#1 – OLD TIME RADIO – It is what it says it is. After typing in the website you’ll arrive at a vast archive of programs where radio was king. It still is in some places. Our Miss Brooks, Jack Benny, Dr. Kildare, Dragnet, CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, etc. etc. – The Golden Age of Radio. THERE IS MORE ON THIS SITE THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE! . . . . . . The website address is — http://www.archive.org/details/oldtimeradio . . . . 
#2 – RADIO-GARDEN – Enjoy hundreds of radio stations worldwide. The Dutch have come up with a fantastic service based in Amsterdam & Hilversum which broadcasts radio stations from all over the world – across Canada, the United States, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Scotland, France etc. Just type in Radio-Garden and you’re all set to go. It’s free. 
#3 – KANOPY – Another great service from TORONTO Public Library. KANOPY is a collection of classic feature films and documentaries. To access this you’ll need a Library Card. My first experience with Kanopy was excellent and it delivered exactly what I wanted. Being a ‘Luddite’ when it comes to computers, that was a pleasant surprise. Kanopy is also available through library systems in OTTAWA, WINNIPEG, CALGARY & the FRASER VALLEY. Type in Kanopy and you’ll be there.
#4 – CBC-GEM – ‘START STREAMING’ – All you need is a computer to unlock a cache of documentaries, comedy, television series like ‘Kim’s Convenience’, ‘Coroner’, and ‘Schitts Creek’ along with the CBC News Network. It’s all available on CBC-GEM, and it doesn’t cost a dime. (CBC-GEM is a production of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.)
Monthly Archives: February 2021
MORE DOWNTOWN AFFORDABLE HOUSING MAY SOON BE APPROVED FOR ‘THE PALACE ARMS’
This 19th century rooming house on King Street West at Strachan, once home to poor men, will soon be sharing space with a 14-storey apartment building, designed by Sweeny and Company Architects for International Capital.
The facades of this old hotel and neighbouring houses will remain. There’ll be no underground parking; the affordable housing space will be 15,000-square feet; apartment rental fees will depend on incomes; and the immediate neighbours aren’t exactly keen.
REMEMBERING THE LATE KENNETH DAWE – – FROM TORONTO’S SOULPEPPER THEATRE COMPANY
Ken was a fellow Ryerson classmate of mine, and we once lived in the same boarding house on Dundonald Street, downtown Toronto. He made the most of his time, and couldn’t get enough of the movies, both new and old, live theatre and travel. He and his late wife, Eva Kato, attended Soulpepper shows regularly from the company’s beginnings. 
When Ken passed away in 2020 he bequeathed $100,000 in his will to the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.
From Soulpepper – “This donation, the largest realized planned gift in the Young Centre’s history, will have tremendous impact and was an inspiring, uplifting conclusion to a very difficult year. Ken’s legacy helps ensure we can continue to welcome audiences to productions and programs at our artistic home. We believe this is a fitting tribute to someone who felt very much at home in the theatre.
Altogether there were twelve beneficiaries from the estate – four hospitals and eight theatres. The theatres were especially grateful in this year of need. The gifts were very thoughtful from a remarkable man.
FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE CITY OF TORONTO ARCHIVES – 1922-1988
<Photos – 1 – Royal York Hotel looking east, 1988> – 2 – <Adelaide and Portugal Square, looking west, 1990> – 3 – <Cafeteria, Whitney Block, Queens Park, January 29, 1927> – 4 – <Southwest corner of Yonge Street at Manor Road, November 15, 1922> – 5 – <New City Hall from the Toronto Dominion Centre, January, 1968>
WHEN IT COMES TO ‘GINGERBREAD’ ST. FELIX HOUSE, 25 AUGUSTA AVENUE HAS PLENTY OF IT
One of TORONTO’s most beautiful ‘gingerbread’ houses, St. Felix House, can be found at 25 Augusta Avenue, south of Alexandra Park. It was purchased by the Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice in 1937, and remained a convent until 2011.
