Kevin Steele
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kevinsteele.bsky.social
Kevin Steele
@kevinsteele.bsky.social
480 followers 1.6K following 390 posts
Artist, graphic designer, photographer & cat herder.

Documenting Queen West, Toronto for 20+ years

QUEEN WEST COMPLETE 2015 Crowdfundr is LIVE!

https://crowdfundr.com/queenwest2015

Working on BATHURST TO STRACHAN.

https://linktr.ee/kevinsteele
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kevinsteele.bsky.social
Queen West Complete, Summer 2015, is the latest work from Portraits of Queen West, my project documenting over 20 years of change on one of Toronto’s most iconic streets.

Pre-order book or posters to help bring this work to life & contribute to the project, overall.

Please share.

Link in bio.
November 8, 2025 at 8:49 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Queen West from Euclid Ave to Palmerston Ave

Detail from Queen West Complete, Summer 2015 – a series of continuous collages of each side of the 4.6km length of Queen West.

I'm making a book & 3 posters.

Pre-order/crowdfunding link in bio. Please share and help bring this work into the world.
Panoramic view of an urban street with historic brick buildings. Shops and cafes line the sidewalk, with bicycles parked out front. Blue sky above with thin clouds.
November 6, 2025 at 4:24 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
This is a near-final assembly of the Parkdale poster.

All the pictures were taken on one day. I captured the south side in the morning and the north side in the afternoon.

These are the times when no parking is allowed on those sides of the street.

#documentaryphotography
A set of collages of the faces of all the city blocks on Queen Street West in Parkdale, Toronto, in eleven rows stacked vertically. It starts at Dufferin, looking to the south side and continues to halfway down the page at Roncesvalles, then continues on the North Side, back to Dufferin. A title at the bottom reads "A SUMMER DAY IN PARKDALE" with smaller text that reads "Queen Street West, July 31, 2015"
November 4, 2025 at 7:15 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Detail from Queen West Complete, Summer 2015: Brock to Noble

I’m creating a book & 3 posters from this work. The crowdfunding/presale campaign describes the book & posters, & goes live tomorrow.

crowdfundr.com/queenwest2015

I’ll be featuring many of these blocks over the coming weeks.
Panoramic street view of historic brick buildings of an entire city block under a clear blue sky. The image is a photocollage made up of multiple photos taken from across the street. Various shops with colourful facades line the sidewalk. Trees and pedestrians are visible.
November 3, 2025 at 5:54 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Whew! It took 2 years, but I've built all 70 city blocks that make up "Queen West Complete, Summer 2015!"

I'm making a book and 3 posters.

The book design (below) is an homage to Ed Ruscha's Every Building on Sunset Strip (1966).

Crowdfunder launches on Nov. 4

crowdfundr.com/queenwest2015
A sample two-page spread from a book showing linear panorama photocollages of both sides of a street for a few city blocks. One set of collages is upside down, so that the whole page could be turned around to read it. Addresses are labelled under the storefronts.
November 1, 2025 at 7:41 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Can anyone please explain?

The signage at the top of this brick building reads "1478Q Lofts"

The street address is 1480 Queen St W. The grey building next door is 1478.

I'm bothered by this because my label below is correct, but the sign makes it appear as though I've made a mistake.

#Toronto
Street view of three adjacent buildings in an urban setting. Monty's Grocery, a Tim Hortons, and another storefront, under a partially cloudy sky. Under the image, there are labels for the street addresses, 1482, 1480 and 1478. The middle building, at 1480, has signage on the third floor that reads 1478Q Lofts.
October 28, 2025 at 7:48 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
1478 & 146 Queen St W

2025.10.04
Street view of two storefronts. Left: Blue "Dentistry" sign is removed and faded, over an empty storefront with a FOR LEASE sign; right: Black "Love Shop" sign with heart. Mannequins in lingerie and a Canadian flag are in the window of the Love Shop. Two pairs of people walk past.
October 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
1478 & 146 Queen St W

2016.07.11
Street view of a building with "Family Dentistry on Queen" and "Lumicrest LED Lighting" signs. Flower baskets add colour.
October 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
1478 & 146 Queen St W

