Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Tuesday Treasures
Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.
September 2025 - Toronto ON
Beaches Branch was constructed at the northeast corner of Kew Gardens on a site provided by the City of Toronto, despite opposition from local residents and the Parks Committee to having a building on park property. Mayor Tommy Church laid the cornerstone for the new library on October 29, 1915. It replaced a storefront library that the Toronto Public Library Board had opened on Queen Street East at the northeast corner of Hambly Avenue on February 23, 1914.
Beaches was the last of three identical branches (Wychwood and High Park were the other two) that the Toronto Public Library built with a $50,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Chief Librarian George Locke described the design by Eden Smith & Sons "after the fashion of the Collegiate Grammar School of the Seventeenth Century in England," as "a decided revolt in style from the traditional library architecture".
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One-ton cast bronze owl designed by architect Phillip H. Carter and artisan Ludzer Vandermolen installed at the branch entrance, 7 July 2005.
Designed in 17th-century English Collegiate style, Beaches Branch by Kew Gardens replaced a storefront library opened in 1914 at the corner of Queen Street East and Hambly Avenue. The new building was one of three nearly identical libraries (together with Wychwood and High Park) built with a $50,000 grant to the Toronto Public Library from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. George Locke, the chief librarian, wanted the three buildings to "bring to the mind of the people of the outlying districts some recollection of their Scottish and English village type of architecture." The Toronto architecture firm Eden Smith and Sons completed the design, "a decided revolt" from the Classical styling of earlier Carnegie libraries. The brick and stone building features an upper floor modelled on a Tudor Gothic great hall. It boasts a soaring hammer-beamed ceiling, a plain stone fireplace, lead-glass casement windows, and a minstrel gallery. The west wing, built when the library was renovated and restored in 2005, replaces this 1980 addition.
Signs
Wordless Wednesday Wordless Be There 2day
September 2025 - Toronto ON
Queen St. East
Simon's department store.
Monday, September 29, 2025
Word on the Street
September 2025 - Toronto ON
I love going to Word On The Street every year.
About WOTS:
The Word On The Street is a national celebration of literacy and Canadian writing. Every year we host hundreds of author readings for visitors of all ages and a vibrant marketplace featuring the best selection of books and magazines in Canada. Join us (for free!) as we celebrate the stories that connect us.
The Word On The Street champions reading and writing in Canada all year long. Since 1990, we’ve brought hundreds of thousands of book lovers together in celebration of Canadian and Indigenous writers at our annual festival. And we have exciting plans to do more to champion storytelling, ideas, and imagination. But we can’t do it without your support.
I am doing this as a separate post rather than putting it in my weekly recap (I'll keep a couple) as, I took a lot of photos, and some people are not interested in books (and bookbags!).
I do wish some of my blogger friends didn't live so far away, it would have been such fun to share this with them.
That hand happens to be the author of The Prime Ministers that he is gesturing towards.
He is doing a book signing as this moment.
And he is signing a copy for John.
Toronto Public Library also had a booth where you could sign up for a library card.
.Audible had an incredible booth promoting Pride and Prejudice.
These cute little tables were set up with scissors (yikes!) and pin cushions for people to try their hand at embroidery.
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Everyone received a complimentary kit.
In the kids' section. I didn't take many photos here.
You listened to a 30 second intro.
7.5-foot custom Pride & Prejudice embroidery art installation, I was told it took 700 hours for this be completed.
Everyone received a complimentary kit.
Pippa was entertaining the kids.
St. John Ambulance volunteers posing with Pippa!
St John Ambulance is an affiliated movement of charitable organisations in mostly Commonwealth countries which provide first aid education and consumables and emergency medical services. St John organisations are primarily staffed by volunteer members and funded through their commercial endeavours, government contracts or donations. The associations are supported by the International Secretariat of the Order of St John (based in London) and its national priories.
It took place in David Pecaut Square at Metro Hall on King St. There is a massive section of the underground PATH connecting all these buildings to Union Station, Eaton Centre and many other hotels and office towers.
I chatted with this author about his books. John would really like his work.
The blonde is the author.
I added a lot of these books to my library wishlist.
I get their daily newsletter.
The Paper Bag Princess, my favourite book to buy for little girls.
Readers in the 1:30 slot.
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