The Junction's Campbell Block building, at the corner of Keele and Dundas, may seem rather unremarkable today thanks to its many empty storefronts. However, it's a piece of architecture that dates back to 1888.

Longtime Junction resident Trevor Parkins-Sciberras found his own way to pay homage to the 127-year-old building by creating a lego replica of it under construction circa 1887.

Parkins-Sciberras originally created a lego version of Toronto's first horse-drawn streetcar and he's currently trying to make it a lego product through an online voting process. Although it's historically inaccurate, he included the streetcar in his Campbell Block model.

The self-described "history and lego enthusiast" calls his model Steampunk Junction, which is also the name of his production company. The mini Campbell Block is currently on display at the Junction BMO branch at 2859 Dundas St. W.

What do you think of this lego model? Let us know in the comments.

Summer isn't over in Toronto quite yet, but it's possible that we've seen our last true heatwave of the season. As the nights get cool and a whiff of fall grips the air, let's look back at some of the best photos of summer heat snapped this year in the city. From CN Tower-engulfing haze to 5am wakeboarding sessions, these photos will remind you of the hottest days behind us.

Check out 10 stunning photos of summer heat in Toronto in this photo gallery.

Photo by Alisa Kutkin in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Today in Toronto there's more to do than visit the CNE. If you're in the mood for a movie, this week is the second-to-last City Cinema event of the summer. Head to Dundas Square to catch a screening of Inside Llewyn Davis. If you're more into music, The Weeknd will be at the Mod Club tonight. Unfortunately, you'll have to check StubHub or twist someone's arm if you want to get tickets.

For more events, click on over to our events section.

• Comedy on College (Pour Boy)
• Symphony in the Gardens (Casa Loma)
• ROBOT EYES, KYLO, BOND GIRLS, and SELFOSS (Horseshoe Tavern)
• Karen Andrew (The Rivoli)
• City Cinema: Inside Llewyn Davis (Dundas Square)
• The Weeknd (Mod Club)

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events section.

Photo by sjgardinder

This week on DineSafe inspectors shut down a sushi restaurant in Toronto's north end. Takimi Sushi Asian Cuisine was shuttered for violations including failing to prevent an insect infestation. America, the restaurant at the top of the Trump, dinged with a yellow card, something that might sting if you dropped a lot of money trying to impress someone last week.

See which other establishments landed on DineSafe this week.

Raaw Japanese Cuisine (171 East Liberty St. )
Inspected on: August 17, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 4 (Minor: 1, Significant: 2, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Operator fail to maintain hazardous food(s) at 4C (40F) or colder.

The Kathi Roll Express (1753 Avenue Rd.)
Inspected on: August 17, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 5 (Minor: 1, Significant: 3, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Operator fail to maintain hazardous food(s) at 4C (40F) or colder.

Banh Mi Nguyen Huong Vietnamese Sandwiches (322 Spadina)
Inspected on: August 18, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 2 (Significant: 2)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Java House (537 Queen St. West)
Inspected on: August 18, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 4 (Minor: 3, Significant: 1)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Pita Land (407A Bloor St. East)
Inspected on: August 18, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 3 (Minor: 1, Significant: 1, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Operator fail to maintain hazardous food(s) at 4C (40F) or colder.

Takimi Sushi Asian Cuisine (6233 Bathurst St.)
Inspected on: August 18, 2015
Inspection finding: Red (Closed)
Number of infractions: 7 (Minor: 3, Significant: 2, Crucial: 2)
Crucial infractions include: Operator fail to prevent an insect infestation. Operator fail to ensure food is not contaminated/adulterated.

Shishawarma (599 Yonge St.)
Inspected on: August 18, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 6 (Minor: 1, Significant: 4, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Operator fail to maintain hazardous food(s) at 4C (40F) or colder.

America Restaurant (325 Bay St.)
Inspected on: August 19, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 2 (Significant: 1, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Operator fail to ensure food is not contaminated/adulterated.

