High Park

[adma]

Indeed, I can imagine if this debate took place 40 years ago, the campaign would be to *close* the High Park Zoo, not to save it. (Back then, zoology was about high-tech state-of-the-art animal ergonomics--anything old-fashioned was seen as inhumane. Remember that even the London Zoo was earmarked for closure at the time--and how ironic that a newer version of the criticism that used to be lobbed at old-fashioned zoos has come to be lobbed at the Metro Zoo.)

 

[themarc]

There still is the Riverdale Farm and Far Enough Farm to worry about.

The farm is also being addressed by various groups but it has different challenges - for one it doesn't have a large affluent nieghborhood to draw from... but I think it will find a savior.

 

[datgtatrailsguy]

From what I saw, the animals were not well kept and had kids screaming at them with nobody telling them to stop. Close it for their sake or give them better care.

 

[newearthling]

Does anyone know why there are huge red brick pillars on High Park Blvd (west side at Roncy)? Did they used to mark the beginning of a separate village of High Park? Or de-mark the neighbourhood?
I just moved to this 'hood and noticed those massive pillars today.

 

[Ahsun]

Does anyone know why there are huge red brick pillars on High Park Blvd (west side at Roncy)? Did they used to mark the beginning of a separate village of High Park? Or de-mark the neighbourhood?
I just moved to this 'hood and noticed those massive pillars today.

I think I read somewhere once that those were the gates to the original estate on which that neighbourhood was built.

edit:

upon further online research: http://www.blogto.com/city/2009/05/the_corner_of_roncesvalles_and_high_park/
Those gates may have been constructed by York County Savings & Loan, who was the original developer of the lands along High Park Blvd. The old rental apartment building on the north-east corner was their HQ with retail at grade! Hard to imagine that building used to be an office.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Does anyone know why there are huge red brick pillars on High Park Blvd (west side at Roncy)? Did they used to mark the beginning of a separate village of High Park? Or de-mark the neighbourhood?

That area west of Roncy was an early Edwardian era upscale planned community. Pretty sure the developers put those gates in as an element of the development.

 

[W. K. Lis]

When can we expect to see an interview with the capabara? See link.

One fugitive capybara caught, one to go

The hunt for the second capybara still continues.

 

[christiesplits]

High Park under big development pressure. While I can be persuaded that 30+ stories is too high, there is undoubtedly a need for increased intensification so close to the subway corridor.

High Park-area tower proposals offer 1,800 rental units — but at what price?
New development in older neighbourhoods could be source of friction throughout Toronto

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/new-development-old-neighbourhoods-1.4019009

 

[AlbertC]

$4.3M in Grant Funding for the establishment of the High Park Visitor and Nature Centre​

Apr 15, 2021

$4.3M in grant funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program has been awarded to the High Park Nature Centre and City of Toronto to support vital renovations to facilities for the High Park Visitor and Nature Centre in partnership with the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario.

Over 100 years ago, the historical High Park Forest School was established to connect children to nature during a health crisis due to tuberculosis. A small school was erected in the 1930s to provide nourishment, healthy activities, and education to students who needed fresh air and the benefits of nature. Since 2015, the High Park Nature Centre, a charitable organization offering year-round nature programs within the park has been the sole occupant of the forest school building. We are thrilled to partner with the City of Toronto to launch the creation of a new Visitor Centre and the refurbishment of the Nature Centre space. Combined, the 9,000-square foot space will serve as a hub for our local communities, as a gateway for the millions of annual visitors to High Park, and as the home-base for our nature-based educational programming, bringing the forest school back to its historical roots as a site for the appreciation and understanding of nature in the heart of Toronto.
The revitalization of the building is a community-driven initiative to carry High Park's heritage forward by:

• increasing public knowledge and awareness of High Park's unique ecology and rare species, contributing to larger conservation efforts and ensuring the Park is conserved for the future;
• improving understanding of High Park's Indigenous human history through reconciliation programming and interpretive exhibits; and
• better connecting High Park's community partners with increased space to collaborate and guide visitors to enjoy a low impact journey through the park.

To date, the shovel-ready project has received $6M in support, starting with a lead donation from TD Bank Group through The Ready Commitment program. With new contributions from all government partners, the Government of Canada ($2.3M), the Province of Ontario ($2M), the City of Toronto ($820,000), we are truly in the 'home stretch' of the 'Home in High Park' campaign and will actively seek support to open this new gathering space for park visitors that will be inclusive, accessible and evergreen.

$4.3M in Grant Funding for the establishment of the High Park Visitor and Nature Centre

/CNW/ - $4.3M in grant funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program has been awarded to the High Park Nature Centre and City of Toronto to...

www.newswire.ca

 

[Northern Light]

$4.3M in Grant Funding for the establishment of the High Park Visitor and Nature Centre​

Apr 15, 2021

$4.3M in grant funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program has been awarded to the High Park Nature Centre and City of Toronto to support vital renovations to facilities for the High Park Visitor and Nature Centre in partnership with the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario.

