[PHOTO] Two photos of St. Nicholas of Bari Catholic Church

St. Nicholas of Bari Catholic Church, at 1277 St. Clair Avenue West in the heart of Corso Italia, is a bit of an unusual church, built to fit into the streetscape of this traditionally Italian-Canadian neighbourhood. Still, the stained glass windows stand out, even from across the street at twilight.

[PHOTO] “Jesus Saves”, take 2

This is the second time that I have taken a photo of the “Jesus Saves” sign at Faith Impact Ministries on 1780 St. Clair Avenue West; the first take is here. The starkness, of the sign as much as the message, is eye-catching. What, I wonder, will it look like come lush warm green summer?

[NEWS] Five NYR Daily links: Colombia, slavery, churches, journalism, Shakespeare&Co (@nyr_daily)

• The NYR Daily shares a report from Colombia, about the ways in which the filling of the Hidroituango Dam interacts with Colombia’s other social and political issues, here.
• Sean Wilentz makes the compelling argument at the NYR Daily that the young United States was a critical venue for antislavery movements, here.
• The NYR Daily tells the stories of two churches, one white and one black, as they merge, here.
• The NYR Daily shares the stories of a half-dozen pioneering, but overlooked, black woman journalists in the United States, here.
• Caitlin O’Keefe tells at the NYR Daily of how Paris bookstore Shakespeare and Company played a key role in the growth of feminism, here.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: fall, Danforth church, 51 Metcalfe, No Name, Toronto Zoo

• blogTO notes that this fall in Toronto is likely to see erratic temperature swings.
• This sign on the lawn of a church on the Danforth warning off trespassers might have a defensible rationale, but it still seems off to me. The Toronto Star reports.
• This rental at 51 Metcalfe Street does seem sad to me. blogTO describes it.
• I rather like this No Name mural. blogTO shows it.
• As argued here at the Toronto Star, the Toronto Zoo probably should also be understood as one of the key elements of Scarborough.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Kingston, Town of the Blue Mountains, Québec City, Calgary, Edmonton

• Kingston will be hosting an open house discussion on the legacies of its most famous resident, John A. MacDonald. Global News reports.
• The Toronto Star reports on a beach and land ownership controversy in the Georgian Bay resort Town of the Blue Mountains, here.
• CBC Montreal reports on the closure of the Québec City church Très-Saint-Sacrement, after just under a century of operation, here.
• Cost increases for the Green Line LRT in Calgary may lead to route changes. Global News reports.
• The Brick has taken over the space of Sears in the West Edmonton Mall, offering hope to shopping malls of survival. Global News reports.

[PHOTO] Gated garden, St. Cecilia’s Church (161 Annette Street)

I have never seen the gate to the garden at St. Cecilia’s Church (161 Annette Street unlocked.

[URBAN NOTE] Five links about cities: tennis, CFL, twin towns, coworking, space company towns

• Joshua Clipperton writes, here at CTV News, about how tennis like the Rogers Cup is much more popular in Montréal than in Toronto for a variety of reasons.
• The CFL’s Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts are set to play another exhibition game in Moncton, as Touchdown Atlantic tries to gather support for an Atlantic Canadian franchise.
• Guardian Cities considers, with interviews, how Brexit might impact the town twinning that united British communities with those of wider Europe.
• Guardian Cities notes how churches and other houses of worship are starting to market themselves as spaces for coworking.
• I think it entirely possible that space settlements may end up evoking the company towns of Earth. Slate has it.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Fredericton, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Riga

• The city of Fredericton hopes a new strategy to attracting international migration to the New Brunswick capital will help its grow its population by 25 thousand. Global News reports.
• Guardian Cities notes the controversy in Amsterdam as users of moped find themselves being pushed from using bike lanes.
• Guardian Cities looks at how many in Athens think the city might do well to unbury the rivers covered under concrete and construction in the second half of the 20th century.
• The Sagrada Familia, after more than 130 years of construction, has finally received a permit for construction from Barcelona city authorities. Global News reports.
• Evan Gershkovich at the Moscow Times reports on how the recent ousting of the mayor of the Latvian capital of Riga for corruption is also seem through a lens of ethnic conflict.

[URBAN NOTE] Seven Toronto links: Port Lands, Ontario Place, churches, mass transit, Scarborough

• Guardian Cities takes a look from afar at the controversy over Google in the Port Lands of Toronto.
• CityLab looks at the debate over the future of Ontario Place in the Doug Ford era.
• Richard Longley at NOW Toronto looks at how six churches in downtown Toronto have survived the condo boom.
• The City of Toronto has blamed the Ontario government for the delayed transition to Presto. The Toronto Star reports.
• Matt Gurney writes at TVO about how Toronto, having coasted by on surplus capacity, is now facing a transit crisis.
• Osobe Waberi writes at The Discourse about the transit desert that dominates much of Scarborough.
• A fourth subway stop has been proposed for the already expensive Scarborough subway extension. The Toronto Star reports.

[URBAN NOTE] Five city links: Windsor, Calgary, Mulhouse, Naples, Dhaka

• This Shane Mitchell op-ed at Spacing warns about how plans for a new hospital in Windsor can threaten to promote sprawl.
• Debates over bike traffic laws are ongoing in Calgary. Global News reports.
• Guardian Cities looks at how the downtown of the French city of Mulhouse has been successfully regenerated.
• Guardian Cities looks at how the infamous housing estate of Scampia outside of Naples, famously derelict and a nexus for crime, is finally being torn down.
• Atlas Obscura notes an Armenian church in Dhaka, last remnant of a once-vast Armenian trading diaspora that extended out to Bengal.