Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Happy Birthday! The Junction Is Celebrating the Centennial of the City of West Toronto


The Junction Forum for Art and Culture is holding the AGM and community forum tonight.

Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Venue: Margret, local Junction bar
Address: 2952 Dundas Street West Toronto, ON (just east of Pacific Avenue)

This is an opportunity for JFAC board members and event organizers to discuss and share ideas of the upcoming events planned for the Junction Centennial Celebrations (April 12 - 14, 2008) including the Junction Arts Festival (September 3 - 7, 2008) with Junction residents, artists, business owners, organizations and any other interested parties.

Topics of Interest:
  • Announcement of planned Centennial Events and activities
  • April 14th Incorporation Day
  • Junction’s place and historical relevance
  • Junction Arts Festival
  • How to get involved
  • Supporting Junction Artists
  • Support for community initiatives
  • What this means for the neighbourhood
  • Meet new people
  • Make new friends
Please RSVP to Lindsay Tipping at lindsay @ junctionartsfest.com or phone 416 767-5036

Junction links:
Junction Centennial Celebrations
Junction Arts Festival
Junction BIA
West Toronto Junction Historical Society
The West Bend Community Association
South Junction Triangle Residents Association
Gathering Space
Junction Parents


Cool Organic Spots in the Junction City, Toronto, ON, Canada:
The Beet Organic Café & Market
The Sweet Potato: Organic Grocery in Toronto
Agora Mediterranean Market Cafe
Delight:
Handmade Organic Fair Trade Chocolate
Rawlicious: The Art of Raw Living: Living Foods, Zen Den: Super Foods

web publishing about Junction events:
Home Sweet Home Artists and Projects: 13 community collaborations and the Junction's neighborhood interventions. Opening - Thurday April 3rd 5-7pm
by The Gathering Space, a community arts project based in the Junction

blogTO: The Junction: Home to The Gathering Space
by Laura Mendes

Toronto Culture: Junction City Centennial Celebrations Weekend
Presented by: Junction Arts Festival


toronto.com: Hit these Junction five

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3 comments:

The Vision Builder said...

West Toronto Junction continues economic revitalization with Streetscape Project
October 19, 2001

Economic Development Division -- The City of Toronto held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the economic revitalization of Malta Village within the West Toronto Junction area today.

The official launch represents the starting point of the City of Toronto's commitment of $1.6 million toward the streetscape redevelopment in the Malta Village as part of the City's Employment Revitalization Program. The goal of the program is to strengthen the City's economy by strategically reinvesting in targeted areas so that they remain competitive locations for business.

Construction is set to begin on the Malta Village Streetscape Project at Quebec Avenue and Dundas Street West and continue to Runnymede Road. In conjunction with a $19-million Toronto Hydro Project to remove overhead wires in the area, the City of Toronto has committed to installing new sidewalks, decorative pavers, trees and planters to improve the overall visual character of this business area.

Guest speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony included Sam Bulte, MP Parkdale-High Park, Gerard Kennedy, MPP Parkdale-High Park, and Toronto City Councillors David Miller and Chris Korwin-Kuczynski.

"Past experience shows that businesses prefer to establish themselves in up-and-coming neighbourhoods," said Brenda Librecz, Managing Director of Economic Development. "Improving the visual character of the community boosts real estate values and pedestrian traffic, as well as benefits businesses by encouraging increased competitiveness as a shopping district. The revitalization of the West Toronto Junction has brought 40 new businesses to the area over the past two years."

The project is being executed in partnership with the West Toronto Junction Team and Human Resources Development Canada. Several City departments have been involved in the project, including Economic Development, Parks and Recreation, City Planning, and Works and Emergency Services. Community partners include the Junction Gardens Business Improvement Area, Malta Village Business Association, Dundas West Residents Association and Junction Residents Association.

