High Park
High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains in a natural state, with a rare oak savannah ecology. High Park was opened to the public in 1876 and is based on a bequest of land from John George Howard to the City of Toronto. It spans and is one of the largest parks in Toronto.
High Park is located to the west of downtown Toronto, north of Humber Bay, and is maintained by the City of Toronto Parks Department. It stretches south from Bloor Street West to The Queensway, just north of Lake Ontario. It is bounded on the west by Ellis Park Road and Grenadier Pond and on the east by Parkside Drive.
Description
The landscape in the park is hilly, with two deep ravines extending the full north–south distance of the park. Significant natural parts of the park are classified as a provincial Area of Natural and Scientific Interest.Eastern ravine
The eastern ravine is a north–south ravine occupying the eastern half of the park along a small creek and several ponds. A forested area begins at the north-east corner of the park, at Bloor Street and Parkside Drive. The creek begins at spring-fed ponds, Howard Pond, and Ridout Pond and flows south through the ravine along Spring Creek Road. Halfway to the southern boundary of the park, the ravine is less forested with picnic areas, the adventure playground, and the zoo. Upper Duck Pond, just to the west of the adventure playground, often has several species of ducks, including wood ducks to be seen. The pond was one of the first locations where bird banding was done, marked by a plaque. Great blue herons can sometimes be seen there and at Lower Duck Pond, just north of The Queensway, where the water drains in pipes south to Lake Ontario.The eastern ravine lies over a buried river. In 2003, city workers found strong evidence of the pre-ice-age Laurentian River when capping two artesian wells at the pond at the north-east corner of the Park. 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 below the surface in pure bedrock, has remained undisturbed for thousands of years.
Central plain and savannah
The central section is a large plain encompassing most of the northern boundary, slowly narrowing to a point overlooking the lake, which is the location of Colborne Lodge. While most of the plain is developed for picnicking, gardens and sports fields, it has a stretch of open habitat called oak savannah, of which there are few other examples in Ontario. The towering black oak trees found throughout High Park are a characteristic of this habitat. Many of the trees are over 150 years old. The savannah is under the special care of the City and volunteer conservationists. Forested areas of High Park are maintained to mimic natural conditions, with downed trees left to decay. Regular controlled burns are done to mimic forest fires and their beneficial effects for oaks. Non-native plants outside the ornamental gardens are weeded out by volunteers. There is, however, no shortage of non-native trees including Colorado spruce, Scots pine and Northern catalpa.Grenadier Pond
Grenadier Pond is a large body of water in size, located on the western edge of the park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing. There are two local myths circulating about the pond. One is that British Grenadiers fell through its thin ice when crossing to defend the city in the War of 1812. However the Grenadier Guards were not stationed at Fort York at this time, but rather the 8th Regiment of Foot which are not linked to the Grenadier name. Most British infantry regiments grouped the largest and strongest men together during this period to form units of 'Grenadiers', who would form on the right flank of their parent regiment. Other myths include that the pond is 'bottomless', that is, its depth cannot be measured due to the amount of mud. Fishing remains a popular pastime. Largemouth bass, black crappie, yellow perch, pumpkinseed, bluegill, brown bullhead and carp sport fish are present in the pond. Fish caught in the pond are safe to eat, and fishing derbies and casting contests have been held there.Initiatives have been made to improve the pond's health and environment. Grenadier Pond receives some of its water from Wendigo Creek to Wendigo Pond and underground streams feeding it from the north. The northern end of the Pond was naturalized, building a wetland to filter the waters the Pond receives from the stream. The southern and south-western shore of the pond was also naturalized, removing the manicured lawn and concrete bank to improve the Pond's health and discourage Canada geese. Signs now ask people not to feed the waterfowl. Grenadier Pond is home to multiple species of bird and marsh wildlife. The pond exits out to Lake Ontario via pipes near Sir Casimir Gzowski Park, replacing the natural sandbar that existed for Wendigo Creek. Alongside its eastern shore are to be found High Park's hillside gardens and a grove of cherry trees.
At its northern end is a remnant of Wendigo Creek, Wendigo Pond and a children's playground. The creek, pond and Wendigo Way are likely named after the wendigo, mythical cannibalistic creatures of Algonquian mythology. Algonquins did not have a settlement in the park, but are believed to have used it for hunting and fishing and cultivating corn on the sandy uplands of the park. The ravine extending north along the creek at one time extended north of the park, past Bloor Street. The ravine was filled in to provide for an extension of Bloor Street, and for housing development north of the park.
History
In 1836, John George Howard purchased a property in the County of York, to the west of Toronto, for a sheep farm, at the cost of $1,000. It was here that Howard designed and built Colborne Lodge, a Regency-style cottage in 1837 to complement its natural surroundings as the residence for himself and his wife Jemima Frances Meikle. The name 'High Park' is attributed to Jemima, as Colborne Lodge is situated on the highest point of the Humber Bay shoreline.In 1854, the railway first came to the south of the Howard estate. Howard sold a strip of land approximately along the southern edge of the property to Hamilton and Toronto Railway Company for. The sand bar separating Grenadier Pond from Lake Ontario was filled in to support the rails. An outlet weir was installed to control water levels. In 1891, a further strip was sold to the Grand Trunk Railway for.
