The Annex Residents' Association

 

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Read the minutes of the May 2010 Board meeting.

Click here for the April 2010 Voice of the Annex

Next Board Meeting

September 16, 2010

Annex Retirement Residence
123 Spadina Road
7:30 p.m. - All Welcome
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TREES OF THE ANNEX
An educational tour of the special trees of the Annex

Sunday, September 26, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Rain or shine

An ARA initiative co-sponsored by LEAF.

Join Amanda Gomm and others from LEAF as we explore the historic and newly planted trees in the Annex. Meet in Taddle Creek Park and head west to observe historic trees and highlight ongoing efforts to restore and improve bio-diversity in our community.

To register: Free for ARA members, $10 for non-members
space
permitting, please send an email to:
louis.florence@utoronto.ca or call at 416.923.2930 with names and number of people who will be attending. Space is limited so respond early! _________________


          Jane's Walk Sandra Shaul (right) and Bobbi Speck

Jane's Walk entitled The Annex and Community Activism
on May 2 & 3 2009 was a smashing success!

Over 50 people joined Sandra Shaul, chair of the Annex Residents’ Association Heritage Committee, for a walk through a special part of the East Annex and visited the places and met the people that contribute to the character of this neighbourhood

The Annex neighbourhood of Toronto originated in the late 1880s as the City’s first planned urban suburb. It is home to a unique architectural style, small urban parks that are maintained by local residents, and neighbourhood pubs, restaurants and other small businesses that are popular with residents throughout the city. It is also home to Toronto’s oldest and one of city’s most active residents’ associations. .

Read Bobbi Speck's story, the Annex leader of the fight against the Spadina Expressway, who organized our efforts with Jane Jacobs and many others. The group walked along Madison Avenue, the other potential victim of the proposed expressway, to see its unique architecture, and learned how it has been so well preserved through adaptive re-use. While touring the streets, the group met  Ecology Park volunteers, during their spring clean up, and learned about the origins of the park, an Annex Residents’ Association project.

The last stretch of the tour was along Bloor to see the contrasting architecture of our past and present, including  the site of One Bedford (Bloor and Bedford), the condo tower development, which once again raised questions about how planning is carried out in our city.  The tour concluded by heading north on Bedford to see Taddle Creek Park, another Annex Residents’ Association project, and then headed east along Prince Arthur, to numbers 10 and 14, where activism in the Annex began, and is focused again. Participants then had the perfect opportunity to have lunch in the neighbourhood and to visit the ROM, Gardiner Museum, and Bata Shoe Museum.

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Projects to preserve the distinctive character of our neighbourhood the ARA is undertaking and participating in are:

  • A Bloor-Corridor Visioning study for the area bounded by Avenue Road, Dupont, Bathurst and Bloor and the areas immediately south of Bloor, in cooperation with our fellow residents’ and business associations and cultural and educational institutions. The study will look at assets such as parks, schools, public transit, parking, and built form so that our heritage can be recognized and intensification in our area can be rationally planned; For more information, please email Robert Brown.
  • an Annex-wide Heritage Conservation District study of our most important continuous streetscapes;
  • upgrading our limited parks and producing an open space and parks study and strategy

Join us  to learn what we have done, what we want to do, and how you can play a role

All are welcome (owners, residents’ tenants, students, and business operators). 

News and Updates

Residents can now track the progress of major development applications on the City’s website at www.toronto.ca/planning/developmentapplications

 

 

 

 

 

Ecology Park 

              
The warm summer weather makes the garden lush and beautiful.

Come and help with:

  • raking the paths and plant areas

  • weeding and thinning out the planting beds

  • maintaining the vegetable garden

  • improving the site lines in the park.

Saturday mornings  9.00 to 11.00 am.

All welcome! All equipment provided!

You can find Ecology Park on Madison Avenue, west side just north of Bloor.

Ecology Park map.
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Community History Project
Fall 2010 Heritage Lecture Series


Starting Wednesday, September 8,
7 p.m. Toll keeper's Cottage Museum,

Toll keeper's Park, N.W. Corner Davenport & Bathurst.

For complete schedule go to
www.tollkeeperscottage.ca

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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
The ARA is in the process of establishing a Heritage Conservation District for Madison Avenue. 

Read about the East Annex Heritage Conservation District Study at http://www.toronto.ca/heritage-preservation/hcd_east_annex.htm

Want to help? 
Contact Sandra Shaul at heritage@theara.org for more details.

Volunteers with specialized skills needed for:

  • Fundraising

  • Data entry

  • Web development

  • Gardening

  • Archival Research  

  • Event Planning

      Are you interested?
Please contact the Membership Chair
Louis Florence at
membership@theara.org

 

 

 

 

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