Jane's Walk 2009
This year's Jane's walk takes place on the first weekend in May, May 2 and 3, 2009.
COMPLETE List of Toronto Jane's Walks 2009:: ![[WWW]](http://wikispot.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/sycamore-www.png){kind=small}
http://www.janeswalk.net/participating_cities/toronto
Recommended Walks - Sunday May 3, 2009
Peanut Plaza and Forest Manor Walk
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The Iranian Women’s Organization of Ontario, City Councillor Shelley Carroll, & Bob Pletch
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
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11:00 am
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Walk: 2.5 hours
Just like Jane, the Iranian community is new to Toronto. The Iranian Women’s Organization of Ontario (IWOO) is delighted to follow Jane Jacob’s steps in exploring communities and getting to know our neighbours in Don Valley East and host a Jane’s Walk. Councillor Shelley Carroll, the budget Chief for the City of Toronto and the Councillor for Ward 33 will be co-hosting the event.
Together, we will learn about how Forest Manor Community is being reshaped, how Peanut Plaza’s name came about, who the local high school was named after, land marks of the community and significant historical events that have played a major role in the life of Don Valley East. 11 Square kilometers in the heart of North York will be a community that we are inviting you to explore, enjoy and come back to.
A ready to go snack is available before the tour.
Meeting Place: Oriole Community Centre, 2975 Don Mills Road, Main entrance in the parking lot
Tour guide(s): The Iranian Women’s Organization of Ontario, City Councillor Shelley Carroll, & Bob Pletch
End Location: Forest Manor School
Neighbourhood: Don Valley East
Public Transit Directions: Bus # 25 from Pape Station through Don Mills Road & Steeles Ave. or Don Mills station
Parking Available: Ample parking on site
St James Town: The Inside Scoop
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St. James Town Youth Council
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
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2:00 pm
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Walk: 1.5 hours
See this dense and diverse community from a fresh perspective - through the eyes of the engaged and enthusiastic St James Town Youth Council. Learn about the history of the neighbourhood and what was here before this densely populated and diverse high rise development, visit their favourite spots to hang out, travel the secret shortcuts, get spooked by the 'ghost houses' and weigh in on the raging debate about what's the best grocery store: No Frills or Food Basics. We might even meet some local legends along the way, like the Creepy Princess Man, The Carpet Guy, Dr Portugal and the amazing role models who have lived here and organized this community for decades. We'll also hear about hopes and plans for greening up the towers as part of the Mayor's Tower Renewal initiative. The inside scoop on St James Town will forever change the way you think of this thriving, friendly and fascinating high-rise neighbourhood.
The St James Town Youth Council are supported and facilitated by the Yonge Street Mission and Banyan Youth.
Meeting Place: Sherbourne subway station - Glen Road exit
Tour guide(s): St. James Town Youth Council
End Location: tba
Neighbourhood St James Town
Public Transit Directions: Sherbourne Station - Glen Road exit
Accessible: some bumpy sidewalks, busy roads and crowded sidewalks will likely be encountered
Thorncliffe Park: Toronto's most vibrant neighbourhood.
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Jane Pitfield
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
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2:00pm
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Walk: 1 1/2 hours
The route will start finding the site of the Olympic Ski Jump from the 1920's near The Thorncliffe Community Garden Club. Walkers will learn about the southern-style mansion which was once an extensive farm encompassing all of current Thorncliffe Park and the valleylands.The amazing stories of the 30 years of racing at the Track and streets still bearing the names such as Milepost Place and Grandstand Place and the Winners' Circle.Other points of interest will include Coca Cola,Iqbal Halal Foods,The Great Gatineau Power Station and the site of the old Leaside Train Station.Time will be spent learning of the apartment buildings built in the 1950's and 60's and the largest elementary school in North America with enrolment of JK to Grade 5 children reaching 1900! There are 80 languages spoken in this community and more PhD's than any other neighbourhood in Toronto.
