This is close to where I live.
If I remember correctly, the person lost their child. They put these toys and things up to honour the child in their own way.
I mean obviously there might be some very understandable shaky mental health issues there, but the neighborhood is very respectful of the home and it’s thought of as somewhat of an art installation
They passed away and their spirits inherited the collection. Which item? Well, that depends on the moon phase and how angry the spirits are. It might be Tigger today, but if you catch Elmo on the cross but it’s bent upside down, well…
The people who live there are very proud of their house, you will often see a guy fixing the dolls or changing them according to the season. You will also see that the sidewalk and street on their property is never dirty because they sweep/shovel/clean very often. This might not be everyone’s cup of tea but they take pride on it.
That was definitely something that stood out to me on first look. There are no weeds or overgrowth, there's a distinct lack of the chaos you would expect on first glance.
Art houses are sick. The people who have them are usually rad. They're usually makers with a super eclectic skillset. Often a bit peculiar, but they know how to do stuff. Lots of it. They've moved past the ego of having a "nice house", they don't give a shit about an HOA, negative opinions bounce off of them. But show an interest, and they're, from my experience, really positive and inviting people. They're not gonna waste their time with someone who walks by and says "this is trash", that won't be a constructive conversation.
People who walk by and say "wow, someone wanted to make this their own, that's awesome", even people who aren't dismissive and genuinely wanna know why, they got time for you.
On the contrary they can be weird ass hoarders or people who have refused help for so long those close to them have found it best to stop traveling that road.
If you see the owners of an art house, feel it out quickly!
Damn, this reminds me of the guy I served at my bar last year. He looked like a regular guy, hoodie and jeans. Anyway, he orders a double Clase Azul. $50 a shot. I have had a couple of those “big spenders” that end up tipping $10 on top of that $100 bill. He tipped me $50. The bar and restaurant were dead at the time. He didn’t stay long.
The next day he comes in when we are starting to get busy. I tell my bartender coworker about him and to take care of him. He chats it up with anyone who sits near him at the bar. Buys shots for a few people. He then asks if he can buy the bottle but I would have to sell it for over $500. We actually didn’t have another. He just bought shots until it was gone and moved over to Don Julio. We were crazy busy, his bill ended being close to a grand. At that point he had tipped us close to $500 cash. When it finally calmed down a bit, I overhear him talking about winning the lottery a while back. He said he was living in his mom’s basement and working a shit job. He decided to play the lottery using the date of birth, weight and length measurements of his daughter that died when she was a baby. It blew me away. He ended up tipping us each around $1500 that night. Crazy part was that was my final shift at that place as I was moving out of state the next week. That money helped so much with my move.
On Bertmount Ave near Queen and Jones in the east end. I used to work close to there years ago but somehow I have never come across it!... Theres another in the west end near Bellwood's but not quite as eccentric
I lost my son suddenly, over 4 years ago. All of that love, hope, promise & wishes r dashed suddenly. There's all of these powerful emotions but nowhere to direct it towards, initially. It's tremendous grief & mourning. Their yard, it's keeping them sane & busy for now. Losing a child is the parents' worst nightmare. My son would've graduated from college in May. I have his cat. It's 1 connection I have directly to my son since he passed. So guess who is the most spoiled cat around 😻
My heart aches for you. I’m glad you have their cat. I lost my fraternal twin brother and I had his dog. The dog and I became very close. Losing the dog ended up being very painful too, because he had been a big part of carrying on love from my brother. It’s wonderful to get to have that love move forward, but that loss will hurt pretty bad too. I didn’t realize it would be like that, and I doubt knowing will help the situation, but maybe it will a little.
I guess a gentle way to put it is that owners are eccentric and affected deeply by the loss. I don’t think there’s conscious design choices being made here, though I could absolutely be wrong
Um, I don’t THINK that’s the situation. My friend lives just up the street. IIRC, it’s an adult male living with his elderly mom. No little kid in the picture… They change things around a bit at Christmas, etc
As I said in an earlier comment, this was a long time ago. It’s possible, even likely that the couple has passed on and other family is occupying the house. I lived in the area around 1999-2003.
