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Toronto Women's Bookstore

Buildings and structures in Canada destroyed by arsonFeminism in OntarioFeminist bookstoresFeminist organizations in CanadaIndependent bookstores of Canada
Organizations for women of colorShops in TorontoWomen in Ontario
Closing of a landmark
Closing of a landmark

The Toronto Women's Bookstore was the largest nonprofit, feminist bookstore in Canada, before its closure in November 2012. It was run and staffed primarily by women of color, and sold fiction, poetry and non-fiction by women writers to promote feminist and anti-oppression politics.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Toronto Women's Bookstore (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Toronto Women's Bookstore
Harbord Street, Toronto

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N 43.6627915 ° E -79.4027941 °
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The Dessert Kitchen

Harbord Street 73
M5S 1G4 Toronto
Ontario, Canada
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Closing of a landmark
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Bakka-Phoenix
Bakka-Phoenix

Bakka-Phoenix Science Fiction & Fantasy Bookstore is an independent bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, which specializes in science fiction and fantasy literature. It was started on Toronto's then-bohemian Queen Street West in May 1972 as a combined science-fiction and comic book store called Bakka, a name taken by founding owner Charles McKee (born 1 December 1947) from a Fremen legend in Frank Herbert's novel Dune; Bakka was "the weeper who mourns for all mankind." The comic-book business split off early on, becoming The Silver Snail, still extant and until recently located on the opposite side of Queen Street West. Bakka published Bakka Magazine from 1975-77.Bakka originally had a substantial stock of used, as well as new, books, but when the store moved to its 1998 location (see below), the reduced floorspace meant that emphasis shifted almost entirely to new books; with the November 2010 move, it is back to having a significant used-book section although the emphasis is still very much on new books. Unlike many other SF specialty stores, Bakka has remained almost exclusively a bookstore; it does not sell toys, games, comics, memorabilia, or collectibles. The store moved in March 1998 to 598 Yonge Street in Toronto, the same building as the LGBT bookstore Glad Day, and relocated in March 2005 to 697 Queen Street West in Toronto. Robert J. Sawyer's 1998 novel Factoring Humanity, set early in the 21st century, "predicted" this move: Kyle continued on until he came to Bakka. The store had started on Queen West in 1972, had moved away a quarter-century later, and now was back, not far from its original location. In November 2010, the store moved again, this time to larger quarters at 84 Harbord Street, just west of Spadina Avenue and adjacent to the main campus of the University of Toronto, in the Harbord Village neighbourhood. The new building has a ground floor devoted to new books; a downstairs devoted to media tie-ins, related nonfiction, and used books; and an upstairs function room available for book-club meetings and the like. Although the previous locations were rental sites, the store owns the Harbord Street building. At the original location, the store styled its name as "Bakka: A Science Fiction Book Shoppe." The signage out front in later years there was a space mural by Toronto artist Kevin Davies. At the 697 Queen Street location, the store styled itself as "BakkaPhoenix Science Fiction & Fantasy Bookstore," with signage graphics by John Rose, owner of the store. The signage at the 84 Harbord location, also with graphics by Rose, adds a hyphen and some redundancy to the name, styling it as "Bakka-Phoenix Books: Science Fiction & Fantasy Bookstore." Its third owner, Ben Freiman, bought the store in 2003 from Rose; he appended "Phoenix" to the store's name to mark the new ownership, although the clientele still mostly refer to the store as just "Bakka." Freiman made no changes to the staff; Christine Szego was manager until 2018. After retiring, she was replaced with Scott Dagostino, who left shortly into 2020. The current manager is Becca Lovatt. Several noted Canadian science fiction and fantasy authors, starting with Robert J. Sawyer in 1982 and continuing with Tanya Huff, Cory Doctorow, and Nalo Hopkinson, have been employed by the store. In honor of the store's 30th anniversary, The Bakka Anthology, containing new stories by all of these writers with an introduction by Spider Robinson, was published in 2002. The anthology was edited by Kristen Pederson Chew, and was the final volume released under the "Bakka Books" imprint, established by then-owner John Rose.