Meeting Place: In front of the main entrance to Zellers Store (east side) at East York Town Centre at Overlea Blvd. and Thorncliffe Park Drive.
Tour guide(s): Jane Pitfield, Surprise guests will join us along the route.
End Location: Same place.
Neighbourhood: Thorncliffe Park
Public Transit Directions: Bus south along Don Mills to Overlea or from Pape Station. Bus from Davisville or Yonge and Eglinton Stations.
Accessible: just sidewalks to negotiate
Parking Available: The parking lot at East York Town Centre.
4. Dark Age Ahead - The Wizard of Ossington Jane's Walk
| Neighbourhood: | Christie Pits, Ossington Avenue north of Bloor Street West |
| Reservations Required | NO |
| Tour guide: | HiMY SYeD |
| Date/Time: | Sunday May 3, 2009 - meet at 6:00 p.m. Walk shortly thereafter |
| Duration: | circa 90 minutes |
| Walk Start Location: | In Front of Ossington Station |
| Walk End Location: | Christie Pits Park |
| Public Transit Directions: | Ossington Station |
| Accessible: | Sidewalks mostly |
| Parking: | Street parking, and Green P Parking lot |
Brief Walk Description:
Jane Jacobs In Dark Age Ahead, identified five pillars of our culture that we depend on but which are in serious decline:
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Community and Family
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Higher Education
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The Effective Practice of Science
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Taxation and Government
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Self-policing by Learned Professions
The decay of these pillars, Jacobs contended, was behind such ills as environmental crisis, racism and the growing gulf between rich and poor; their continued degradation could lead us into a new Dark Age, a period of cultural collapse in which all that keeps a society alive and vibrant is forgotten.
This walk will tie in ideas discussed in Jane's last book she published before she died, Dark Age Ahead as seen through the lens of the Ossington Avenue, Garrison Creek, and the AfriVillage and Christie Pits Neighbourhoods.
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See the Leaning Houses of Shaw Street aka the crookedest houses in Toronto
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Learn about Lost Rivers - Garrison Creek
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Discover The City of Labyrinths Project and walk any of the four neighbourhood examples
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...and maybe Meet The Wizard of Ossington
Recommended Walks - Saturday May 2, 2009
Bloor is Getting Down to Business: From the Pits Downe
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Ghazaleh Etezal
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Saturday, May 2, 2009
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4:00pm
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Walk: 2 hours
Join me as I share my experience with The StoreFront Community project and meet the neighbours that I connected with through this community building initiative. Lets walk and talk about the neighbourhood, the local shops, the vision, the changes, the projects, the diversity, the history, the incredible energy that makes this area who we are...from the Pits to Lansdowne, we're gonna get down to business!
Meeting Place: Christie Pits Park across Montrose Avenue which is a couple steps from coming out of Christie Station
Tour guide(s): Ghazaleh Etezal , The StoreFront Community Network
End Location: Lansdowne Ave.
Neighbourhood: Bloorcourt and Bloordale (Dufferin Grove/Dovercourt-Wallace Emerson-Junction)
Public Transit Directions: Christie Station
Jane-Finch Neighbourhood Tour
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The Spot Youth group of Jane/Finch Centre
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Saturday, May 2, 2009
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1:00pm
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Walk: 2 hours
Come take a walking tour with Jane/Finch youth who know their neighborhood better than anyone else! Tour includes chill out spots, short cuts, interviews with grandmothers and mothers who cook for many of the teens, conversations about the lack of green space and more! This diverse neighborhood is bursting with stories, imagination and ideas. Tour ends in celebration with music, food and more time for questions and answers! Come experience one of the most important yet overlooked neighborhoods in Toronto.
Tour includes chill out spots, mall locations, short cuts, interviews with local residents, apartment buildings, laundry mats, conversations about green space or lack of it, and more!