La Tortilleria (198 Augusta Ave.)
Inspected on: August 20, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 3 (Minor: 1, Significant: 2)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Round (152A Augusta Ave.)
Inspected on: August 21, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 4 (Minor: 2, Significant: 2)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Note: The above businesses each received infractions from DineSafe as originally reported on the DineSafe site. This does not imply that any of these businesses have not subsequently corrected the issue and received a passing grade by DineSafe inspectors. For the latest status for each of the mentioned businesses, including details on any subsequent inspections, please be sure to check the DineSafe site.

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about a City of Toronto funded Pan Am Legacy sculpture situated in Centennial Park at Exhibition Place. The cylindrical artwork created by Terraplan Landscape Architects, located in the centre of a kid-friendly splash pad, is a gentle reminder of the games that dominated the city during summer 2015.

However, Jim Sanbornsays the Pan Am piece is a little too similar to his own sculpture work. The American artist has been making these types of glowing cylinders for more the 23 years. Sanborn's work can be found throughout the United States, including outside of the CIA headquarters.

Terraplan insists that any resemblances between the Pan Am sculpture and Sanborn's work were wholly unintentional.

This controversy comes just days after two artists - Canadian Kelly Mark and New York's Daniel A. Bruce - claimed that copies of their work were hanging at Dundas West restaurant Old School.

What do you think of the similarities between the two sculptures? Let us know in the comments.

Images via jimsanborn.net and Alisa Kutkin in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Today we're opening up voting in our latest Best Of poll. Now you can have your say in 12 categories including sushi takeout, French restaurants, pasta, boxing gyms, hot yoga, waxing salons and more.

Take the best of poll here

Voting in the poll ends at 1pm on Thursday August 27.

A little piece of Toronto transit and cottage country road trip history is about to be disappear. Super Burger on Highway 10 near Shelburne will be scrapping its antique TTC streetcar dining room next month in favour of a modern new building.

Super Burger owner James Nicolaou bought the streetcar for $1,000 at a TTC auction in 1990. Built in the 1940s and originally numbered 4341, the vehicle was withdrawn from service in Toronto during the late 80s when the arrival of new streetcars made it obsolete.

"It took a lot more money to bring it up here. We had to have a flatbed trailer and a long extension cord," Nicolaou says.

In total, the owner of the Super Burger business says he spent about $50,000 converting the streetcar's wiring, turning around every second seat, installing tables, and hooking up heating, cooling, and a small walkway to the main Super Burger building, which opened in 1980.

"When I brought it up here I thought I would have it for about 5 years," he says. "Well, almost 25 years it's been here."

Nicolaou rented out the business for much of the 1990s and 2000s, during which time at least two people got married inside its tight confines, according to one of the cooks. It was also during this period that the elements began to badly corrode the metal exterior.

Fixing it up would be cost prohibitive, and Nicolaou believes it's time to let go. By the end of the year, he hopes to move Super Burger to a new building on the same site, minus its most famous asset.

"It's outlived it's usefulness and it's all rusted up" he says. "It's come to the end of its road ... I'll be glad to get rid of it at the present time. It's an eyesore now."

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

TIFF has confirmed some of the stars scheduled to appear at this year's festival. As we already know, Jean-Marc Vallée's Demolition is this year's opening film and its stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts with both be in Toronto to attend the premiere. Sci-fi guru Ridley Scott will be here for his film Martian along with stars Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain and Kate Mara.

Other famous names expected to attend TIFF include Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne who stars in Tom Hooper's Danish Girl, and the perpetually controversial Michael Moore who will introduce Toronto audiences to his latest feature Where to Invade Next.

Hollywood legends such as Dame Helen Mirren, Michael Caine, Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel and Canadian treasure Christopher Plummer will all be in town.

There's lots more homegrown talent on the docket, including Rachel McAdams as well as Vancouver's Ryan Reynolds and east coasters Ellen Page and Donald Sutherland. Kiefer is also expected to make an appearance.