Over 100 years ago, the historical High Park Forest School was established to connect children to nature during a health crisis due to tuberculosis. A small school was erected in the 1930s to provide nourishment, healthy activities, and education to students who needed fresh air and the benefits of nature. Since 2015, the High Park Nature Centre, a charitable organization offering year-round nature programs within the park has been the sole occupant of the forest school building. We are thrilled to partner with the City of Toronto to launch the creation of a new Visitor Centre and the refurbishment of the Nature Centre space. Combined, the 9,000-square foot space will serve as a hub for our local communities, as a gateway for the millions of annual visitors to High Park, and as the home-base for our nature-based educational programming, bringing the forest school back to its historical roots as a site for the appreciation and understanding of nature in the heart of Toronto.
The revitalization of the building is a community-driven initiative to carry High Park's heritage forward by:

• increasing public knowledge and awareness of High Park's unique ecology and rare species, contributing to larger conservation efforts and ensuring the Park is conserved for the future;
• improving understanding of High Park's Indigenous human history through reconciliation programming and interpretive exhibits; and
• better connecting High Park's community partners with increased space to collaborate and guide visitors to enjoy a low impact journey through the park.

To date, the shovel-ready project has received $6M in support, starting with a lead donation from TD Bank Group through The Ready Commitment program. With new contributions from all government partners, the Government of Canada ($2.3M), the Province of Ontario ($2M), the City of Toronto ($820,000), we are truly in the 'home stretch' of the 'Home in High Park' campaign and will actively seek support to open this new gathering space for park visitors that will be inclusive, accessible and evergreen.

$4.3M in Grant Funding for the establishment of the High Park Visitor and Nature Centre

/CNW/ - $4.3M in grant funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program has been awarded to the High Park Nature Centre and City of Toronto to...

www.newswire.ca

View attachment 313014

I'm fine w/this, but I have a long list of other projects in High Park I would rather see funded first.

High Park's natural spaces are under extreme pressure from the number of people using the park.

Some investment in growing and restoring these areas, where practical; and mitigating damage in other spots is very much needed.

My short list:

1) Remove the park road and parking lot in the south-east quadrant of the park. This area was historically marshland; the parking lot is small; and the road often closed and unusable due to flooding.

Remake the low-lying portions into marsh once more.

2) Rehabilitate Spring Road

Slightly narrow the road, and pull it back from the creek. Use natural-looking fencing (post and paddle), backed by chicken-wire if need be to keep people and pets away from a renaturalized creek bank.

3) De-pave this corridor all together, replacing it with a 2M wide mulch-trail:

That's this path here:

4) Remove this retaining wall

This area next to Grenadier Pond would benefit from having the natural slope line restored, and the path replaced by a boardwalk over restored/expanded wetlands.

Relatedly, continue the shoreline restoration further up the pond; and re-naturalize some of the slope space as well.

 

[W. K. Lis]

The south end of High Park bordered the railway that crossed the sandbar that separated Grenadier Pond from being a bay of Lake Ontario.

From link. From 1894...

Queen Street ended at Indian Road. There was no Keele Street south of Bloor Street (which would be renamed Parkside Drive). Notice the creek and ponds north of Bloor Street, that could have been added to the park.

 

[Northern Light]

I was in High Park today for a stroll.........April 23rd, 2021; come along:

Some early spring green near the Keele/Bloor entrance:

Hold up.....this is a park stroll, not a UT construction site shoot!

Above and below show digging into the embankment of Parkside Drive:

Back to our nature stroll now:

Where the waters of Spring Creek first surface (present day)

Not native, slightly invasive (low-priority)....but Forsythia is a pretty burst of colour in early spring:

This Pine Tree is not a young fella:

This one is no slouch either:

Thank goodness for these barricades and the 2 police just out of the shot who prevented hordes of people from mobbing these Cherry Blossoms (Sakura)

 

[Northern Light]

April 23rd, 2021 con't:

Look who I found slithering through the leaf duff: (garter snake)

*Squeamish people look away.............(not graphic...but).........The snake was eating lunch.............lunch was still alive:

Grenadier Pond:

And...finally..........the Cherry Blossoms beside Grenadier, in flower; taken from the spot above, but zoomed:

 

[W. K. Lis]

From link.

In 1836, John George Howard purchased for $1,000 a sprawling 160-acre property to the west of Toronto, extending from Bloor Street down to Lake Ontario. Howard was a successful English emigré and one of the first professional architects in Upper Canada. He was also an engineer and land surveyor. Naming the property “High Park” due to its elevation, Howard then designed and built Colborne Lodge, a Regency-style cottage, as his residence in the south end of the park in 1837 (Sir John Colborne was Howard’s patron and served as Lieut. Governor of Upper Canada).