Meeting Place: Gosford Public School parking lot (30 Gosford)
Tour guide(s): The Spot Youth group of Jane/Finch Centre
End Location: Oakdale Community Centre
Neighbourhood: Jane/Finch
Public Transit Directions: Board the Yonge-University-Spadina Subway departing from Dupont Station at and travel to Downsview Station. Board the 108A Downsview departing from Westbound on Sheppard at Tuscan and get off at Jane St corner of Driftwood Ave. Walk west on Driftwood 1 block to Gosford Blvd and turn left (walk south) on Gosford until you reach 30 Gosford Blvd, Gosford Public School and meet in parking lot. Short walk once you get off the bus.
Thorncliffe Park : From Horseshoe to Cosmopolitan Community
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Aazam Hassim, Faiza Kaka, Yamo Said Ogho, Gord Johnson, Jehad Aliweiwi,
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Saturday, May 2, 2009
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1:00pm
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Walk: 2 hours
Come and enjoy a stroll through one of Canada's first High Rise Develpments and one of Toronto's most 'walkable' neighbourhoods. Once a horsetrack, it is today a colourful community that represents Toronto's rich diversity. For an intriguing peek, did you know that Thorncliffe Park is the home to the largest elementary school in Canada with close to 1900 students whose heritage is the representation of over 90 cultural backgrounds. Home to many faiths, Thorncliffe Park contains several places of worship. Here you can catch the aroma of the spices of life from across the globe.
Meeting Place: TNO Youth Centre - 45 Overlea Blvd Unit 108, behind East York Town Centre The Mall on Overlea Boulevard
Tour guide(s): Aazam Hassim, Faiza Kaka, Yamo Said Ogho, Gord Johnson, Jehad Aliweiwi, , Longtime and lifetime residents of Thorncliffe Park, will be joined by host Kathleen Wynne, MPP Don Valley West and Ontario Minister of Education.
End Location: Iqbal Foods
Neighbourhood: Thorncliffe Park
Public Transit Directions: Bus # 25 from Pape Station
Parking Available: Ample parking on site
4. Dark Age Ahead - The Wizard of Ossington Jane's Walk
| Neighbourhood: | Christie Pits, Ossington Avenue north of Bloor Street West |
| Reservations Required | NO |
| Tour guide: | HiMY SYeD |
| Date/Time: | Sunday May 3, 2009 - meet at 6:00 p.m. Walk shortly thereafter |
| Duration: | circa 90 minutes |
| Walk Start Location: | In Front of Ossington Station |
| Walk End Location: | Christie Pits Park |
| Public Transit Directions: | Ossington Station |
| Accessible: | Sidewalks mostly |
| Parking: | Street parking, and Green P Parking lot |
Brief Walk Description:
Jane Jacobs In Dark Age Ahead, identified five pillars of our culture that we depend on but which are in serious decline:
-
Community and Family
-
Higher Education
-
The Effective Practice of Science
-
Taxation and Government
-
Self-policing by Learned Professions
The decay of these pillars, Jacobs contended, was behind such ills as environmental crisis, racism and the growing gulf between rich and poor; their continued degradation could lead us into a new Dark Age, a period of cultural collapse in which all that keeps a society alive and vibrant is forgotten.
This walk will tie in ideas discussed in Jane's last book she published before she died, Dark Age Ahead as seen through the lens of the Ossington Avenue, Garrison Creek, and the AfriVillage and Christie Pits Neighbourhoods.
-
See the Leaning Houses of Shaw Street aka the crookedest houses in Toronto
-
Learn about Lost Rivers - Garrison Creek
-
Discover The City of Labyrinths Project and walk any of the four neighbourhood examples
-
...and maybe Meet The Wizard of Ossington
Jane's Walk 2009 which are sponsored by Torontopedia!