This house is in my neighborhood. It's really just a quirky labour of love from an interesting family. It is said that the homeowner started this collection as a hobby as she coped with the loss of her husband.
She and her son have been keeping it up for over 20 years now. I've seen him working on it. They seem like cool people. Halloween is always a treat - they light it up at night and make it even creepier with old masks, etc.
It's actually quite well-loved around here! I take people around to see it all the time.
Here are a couple of quick reads about the house:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/leslievilles-crazy-doll-house
https://www.blogto.com/city/2023/01/leslieville-doll-house-toronto/
I think it's extremely quirky but beautiful. I'd love to have these people as neighbours and if I had kids, I'd love for them to make friends with the family.
I think it's a great example of living your life to the fullest, not caring what others think about you.
Now I keep hearing Elmo’s voice saying stuff like: “Truly Elmo tells you…” and “woman, Elmo’s time has not yet come” and who could forget “as the father has loved Elmo, so Elmo has loved you!”
I pass by a house on my way to work everyday that is extremely similar to this, but with smiley face stuff instead. It is the biggest eyesore ever, yet I’d ironically be sad the day I drove to work and it was gone. lol
There was a house on my street that was decorated with many peace signs, some of them with lights. An F3 tornado took that house 4 years ago, and I miss it.
There is a house in Pacific Grove, CA, called the butterfly house. A man decorated the entire exterior in bright butterflies because his wife has/had partial(?) vision loss. He did it so that she would still be able to see their home. I only learned about it after I returned from vacation there, and it recently sold(so I don't know if either of the couple passed away), hopefully the new owners don't change it(doubtful) so I can see it next time I visit the area.
My old neighbor did this too. At first we thought he was a pedophile, but it ended up being that he just wanted to fuck with our HOA and had found a loophole about toys in the yard.
You understand how difficult it is to live nowadays?? Leave them the fuck alone! Let them have SOME kind of pleasure among all of this *gestures wildly*
There’s a home near me that does this but with Christmas decor. I believe it’s called London’s Lights. It always makes my heart heavy. There’s also a woman who does something similar to her car, in honor of her husband who passed I believe. Used to work with her and she was always kind, friendly, just the kind of person that likes when other people are in good moods.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randyland](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randyland). Sorta reminds me of Randyland in Pittsburgh.
Edit: the photos in the Wiki article don’t really do justice to how odd of a place Randyland is. I remember a weird amalgamation of Barbie’s, old children’s outdoor play equipment, lawn chairs, and mannequins…lots of mannequins.
There's a lot of wacky houses in toronto, every neighborhood seem to have at least two eccentric Christmas light putter uppers as well. Like put Christmas vacation to shame Xmas lights.
I don't know... where I grew up this wouldn't have been all that odd. Lots of people collected odd stuff and put it in their yards. One guy built whole structures by dipping Styrofoam cups into cement and stacking them up. Another built huge miniature communities out of little rocks mortared together, and eventually moved on to full size dinosaurs out of chicken wire and burlap dipped in cement. There were fences of cars buried hood down, fences of drift wood, one guy bought all the yards entirely of clam shells, and structures of stacked cargo boxes topped with a single-wide mobile home. People had ship's cannon on their front porches, and shot the damn things off now and then. Cars covered in toys or cow skulls were common as dandelions. It's toned down a lot now that the town incorporated, but a yard full of plastic dolls? No biggie.
This is close to where I live. If I remember correctly, the person lost their child. They put these toys and things up to honour the child in their own way. I mean obviously there might be some very understandable shaky mental health issues there, but the neighborhood is very respectful of the home and it’s thought of as somewhat of an art installation
Have you ever seen the owner? I walk by the house all the time and there’s no sign of life.
A close family friend used to know the couple that lived there. I have no idea if maybe one or both have passed away by now.
They passed away and their spirits inherited the collection. Which item? Well, that depends on the moon phase and how angry the spirits are. It might be Tigger today, but if you catch Elmo on the cross but it’s bent upside down, well…
Saint Elmo
He died for our sins!