File:Sunnyside-Lodge-1865.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Colborne Lodge in 1865. Several years later, in 1873, Howard would bequeath the property to the City of Toronto as an urban park.|alt=Two persons in front of a fence watching a steam train pass from right to left. A house on a hill is seen in the distance.
After a successful career as architect, engineer and land surveyor to the City of Toronto, Howard retired here in 1855. In 1873, Howard and his wife agreed to convey their country property of to the City of Toronto. There were several conditions to the conveyance, including that the Howards continue to live at their residence, no alcohol ever be served in the park, and that the city hold the park "for the free use, benefit and enjoyment of the Citizens of Toronto for ever and to be called and designated at all times thereafter High Park". The City also had to pay a down payment and an annual pension to the Howards as long as either of them lived. The city council voted 13 to 2 to accept the Howard's conditions. The two dissenters felt the park was too far away from the city to be of any use to its citizens. At the time, direct access to the Howard property was only by boat, the railway line to the south or a toll road. Soon afterward the "Road to High Park" was built from the Lake Road to the park lands, today's Spring Road and Centre Road.
In 1876, a portion of the Howard's property formed the original park, along with bought from Percival Ridout east of the Howard farm. The remaining southern of Howard's property, including Colborne Lodge, passed to the city after John Howard's death in 1890. The Howards are buried in High Park, under a stone monument that is fronted by a portion of ornate fencing from St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England, across the street from Colborne Lodge. Today, Colborne Lodge is a museum containing many of the original Howard furnishings and a collection of Howard's watercolours of early Toronto. The museum is open year-round.
The western section of High Park, including Grenadier Pond was privately owned by the Ellis family, after which Ellis Avenue is named. The Ellis family sold the land to the Chapman family, which used Grenadier Pond for ice-making under the brand name of the Grenadier Ice Company from the 1880s. After the development of artificial ice-making and modern refrigerators, ice-making from Grenadier Pond ceased around 1920 The Grenadier Ice Company was located south of Grenadier Pond, east of Ellis Avenue. In 1930, the Chapmans sold, including the pond, to the City for.
The High Park Forest School was opened in 1915 on two acres at Colborne Lodge Road at Spring Road. The public school was for children of "low vitality" and emphasized physical activity over academics and often held classes outdoors. After the 1960s, the building was used by various organizations and was vacated in 2013. In 2015, High Park Nature Centre moved into the building.
In 1921, graves were found northwest of Grenadier Pond on the sandy ridge, during the course of road construction near Harcroft and Olympus Avenue, then the Harcroft Bird Sanctuary of architect J. A. Harvey. Eight skeletons were found in the sitting position in red sand below a huge stump. Other, smaller skeletons were found nearby. The human remains were dated to between 2,500 BC to 800 AD, indicating some sort of indigenous peoples' presence at High Park. The remains were coated in hematite red powdery substance in the custom of the Red Paint People who lived in New England and Atlantic Canada. The site is also similar to the Red Ocher people indigenous people who made burials in sandy ridges.
of High Park was later given to Metro Transportation when The Queensway was built in the early 1950s. This was in contravention of stipulations by original High Park owner John Howard that the lands be used for parkland only. Metro officials searched for descendants of Howard to obtain their consent.
The park was known as a location for clandestine meetings of homosexuals in the days before the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada in the 1960s. Its reputation as a meeting place persisted for decades afterward. In 1985, a group of five young teenage boys from Toronto suburbs went to High Park and beat to death a 40-year-old male librarian.
In 1993, the High Park Citizens' Advisory Committee was founded as a volunteer group to aid the City of Toronto in the stewardship of the park. The group was renamed the High Park Community Advisory Council in 2003. The group and its offshoots have developed various programs and initiatives for the park, including the Volunteer Stewardship Program, which is involved in preserving and protecting the environment of the park. The group is active in promoting the natural plant species in the park, and volunteers regularly remove invasive non-native species.
According to the Taiaiako'n Historical Preservation Society, there are 57 ancient indigenous peoples' burial mounds in the park. In May 2011, one such location was occupied by the Society. The site, a small hill known as "Snake Mound" on the west bank of Lower Duck Pond, had been eroded by illegal BMX bike use. The society, in cooperation with the City of Toronto, cordoned off the location and worked to restore the site, fixing the erosion, and removing the bike ramps present. At first, a replacement BMX bike park was suggested for the parking lot at the south end of Spring Road, but public opposition led the bike facility to be built south of the railway, on land that was infilled in the 1920s as part of the Sunnyside park development. A mound north of Grenadier Restaurant, known as "Bear Mound", is believed by the Society to also be an ancient burial mound, although an assessment done for the City concluded otherwise.
In 2012, Toronto City Council, in a round of cuts to city services, voted to discontinue supporting the High Park Zoo and seek alternative funding. The zoo cost over annually to operate and was operated by the city's Park and Recreations Department. An organization, "Friends of the High Park Zoo", was formed to fund-raise and seek other sponsors for the zoo. In April 2012, the organization was successful in finding a sponsor while the organization developed a permanent source of funding. The sponsor matched public donations for the next three years. The City restored operational funding in 2014. The Friends fund-raises for improvements to the zoo.