1. Jane's Psychogeography Walk
| Neighbourhood: | The Kingsway Neighbourhood |
| Reservations Required | NO |
| Tour guide: | HiMY SYeD |
| Date/Time: | Thursday April 30, 2009 - meet at 8:00 p.m. Walk shortly thereafter |
| Duration: | circa 2 hours |
| Walk Start Location: | In Front of Royal York Station |
| Walk End Location: | Usually a pub or restaurant |
| Public Transit Directions: | Royal York Station |
| Accessible | Sidewalks to begin with, but can't speak for the rest of the walk |
| Parking | Street Parking, Nearby Green P parking Lots |
Brief Walk Description:
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In keeping with the Thursday night-ish-ness of usual Toronto Psychogeography Society walk timings Jane's Psychogeography Walk will take place this Thursday Evening, April 30, 2009. Starting point will be in front of the Royal York Station. The walk will head along Bloor Street West to look at the recently re-opened Kingsway Theatre. After that, in true TPS fashion, we'll pick a direction and play it by ear.
2. Scarborough - The Forgotten city of the Future
The Forgotten city of the Future: Where Richard Florida meets Jane Jacobs 
| Neighbourhoods: | Highland Creek, Hillsborough, Scarborough Civic Centre |
| Reservations Required: | NO |
| Tour guide: | HiMY SYeD |
| Date/Time: | Saturday May 2, 2009 - meet at 6:45 p.m., Walk begins at 7 p.m. |
| Duration: | 2 Hours |
| Walk Start Location: | In Front of Scarborough Centre RT Station main entrance/exit on the interstitial catwalk |
| Walk End Location: | Scarborough Walk of Fame |
| Public Transit Directions: | Scarborough Centre RT Station |
| Accessible | Stairs, and some walking on unpaved parkland |
| Parking: | Scarborough Town Centre Mall Parking Lot |
Brief Walk Description: This Jane's Walk will reveal:
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The Hillsborough Vertical Neighbourhood
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Public Art in Public Space
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Desired paths, and how people persist in criss crossing the neighbourhood
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Scarborough's equivalent to Chicago's Wacker Drive aka Wacky Drive
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Memories of The Highland Creek Flood
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Intersection Neighbourhoods
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The little known Scarborough Walk of Fame
...and most significantly, why Scarborough is where Richard Florida meets Jane Jacobs.
3. 3rd Annual Retracing Stop Spadina
| Neighbourhoods: | Upper Village, Forest Hill, Casa Loma Neighbourhood, and finally The Annex |
| Reservations Required? | NO |
| Tour guide: | HiMY SYeD |
| Date/Time: | Saturday May 2, 2009 - meet at 11:45 a.m., Walk begins at 12 Noon |
| Duration: | 3 Hours |
| Walk Start Location: | In Front of Eglinton West Station |
| Walk End Location: | In Front of 69 Albany Avenue, Jane Jacob's House |
| Public Transit Directions: | Eglinton West Station |
| Accessible? | Not accessible, many sidewalks with steps downhill |
| Parking? | Not really, please use transit |
Brief Walk Description:
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This year's Retracing Stop Spadina is now in its 3rd year. This Jane's Walk begins where the Spadina Expressway was stopped, the three foot wide sidewalk that then Premier Bill Davis ceded to the Old City of Toronto to block Metro's desire to complete the expressway south of Eglinton Avenue West. The tour will then head south, winding our way through neighbourhoods which would have been drastically reduced if not removed had the Spadina Expressway been completed all the way to downtown.
New this year:
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Murals, Graffiti, Public Art, and tagging along the way
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The forgotten history of Toronto The Good's fight against allowing the first legal apartment building renting to single women
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The Legacy of architech Uno Prii on The Annex Neighbourhood and by extension, the rest of the city.
Rest Stops along the way include:
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Spadina House beside Casa Loma,
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The park at the top of Albany Avenue at Barton - St. Alban's Square where we will see the little known "Jacobs Ladder" from Grassroots Albany.