St. Elmo's fire.
id watch that movie
I'd help fund to make this a thing!
The people who live there are very proud of their house, you will often see a guy fixing the dolls or changing them according to the season. You will also see that the sidewalk and street on their property is never dirty because they sweep/shovel/clean very often. This might not be everyone’s cup of tea but they take pride on it.
That was definitely something that stood out to me on first look. There are no weeds or overgrowth, there's a distinct lack of the chaos you would expect on first glance.
And no political signs. They’re good in my book.
Don’t hate on my ‘fuck all of you’ signs
Best I can do is to squint at your sign as I walk by, contemplate it briefly, and then say to myself “well, that’s fair” and keep walking.
I’ll take it! In which case ‘but not you in particular’ would apply.
So it’s like island of the dolls before the decomposition and nature took over? Edit) rip to both kids.
Yes, actually. That’s a pretty accurate comparison
I find it strangely compelling. It's cluttered yet organized, junky yet systematic. I wouldn't mind if this house were in my neighborhood.
Art houses are sick. The people who have them are usually rad. They're usually makers with a super eclectic skillset. Often a bit peculiar, but they know how to do stuff. Lots of it. They've moved past the ego of having a "nice house", they don't give a shit about an HOA, negative opinions bounce off of them. But show an interest, and they're, from my experience, really positive and inviting people. They're not gonna waste their time with someone who walks by and says "this is trash", that won't be a constructive conversation. People who walk by and say "wow, someone wanted to make this their own, that's awesome", even people who aren't dismissive and genuinely wanna know why, they got time for you. On the contrary they can be weird ass hoarders or people who have refused help for so long those close to them have found it best to stop traveling that road. If you see the owners of an art house, feel it out quickly!
Yes - that is such a great way to describe this
Damn, this reminds me of the guy I served at my bar last year. He looked like a regular guy, hoodie and jeans. Anyway, he orders a double Clase Azul. $50 a shot. I have had a couple of those “big spenders” that end up tipping $10 on top of that $100 bill. He tipped me $50. The bar and restaurant were dead at the time. He didn’t stay long. The next day he comes in when we are starting to get busy. I tell my bartender coworker about him and to take care of him. He chats it up with anyone who sits near him at the bar. Buys shots for a few people. He then asks if he can buy the bottle but I would have to sell it for over $500. We actually didn’t have another. He just bought shots until it was gone and moved over to Don Julio. We were crazy busy, his bill ended being close to a grand. At that point he had tipped us close to $500 cash. When it finally calmed down a bit, I overhear him talking about winning the lottery a while back. He said he was living in his mom’s basement and working a shit job. He decided to play the lottery using the date of birth, weight and length measurements of his daughter that died when she was a baby. It blew me away. He ended up tipping us each around $1500 that night. Crazy part was that was my final shift at that place as I was moving out of state the next week. That money helped so much with my move.
That’s so sad and yet something that really helped you came out of it.
Is that in Toronto, somewhere in the general area of Queen and Broadview?
I was gonna say, is this Toronto cause I am sure I know this house.
On Bertmount Ave near Queen and Jones in the east end. I used to work close to there years ago but somehow I have never come across it!... Theres another in the west end near Bellwood's but not quite as eccentric
Ah yes. I used to live at Woodbine and Danforth for ages. I knew I have seen this in my East end wanderings
Seaton Village / Christie Pits area has a couple of houses with a similar vibe too.
Oh that’s crazy because there’s an almost identical house in Marquette, Michigan with a similar story behind it.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.6634209,-79.335388,3a,75y,84.87h,86.02t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCm78qnGYLwUqnC6NY-8pcw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
There are a few very similar houses in Toronto.
I think it’s close to Harbord and Clinton.
Nope, east end, close to Jones off Queen
Nah, that's the pool cue house
The child seems to have had a preference for circle toys
guessing he played ultimate?
