Beaches Branch and Its Neighbours
Beaches Branch, 1916 Beaches Branch, 2016 Library service at the Beach, 1908-2016 Prepared by Toronto Public Library staff for the centennial of Beaches Branch, 1916 – 2016 Early library service, 1908-1916 Private library at 62 Balsam Avenue In about 1908, Mrs. Charles J. Campbell started lending books from her personal library housed in her home at 62 Balsam Avenue, shown here in 1972. A few years later she and other “public spirited ladies” moved the operation to a store, charging a small fee to cover rent. Early library service, 1908-1916 Proposed library in former East Toronto Fire Hall No. 1, Spruce Hill Road at Queen Street In January 1912, Roland C. Harris, the City Property Commissioner and a Beach resident, suggested using this old fire hall - a “dilapidated shack” according to one local resident – for a local library but there was little enthusiasm for proposal, and it did not proceed. Early library service, 1908-1916 Toronto Public Library. Beaches Branch Temporary storefront branch, operated 1914-16 Queen Street East, northwest corner of Hambly Avenue, Temporary Beaches Branch opens, Queen Street East, northwest corner of Hambly Avenue, 2 March 1914 Toronto Mail, 27 February 1914 Key players in developing Beaches Branch, 1914-16 Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) One of the wealthiest industrialists of his day, Carnegie’s best-known philanthropy was libraries. Between 1903 and 1915, he and his foundation gave $487,500 to build ten public libraries in what is now Toronto. The Carnegie Corporation of New York provided $50,000 to build Wychwood, High Park and Beaches branches in “three outlying portions our city where the need is particularly pressing”.
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