Perhaps you're looking for more than a simple celeb selfie? Thankfully, there's TIFF's In Conversation With... programme, which will showcase Oscar winner Julianne Moore (Freeheld), Sarah Silverman (I Smile Back), Salma Hayek (Septembers of Shiraz) and Mad Men creator Matt Weiner. Natalie Portman is speaking at the festival's gala soiree on September 9.

Other celebrities you can hope to spot include Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Cynthia Nixon, Kevin Bacon, Anna Kendrick, Bryan Cranston, Sandra Bullock, Susan Sarandon, Dev Patel, Ethan Hawke, Idris Elba, Rachel Weisz, J.K. Simmons, Steve Martin, Adrien Brody, Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, John Goodman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Stewart and Emily Blunt.

Which celeb are you most excited to stalk on the streets of Toronto? Let us know in the comments.

Photo of Eddie Redmayne as seen in his Oscar winning portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

Toronto police superintendent Mark Fenton was the only upper-level officer who ended up being charged after the G20 protests in June 2010 resulted in mass arrests. Today, Fenton was found guilty by a police tribunal on three out of the five charges against him, according to the Toronto Star.

Fenton gave the orders to "kettle," or confine, G20 protestors on three occasions, including at the Queen and Spadina intersection. Police arrested more than 1,000 people over the June 26-27 summit weekend.

Retired Ontario Supreme Court judge John Hamilton delivered the verdict, which saw Fenton guilty on one charge of discreditable conduct and two charges of unnecessary exercise of authority. "This decision to order mass arrests demonstrated a lack of understanding of the right to protest," said judge Hamilton, the Star reports.

Just one year after the G20 protests ended in violence and mass arrests, former Police Chief Bill Blair released a 70-page report, which looked at how he and his force could have better prepared for the now notorious events that unfolded back in June 2010.

Photo by Jonas Naimark

Finally, after more than two decades, the Toronto Blue Jays are heading towards the playoffs. Starting tomorrow, season-ticket holders can get their hands on post-season seats. But everyone else will have to wait until mid-September.

A single ticket to a wild-card game (if applicable), Division Series or American League Championship Series will set you back anywhere from $50 all the way to $425 for a cushy seat right behind home plate. However, MLB mandates that you must buy a series strip, or a ticket to every home game. This means Division Series ticket prices actually range from $150 to $1,275 in total.

If the Jays make it to the World Series a series strip will cost your between $640-$5,800. You can always buy tickets to the entire post-season. These run from $1,190 to $9,875.

Now, let's take a moment to reflect back to 1993 when a single 100-level ticket to the Jays' epic World-Series-winning game six cost a cool $78.

Will you be buying playoff tickets? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Grant D in the blogTO Flickr pool

This coffee shop is keeping it in the neighbourhood, opening a second, slightly bigger space with a bona fide front patio just one TTC station west of its original. With scones, croissants and bagels baked in-house and tons of other tempting treats to accompany its expertly made beverages, this location is sure to be a Danforth staple.

Read my profile of the new Marvel Coffee in the cafes section.

After 20 years in the Queen West neighbourhood, the Velvet Underground is shutting its doors for good. A Farewell Party, featuring DJ Shannon, is scheduled for September 5. Guests who post on the event's wall get in free and so naturally, it's already littered with obits lamenting the loss of the club.

Liberty Entertainment Group owns the Velvet Underground, and according to NOW Magazine, the company's shuttering the venerable goth and alt-rock institution to continue expanding its roster of wine bars.

So get ready for last hurrah before you say "there goes the neighbourhood."

What's your favourite memory from the Velvet Underground? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Loc Nguyen in the blogTO Flickr pool.

As students prepare to head back to school, the Centre for World-Class Universities released its 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). And, once again, the organization named the University of Toronto as the number one university in Canada.

The University of Toronto has retained this title since the ARWU began ranking universities in 2003. While the school took the top spot in Canada, it's number 25 in the world behind the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Harvard is number one overall.

University rankings vary based on the outlet or institution conducting them. This year, the annual Maclean's rankings, for instance, named McGill number one in the medical doctoral category, meaning UofT took second place.

