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HISTORY: Delivering history in Harbord Village (Spring 2019)

April 23rd, 2019 · 1 Comment

HVRA lane-naming project leads to The Postman

In March of 2015 the Gleaner featured coverage of the pending play, The Postman, that was staged on neighbourhood porches in the summer of that year. The Harbord Village event commemorated the life and times of Albert Jackson, Canada’s first black postie. On the occasion of Canada Post issuing a stamp in Jackson’s honour, we are reprinting this article 

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Tags: Annex · Arts · History

NEWS: Revealing reno in Wedgwood blue (City Election 2018)

October 17th, 2018 · Comments Off on NEWS: Revealing reno in Wedgwood blue (City Election 2018)

Faculty Club building once home to Primrose Club

By Annemarie Brissenden and Ahmed-Zaki Hagar

Blue martinis, operatic voices, and fabulous food marked the University of Toronto Faculty Club’s grand reopening of its historic Wedgwood Ballroom on September 25. Formerly known as the club’s dining room, the space was renovated over the summer and has been renamed for the plaster mouldings that have been hand-painted in white and many shades of blue.

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Tags: Annex · News

NEWS: A way to honour the past (October 2018)

October 16th, 2018 · Comments Off on NEWS: A way to honour the past (October 2018)

Exploring the roots of Korea Town

Tour-goers stop at Hodo Kwaja (656 Bloor St.?W.) for a taste of walnut cake. TEMI DADA/GLEANER NEWS

By Annemarie Brissenden

A heritage tour of Toronto’s Korea Town starts — as it should — at the Bloor Street United Church of Canada, once home to the Alpha Korean United Church.

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Tags: Annex · News

CHATTER: REDress Project inspires local solidarity (July 2018)

July 18th, 2018 · Comments Off on CHATTER: REDress Project inspires local solidarity (July 2018)

Jaime Black’s REDress Project has inspired three churches along Bloor Street to show their solidarity with those seeking redress for Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

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Tags: Annex · News · General

SPORTS: Maple Leafs back at the Pits (Election Special 2018)

May 29th, 2018 · Comments Off on SPORTS: Maple Leafs back at the Pits (Election Special 2018)

R.S. Konjek/Gleaner News File Photo

The bats are back. The Maple Leafs are swinging once more in Dominico Field at Christie Pits, and marked the 100th anniversary of the Intercounty Baseball League with a home opening 10-6 win over the London Majors on May 6. The Leafs, which have won five games to two this season, play every Sunday and most Wednesdays. Games are free.

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Tags: Annex · Sports

CHATTER: Bill Bolton Arena closed for upgrade (May 2018)

May 9th, 2018 · Comments Off on CHATTER: Bill Bolton Arena closed for upgrade (May 2018)

The buzzer sounded for the last time until the leaves fall at William H. (Bill) Bolton Arena (40 Rossmore Rd.), near Bathurst and Dupont streets. The arena has been closed for mechanical upgrades, and all of its skating programs are cancelled until October. Some other options for skating and hockey while the arena is closed are Moss Park, McCormick, Forest Hill, and North Toronto Memorial arenas.

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Tags: Annex · News

NEWS: Bike lanes (March 2018)

March 22nd, 2018 · Comments Off on NEWS: Bike lanes (March 2018)

A dissenter makes his case

By Annemarie Brissenden

Do bike lanes make cycling inherently safer?

That question was up for debate at January’s Grounds for Thought, which runs the last Tuesday of every month at the Green Beanery at Bloor and Bathurst streets. With free coffee on offer, Grounds for Thought is an homage to the coffee houses of old, places where dissent and unconventional ideas were not only welcomed but encouraged.

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Tags: Annex · News

YEAR IN REVIEW: Marking major anniversaries (Dec. 2017)

December 15th, 2017 · Comments Off on YEAR IN REVIEW: Marking major anniversaries (Dec. 2017)

A celebratory year in review

GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS Ten Editions Bookstore (698 Spadina Ave.) is at the centre of tension between town and gown. Heritage Preservation Services has recommended adding the building to the city’s protected list of heritage sites, but the university wants to tear it down to make way for a new student residence at Spadina and Sussex avenues.

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Tags: Annex

ARTS (FALL 2017): Swimming the English Channel

October 12th, 2017 · Comments Off on ARTS (FALL 2017): Swimming the English Channel

Former Gleaner writer publishes novel

Former Gleaner writer Gillian Best has published her debut novel.

The Last Wave (House of Anansi Press) tells the story of Martha, a woman who has swum the English Channel ten times. As she navigates complex relationships with husband, children, and close friends, the sea remains the one constant in Martha’s life.

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Tags: Annex · Arts

NEWS (JULY 2017): Women’s Art Association of Canada celebrates 130 years

August 1st, 2017 · 1 Comment

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.

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Tags: Annex · News

CHATTER (JUNE 2017): Building business on Bloor Street

June 30th, 2017 · Comments Off on CHATTER (JUNE 2017): Building business on Bloor Street

Cycle Toronto has launched a new program aimed at boosting business on Bloor Street. Pick up a “Bike and Buy: Tour de Bloor Passport” from Cycle Toronto and have it stamped every time you eat or shop at one of 73 participating businesses between Avenue Road and Shaw Street. Passport-holders will be entered in a draw for discounts and prizes, including a Simcoe Bike valued at $850 from Curbside Cycle. The program will run until the end of the September. Passports are available at Curbside Cycle, Sweet Pete’s B-Side (Annex), and bloorlovesbikes.ca.

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Tags: Annex · News

NEWS (MAY 2017): Restored Brunswick House reopens

May 26th, 2017 · Comments Off on NEWS (MAY 2017): Restored Brunswick House reopens

Exhibition features musical memorabilia

PHOTO BY GEREMY BORDONARO/GLEANER NEWS: Rexall Brunswick features many nods to history and community, such as this street sign.

By Annemarie Brissenden

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Tags: Annex · News

FOCUS ON EDUCATION (APRIL 2017): A little Oola, a lot of Boola

April 10th, 2017 · Comments Off on FOCUS ON EDUCATION (APRIL 2017): A little Oola, a lot of Boola

Harbord Collegiate celebrates 125 years

PHOTO BY NEILAND BRISSENDEN: A handmade, felt-covered photo album from 1909 sits in the Harbord Collegiate Institute museum, the first of its kind in Canada. Titled The Brownies at Harbord by Simple Simon, it features a caption reading “The Greatest Truths are the Simplest/And so are the Greatest Men”.

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Tags: Annex · News