its early Wesleyan Methodist days on Dundas to its current location at 25 Burnhamthorpe Road. It shows Scottish stone masons building today’s Islington United Church. It also shows a circuit rider, one of many saddlebag ministers, who, as early as 1815, rode from hamlet to hamlet attending to the spiritual needs of ~ 30 rural communities.

Briarly – Gone but not Forgotten

Briarly – Gone but not Forgotten

Briarly – Gone but not Forgotten

Artist

John Kuna

Title

Briarly – Gone but not Forgotten

About

Depicts the property known as Briarly, home to the William Montgomery family from 1870-1989.

Briarly was demolished in 1989 and the loss of this beautiful structure was heartbreaking for the heritage community of Toronto. Rather than portraying Briarly as a symbol of mourning and loss, this mural was created to show endurance and renewal, to convey a sense of comfort, peace, home and family. It is painted in Post-Impressionist style.