Rankings aside, all Torontonians can appreciate the beauty of UofT's St. George campus as well as the plethora of academic, athletic and cultural amenities the entire school brings to city life.

Do you think the University of Toronto is the best school in Canada? Let us know in the comments.

Marc Radford in the blogTO Flickr pool.

The big Hollywood films - with their Oscar potential and big stars - inevitably enjoy much of the attention over the course of TIFF's run. But for those of us content for those movies to inevitably make their way to a Cineplex in the coming months, one of the greatest joys of the Toronto International Film Festival is that whole International part.

Here are my picks for the top foreign films to see at TIFF 2015.

Bleak Street
I had admittedly never heard of the 2009 murder of dwarf wrestling siblings, Alberto and Alejandro Jiménez, which is a big reason why Bleak Street aiming to adapt this true crime story to screen has us so intrigued. But this isn't just a sensational crime story. What sounds most promising about Bleak Street is its intention to consider more deeply the lives of its victims and perpetrators.

Blood of My Blood
Any movie that - intentional or not - recalls Black Narcissus, is a movie worth seeing. Here, Blood of My Blood isn't in a haunting convent in the Himalayas, but a cursed monastery whose secrets the film traces from the 17th Century to the present. Frankly, this movie had us at "cursed monastery."

Cemetery of Splendour
Apichatpong Weerasethakul's last feature film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2010, and is widely considered one of the best films of the 21st century so far. That sets up a lot of expectations. Once again, Weerasethakul melds the relatable human with the moderately supernatural, with this story about two people investigating a sleep sickness afflicting the world around them.

Der Nachtmar
Last year It Follows offered up a story about teenage sex leading to kids being haunted by a malevolent presence. This year, Der Nacthmar gives us a story about teenage partying that leads to a girl being haunted by a monstrous creature--that no one else can see. Sounds terrifying. Which is precisely why I can't wait to see it.

Francofonia
Aleksandr Sokurov's much loved Russian Ark remains a cinematic classic for the inventive way it plays out entirely in a Russian museum and renders the space alive to recreate or depict the country's rich history. Francofonia promises to see Sokurov once again return to a museum--this time the Louvre--and bring it's art and culture to life. If this is anything like Russian Ark, it'll be a can't miss movie.

Lolo
Julie Delpy has long been a tremendous actress, but she's lately turned into a formidable writer-director of wonderfully whimsical comedies that are equal parts farce and realism. They're not always perfect films, but they are always immensely enjoyable. I expect her latest should deliver the same, this time with a story about a working mom whose new romance could be ruined by her 20-year-old son.

Mountains May Depart
Director Jia Zhang-Ke's last film, A Touch of Sin, was a compelling look at the complexities of modern China, and one of TIFF 13's best films. This film finds the director once again considering his country, and how its capitalist shifts have affected those who live within in. What's particularly intriguing is that Zhang-Ke's movie will cover not just the past, but the speculative future, each with its own distinct look.

Office
Johnnie To is such a prolific director, it's almost not really TIFF without one of his films programmed. This year one of Hong Kong's most fascinating directors brings Office, a movie set in the corporate world of power struggles, backstabbing, stock panics, and starring Chow Yun-Fat. The kicker? It's a musical.

Right Now, Wrong Then
Hong San-soo's films never fail to be entrancing delights of whimsy. They're particularly good palette cleansers if you're digging into heavy dramas throughout the festival. Right Now, Wrong Then promises to be yet another delight, a romantic comedy with a Sliding Doors-angle: a romantic encounter we get to see unfold in two different ways. And who doesn't a little cinematic "What if?" exploration?

Taxi
Jafar Panahi's last film, This is Not a Film, was a modern masterpiece. Taxi sounds as clever and inventive, this time with Panahi hopping in a cab and driving around Tehran to strike up conversations with his passengers. In the process, Taxi offers the chance to get a glimpse of modern-day Iran. If this film is anything like Panahi's last, there will be few bigger TIFF 15 highlights.

What foreign films are you most looking forward to at TIFF 2015? Let us know in the comments. Photo still from The Office.

