| Welcome to , a unique project inspired by and . I've moved my family into this community with my mission being to showcase the myriad of things that make it awesome by bringing you a weekly scoop! |
As we've hit the final stretch of this year-long series I'm sharing some larger pieces of the puzzle that make up our neighbourhood. Much like Habitat Island (which I a couple weeks back), the Creekside Community Centre located at One Athlete's Way has been a part of a number of other features but I've never done a standalone piece touting its awesomeness. It takes up the lion's share of the building that houses Tap & Barrel (), it was once turned into a police station on a TV show (), it is the home of Portobello West (), it was a key part of the London 2012 send-off celebration for our Olympic athletes (), it houses the Dragon Zone where dragon boaters use as home base () and it once held an event that Red Robinson hosted (). It's time I focused in on the Community Centre itself which supports so many cool things in our neighbourhood, far beyond those few I've already written about.
These vines in front change their look from season to season. I like them stark and wintery like this!
Like Hillcrest, our Community Centre is a legacy of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter games. They (literally) fly the flag throughout, with plaques and posters and all sorts of paraphernalia. Not simply holding nostalgia, the building also houses the offices of the which actively helps our Olympic athletes achieve their goals. I wrote about them as we were sending some of our best off to London last year.
If you're not an Olympian there are plenty of programs, classes, drop-ins as well as a first class fitness centre to take advantage of.
There's the full-sized gym where Mayor Gregor got inaugurated a couple years back and which holds badminton drop-in sessions, volleyball, all sorts of other sports and community markets like Portobello West which was held there last weekend.
There's also a childcare centre on the top floor that has arguably the best views of any other in the city. This is a similar view to what the kids get, but this is actually the view West from the balcony of the fitness centre; the kids are one floor up, on the roof. Their view is a little better than this, if you can believe it.
And here's the view looking East. Not bad.
Before I continue, another one of the fun facts that I was previously saving up as knowledge nuggets for people who joined us on walking tours: the location of this community centre was originally supposed to be on the OTHER side of Canoe bridge, directly to the West, where the two Canada House buildings are. For some reason at the eleventh hour they swapped out their locations. I'm not sure why they did it, but I know that the seawall and the skyline would've looked a lot different if they hadn't have.
Lastly, one of my favourite pieces of the Centre is this panoramic print that was commissioned by the as a part of their during the Games.
It was done by artists T&T whose work "reflects on ideas of sustainability, green architecture and technological progress. Their artworks frequently include elements of natural systems such as solar power and organic filters in conjunction with recycled and reconfigured technology. Over the course of their diverse artistic practice, they have developed a survivalist-informed aesthetic, creating whimsical, yet critically considered artworks that provide astute commentary on our historical moment."
It's beautiful and thought inspiring, and every time I go in I spend some time looking at it.
OH! One last thing. The entire complex is LEED certified, contributing to North America's greenest neighbourhood. My home. BOOM.
The centre is and and .
Learn more at and stay tuned each week as I expose the unique qualities of our new community.
