The following message is from David Godley, a resident of Long Branch (Toronto not New Jersey): Thank you for inviting comment on the Ontario planning system in which I have been involved as a planner since 1974. These comments are mainly on predictability, transparency and accountability and citizen engagement. They are from the Toronto neighbourhood […]
“Modern empire was not an aberrant supplement to the history of modernity but rather its constituent part.” These words are from the preface of The Black Hole of Empire: History of a Global Practice of Power (2012) by Partha Chatterjee. What conceptual framework drove the British to establish themselves in Long Branch? The above-noted book […]
Colleen O’Marra writes with regard to Donna Magee’s comment at a previous post: Under Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada: Richard Ough was born in East Gwillimbury Twp., York County, Oct. 24,1841, uncle of John Ought, local builder and hotel keeper at Newmarket. Ough left Canada and moved to California in 1868 to work as […]
Colleen O’Marra writes (Dec. 8, 2013): Just surfing the net this evening and found an interesting set of old Long Branch photos on a site titled NORTH YORK/TORONTO HISTORIC PHOTOS AND MAPS. There are five pictures of: Long Branch Villa Lots(1887) drawings and floor plans of residences designed for George Farquhar, R.B. Ellis, J.J. Wilkes, […]
You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them. Click again to enlarge it further. Use the ‘Back’ button on your browser to return to the page you are now reading. YouTube interview To access a YouTube video about Michael “Pinball” Clemons, click here. CBC Metro Morning interview You can access a great […]
I was interested to learn that a recent police report related to Rob Ford’s activities mentions Colonel Samuel Smith (misspelled in the report as “Colonial Samuel’s”) Park. The report notes (p. 22 in the PDF file, which is p. 51 of the original document) that the mayor fabricated a story in which he claimed to have […]
Before I began doing such interviews in Long Branch (Toronto not New Jersey), I would never have imagined how much can be learned through extensive interviews, extending over several years, with local residents. The interviews, especially as I’ve been doing more of them and have a sense of the territory that I seek to cover, […]
Updates: Colleen O’Marra – see Comments at the end of this post – has added details about Police Chief Smythe that I read with much interest. For additional comments about Toronto-area postwar emergency housing, click here > [End] I had the good fortune to spend a couple of hours on the morning of Dec. […]
Colleen O’Marra writes: I’m still puzzled that permission is needed to see photos of artifacts uncovered at the 1984 Colonel Smith homestead. We have ready access to King Tut’s treasures and King Richard III’s skeleton found under a parking lot in England.What’s all the mystery about ? A picture of a piece of pottery shard […]