I spy with my little eye...

While walking on Dundas heading east past Jarvis I couldn’t help but notice a couple signs that got me thinking. The first was a sign on the side of an older looking building. The building is the Dundas Square Hotel. From Dundas the hotel looks historic, but once on Jarvis it seems rundown. The sign, which originally caught my attention reads, “HOTEL $49.99 & up.” When I read that I thought…what a deal! However the reason why the hotel is so cheap may in fact have to do with the area it is located in. The giant red letters are meant to attract customers away from the swanky Comfort Suites just a block north. The dividing line between the hotels is Dundas Street. It’s as if Dundas separates the well-off from those of the lower class. Just two doors down from the sign is a building that has clearly been neglected. The paint seems to be stripped and the wood on the wooden boards were cracked. The way this area is decaying physically and the way prices are also on the decline, may portray a downward slop in the area in general.


Another sign that caught my attention was graffiti on the side of a wall in the Dundas East area. On one part of the wall there are five people sitting and standing around two tables. At one table a woman is sitting with what looks like a cigarette in her hand. Her eyes are tightly shut as if she just enjoyed a long drag. She is leaning on her right elbow as if she is relaxing from what could have been a long day at work. Standing beside her to the right is a man holding a drink with a large smile on his face. The shading of the faces and other facial characteristics suggest that the people in this street portrait are of an ethnic background. This might speak to the diversity of people who work, live and play on Dundas. Above the mural is a sign with the word “BREAKFAST” on it. Under that sign is a door that is cracked open. The opened door to darkness implies that there may be a sense of comfort in the area. The door isn’t closed or locked like it would be if it was in an unsafe area. All of this is located on the side of a building, which is home to Wendy’s DELI-CAFÉ. To me this all paints a more uplifting picture for the future. To me this shows a future of diversity and expression. Also this future consists of comfort. Though the building may look old, the graffiti tells another story. This story speaks of open creativity for the years to come.