He then conveyed 120 acres of the property to the City in that year with the proviso that it was ‘for the free use, benefit and enjoyment of the citizens of the City of Toronto forever: and to be called and designated at all times thereafter ‘High Park’’. Some of the other stipulations in the deed included: permitting Howard and his wife Jemima to continue to reside at Colborne Lodge; prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the park; a restriction on the harvesting of timber; and leaving the estate in as natural a state as possible. A minority of city councillors felt that the park was too far away from the core to be of utility, but in the end the City accepted Howard’s gift, granting him a lifetime pension in the amount of $1,200 per annum in exchange. The park was opened to the public in 1876.

The remaining 40 acres of Howard’s were granted to the City upon his death in 1890; in 1876 and 1930 the City also acquired properties to the east (172 acres from Percival Ridout) and west (71 acres from the Chapman estate, formerly Ellis) of the original lands.

...two more acres were added via the amalgamation of the Village of Swansea; 18 acres were removed for the construction of the Queensway.

Removing the 18 acres for construction of the Queensway as against the "restriction on the harvesting of timber; and leaving the estate in as natural a state as possible". The city had to get permission from distant relatives of John Howard, in the UK, to destroy part of High Park for the want-to-be expressway. Maybe the city should get permission from the current distant relatives to allow for a restaurant that could also serve alcohol?

 

[W. K. Lis]

Notice in the above map, that Parkside Drive did not exist in mid-19th century. Originally, it was an two-lane southern extension of Keele Street, joining Indian Road as a fork in the road in the south end. Then the developers had widened the south end of Keele Street and renamed it Parkside Drive, as a "scenic" drive. Today, it has become a want-to-be-expressway. This week, tragedy.

'No one ever expected this would happen': Toronto couple killed in crash near High Park mourned​

From link.

A well-known couple from Toronto’s Portuguese community was killed earlier this week in a multi-vehicle crash near High Park.

Valdemar Avila, 71, and his 69-year-old wife, Fatima, died on Tuesday, Oct. 12 after their car was hit from behind by a driver reportedly speeding on Parkside Drive, near Spring Road.

The chain-reaction collision involved five vehicles and injured four others, one of whom was seriously hurt.

The morning after the deadly crash, the couple’s daughter, Ashley Avila, and her husband, Sokratis Mintsopoulos, drove down from their home in Trent Lakes to visit the scene where her parents were killed. They laid bouquets of flowers and placed candles next to a nearby utility pole.

Ashley also spoke with a few neighbours who witnessed the incident and tried to help her mom and dad.

“My biggest concern was that (my parents) didn’t die alone. It was important for me to know they were cared for (in their final moments),” she told toronto.com Thursday afternoon.

“We’re very thankful to everyone in the community that helped them.”

The Avilas, who came to Canada from Portugal’s Azores region in 1971, were long-time residents of Dundas Street West’s Little Portugal area.

Fatima owned her own beauty shop, Salao Leal, on the strip for 30 years. She retired and closed the salon two years ago, just before the start of the pandemic.

Valdemar was a local roofer who was always ready to lend a hand to anyone in need of help. He was affectionately known for making a large batch of homemade wine every fall, which he’d share with friends and neighbours.

Married for 48 years, the couple also had a son named Laurenio and two grandsons: Easton, four, and two-year-old Weston.

The grandkids were their “pride and joy” said Ashley, who has yet to break the devastating news to her boys. The family was set to get together this weekend to celebrate little Weston’s third birthday.

“This is not how things are supposed to be,” she said.

Ashley said her parents will be forever remembered as a loving couple. She said they enjoyed taking a long walk together every day.

“(My parents) spent a lot of time together,” she said, adding getting some physical activity was one of the many ways her father took care of her mother, who had early onset Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

At the time of the crash, the couple was heading to Costco in Etobicoke to fill a prescription for Fatima.

“No one ever expected this would happen … I can’t even believe it,” said Ashley, who is staying at her parents’ home for the next several days.

“Every time I walk into their house, I’m waiting for my dad to say something.”

Local Coun. Ana Bailão offered a few words of sympathy.

"I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of two residents of our Little Portugal community,” the Davenport rep said in a statement.

“It is particularly tragic that their passing is the result of a motor vehicle accident where indications are that the other vehicle was operating at a high speed when it collided with this couple's car. Their loss will be felt within our community for a long time, and we convey to their friends and family our deepest and sincerest condolences."

A visitation for Valdemar and Fatima Avila will be held Tuesday, Oct. 19, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Kane-Jerrett Funeral Homes, 6191 Yonge St.

A funeral service for the couple is set for the following day, Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 10 a.m., at St. Helen's Parish, 1680 Dundas St. W.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy for the couple can be posted online.