Toronto Berczy Park Revitalization | ?m | ?s

[Christopher Brown]

The dog days of summer (sorry, couldn't resist).

There's that stylish lady again and her cute-beyond-compare little friends.

All your pics - fabulous. What an incredibly cool place. Drove by last week near lunchtime. All benches were full and the grass covered with folks enjoying this new oasis.

 

[MetroMan]

My dog gave into peer pressure. Her excuse: "everyone else is in here..."

I love kids more than anything in this world, but please, keep off the dogs!
People (some parents) are disgusting. It's only a matter of time before the dogs are damaged.

They're meant to be climbed on to. They're made of some sort of metal even though they look like ceramic. I knocked on one today and they appear sturdy.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

A suggestion - perhaps they should encourage people to drop quarters, loonies and toonies into the fountain - what cash is collected should go into a special fund for maintaining the park.

AoD

 

[Youranthony1]

@MetroMan and other pet owners...thought this was appropriate since park maintenance is being discussed.

From the Friends of Berczy Park website:

The fountain is NOT a splash pad, swimming or bathing place for pets: Pet hair, dirt and soap suds will damage the fountain mechanisms and lead to costly repairs. Please keep your dog out of the fountain and inform others if their dogs enter the waters.
​

https://berczy.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/pet-owners-help-us-care-for-our-park/

 

[Longview]

. If you have any real evidence it was once a 'fountain' I will gladly change my opinion.

I have now done what I should have done in the first place, properly researching the Sir Adam Beck fountain. My finding is that I owe @DSC an apology for suggesting, in effect, that he didn't know what he was talking about. Turns out I was the one who didn't know what he was talking about, as I cited the Beck statue as an example of a Toronto fountain that had been allowed to fall into disuse. It never had a fountain function. I did correctly cite the South African memorial fountain as such an example, and @Torontovibe cited another: the fountain near the entrances to the aquarium and CN Tower. So I think my original point stands: when important fountains suddenly stop functioning, those of use who care about the public realm should start squawking to city hall immediately and not let up until something is seen to be done.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

From Metronews:

http://www.metronews.ca/news/toront...ain-generating-buzz-from-pets-and-people.html

So. Many. Dogs.

AoD

 

[interchange42]

I have to think that the instant success of Cormier's fountain bodes well for imaginative fountains in other new parks and park makeovers across the city.

42

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I have to think that the instant success of Cormier's fountain bodes well for imaginative fountains in other new parks and park makeovers across the city.

42

So far the coverage is local - I am waiting to see when the exposure goes global along the lines of the Toronto Sign.

AoD

 

[DSC]

So far the coverage is local - I am waiting to see when the exposure goes global along the lines of the Toronto Sign.

AoD

Why do Torontonians always want others to recognise the good/exciting/innovative things here? Is it so that we do not trust our own judgement and need the approval of others? I LOVE the new Berczy, if nobody else does that's fine with me!

 

[Bogtrotter]

It's a whimsical fountain in a Toronto parkette- it's not the Trevi. Too bad about the dogs not being allowed in the water, there's going to be a few disappointed pooches now.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Why do Torontonians always want others to recognise the good/exciting/innovative things here? Is it so that we do not trust our own judgement and need the approval of others? I LOVE the new Berczy, if nobody else does that's fine with me!

For practical reasons - it raises the profile of the city - which pays off in other ways (tourism, investments, etc). It's less about affirmation and more about advertisement.

AoD

 

[jje1000]

For practical reasons - it raises the profile of the city - which pays off in other ways (tourism, investments, etc). It's less about affirmation and more about advertisement.

AoD

Definitely so- impressions (and first impressions in general) are incredibly important in building up a city's profile.

Parks and public realm investments can be fairly important towards building up a 'feel'/ atmosphere in areas where the building stock/cultural activity isn't strong enough to generate that atmosphere on their own.

 

[skycandy]

I couldn't resist coming back today. And finally got to see it in its full watery glory. I know this may sound corny but I felt a sense of unabashed joy here today. Part civic pride at the city getting something (tremendously) right, and part wonder at the incredible interest in this amazing new space. Kids frolicking in the grass, amongst the doggies chasing balls and the like. Amazing!

The view through the Flatiron and Firkin.

People o' plenty...

And the true lovers of this space too...

 

[Edward Skira]

The park and fountain look great. But, as has been expressed here already, what will it look like when it's not new? A block away and across the street from St Lawrence Market we have Market Lane Park. It features a dead fountain and a nice garden of weeds. Anybody know why this park has been left to rot? Surely they aren't waiting until the new North Market is built to fix this park?

 

[nstuch]

The park and fountain look great. But, as has been expressed here already, what will it look like when it's not new? A block away and across the street from St Lawrence Market we have Market Lane Park. It features a dead fountain and a nice garden of weeds. Anybody know why this park has been left to rot? Surely they aren't waiting until the new North Market is built to fix this park?

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there's also the fairly new park at King and River that's in even worse shape