2015.11.30
Street view of a family dentistry clinic at dusk. A blue sign with a cartoon tooth hangs above large windows, revealing a person inside the warmly lit unmarked gallery space next door.
October 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
1478 & 146 Queen St W

2015.03.16
Facade of a vacant urban storefront with faded blue signage and large "For Lease" signs. A streetcar is partially visible on the right.
October 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
1478 & 146 Queen St W

2011.02.05
Street view of a 99¢ Zone Plus store with a snow-covered sidewalk. The entrance displays various colourful items, and a person stands near the doorway, a cigarette in hand.
October 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Queen Street West near Lansdowne

1478 & 146 Queen St W, 2006-2025

2006.06.17

#documentaryphotography
Storefront with "99¢ Zone Plus" sign, featuring a Canadian maple leaf inside the O. A man in shorts walks past, with dresses and colourful items in the window.
October 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
South side of Queen from Shaw to Dovercourt, 2015

I've built the last segment of my complete record of Queen West in the summer of 2015.

It was a challenge keeping scale consistent and finding points along the plane at the back of the sidewalk to align to.

Now to put all 4.6km (x2) together.
Extremely wide panoramic photo collage, divided into four segments and stacked, depicting a series of urban street views with park area, a long mid-rise building, a small section of Victorian buildings, trees, power lines, and clear blue skies. This is the CAMH facility in Toronto.
October 20, 2025 at 6:58 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Today on Portraits of Queen West

241 & 243 Queen St W

September 2025 & July 2014

#documentaryphotography
Street scene with brick storefronts, featuring a cannabis shop with a "Hollywood Hi" sign. Two pedestrians and a dog walk on the sidewalk. This is a T intersection and the traffic light is red. Street view of Queen Street West with a "cannabis culture" shop named "Friendly Stranger." This is 2014 and cannabis is not yet legal — this is an old school head shop with everything but cannabis. Two bicycles are parked outside. Three pedestrians walk by. This is a T intersection and the traffic light is red.
October 3, 2025 at 11:55 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
1138 Queen St W, April 2007

The Saigon Flower seemed like it would be here forever. It was there when I first moved to Queen and Abell in the late 80s.

I ate many meals there over the years. If you did, too, then you know that's not saying enough.

#documentaryphotography
Street view of a row of buildings featuring a Vietnamese restaurant named "Saigon Flower." A hipster couple walk on the sidewalk with a bicycle nearby. The scene is sunny with a clear blue sky.
October 2, 2025 at 3:00 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
1138 Queen St W, September 30, 2025

R.I.P.

#documentaryphotography
Street scene with a closed storefront partially obscured by a tree. Orange traffic cones are scattered on the sidewalk. The window is covered in plastic, but a sign in the window still advertises "Saigon Flower Fusion." A pedestrian signal shows a red hand.
October 2, 2025 at 3:00 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
I found the source for this block in my “rejected” pile—too many cars, not enough shots. Those reasons don't matter now, so I built it.

Documentary value outweighs other concerns, now that I’m working on BATHURST TO STRACHAN.

Queen St West from Walnut to Strachan,
June 2007, Assembled 2025
Panoramic view of a city street, made up of a series of images, featuring historic buildings with diverse facades, trees, and cars. In the middle of the block is a five story brick condominium that has been built around a historic house that is set back from the side walk with a large lawn. It's a sunny day with a clear blue sky.
September 27, 2025 at 7:34 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
703 & 703A Queen St W, June 2010 & August 2024

Tibet Arts was a few years old in the first picture.

#documentaryphotography
Storefronts on an urban street, including "TIBET ARTS" and "ODD AND ENDS." A person with a dog stands outside the narrow junk shop, filled with shelves of trinkets. Storefronts in an urban setting, featuring "Tibet Arts" with a pink sign and a blue window display, and "Odds and Ends" with a colourful wooden sign of different-sized letters at varying angles.
September 19, 2025 at 3:25 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
1072 Queen St W, Sept 2009 & Aug 2024

This pair of pictures has a lot, including a kitchen sink.

