PHOTO BY GEREMY?BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS

The founder and owner of Bloor Street retailer Curbside Cycle died of an apparent heart attack on August 16. He was 71 years old.  Read more

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Central Tech Stadium is introducing a new after-school program. Open to children from schools within a 15 to 20 minute walk of the stadium, the CTS After School Club is a physical adventure program in which students will participate in sports at the stadium, activities in local parks, and excursions throughout the Annex. Participating children will be picked up from their school. The program, which begins in September, runs from the minute the school bell sounds until 6 p.m.  Read more

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This year’s Harbord Village Fall Fair will take place at Margaret Fairley Park on Sept. 10 from noon to 6 p.m. The block-busting party, say the organizers, will include live music, games for children, and a feast of food. There will also be a silent auction, as well as a selection of beer and wine. It’s hosted by the Harbord Village Residents’ Association, which is still looking for volunteers.  Read more

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Delicious mulberries were at the height of season in early July for the Annex Residents’ Association’s (ARA) first ever Mulberry Festival. Organized by Trees Please, an ARA working group, and sponsored by the association and COBS Bread, the event drew about 70 to 80 participants who celebrated the urban forest and a love of mulberries.  Read more

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Vacancy rate for apartments getting even lower

By Geremy Bordonaro

If you’re coming to the Annex for a quick visit, you’re in luck. From hotels to condos to student residences, there’s lots of places that will give you a taste of what’s it like to live in Toronto’s most livable neighbourhood. If you actually want to live here, however, you’re out of luck. Long-term housing, especially affordable housing, is at a premium.  Read more

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Conserving church a priority

PHOTO COURTESY TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY: Bloor Street United Church in 1888. The church lost its steps and main entrance when it was truncated in 1927 to make way for the widening of Bloor Street West.  Read more

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Central Tech student raced alongside Jesse Owens

PHOTO COURTESY CENTRAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL ARCHIVES: Sam Richardson passes the baton during the men’s 4×100 relay during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Like Jesse Owens, who became a friend, Richardson proudly represented his nation while facing the institutionalized racism of Nazi Germany.  Read more

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Jim Snowdon receives lifetime achievement award

PHOTO BY NEILAND BRISSENDEN/GLEANER NEWS: Jim Snowdon, shown in front of his Bloor Street West pharmacy, is known for patient care.

By Geremy Bordonaro  Read more

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PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Heritage Toronto unveiled a plaque commemorating Albert Jackson, Canada’s first Black letter carrier, on July 21. The plaque is located on Lombard Street, outside the former Toronto General Post Office. Jackson lived and delivered mail in the Annex, and was the subject of The Postman, a play performed on Brunswick Avenue, Palmerston Boulevard, and Major Street in 2015.  Read more

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The Harbord Village Residents’ Association (HVRA) has given Larry Sdao its Community Builder Award. Sdao owns 481 Bloor St. W., formerly home to the Brunswick House. HVRA chair Gus Sinclair said that Sdao worked with the community to deal with “an intractable problem that was the Brunswick House business [Sdao’s former tenant]”.  Read more

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The Toronto Police Service’s (TPS) 14 Division is investigating a sexual assault at Bloor Street West and Robert Street.

On July 24, slightly before 6 a.m., a 25-year-old woman was reportedly approached from behind and assaulted by a man in his late-twenties to mid-thirties. The suspect then fled eastward.  Read more

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Nurturing unexplored and unexpressed talent

PHOTO BY NEILAND BRISSENDEN/GLEANER NEWS: The Women’s Art Association of Canada has called 23 Prince Arthur Ave. home since 1916. A gem in the heart of the Annex, features of the nineteenth-century house include an art-filled president’s room, where founder Mary Dignam’s 1893 Peonies hangs in pride of place above the fireplace.  Read more

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PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO: Part of the iconic Honest Ed’s sign was dismantled on May 23 causing a frenzy of interest from residents and media alike. The sign, which was removed piece by piece throughout the day, will be kept in storage until it can be displayed once more at its new location on the Victoria Street side of the Ed Mirvish Theatre.

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