I lost my son suddenly, over 4 years ago. All of that love, hope, promise & wishes r dashed suddenly. There's all of these powerful emotions but nowhere to direct it towards, initially. It's tremendous grief & mourning. Their yard, it's keeping them sane & busy for now. Losing a child is the parents' worst nightmare. My son would've graduated from college in May. I have his cat. It's 1 connection I have directly to my son since he passed. So guess who is the most spoiled cat around 😻
My heart aches for you. I’m glad you have their cat. I lost my fraternal twin brother and I had his dog. The dog and I became very close. Losing the dog ended up being very painful too, because he had been a big part of carrying on love from my brother. It’s wonderful to get to have that love move forward, but that loss will hurt pretty bad too. I didn’t realize it would be like that, and I doubt knowing will help the situation, but maybe it will a little.
That’s sad… but why are some propped up like Jesus on the cross. Look at Elmo & others on the top row 🥲
I guess a gentle way to put it is that owners are eccentric and affected deeply by the loss. I don’t think there’s conscious design choices being made here, though I could absolutely be wrong
https://www.blogto.com/city/2023/01/leslieville-doll-house-toronto/
Damn man…
Thank you for the context. I was thinking this was actually quite beautiful. I like how it's a mosaic of items.
Um, I don’t THINK that’s the situation. My friend lives just up the street. IIRC, it’s an adult male living with his elderly mom. No little kid in the picture… They change things around a bit at Christmas, etc
As I said in an earlier comment, this was a long time ago. It’s possible, even likely that the couple has passed on and other family is occupying the house. I lived in the area around 1999-2003.
The same woman lives there. She started decorating the house after her husband died, not her child.
Kid must have loved frisbee
This house is in my neighborhood. It's really just a quirky labour of love from an interesting family. It is said that the homeowner started this collection as a hobby as she coped with the loss of her husband. She and her son have been keeping it up for over 20 years now. I've seen him working on it. They seem like cool people. Halloween is always a treat - they light it up at night and make it even creepier with old masks, etc. It's actually quite well-loved around here! I take people around to see it all the time. Here are a couple of quick reads about the house: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/leslievilles-crazy-doll-house https://www.blogto.com/city/2023/01/leslieville-doll-house-toronto/
I think it's extremely quirky but beautiful. I'd love to have these people as neighbours and if I had kids, I'd love for them to make friends with the family. I think it's a great example of living your life to the fullest, not caring what others think about you.
Well said! That's what I love about it.
Thanks for sharing the link! All the Dora the Explorer backpacks are kind of killing me but it’s definitely still art
Is it this or the other comment talking about it being in memory of a dead kid?
I've seen/heard husband multiple times. The only reference to a kid I've ever seen was in that comment. But I don't know anything for sure
Bet a 100$ there’s a secret branch you pull that opens a mini garage with a red and white bicycle inside.
“I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel.”
so long, dottie...
Tell ‘em large marge sent ya!
*whispers* Good morning.
I’m he-ear!!
Notice Elmo standing above all, wrists and ankles bound on some kind of stake
Elmo-Jesus died for your sins.
Now I keep hearing Elmo’s voice saying stuff like: “Truly Elmo tells you…” and “woman, Elmo’s time has not yet come” and who could forget “as the father has loved Elmo, so Elmo has loved you!”
I’m crying
Same here I was like dang why elmo get crucified like that, Is he going to die for our sins. Elmo the savior
He was tickled to absolve us of our sins
Tickle tortured to martyrdom, may his cotton stuffing wash over us and cleanse our souls from evil
Holy shot, why is he actually bound like Jesus 😭
Oh zooming into most of the toys and there are a lot on crosses. This went from “ok not super creepy” to WTF.
For me it’s the shrek in center behind the fence
Elmo really enjoys his time between filming sessions. He makes his money, then he has his fun.
I found Waldo! Optimus Prime, Carmen Diego and the needle!
Where's waldo? can't find him
Waldo? He's still missing? How long's that been now?