Strolling through The Annex, we will arrive at 69 Albany Avenue, Jane Jacobs' House, where this Jane's Walk will end.
A history of the "Stop Spadina / Go Spadina" controversy will be presented throughout the walk, along with stories and archive photos of each of the neighbourhoods we will be walking through.
A limited number of printed materials will be available on a first come first served basis as keepsakes of this year's Jane's Walk.
4. Dark Age Ahead - The Wizard of Ossington Jane's Walk
A thumbnail or caption may be displayed only once per image.
| Neighbourhood: | Christie Pits, Ossington Avenue north of Bloor Street West |
| Reservations Required | NO |
| Tour guide: | HiMY SYeD |
| Date/Time: | Sunday May 3, 2009 - meet at 6:00 p.m. Walk shortly thereafter |
| Duration: | circa 90 minutes |
| Walk Start Location: | In Front of Ossington Station |
| Walk End Location: | Christie Pits Park |
| Public Transit Directions: | Ossington Station |
| Accessible: | Sidewalks mostly |
| Parking: | Street parking, and Green P Parking lot |
Brief Walk Description:
Jane Jacobs In Dark Age Ahead, identified five pillars of our culture that we depend on but which are in serious decline:
-
Community and Family
-
Higher Education
-
The Effective Practice of Science
-
Taxation and Government
-
Self-policing by Learned Professions
The decay of these pillars, Jacobs contended, was behind such ills as environmental crisis, racism and the growing gulf between rich and poor; their continued degradation could lead us into a new Dark Age, a period of cultural collapse in which all that keeps a society alive and vibrant is forgotten.
This walk will tie in ideas discussed in Jane's last book she published before she died, Dark Age Ahead as seen through the lens of the Ossington Avenue, Garrison Creek, and the AfriVillage and Christie Pits Neighbourhoods.
-
See the Leaning Houses of Shaw Street aka the crookedest houses in Toronto
-
Learn about Lost Rivers - Garrison Creek
-
Discover The City of Labyrinths Project and walk any of the four neighbourhood examples
-
...and maybe Meet The Wizard of Ossington
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Previous Year's Info
Mayor David Miller announced in November 2006 that May 4 would officially be “Jane Jacobs Day” in Toronto.
On Sunday May 5, 2007, it will be Jane's Walk Day in Canada:
Many of Jane’s peers, colleagues, friends and admirers have discussed how best to honour her legacy and have settled on the idea of “Jane’s Walk”, to reinforce her idea of walkable, dense, compact and diverse neighbourhoods as the hallmarks of a healthy city. These characteristics help knit together the people of a neighbourhood into a strong and resourceful community.
The First Annual “Jane’s Walk” will take place on Saturday, May 5, 2007, in numerous locations throughout Toronto. Each walk will feature a tour guide who can speak knowledgeably about the neighbourhood, and will highlight the people, places, and public spaces that make that particular community interesting and unique.
Self-organization is part of the philosophy of Jane’s Walk, hence anyone can start a walk of their own.
For information on featured walks, or to organize your own walk, please visit the Jane’s Walk website, and add your own Jane's Walk to our list below.
More on the Spacing Wire.
Photo Archive of Jane's Walks
A photographic archive of Jane’s Walk is being created and they would love to include your unique perspective of Toronto’s myriad communities. Please share photos of your walks here: http://www.janeswalk.net/gallery_intro.html
A Flickr group is up for collecting photographs of the day's walks: http://www.flickr.com/groups/janeswalk/
Yvonne from the Centre for Social Innovation is hoping for contributions to create a photo archive of all the walks.
Your photos will start off the CSI photo archive of Jane's Walk and may also become a part of the exhibition that they are planning.
