Toronto Photo Gallery - Queen Street West

Queen Street West is famous for its unique shops, galleries, and street art. It was originally named Lot Street but changed to its present name in the 1840s to honour Queen Victoria. It has historically been home to small businesses to serve local residents, with industrial and commercial areas south of it and residential neighbourhoods to the north. That legacy is still alive and well today.
The Gladstone Hotel is the city's oldest that has run continuously. Built in 1889 in the Romanesque Revival style, it was conveniently located next to the Parkdale rail station at the time. After many renovations over the years, the hotel today hosts 37 rooms, each of which is designed by a different local artist.
Residential redevelopments are appearing nearby and can take advantage of the streetcar route. The Queen 501 is the longest streetcar route in the city at nearly 25km.
A few side alleys have been transformed by graffiti artists and are now popular photography spots. They're still in use by the building occupants so you will see garbage cans and garbage stacks here and there amidst the artworks.
The concept of graffiti alleys or this type of street art can be seen in a number of cities. Toronto's version seems a bit disorganized and chaotic, with proper artworks mixed with seemingly random graffiti, while shopfronts and restaurants haven't taken advantage of these spaces. Melbourne's version seems far cleaner than these back alley garbage dumps and more attractive as a destination in itself.
Lowrise houses are actually quite prevalent in downtown Toronto, despite many new highrise residential redevelopments.