somerset street prototype

Tai Chi, Dundonald park and the Beer Store

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The Beer Store is at 515 Somerset Street West, and Dundonald Park is directly across the street . Dundonald park occupies the square block bounded by Somerset, Lyon, Bay and Maclaren Street and is intensively used as a pedestrian thoroughfare and recreational space by people who live nearby. About a third of its area is dedicated to a children's playground on the western end .  I remember when I lived here (20 years ago) that people met every morning at 8 am to do Tai Chi and  they still do.  The night time traffic in the park can be a little less wholesome. 

June's shop at 1094

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June is the name of the owner of this rather good curio/junk/nostalgia store. She had a much larger shop further west past the end of Somerset Street (1094 is almost at the western end . . . ) near the corner of Wellington and Stirling Avenue . June was a pretty serious  player in the "picking" and second hand business. A fire levelled the building and effectively ended that. It is nice to see her back - even at a smaller scale.

1098 Somerset

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There have been a lot of different businesses here in recent years. It was Nesrallah's grocery for a long time but the proprietor was very elderly and gradually he stayed open  less and less. At the end he was only open about 1 day a week. After he was gone, half the store seemed to be storage, then it became a used goods store, then a chinese pop/collectible/stuffed toy store opened and quickly failed. A quick rennovation of the property made room for Chachi's Pawn Shop and the India Express take away curry kitchen. The bookstore has only been there for two months and I am sad to see him go so soon because he has excellent books at reasonable prices.

1104 Somerset

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Italy wins over Ukraine 3 to nothing!

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The intersection at Somerset and Preston is still a very Italian part of town. Preston street ("Corso Italia" ) is the secular heart of the Italian community for night life and community events .  After today's quarterfinal victory in the FIFA championship hundreds of people blocked traffic , waved flags and made a noisy assertion of their pride in the performance of the Italian soccer team.

1002 and 953 Somerset are directly across the street from each other

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930 Somerset street is the Plant Bath

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This is the front door to the Plant Bath at the intersection of Somerset and Preston Street on the south west corner. The detail seen here is a relic of the original building which was gutted and rebuilt with a modern facility which opened after considerable politicking and community pressure 2 years ago.  The spectator door that you see here is only a facade and when you proceed through this door you will find a large modern multi purpose room  .