By GENE DOMAGALA
We will soon be starting walks again this year, and the first one will take place on Saturday, April 15.
It will take place along Kingston Road, starting at 1 p.m. at St. John’s Roman Catholic Church, 794 Kingston Rd. The walk will then head west to St. John’s Norway Anglican Church on the northwest corner of Kingston Road and Woodbine Avenue.
There will be several interesting places we will visit on the walk including the old East Toronto Hotel later called the Benlamond Hotel (and known to many as the Benny).
We’ll see where the Ames Estate was, and the where the first municipal golf course in Canada was located. Also, we’ll see where the first school house was, the former site of the Royal Canadian Legion, the Norway historical plaque and more.
My second walk of the season will be on Saturday, May 13.
This walk will be along Queen Street East. It starts at 1 p.m. at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, at Lockwood Road and Queen Street East, and then travels east along Queen to finish at Beach United Church on Wineva Avenue.
Along the walk we will see the Beach Fire Hall, just east of Woodbine Avenue; the Beach Hebrew Institute on Kenilworth Avenue; a number of old theatre locations and more.
On Saturday, June 17, at 1 p.m. I will lead a walk in the East Toronto area that starts at St. Saviour’s Anglican Church (on the corner of Kimberley and Swanwick avenues).
The walk will work its way through the neighbourhood, ending at Calvary Baptist Church, which is on the northwest corner of Main Street and Benlamond Avenue.
During this walk we will visit sites of historic interest along Osborne Avenue, Lyall Avenue and Benlamond Avenue.
As you may have figured out by now, the theme for my first three walks is local houses of worship.
I will have other walks planned for later this year, but exact dates have yet to be determined.
One of the walks will be along Main Street. I’m also planning walks for Gerrard Street East, the Kew Beach and Balmy Beach area; and on Danforth Avenue this year.
Please remember to check upcoming editions of the Beach Metro Community News for the exact dates of these walks once I have confirmed them.
If you have questions, please let me know.
Historically yours!
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