Neighbourhood: The Beaches
Neighbourhood Name: The Beaches
Location: Rd, Ontario
On any given day down at the Boardwalk, the green spaces and sand will be dotted with volleyball players, frolicking children, rollerbladers, cyclists, sun seekers, picnickers, strollers and people watchers.
The Beaches is the city's only community not cut off from the waterfront by big buildings and highways, and residents make the most of it. Walk along the boardwalk from Ashbridges Bay, a marina and natural habitat to the RC Harris Filtration Plant with it's rolling lawns and spectacular views. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the lake and sandy beaches, beautiful at all times of year. You'll find the Martin Goodman trail here too, which stretches across the entire foot of the city -- the perfect path to follow for a long bike ride or roller blade.
As well, some of the best shopping in the city can be found along the Queen Street strip or Kingston Road, almost at your doorstep. Queen Street is the most popular shopping destination for "tourists" to the area, and Kingston Road is home to very quaint home decor shops, neighbourhood pubs and restaurants, coffee houses, variety and health stores, new and used clothing shops and many, many more establishments.
Toronto has been called a "city of parks" and this eastern area is home to some of the best of them. Lovely Kew Gardens at Lee and Queen is a vast, open green area with a great playground, an old-fashioned-looking bandshell, a baseball diamond, a lawn bowling club, an open-air hockey rink and a snack bar. This is also the place to kick back on a blanket and do nothing more strenuous than feed the squirrels! The lovely Beach library is also located here, originally built in 1916 and revamped in 2005.
For moviegoers, Queen St E is also home to the Fox movie theatre, built in 1914, Toronto's oldest operating movie theatre and there is also the much newer Alliance Atlantis theatres on Queen at Kingston Rd. For music lovers, the Beaches is home to the Beaches International Jazz Festival every July, an event that draws thousands of tourists to the area. The Beaches also hosts it's annual easter parade, a fun event for the whole family. Throughout the year there are events happening in Kew Gardens, from craft shows and festivals in the summer to the annual Christmas tree lighting in the winter.
Amenities
| Restaurants / Specialty Shops / Bookstores / Coffee Shops / Entertainment | There is terrific shopping in the Beaches where you will find absolutely everything along Queen St and Kingston Rd in the way of shopping, restaurants, specialty shops, coffee shops and entertainment; There’s a coffee shop and a restaurant in nearly every block, and you can shop ‘till you drop all along both of these fabulous streets; there are also many neighbourhood amenities going east from Blantyre along Kingston Rd |
| Local Parks | Kew Beach Park, Lee & Queen; Glen Stewart Park, Kingston Rd. and Beech Ave; Blantyre Park, Fallingbrook, just north of Kingston Rd; Birchmount, Rosetta Maclean Gardens and Scarborough Heights Parks, all along Kingston Rd, going east from Birchmount; Bluffer’s Park Brimley Rd & the lake; Ashbridge's Bay Park & Woodbine Beach, southwest of Woodbine Ave and Lakeshore Blvd E |
| Rec Centres / Arenas / Pools | Balmy Beach, 14 Pine Ave; Beaches RC, 6 Williamson Rd includes indoor pool: Ted Reeve Arena, Main and Gerrard; Open Air Rink; Lee Ave & the Boardwalk; Olympic pool at the lake (at Woodbine Ave); Birchmount C.C., 93 Birchmount Rd, with indoor pool; Blantyre Park, Fallingbrook, north of Kingston Rd with outdoor pool; Scarborough Gardens Arena, 73 Birchmount Rd; Toronto Hunt Club Golf Course, Kingston Rd, west of Warden |
| Library | Beaches, Queen St and Lee Ave, Main Street, 137 Main St, Taylor, 1440 Kingston Rd |
| Public Transit Access/Highway | Queen streetcars, Kingston Road streetcars, Main bus; goes to Bloor/Danforth subway and GO train, Gardiner Expressway, and a short drive up Victoria Park Ave to Hwy 401 |
| Hospital | Toronto East General, 825 Coxwell Avenue |
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