Trinity Bellwoods Park
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Trinity Bellwoods Park | |
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Type | public park |
Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Coordinates | 43°38′52″N 79°24′51″W / 43.64778°N 79.41417°W |
Operated by | City of Toronto |
Trinity Bellwoods Park is a public park located in
History
The old Garrison Creek emptied into Lake Ontario at the site of Fort York, and the land north and west of the fort was set aside as a military reserve. As the town of York grew around the fort, the military reserve was gradually sold off in lots to retiring British officers and friends of the military command. Samuel Smith was granted 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land in 1806, which he called Gore Vale after Lieutenant Governor Francis Gore;[1] "vale" referred to Garrison Creek ravine. A portion of Smith's grant later became the park.[1]
When the park was first created (after 1900) it was referred to as Bellwoods Park in the 1903 Goad's Map with a nearby street named Bellwoods Avenue.[2] The Bellwoods name is believed to be associated to former alderman William Bell, who served St. Stephen's Ward from 1881 to 1883 and again from 1888 to 1896.
Much of the current parkland was originally purchased from Janet Cameron (sister of Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Cameron C.B. whom first lived here)
In the 1950s, Garrison Creek was entirely buried and the creek ravine backfilled around the Crawford Street Bridge with displaced soil from the new Bloor-Danforth subway line, raising the surface of the northern end of the park to almost the height of Dundas Street. The steep drop from this upper level to the lower part of the park has become a popular local toboggan run in winter. The larger southern part of the 'bowl' is the largest designated dogs 'off-leash' park. Picnic tables are also provided here for summertime use and public washroom facilities. There is a historical plaque the commemorates the bridge buried under this stretch of Crawford, just south of Dundas West.
In 2001, the Friends of Trinity Bellwoods Park was formed to coordinate volunteer activities and provide input to the city on park management. It is made up of volunteer community members
Features
The park is 15.4 hectares (38 acres).[5][6] It has a community recreation centre, managed and owned by the City of Toronto, called Trinity CRC, located at 155 Crawford Street on the west side of the park. It has two indoor pools, gymnasium, fitness centre, indoor walking/running track and multi-purpose rooms. Adjacent to the centre, in the park, are a volleyball court, large playground, and children's outdoor wading pool. Also in the park are eight outdoor tennis courts located in the south-east corner and an outdoor ice skating rink at the north-east boundary and volleyball court just north of the Rec Centre. There is also field space for soccer, football, and rugby, as well as three softball fields along the east boundary. Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division maintain a marked Discovery Walk and shared pedestrian/cycling trail above and parallel to Garrison Creek, which runs through the park from the northwest to the southeast. Trinity Bellwoods is a favourite place for local residents to walk their dogs. The ravine, known as the dog bowl, is the designated leash-free area. The park is a destination for many to picnic, play sports, and enjoy nature. The park's baseball diamond is officially named SkyDome in reference to the popular former name of the Rogers Centre.[7]
The park is home to white squirrels, the subject of urban folklore in the city.
The diverse variety of native and imported trees planted throughout the park, in various stages of growth from young to mature, provide a brilliant display of fall colour against the deep green grass. The Friends of Trinity Bellwoods Park run the volunteer Adopt-a-tree program (originated by the Friends) that helps insure the survival of newly planted trees. The emerald ash borer beetle is slowly infesting the trees and succession planting and Parks, Forestry and Recreation have been aggressively planting every year to replace the many that are designated to be cut down because of this beetle. In winter the night view of the Toronto skyline rising above the ravine is extraordinarily beautiful, especially looking east from the Discovery Walk pathway near the western boundary. Tall black Victorian-style iron lamp poles along the main paths provide safe but soft illumination and a charming touch of character.
Events and activities
Trinity Bellwoods has been the site of many recent cultural events, including outdoor movie nights, an anarchist bookfair, live theatre, performance art, and informal summer drumming circles. In June 2007 a weekly farmers' market opened in the northwest corner of the park, at Shaw and Dundas.[citation needed]
In the northwest corner of the park there is a small reminder of the diverse
It was originally chosen as the site of the G20 protests on June 26–27, 2010, but Toronto Police announced that they would use the area north of Queen's Park instead after local residents opposed the use of Trinity Bellwoods Park as a protest site.[8]
2021 clearing
In 2021, police cleared between 20 and 25 people who had been camping in the park.[9][10][11] Notices had been posted to vacate, but after a COVID-19 outbreak in a shelter hotel.[12]
References in culture
Treble Charger wrote a song called Trinity Bellwoods, which was on their debut album NC17. The 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World had a scene filmed here.[13]
Toronto-based artist organization Humble Empire created the "Live In Bellwoods" series of videos featuring acoustic performances by popular artists living in or visiting Toronto. Each video highlights a different area of the park. Dave Monks from Tokyo Police Club, Luke Lalonde from Born Ruffians, and Chris White of Bellewoods were among the performers to be featured in the series.
See also
- 2010 G-20 Toronto summit
- Crawford Street Bridge
References
- ^ OCLC 46937771.
- ^ "This is what Trinity Bellwoods Park looked like a century ago". www.blogto.com.
- ^ "Gore Vale". www.lostrivers.ca.
- ISBN 0-19-540294-4.
- ^ "Parks, Forestry and Recreation : Trinity Bellwoods Park". Toronto.ca. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ^ "Toronto Parks: Trinity Bellwoods Park". Blogto.com. July 24, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ^ "The Skydome in Trinity Bellwoods Park has finally been recognized".
- ^ "Police chief reconfirms that Queen's Park will be designated protest area during G20". CP24.com. May 11, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ^ Canada, To Do (June 22, 2021). "Police, Community Clash as Toronto Moves to Clear Homeless Encampment in Park". To Do Canada. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
- ^ "Toronto mayor to review clearing of homeless encampment from Trinity Bellwoods". CBC.
- ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Politique-. "Échauffourées lors du démantèlement d'un campement de sans-abri". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved June 26, 2021.
- ^ "Toronto pauses plans to clear encampments after COVID-19 outbreak declared at shelter hotel". CBC.
- ^ "Scott Pilgrim vs. Keeping Toronto Anonymous! « CanadianCultureThing". Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-06.