High Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the electoral district see High Park (electoral district)
High Park is one of the largest parks in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans 161 hectares (398 acres, 1.61 km2) in the city's West End. It stretches south from Bloor Street West, west of Parkside Drive and east of Ellis Park Road and Grenadier Pond. At its southern end, the park is separated from Lake Ontario by Lake Shore Boulevard West, the Gardiner Expressway, the Canadian National railway line, and The Queensway.
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[edit] History
Except for a small tract of land surrounding the Colborne Lodge, the park was ceded to the City of Toronto by architect, surveyor, and engineer John George Howard in 1873. Colborne Lodge was the retirement home of John and his wife, Jemima Howard. The park was originally named after its donor. Due to a condition in Howard's will forbidding the consumption of alcohol in the park, High Park is the last "dry" area of the City of Toronto, and its seasonal restaurant and banquet hall is one of the few unlicensed premises in the city. (The will also orders the park to revert to the Howard Family's heirs if a Roman Catholic holds the office of mayor. The land, however, stayed in city ownership despite the fact that Toronto has had at least two Roman Catholic mayors, Fred Beavis and David Crombie).
The original grant was not appreciated by the city fathers of Toronto, as they felt the park was too far away from the city to be of any use to its citizens. As the city grew, the park became more central and it was soon served by the College Street street-car line. In 1968 the Bloor-Danforth subway line opened and it included the subway stop at the park's northern border.
High Park lends its name to the many residential areas that border it. Indian Road, Village by the Park, and Swansea can all be considered part of High Park. Only the areas immediately north of the park, along High Park Avenue, and west of the park, along High Park Boulevard, can claim no other name.
During weekends in the summer, the roads through the park are closed to allow unfettered pedestrian access throughout the park.
[edit] Natural geography
The landscape in the park is very hilly with two deep north-south ravines. Its terrain is varied, with manicured gardens in the western side, an open prairie in the centre and unkempt forest in the east.
Between these extremes, several developed areas exist for sports fields, playgrounds, a swimming pool, a nature school, sculpture garden, vegetable gardens, a greenhouse, a small zoo, and restaurants.
Grenadier Pond is located at its western edge. The pond is named according to the local myth that British Grenadiers fell through its thin ice when crossing to defend the city in the War of 1812. Other myths include that the pond is 'bottomless', that is, its depth cannot be measured due to the amount of mud.
Today, Grenadier Pond is home to multiple species of bird and marsh wildlife. Fish caught in the Pond are safe to eat, and fishing derbies and casting contests have been held there.
The park has a stretch of open habitat called oak savannah, of which there are few other examples in Ontario. The savannah is under the special care of the City and volunteer conservationists. The towering black oak trees found throughout High Park are a characteristic of this habitat.
Numerous buried rivers course within the park's boundaries. In 2003, city workers found strong evidence of the pre-glacial Laurentian River System when capping two artesian wells. The wells began spewing a plume of water, sand, shale and gravel 15 metres into the air. With this discovery, geologists finally pinpointed the southern terminus of this ancient river system whose southerly flow begins near Georgian Bay. The watercourse, flowing 50 metres below the surface in pure bedrock, has remained undisturbed for thousands of years.
[edit] Activities
During the summer, the Canadian Stage company puts a Shakespearean play in the park's amphitheatre. This annual event, called "Dream in High Park", is popular with Torontonians.
The park includes several attractions, including a set of baseball diamonds, tennis courts, several playgrounds, hillside gardens, a zoo and a "trackless train" — a tractor that tows two wagons decorated to look like a red and white train. High Park is also home of an outdoor municipal swimming bath complex that includes a splash pad.
