One down, five to go.

Portraits of Queen West: Spadina to Bathurst is a 162-page full-colour book of photos by Kevin Steele, documenting fifteen years of change on one segment of Toronto’s Queen Street West, published in September 2023 by Black Eye Books. It is the first in a series that will cover all of Queen West.

With the first in the series complete, I’m able to describe the vision for the full set of Portraits of Queen West books.

The core volumes of the series are geographic units, from east to west: East of Spadina; Spadina to Bathurst; Bathurst to Strachan; Strachan to Dovercourt; Dovercourt to Dufferin & the Queen West Triangle; and Parkdale.

Each collection of photos will be a similar size as Bathurst to Spadina except Parkdale, which will be double-sized, and Dovercourt to Dufferin & the Queen West Triangle will be somewhere in-between.

I think I know the order I’ll complete the books. This order is based on: the photos I have and how organized they are; how many city blocks I have to assemble; and what I think will best hold my interest.

Portraits of Queen West: Spadina to Bathurst is available now.

POQW: Bathurst to Strachan is next. It’s the obvious sequel for several reasons. The urban landscape is similar to what I’ve tackled already, as is the range of pictures taken. Everything I learned from the first book applies. There are more city blocks to assemble and a bit of picture sorting to do. I’ll be ready to start designing pages later this year.

Queen St. W. from Euclid to Palmerston, July 2007

Queen St. W. from Euclid to Palmerston, April 2017

I will continue west with POQW: Strachan to Dovercourt. This working title omits the key detail that Queen meets Ossington in the middle of this stretch. I’ll workshop the title, later.

The north side is like most of the street: ground-level storefronts and two- and three-storey buildings. I have more pictures of most of these addresses than I have for the first two books! It’s an editing challenge.

Queen West from Ossington to Givins, Summer 2006. This early city block experiment pushed my little Mac to its limits. I look forward to rebuilding it.

Queen West from Ossington to Givins, April 2017

The south side is half made up of big buildings. Some developments were before I began documenting in earnest. The rest is The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) complex, which has been evolving the entire time I have taken pictures. I’ll be able to tell a story of the south side of the street but no idea what it will look like. It might take some maps or more words.

East of Spadina and Parkdale will follow, but I’m unsure of the order.

The kind and quantity of coverage I have of each stretch of Queen West was tied to my geography. East of Dovercourt, I was often just passing through. That’s why I have so many pictures from the streetcar.

My Queen West in the 70s and early 80s was from downtown to a bit west of Bathurst. I want to do something different when I cover between Spadina and downtown. There’s less of my material to work with — I have complete city blocks for two years, but my collection of individual storefronts is sporadic. There’s room to include some historical images. I hope to spend some time with the Toronto Archives and find the Queen West of my childhood—and earlier.

Queen West from Soho to Beverly, June 2010. This was my original Queen Street destination in the 1970s. In the very middle of this block was Bakka, the Science Fiction Book Shop. In the beginning, it was also a comic shop then that business split off to become Silver Snail, across the street.

Queen West from Soho to Beverly, March 2017. Both collages of this block were assembled with an earlier process that placed too much emphasis on hiding seams, putting impossible aesthetic notions ahead of documentary goals. I plan to go back to the source and rebuild these with current techniques.

I was rarely on my way somewhere else in Parkdale. The neighbourhood was home in the late 80s and the 90s, and after I lived adjacent. The double volume will be so much fun to make because I have a thick collection of pictures to work with and I know people will want it.

Queen West from West Lodge Ave. to O’Hara Ave, July 2006

Queen West from West Lodge Ave. to O’Hara Ave, April 2017

Dovercourt to Dufferin & the Queen West Triangle will be the big finish.

From 1999 to 2017, I lived at Queen and Abell and witnessed an eruption of condos from ground zero. The final volume will go beyond the linear confines of Queen West and also explore south towards the railway tracks.

Looking towards 48 Abell Street and the Queen West Triangle, May 2010. The development is just getting started.

The first book ends in 2017 because I left Toronto and haven’t been back. This is why I was able to get on top of this project and start producing books. I will make a trip to Toronto soon. I plan to shoot up-to-date city block collages in preparation for future releases. I’m sure the street patios are a quality of life improvement but they will create interesting challenges for me.

I was able to block off three months to focus on designing the first book, but I might not get that luxury again. A part-time gig pays many bills but of course, consumes time.

Now that I’ve made one of these books I hope to find some efficiencies.

I can imagine a few tech developments that could help me accelerate some aspects of the work ahead. I’d love to say I could put a title out every year, but realistically, it could take longer. I do have the attention span to finish the project and my doctor isn’t telling me I have to rush.

A few smaller but related books might get created along the way as a by-product of the core project.

Takeaways:

• The next book is Bathurst to Strachan.
• Future volumes will include a recently shot city-block collage.
• I’ll be busy for a while.

Books in the Portraits of Queen West Series:

East of Spadina (future)
Spadina to Bathurst (available now!)
Bathurst to Strachan (2025)
Strachan to Dovercourt (future)
Dovercourt to Dufferin & the Queen West Triangle (future)
Parkdale (future)