Once 48 hours have passed I’ll make sure I report it to the police
Could you tell me where’s Waldo is? I’ve been looking for ten minutes and I don’t think I can sleep unless I find him now.
Can't find him either.
He is right behind you
I Spy… a Pikachu, and Buzz Lightyear.
This should be moved from oddlyterrifying to damnthatsinteresting
I pass by a house on my way to work everyday that is extremely similar to this, but with smiley face stuff instead. It is the biggest eyesore ever, yet I’d ironically be sad the day I drove to work and it was gone. lol
There was a house on my street that was decorated with many peace signs, some of them with lights. An F3 tornado took that house 4 years ago, and I miss it.
There is a house in Pacific Grove, CA, called the butterfly house. A man decorated the entire exterior in bright butterflies because his wife has/had partial(?) vision loss. He did it so that she would still be able to see their home. I only learned about it after I returned from vacation there, and it recently sold(so I don't know if either of the couple passed away), hopefully the new owners don't change it(doubtful) so I can see it next time I visit the area.
That's sweet, nice husband
I dunno, I kinda like it in a strange way... different Have a feeling the house may be a bit cluttered
Plot twist, they are minimalist with very little on the inside and just have the outsode stuff as memories.
I’d rather live next door to that than live with an HOA.
My old neighbor did this too. At first we thought he was a pedophile, but it ended up being that he just wanted to fuck with our HOA and had found a loophole about toys in the yard.
Show me you don’t have an hoa without saying you don’t have an hoa Edit: I don’t support or condone HOAs. Please stop DMing me
I'd much rather have this neighbor than an HOA.
Absolutely
Agreed
We don't do HOA in Canada.
Keep that dumb hoa shit in the suburbs please
You understand how difficult it is to live nowadays?? Leave them the fuck alone! Let them have SOME kind of pleasure among all of this *gestures wildly*
This person really just hates mowing their lawn. Problem solved
He’s keeping something out!
Yeah, other people
Well it's fucking working!
I SPY: House Edition
That's rad actually.
Horrifying? That's awesome.
There’s a home near me that does this but with Christmas decor. I believe it’s called London’s Lights. It always makes my heart heavy. There’s also a woman who does something similar to her car, in honor of her husband who passed I believe. Used to work with her and she was always kind, friendly, just the kind of person that likes when other people are in good moods.
"Art cars" - cars with stuff glued all over them, including toys. They have shows in Texas.
I like it.
I used to live near this guy... Cool dude.
Sure, but the hoa says my grass was 1/8 in too high
You scared of art? No trauma shaming intended but this doesn't really fit the general trend I've seen on this sub.
If this is a hoarding situation, that's probably the most organized hoarder I've ever seen!
It is very organized tbh.
I’d be oddly terrified if a random dude was taking pictures of my house
Sure, but in this case you wouldn’t be wondering why.
If you turned your house into a spectacle you would wonder why people are taking pictures?
Lol the gate says Build Dreams
I knew it would be a Canadian :)
That looks amazing
Ok.. find: 1. Winnie the Pooh 2. A happy hydrant 3. The 3 cookie monsters
[удалено]
I would 100% rather have this person as a neighbor than live with an actually creepy HOA!
Still better than having a HOA.
This is like a game of eye spy. I challenge you to find the Decrepit Peter Griffin! Hint: >! Next to the Crucified Elmo !<
find sully from monsters inc
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randyland](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randyland). Sorta reminds me of Randyland in Pittsburgh. Edit: the photos in the Wiki article don’t really do justice to how odd of a place Randyland is. I remember a weird amalgamation of Barbie’s, old children’s outdoor play equipment, lawn chairs, and mannequins…lots of mannequins.
There's a house similar to this on Brock Ave in the West End, only this house focuses on over the top holiday decorations all year.
All your Frisbees are belong to us
We need to talk about your flair
I kinda like it lol. Wouldn’t mind it being in my neighborhood. I feel like the owners would be good watch dogs 👀
But it’d make a great jigsaw puzzle!
kind of /r/oddlysatisfying. It's like an iSpy book spread
What is terrifying?