#documentaryphotography
Storefront labeled "Royal" with blue and white signage, displaying washers and dryers outside. A sliver of the shopfront Nextdoor is visible, painted yellow on the first floor, green on the bit of the second floor we see. Street scene with a wall covered in colourful posters advertising events and products. A Banksy show. Fan Expo. Deadpool & Wolverine. Ketchup & Mustard. “The Marchesa Casati” by Augustus Edwin John, a famous painting of a stunning redhead at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Old building facade with faded "Royal" sign.
September 18, 2025 at 3:55 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Queen St W from Euclid Ave to Palmerston Ave, January 2011

[assembled 2020]

These are only two of the times I shot this whole block.

It's a fun block to shoot. Almost everything is near the storefront plane.
Panoramic view of a complete city block showcasing a row of colourful, historic buildings with varied facades and multiple small shops at ground level. This is the same block as in the previous post. The picture is a collage of many separate overlapping images. There are no parked cars. It is winter, early evening. There is some snow piled at the curb but and the streets are wet with a light film of slush. It's a grey sky, light enough to see everything but dark enough that all the stores have their lights on.
September 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Queen St W from Euclid Ave to Palmerston Ave, June 2007

[assembled 2022]

This block is part of the stretch of Queen being covered in the photobook I'm working on now.

#panorama
Panoramic view of a complete city block showcasing a row of colourful, historic buildings with varied facades and multiple small shops at ground level. The picture is a collage of six separate overlapping images. There are a few parked cars, but only a yellow sports car is complete as the other cars are all truncated, having fallen into the parallax valley.
September 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
498 to 594 Queen St W, Nov 2012

Still a few more pictures of Bathurst to Strachan to prep for my next book. My process is to prep all the decent shots, then choose the ones that work on the page together.

I'm often surprised by which pictures are redundant when I finally choose.
Street view of urban shops includes "Craft Decor," "Barn Restaurant," and "Super Queen's Market." The restaurant is a small two-story building nestled between two larger buildings. Bikes and a scooter are parked outside, with pedestrians passing by.
September 2, 2025 at 2:10 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Today on Portraits of Queen West, a 2012 picture of Czehoski.

The sign dates back to 1924. For decades, this was a Polish deli, then it was a closed deli with a great sign. The sign remained when it became a restaurant, until it closed in 2015 amid its owner's legal troubles as a corrupt drug cop.
A weathered, vintage "Czehoski" sign hangs over a newer wooden facade and awning, flanked by shops and parked bicycles.
September 1, 2025 at 5:00 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Recently on Portraits of Queen West

A wet day in Parkdale in March 2016

1470 & 1468, 1440 & 1438, 1436 & 1434 and 412
Street view of brick buildings with ground level storefronts. Left: "Top Brands For Less," featuring a large "80% off" sign. Right: "Sizzling Grill" with Mediterranean cuisine imagery. A bicycle is chained to a tree. The Sizzling Grill is on the corner in a one-storey building with a network of ventilation ducts on the roof. The scene is overcast and wet. Street view of "Lucky Supermarket" with a red and yellow sign, a brick building facade, displays of fresh produce, and a bicycle parked outside. The shop spans two wide storefronts each with a similar sign, as if there are two shops with the same name competing. Street scene with brick buildings and ground-level storefronts, including "Parkdale Accounting," and a "Lotto Convenience" store on the corner. A person stands on the wet sidewalk, looking to the left. Street view of two adjacent shops: "Common Sort," a clothing exchange, and "Happy Kids World," a children’s wear store. Pedestrians and bicycles are visible.
August 30, 2025 at 1:39 PM
kevinsteele.bsky.social
Three Blocks of Queen West (Gladstone to Lisgar),
Summer 2003 & Spring 2006

Assembling this comparison and selecting other Queen W pictures, for a May 2006 group show, was when my photo activity narrowed in focus and escalated to a real project.
A panoramic street view showcases a series of retail storefronts in 2003 and 2006, revealing changes in businesses and facades, underlining urban transformation.
August 7, 2025 at 3:55 PM