Some people still remember Arnold’s restaurant at Forty-Second Street and Lake Shore Blvd. West in Etobicoke
A recent comment at a previous post brings to mind memories of when we lived in Long Branch in South Etobicoke.
Arnold’s restaurant, corner of Forty Second St. and Lake Shore Blvd. West right next to Marie Curtis Park. Jaan Pill photo
I would be interested in details about what you as a site visitor may remember from when you used to go to Arnold’s for burgers with your friends years ago.
When I lived in the area I used to walk by Arnold’s restaurant so many times with my dog. Over many years I walked as well to and from the Small Arms Building in Lakeview in Mississauga just to have a look around. And, I’ve written about the Long Branch Army Camp and shared a great research paper by Lauren Burkhardt about the Pleasant Valley Mobile Home Park once located in this area.
Can you write a comment about the things you remember?
An online video shows the site where Arnold’s used to be, at the corner of Lake Shore Blvd. West and Forty-Second Street across from the Long Branch GO station:
A subsequent video – which we put together after a successful community self-organizing effort that took place after local residents learned that the school across the road from the Aquaview site was going to be sold by the Toronto District School Board – shares additional details about local history:
Speaking notes
The speaking notes for an October 2011 talk about the saving of Parkview School provide a good way to get the gist of the story:
Colonel Samuel Smith and his homestead: Speaking notes for October 2011 presentation
By that stage in life, I had gained a few decades of experience in organizing events and projects of other kinds. In terms of my contribution to the Parkview project, this was the first time I had encountered the power dynamics of land use decision making as a topic of personal interest. This was the first time I had thought at any length about what land use decision making entailed. In helping out with such a highly collaborative project, I was approaching the task with the energy and enthusiasm that a person sometimes brings to a new and novel challenge.
The landing page at my website features a photo of the corner of Forty-Second and Lake Shore Blvd. West looking east from Marie Curtis Park toward Toronto. That is where Arnold’s restaurant used to be located.
As I look back, I can think of another video:
I’m really pleased there are people out there who enjoy videos. While I’m thinking of videos, here are a few more:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6gZHWrBQbsLifpcV-rHVgw/videos
The former Parkview School is still going strong under another name:
“French school in Etobicoke ordered to close due to COVID-19 outbreak” – CP24, Nov. 23, 2021
I’m reminded that some schools have stayed; some are gone but live on in people’s memories:
Long Branch Neighbourhood Association
One of the great outcomes of intensive, focused community self-organizing efforts – involving many people and many productive meetings – of some years ago was the launch of the Long Branch Neighbourhood Association.
I’m an affiliated (non-voting) member of the LBNA and strongly support the work the association is doing to ensure that the interests of everyday residents are taken into account when land use decisions are being made.
I make donations to the LBNA from time to time as a tangible, practical way to support its efforts, and I strongly urge you to do the same – no matter where in the world you may be living.
We also regularly make donations to the PAL Performing Arts Lodge in Stratford. There are PAL lodges across Canada and they all warrant strong support as they serve a highly valuable purpose.
Another place where residents are actively involved in community self-organizing is Niagara on the Lake.
I can add that some years ago many people worked together to organize a Sixties Reunion for a high school I attended in Montreal.
I’ve been working for a couple of years now on an enjoyable book project, in response to a request from a book enthusiast in Edmonton. As a result, I spend less time writing posts. That said, I’m really pleased this website enables us to share, on occasion, some interesting stories from the past.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!
Also of interest regarding the area discussed at this post:
Around where the Long Branch GO Station is now located was a thriving community in the 1950s, as Bill Rawson explains (2-minute video)
At this post I note that the Parkview story, which began in late 2010 when I learned that the school was going to be sold, was the first time I had encountered the power dynamics of land use decision making as a topic of personal interest. This was the first time I had thought at any length about what land use decision making entailed.
In subsequent years I decided that land use decision making was a good concept to explore. The term has served to conceptualize what’s at play when such decisions are made. As I was thinking about what’s at play, I also began to think of the underlying power dynamics which determine outcomes related to land use decision making.
Language usage – including language socialization and the use of language that is an outcome of a person’s formative experiences – is in turn at play when we consider the theory and practice of power dynamics.
I’ve spent time thinking, as well and in turn, about how these topics have played out in history – in local history and the history of the world, inside of which local history is embedded. With regard to history, the climate crisis is a particular expression of – demonstration of – the history of land use decision making as viewed at a global, planetary level. Key concepts underlying such a history include the role that the European Enlightenment (however that is conceptualized) and the application of instrumental reason has been playing, and, indeed, continues to play.