Riverdale Park (Toronto)
Riverdale Park | |
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Type | Public Park |
Location | Toronto, Ontario |
Coordinates | 43°40′11″N 79°21′20″W / 43.669827°N 79.355428°W |
Area | 104 acres (42 ha) |
Created | 1880 |
Operated by | City of Toronto |
Part of a series on the |
Don Valley |
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Rivers |
Parks |
History |
Environment |
Riverdale Park is a large park spanning the Lower
Description
The park has recreational fields for
At the south-east corner of the park is
In the summer, a free movie series takes place in the park. According to its website, "Everyone is welcome ~ Bring a picnic, friends and family to enjoy great PG rated films under the stars. All the films begin at dusk"[2]
History
The land on the east side of the Don River was originally owned by John Scadding, one of the early settlers to Toronto and the estate manager and clerk for John Graves Simcoe, Governor of Upper Canada. John Scadding's cabin, built in 1794 just south of the present day park, was relocated to the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition in 1879. 120 acres (49 ha) of Scadding's farm property had been purchased by the City of Toronto in 1856 for the Don Jail, and the rest of the lands opened as a park in 1880. The park acquired a 32-pounder cannon from Quebec City and since relocated to Marie Curtis Park.[3] More land was added later to bring the park up to 162 acres (66 ha) in size, but the construction of the Don Valley Parkway in the 1960s reduced this to the current figure of 104 acres (42 ha).[4] On Broadview Avenue east of the park is John Cox Cottage, an 1807 log home.
In 1886, road construction immediately east of the park uncovered artifacts of a First Nations settlement or encampment on the area above the valley. A small number of artifacts are on display in a display case at Withrow Avenue Junior Public School. A plaque is affixed to the main entrance of the school on Bain Avenue.[5]
The eastern side of the park was also used as a landfill in the 1920s. A walk along Broadview Avenue shows the evidence of this in the form of green exhaust pipes to vent the methane gas from the former dump beneath the park.[6]
In the 1970s, the park was the original site proposed for a new 40,000 seat stadium, a project that would eventually become
In 1990, a grassy slope on the eastern side was planted with trees. This was the first public event hosted by the Task Force to Bring Back the Don. The slope is now moderately forested with trees averaging 3–4 metres in height. In 2002, Bring Back the Don created a small marsh at the bottom of the slope. Water collects there from the slope as well as from adjacent playing fields. Other restoration projects include trees planted along a berm adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway.
References
- ^ "Playter's Bridge near York, ca. 1796". YorkSpace. York University. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
- ^ "About-Movies in the Park". Riverdale Park. Movies in the Park. 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
- ^ Purvis, Fred. "Secret Lives of Toronto's Guns". Fife and Drum. 9 (4): 7.
- ^ "Riverdale Park". Points of interest. Don Valley Historical Mapping Project. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
- ^ "The Withrow Archaeological Site Centennial of Discovery 1886-1986". torontohistory.org. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ^ "Planted along the Broadview Avenue edge of Riverdale Park are 20-odd numbered green posts. What are they?". Urban Decoder. Toronto Life. 2005-06-01. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
- ^ "Metrodome in Park Called "Unthinkable"". Toronto Star. July 7, 1970.