Contact Yvonne at CSI:
tel: 416-642-5452 or email: yvonne~AT~socialinnovation.ca
Featured Jane's Walk, Saturday May 5, 2007
9:30am Cabbagetown
Cabbagetown Then, and Then, and Now
Tour Guide: John Sewell
9:30am SummerHill
Tour Guides: John Van Nostrand / Kate Wilson
9:45am The Esplanade
Tour Guide: Bruce Bell
10:00am Swansea
10:00am Roncesvalles Village
Tour Guide: Joe Fiorito
10:00am The Annex
Tour Guide: Angus Skene
10:30am Chinatown
Tour Guide: Tam Goossen
10:30am Rosedale
Tour Guide: Eb Zeidler
11:00am Regent Park
11:00am Parkdale
Tour Guide: Mary Lou Morgan
12:00pm Bloor West
Tour Guide: Jutta Mason
12:00pm Cabbagetown
Tour Guide: David Hilton
1:00pm The Beach
1:00pm Yonge Street
Tour Guides: Jane Farrow and Gerald Hannon
1:00pm King and Spadina
Tour Guide: Margaret Zeidler
1:00pm Parkdale
Tour Guide: Alec Keefer
1:00pm St. Clair West
2:00pm West Queen West
Tour Guide: Ben Woolfitt
3:00pm The Grange
New Ideas spring from Old Buildings: From abattoirs and stables to tong houses and consulates
Tour Guide: Ceta Ramkhalawansingh
3:00pm Kensington Market
Kensington Market to Alexandra Park - Observations to heal the "Great Divide"
Tour Guide: Adam Vaughan
3:00pm Little Italy
Tour Guide: Dan Yashinsky
4:00pm Little India
From Ashbridges to Little India
Tour Guide: Susan Fletcher
8:00pm The Grange
Nightlife — From Grange to Grunge
Tour Guide: Max Allen
Retracing Stop Spadina
This Jane's Walk begins where the Spadina Expressway was stopped, the three foot wide sidewalk that then Premier Bill Davis ceded to the Old City of Toronto to block Metro's desire to complete the expressway south of Eglinton.
This Jane's Walk begins at 12 noon and will head south. We will wind our way through neighbourhoods which would have been drastically reduced if not removed had the Spadina Expressway been completed all the way to downtown.
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Forest Hill Village,
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Spadina House beside Casa Loma,
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The park at the top of Albany Avenue at Barton.
Rest Stops along the way include:
Strolling through The Annex, we will arrive at Kensington Market where this Jane's Walk will end.
A history of the Stop Spadina controversy will be presented throughout the walk, along with stories and archive photos of each of the neighbourhoods we will be walking through.
Meet in front of the Eglinton West Station at 12 Noon on Saturday May 5, 2007.
More information here:
St. Clair and the ROW: is regeneration still possible?
Tour Guide: Margaret Smith, Chair, Save Our St. Clair, SOS
Area: Downtown
Starting time: 10:00 AM
Duration: 1:30 hr
Meeting place: Spadina Road and St.Clair Avenue West
Description:
The walk will reference St. Clair's history and discuss what we can learn from the St. Clair streetcar ROW experience so far, to generate the conditions needed for neighbourhood vitality and diversity.
http://www.janeswalk.net/walkdetail.php?walk=6
Parkdale Historical Tour
Tour Guide: Alec Keefer
Area: Downtown
Starting time: 1:00 PM
Duration: 2 hrs
Meeting place: south side of the intersection of Roncesvalles and King at the bridge to Sunnyside
Description:
Architectural/social historian Alec Keefer, President of Architectural Conservancy Toronto, will lead a walk of Parkdale.
Long considered one of the finest shopping districts in the city, Queen Street will be examined starting at the south side of the intersection of Roncesvalles and King at the bridge to Sunnyside moving east to Dufferin Street. The walk will include a survey of 130 years of community infrastructure and commercial buildings.
The walk will wrap up at the Gladstone Hotel. This walk is being done on behalf of the Parkdale Community Information Centre, a non-profit with 30 years of connecting people and services in Parkdale.