Now this building and an adjoining one provide both childcare and housing for vulnerable women – website: http://www.stfelixcentre.ca
FRANK GEHRY’S DESIGNS POSTED FOR 2 SKYSCRAPERS WHERE KING WEST MEETS ED MIRVISH WAY
FRANK GEHRY <in the foreground>, who was born in Toronto and is based in Los Angeles, has since developed a second-to-none international career. Now he’s planning to erect 298-metre-high and 267-metre-high skyscrapers in the heart of Toronto’s Financial and Theatre Districts.
FRANK GEHRY – “I wanted to create an ensemble of buildings that were respectful to the city and referential to the Toronto that I once knew. I want the two towers to each have their own personality, but I also want them to talk to each other, creating a dynamic and changing addition to the skyline depending from where you were viewing them,” added Gehry, who will be 92 at the end of February/2021.
Initially the project plan was three towers, but this all changed and the Princes of Wales Theatre was saved. The former plan was undertaken by well-known Torontonian, David Mirvish, who sold the project in 2017 to developer Great Gulf. That company is now working on the scheme with Westdale Properties and Dream Unlimited.
Frank Gehry is coming home to help create a new skyline for the city he loves. — “He is the heart and soul of the project,” said Westdale Properties COO Mitchell Cohen.
MY SISTER, SHARON SMITH, WONDERS IF YOU CAN GUESS WHAT MADE THIS TRACK – NOT IN TORONTO.
“There’s a ski trail in our back fields – the snow is quite deep in places and it looks like this little ‘porkie’ came out of the woods to check out the trail . It then turned around and headed back into the woods. The tracks were made by a porcupine. We googled them as we hadn’t seen this before. Once we had another porcupine in our front field and it was as big as a bear cub.” – Sharon Smith, Amherst Head, Nova Scotia
SATURDAY WAS A SNOW DAY, SO STEVEN EVANS & HIS WIFE, CYNDI, WENT OUT FOR A WALK
STEVEN EVANS wrote: “(Our plan was) to walk the links at the Rosedale Golf Club. When we left the house it was bright and sunny. By the time we arrived, snow squalls swept over us. The lake effect snow provided some wonderful texture to photograph.” 
<Photo above> – that’s Cyndi making most of the day. To see more of Steven’s work go to this address – http://www.stevenevansphotography.com/
IN JANUARY/2021 GREATER TORONTO & GTR. VANCOUVER REMAINED HOT HOUSING MKTS.
According to CREA (Canadian Real Estate Association) both cities remain Canada’s most expensive housing markets. In Greater Toronto the average seasonal price of a home was $941,100. In Greater Vancouver – just over $1-million.
Single family home prices rose 2.6% month-over-month and 17.4% year-over-year. Apartment prices advanced by a smaller 0.2% month-over-month and decreased 3.3% year-over-year, TD Economics said in a statement after CREA released its report. Sales activity for the month were up 35.2% from January 2020.
Rentals – The median price for a two-bedroom apartment in Toronto is currently $2,340 and in Vancouver it’s $2,630, which is down 21.5% and 12% over last year.
LOTS OF CHANGES ARE HAPPENING IN CANADA’S REAL ESTATE MKT. – DESPITE COVID-19, FEB. 22/2021
The Globe and Mail has delivered three solid pages of what’s happening in Canada’s real estate market. The market has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rachelle Younglai did the reporting. Some highlights below . . . .
ATLANTIC CANADA is a big winner. People are flocking to the East Coast. Average selling price of a home in Nova Scotia $331,429; Halifax $400,000; New Brunswick about $200,000, including Saint John and Fredericton; Newfoundland and Labrador – bigger properties with ocean views; Prince Edward Island above $300,000.
TORONTO – average selling price – nearly $930,000.
HAMILTON, Ontario – house prices topping $700,000 – not so affordable any more. 63 months to save a down payment on a Hamilton house.
DOWNTOWN MONTREAL – apartment vacancy 10.2%; metropolitan area 2.7%
CITY OF TORONTO – 7.3%; metropolitan area 3.4%
VANCOUVER – 6.3%; versus 2.6%
IMMIGRATION – plunged 46% to 184,370; lowest level of permanent new residents in more than two decades.
Toronto Savvy 