Toronto has long been rumoured as a future site of the Ace Hotel chain, something which seems more and more likely as renderings for a stately building at Camden and Brant streets have hit the web. While there are still zoning hurdles to clear, the initial stages of the development are coming into focus.

The Ace Hotel Group will team up with Carbon Hospitality on the project, which will not be a heritage restoration as the chain has done in other cities, but a purpose-built structure designed by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects. The involvement of the Governor General award-winning firm promises that the building will be unique and beautiful, even as it is understated.

We don't have a sense of what the inside of the hotel is going to look like quite yet, but judging by the exterior, the idea is to create a building that respects the historical character of the neighbourhood. Shim-Sutcliffe are more inclined to minimalist design (as seen in the marvellous Integral House), but their trademark reserve and class is obvious here despite the different style.

According to the development application, plans for the hotel call for a 13 storey structure that will house 130 suites, a lower level restaurant, and a penthouse lounge and terrace. In other words it's a midsize development, a trait that might help make it through the community consultations on the horizon.

What do you think of the initial designs? Let us know in the comments.

Now that Toronto's thoroughly entrenched in summer it's easy to forget winter's coming, and relatively soon. But don't panic just yet because a Vancouver-based tiki bar is set to migrate eastward just as the weather turns cold.

The Shameful Tiki Room opened up two years ago in Vancouver's Riley Park neighbourhood. Now, owner Rod Moore wants to bring it Toronto, reports Post City.

Moore already has an address for his new space. He's moving into Parkdale at 1378 Queen St. West - the cursed location that's been home to a rotating selection of bars and restaurants including Ravage and Rumble, Blondie's and Chino. It's also mere blocks away from Miss Thing's, another tropical-themed restaurant and bar.

According to Post City, Toronto's Shameful Tiki Room will have the same bar and food menus as the Vancouver location. You can expect lots of rum-based drinks and snacks as well as plenty of Polynesian decor and kitsch.

Do you want more tiki bars in Toronto? Let us know in the comments. Photo by Rod Moore, The Shameful Tiki Bar owner.

This year marks Nuit Blanche's 10th anniversary in Toronto. While it seems like the all-night-festival can't get any bigger, the city released its 2015 program today and it's chock-full of both funded and independent exhibitions that'll be scattered throughout the city on October 3.

The exhibition in front of City Hall at Nathan Phillips Square is usually the biggest draw for many festivalgoers. In 2013, for instance, Ai Weiwei transformed the reflecting pool with his massive sculpture Forever Bicycles.

This year, New York and Paris-based award-winning artist JR is bringing his acclaimed Inside Out participatory art project to 100 Queen St. W as part of his larger exhibition titled Black and White.

This is the first time Inside Out will appear in Canada; it's already traveled to more than 120 countries across the world. Torontonians can participate starting September 28 thanks to a photo booth that'll be stationed at Nathan Phillips Square.

JR will then use the individual portraits in his project. The entire piece will stay up until October 12 as it's one of the 14 installations sticking around after the overnight festival.

For the 10th anniversary, Nuit Blanche will also showcase the 10 for 10th - Memory Lane exhibition curated by Che Kothari. It'll feature installations created in conjunction with some of the city's most well known arts and cultural institutions including the AGO, the ROM and the Gardiner Museum.

The complete line-up is available online.

Are you excited that the Inside Our project is coming to Toronto? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Vik Pahwa in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Today in Toronto will have you celebrating the Beatles 50th Anniversary of Help! at Revue Cinema. If you were never one to get involved in Beatlemania, TIFF in the park is screening the Triplets of Belleville at David Pecaut Square. Not a film buff? That's fine. There's plenty more on tap by way of music and performances across the city.

For more events, click on over to our events section.

• Megan Nicole (Mod Club)
• TIFF in the Park: The Triplets of Belleville (David Pecaut Square)
• Help! 50th Anniversary Screening (Revue Cinema)
• Artscape Presents Circus (Artscape Wychwood Barns)
• That's How I Remember It (The Ossington)
• Vicious Cycle (The Rivoli)

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events section.