Media Contacts:
Access Toronto
416-338-0338


The Junction (formerly West Toronto)

The Junction, is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that derives its name from a junction of four railway lines in the area known as the West Toronto Diamond. The centre of the area is Dundas St. and Keele St. The area has a growing Latin American population. The Village of West Toronto Junction was founded in 1884 at the intersection of Dundas and Keele Streets.As it grew it became the Town of West Toronto Junction, then the Town of Toronto Junction in 1892, then the City of West Toronto in 1908 before it became part of the City of Toronto. The Junction was a manufacturing community that boomed during the late 1800s. Foundries, mills, wire factories, and industries, such as Wilkinson Plough, Dominion Showcase and the Heintzman Piano Co. began moving into the area. Other firms came because land, labour and taxes were cheaper than in Toronto. These factors also attracted many immigrant or second generation Irish Catholics to the area, many of whom moved there from then poor, crowded tenement housing in areas of the city such as Cabbagetown and Brockton Village during the 1880s. Many also came from working-class English industrial cities such as Birmingham and Manchester. They were soon followed by many Macedonian immigrants, many of whom worked in the meat industry. The Junction was prone to booms and busts during its tumultuous history; while the period between 1888 and 1890 was a prosperous one, the period between 1893 and 1900 saw significant poverty in the area due to an economic recession. The Great Depression saw the closing of factories and the end to construction in the area, and the municipality could not support its citizens because of a large civic debt. Pubs and taverns became permanent fixtures in The Junction, as was the case with many railway and factory workers' towns. By 1903, alcohol was such a serious problem for families and a public embarrassment (as drunks were visible from passing trains), that the town voted to go dry in 1904. This bylaw was not repealed until 2000. It was the last area of Toronto to do so. Toronto annexed The Junction in 1909 and the two have gradually grown together, though residents have retained their community identity and remained very loyal to the neighbourhood, despite further economic hardship. Indeed, the commercial stretch of Dundas Street was all but abandoned until quite recently. The prohibition law dissuaded restaurants from establishing themselves there, and bars were not permitted. The elimination of the prohibition has had a positive effect on the community, however. New restaurants and bars have opened up along Dundas Street, attracting young hipsters, while lower rents make the neighbourhood appealing to artists. Some see The Junction as the next big "hip place to live". The Junction Triangle (bounded by Keele, St. Clair, and Dundas Streets) was for many decades the location of the Ontario Stockyards. This was Canada's largest livestock market, the centre of Ontario's meat-packing industry, and the source of Toronto's nickname as Hogtown. The Ontario Stockyards closed at this site in 1993 (moving to Cookstown, much further north of the city), and most of the meat-packing plants that surrounded it closed shortly thereafter. There are still some meat-packing facilities in the area, however, contributing to a signature odour of the tanning and rendering process. The former Stockyards site is now the location of a large bloc of warehouse-style retail outlets, including Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Future Shop and Rona, along with several smaller stores, and the name "Stockyards" has evolved to describe this new shopping area. Immediately surrounding the retail core, new residential developments, primarily mid- to upscale- rowhouses, are helping to revitalize this neighborhood. Various inns and hotels that have since been established in the area also assist economic stimulation in the form of tourism. Since the second World War, the area along Dundas well west of Keele (to Jane Street)is known as "Little Malta" with several Maltese-Canadian businesses present. The Maltese-Canadian community has partly moved out to Mississauga and other suburbs, but still has a visible presence in this area. As a consequence of the location of abattoirs and other industries that produced volumes of toxic waste, the residents of the neighborhood are highly concerned about pollution issues, and the city of Toronto has put significant efforts into cleaning up former industrial sites.

Credit:
www.TorontoGreatHomes.com

The Vision Builder said...

Празднование Столетнего Юбилея Города Junction
пятница и суббота: апрель 12 - 13, 2008
12pm – 5pm
понедельник: апрель 14, 2008
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
В программе праздника - водевильное шоу: музыка, комедия и танцы в исполнении комедиантов, дуэт гитары и банджо, выступления артистов, исторические туры по району, выставка исторических фотографий, игры и многое другое.
Место: The Junction Train Platform
Адрес: 2960 Dundas Street West (Dundas St. W. & Pacific Ave.)
Вход: Свободный
Информация: www.thejunctioncity.com

The Vision Builder said...

Rawlicious: Raw, Delicious, Health, Happiness & Zen