The Beaches
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The Beaches is an upscale neighbourhood and popular tourist destination located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Some long-time local residents insist on calling the area The Beach, but The Beaches is the more universally recognized neighbourhood name, particularly by outsiders. The trendy shops of Queen Street East lie at the heart of The Beaches community, with the boardwalk by the lake and several large parks being just a few steps south. The neighbourhood is a mixture of single and semi-detached homes, low-rise apartment buildings, and some mansions.
The Beaches area is generally considered to be bounded by Woodbine Avenue to the west, Victoria Park Avenue to the east, Kingston Road to the north, and Lake Ontario to the south. The lakefront is divided into three sections; Woodbine Beach to the west, Kew Beach in the center, and Balmy Beach to the east. It is these beaches which give the neighbourhood its name and defining principal characteristic. Before amalgamation in 1998, the neighbourhood was at Toronto's extreme eastern limit and formed part of the city's border with the suburb of Scarborough; even now, residents refer to The Beaches as being in the east end of the city. Streetcars heading to and from downtown Toronto run east-west along Queen Street East as well as along Kingston Road, and there's a bus line to the subway running north-south along Woodbine Avenue. Another north-south bus line snakes its way along several sidestreets before making its way to the Main Street subway station.
The area is in the political riding of Beaches—East York, and is currently represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by Michael Prue of the provincial New Democratic Party. Historically, the riding has sent mostly NDP representatives to Queen's Park since 1962 (the year after the NDP was founded) and is considered one of the safest NDP seats in the province. Federally, the riding has voted for the Liberal party for the last few years and is currently (January 2004) represented by MP Maria Minna.
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A notable site in the area is the R.C. Harris Filtration Plant, which has been featured in several television programs. In the 1920s, the neighbourhood was the site of an amusement park, located at the end of today's Scarboro Beach Boulevard. Kew Gardens is a medium-sized park in the neighbourhood running from Queen Street to Lake Ontario, and includes a band stand for concerts. Every August, the neighbourhood celebrates the Beaches International Jazz Festival, drawing thousands of tourists to the area.
Canadian comedian John Candy, though never a Beaches resident, attended the local Catholic boys' high school, Neil McNeil H.S. Academy award winning director Norman Jewison, former L.A. Lakers and L.A. Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke, and world-renowned concert pianist Glenn Gould all grew up in the neighbourhood and attended Malvern Collegiate Institute, the local non-denominational high school.