TORONTO

In spite of the embarrassing distractions that are coming out of the City Hall office of the fellow who claims to be the best mayor in the city’s history, our city is better than any one person and that’s in spite of what he or she may think of themselves.

And why will Toronto survive? Because our city has so much going for it. That list of credits is virtually endless. So where do I start?

Well, because of an upcoming anniversary I’m going to highlight one of the most amazing facts about our city.

Were you aware that Toronto has more than 1,600 public parks and playgrounds with sizes ranging from hundreds of acres to a few hundred square feet? One of the smallest is the tiny Moncur playground on Coxwell Ave. This parcel of land was given to the city in honour of Sgt. David Moncur who gave his life during the Great War.

As to the largest park that title goes to Island Park over on Centre Island. It was a gift from the Crown back in 1867. Four additional grants from the Crown followed over the next few years. Next largest is today’s magnificent High Park, but contrary to what many believe this 168-acre property wasn’t given to us by a benefactor. Nope, it became city property in 1876 only after Toronto officials agreed to provide the property owners, John George Howard and his wife who lived on the property in Colborne Lodge, a yearly pension as long as both lived. Still, at about $175,000 it was quite a deal.

Now I come to that anniversary I alluded to earlier.

It was on May 9, 1928 (86 years ago next Friday) that Mrs. Alice Kilgour agreed to turn over to the City of Toronto the 175-acre family property known as Sunnybrook Farm which was located on the east side of Bayview Ave. north of the Town of Leaside with its rolling hills and towering trees stretching a mile-and-a-quarter east to the concession road now known as Leslie St. She did so in tribute to her husband Joseph Kilgour, prominent local businessman, gentleman farmer and expert horseman (his barns and stables are still used by today’s Sunnybrook Stables riding school) who had some years earlier.

The park opened to the general public the following week although it would be years before people could get there by TTC since the land was out of the Commission’s jurisdiction. Access meant a long and often muddy walk along Blythwood Ave. from Yonge St.

Incidentally Alice demanded one more condition: That there would never be a road for vehicles carved through the property that would connect Bayview Ave. with Leslie St. And that’s why the bridge over the creek that flows through the park is closed to autos and trucks.

In 1943, arrangements were made with the Kilgour estate to turn over part of Sunnybrook Park (a name selected by Mrs. Kilgour) to the federal government as the location of what was originally to be known as Soldiers’ Military Hospital. Five years passed before the new Sunnybrook Military Hospital was dedicated. Today, after years of upgrading and enlarging, it’s now known as Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

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As we finally get some nice weather it’s time to get out and discover our city.

One way to do that is to go to Heritage Toronto’s website and look at the extensive list of guided walking tours, most of which are free thanks to the people at the TD Bank, a financial institution with long-time Toronto roots.

All tour details can be found at http://heritagetoronto.org/tours/

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Readers who might wish to visit the former Great Lakes cruise ship SS Keewatin, now berthed in Port McNicoll, can phone Gordon at 416-429-5278 for details about planned daytrip to tour the historic 1907 vessel on June 17.

*Mike Filey’s Toronto”, co-hosted by Gene Stevens is now heard twice each weekend, on Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 noon, on Zoomer Radio am740.