Early Learning Centre (building)

The Early Learning Centre designed by Teeple Architects in 2003 is an intricate space intended for the children of the University of Toronto faculty and students to enhance the enjoyment of their learning experiences. One of the most important aspects of the building is the large open spaces, big windows, and clear connections between rooms that allow for children's interaction with the exterior environment and with each other. The building is made up of multi-levels, leaving some areas to be double-height, creating loft and pit-like spaces for the children to play in. The different rooms are mainly centered on a ramp, which is used for circulation. There are lightwells that run along the double-atrium ramp that help to brighten up the spaces. The whole building was designed around a large walnut tree, which currently is placed in the back of the building. The exterior of the building is made up of large Gavalume panels, and light green-tinted transparent glass windows. They seem randomly placed, but in fact follow a certain pattern and the positioning of each panel and glass is properly justified The entire building has a planar profile is very linear, and does not consist of any curvy or irregular shapes. The architects were also careful in creating a structure that did not stand out too much from its surrounding buildings. Though the principal materials are different from the residential building on the site, the architects conveyed some of the material elements of the brick by using it along the main entrance ramp of the centre. In terms of size, the centre though larger than most surrounding buildings, still maintains a modest size and is not overwhelmingly large. Overall, Teeple Architects were quite successful in generating an intricate playful space and rather complex form with the use of simple shapes and ideas.

First Narayever Congregation

First Narayever Congregation is a traditional-egalitarian synagogue located at 187 Brunswick Avenue, in the Harbord Village neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest Jewish congregation in downtown Toronto. It was founded by the Jewish immigrants from Narayiv, western Ukraine, hence the Yiddish name "Narayever". Founded by 1914 as an Orthodox synagogue by Galician immigrants to Toronto, it was a landsmanshaft, an association whose members had immigrated from the same town, in this case the town of Naraiev. The congregation originally met in a rented building at the corner of Huron and Dundas. In 1943, the congregation acquired and moved to its current building on Brunswick which had previously been Bethel Church and originally a Foresters' Lodge.In the decades following World War II, many of the congregants followed the rest of the Jewish community as it moved up Bathurst Street north of St. Clair Avenue, but some continued to travel downtown to attend the synagogue. Other Jews who had remained in the neighbourhood began attending after their own synagogues moved north. Younger professionals and more liberal members joined the congregation in the 1970s and 1980s and, after the older generation retired from the synagogue's board in 1983, an alternative egalitarian service was introduced downstairs while the Orthodox service continued in the main sanctuary. As attendance for the Orthodox service dwindled to the point that it was unable to attract a minyan, the egalitarian service moved upstairs and the synagogue began attracting more new members and went in a new direction, and is today unaffiliated with any larger Jewish religious movement.Narayever today follows traditional halakha except in making no distinction on the basis of gender. The Birnbaum siddur (Nusach Sefard) forms the basis of the liturgy. In 2009, the congregation voted to endorse the celebration of same-sex marriages.Ed Elkin has been the congregation's rabbi since 2000.

Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library

The Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library (Chinese: 利銘澤典宬) is part of the University of Toronto Libraries system. It features a unique research collection on Canada-Hong Kong studies. Located inside Robarts Library at the University of Toronto St. George Campus, the Library provides resources and space to accommodate the continuous growth of research interest in Hong Kong, and its relation to Canada and other regions in the world. The library is open to the public. With approximately 71,000 volumes, including 2,500 periodical titles, 1,000 reels of microfilm, 7,000 newspaper clippings and an expanding collection of audio and visual materials, the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library collection is the largest research collection for Hong Kong and Canada-Hong Kong studies outside of Hong Kong. The collection focuses primarily on Hong Kong, Canada-Hong Kong relations, and Chinese Canadians. Materials are available to use in the library only. The Library provides a wide range of information and research services in support of teaching, learning, research and other academic initiatives at the University of Toronto. Services include reference consultation, tours, presentations, exhibitions, and a Hong Kong seminar series. In close collaboration with the Asian Institute, Chinese Canadian Studies Program and the Department of East Asian Studies of the University of Toronto, the Library serves as an important link between the University and the external community, through cultural and educational events involving Hong Kong immigrants and Chinese community organizations.