Series 3 - Grange neighbourhood

1.17 m of textual records
1 oversized folder

This series documents Ramkhalawansingh’s participation in community organizing and advocacy in her local neighbourhood of the Grange. The neighbourhood is situated south of the University of Toronto’s St. George campus and is bounded on the west by Spadina Avenue, on the north by College Street, on the east by University Avenue and on the south by Queen Street West. Records in this series document the changes of the neighbourhood from the 1970s to the present, in particular several building redevelopment proposals and three expansions of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO):

“There were three separate episodes where community members in the Grange neighborhood resisted the AGO's phased expansion projects. The first took place in the late 1970s ending in a 1979 agreement which residents understood to mean that no further expansion would take place; the second was from 1986-89 in response to the addition designed by Barton Myers and KPMB: the red brick "bus station" which was ripped down by the next expansion; and the third was the Frank Gehry / Ken Thomson project from approx. 2002-2005. The settlement agreement in 2005 resulted in a commitment to work together on the revitalization of Grange Park, a project which was completed in 2014. There is now a community management model in place for park oversight.” [1]

Files include: Dundas/Beverley Tenant's Association files given to Ramkhalawansingh from neighbour Kay Parsons (Kay Parsons was a community worker at the University Settlement House. She lived in the neighbourhood for decades after moving from Newfoundland and she was at the core of many of the community organizing efforts alongside Ramkhalawansingh.[2]); various neighbourhood planning documents; files related to development proposals and cases adjudicated by the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB); and files related to the AGO’s expansions, and revitalization initiatives for the adjoining Grange Park.

Notes:
[1]: University of Toronto Archives. Oral History Collection on Student Activism. Oral history interview with Ceta Ramkhalawansingh conducted by Ruth Belay and Daniela Ansovini,16 December 2019. Transcript - A2020-0010/002_1

[2]: Box list note (October 5, 2021) and email correspondence (December 4, 2024) from Ceta Ramkhalawansingh

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