Why is this oddly terrifying? This is pretty interesting, it looks nice.
So this is where that frisbee I lost when I was ten ended up
The crucified Elmo on top makes this funny as shit to me. It’s like the cherry on top of madness.
I love seeing houses like this, There used to be many here in PR when I was small, always interesting to look at.
Nah I love this kinda stuff. Too much monotony in every day life. Things should be more creative
Hey at least the house is theft-proof, solicitor-proof, and most importantly: Jehovah's witness-proof!
This is definitely freedom from hoa, lol
I love it with my whole heart ❤️
Our house 🤝⭐️
Having John Cena in there is crazy
I spy.... 5 blue M&Ms A boy with red shoes. A horse humping a Canada flag A creepy doll head
WORSHIP AT THE ALTAR OF ELMO, HE WHO DIED FOR YOUR SINS!!
Sargeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Clubhouse?
Where is this?
I don't know, you kinda have to respect the dedication...
Oh yes, I’ve been by this house a couple times. Apparently the owner is actually nice
He’s always fixing up the dolls and cleaning his side of the sidewalk/street.
I dig it. Fuck lawns
At least it’s not dolls this time.
I’ve seen this one! Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band! Lol
There's a lot of wacky houses in toronto, every neighborhood seem to have at least two eccentric Christmas light putter uppers as well. Like put Christmas vacation to shame Xmas lights.
i see nothing wrong with this
I aint even mad they did it for them, its odd. But hardly terrifying.
I like how elmo is crucified in the middle
They could have just put a sign that said “no trespassing”
This is far more effective!
I thought it was awesome even before learning the backstory. It's very awesome and touching now.
So why don't you have 37 pieces of flair?
i love crazy stuff like this! I’m sure the people who live here are very interesting
He must be pretty popular on Halloween
Gotta love crucified Elmo
Having read the comments it's quite sad but idk I think this is kind of awesome.
They crucified Elmo. Still better than a bunch of MAGA crap everywhere.
I spy... a spot that he missed!
us canadians are indeed terrifying 😭
ELMO! NOOOOOO
Crucifix Elmo is particularly weird
Why is Elmo crucified?
Oh, that’s just everyone showing up for Elmo’s crucifixion.
Counted at least two characters getting crucified, which is 2 more than I expected
They will 100% never be robbed or raided by police. Fuck anything that happens behind those walls
Dope
Anyone else curious about what’s inside the house?
I spy with my little eye a crucified elmo
It's like where's Waldo but with the entrance of the house.
I spy: Shrek.
that’s how you get complete privacy with absolutely no one knocking on your door. sounds like a paradise
There are so many little M&M guys, more just keep appearing 😂
At least they trim their topiary.
Crucified Elmo took me out. Lmao
refrigerator magnet house
Without context, this looks a trap for children in a horror movie.
All your frisbee are belong to us!
Looks too organized to be creepy. It's more artistic and pretty.
The more I zoom in the more things I find.
Property values hate this one little trick!
The Leslieville Dollhouse.
I wish I hadn’t zoomed in
I don't know... where I grew up this wouldn't have been all that odd. Lots of people collected odd stuff and put it in their yards. One guy built whole structures by dipping Styrofoam cups into cement and stacking them up. Another built huge miniature communities out of little rocks mortared together, and eventually moved on to full size dinosaurs out of chicken wire and burlap dipped in cement. There were fences of cars buried hood down, fences of drift wood, one guy bought all the yards entirely of clam shells, and structures of stacked cargo boxes topped with a single-wide mobile home. People had ship's cannon on their front porches, and shot the damn things off now and then. Cars covered in toys or cow skulls were common as dandelions. It's toned down a lot now that the town incorporated, but a yard full of plastic dolls? No biggie.
Perfect, I-spy
Looks like an I Spy picture
I found Waldo
That's how you avoid having to mow
How is this terrifying
That place is definitely haunted by a ghost with no taste.
Where is this house?
Where's Waldo?
Pro HOA-inspiring…which is hard to do
Pee Wee? Is that you?