Ravina Gardens was an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

arena located in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It supported amateur hockey from before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

until 1961, and professional hockey briefly in the 1920s. The location of the demolished arena is parkland, and is known as Ravina Gardens. It was located at the foot of Rowland Street, southeast of Annette Street and Evelyn Avenue in

West Toronto Junction West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

History

Ravina Gardens started as the outdoor Ravina Rink prior to

. The area was originally the village of West Toronto Junction. It was remodelled to hold 4,500 seats in 1912. The arena was the site of numerous ice hockey leagues and was the training facility of professional teams. In 1926, a new arena, named "Ravina Gardens" with an artificial ice surface was built on the site. In 1926, the first training camp of the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

was held there, supervised by

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National ...

, who lived nearby. In 1927, it hosted the games of the

Toronto Ravinas The Toronto Ravinas / Toronto Falcons were a minor league professional hockey team that competed in the Canadian Professional Hockey League in the 1927–28 season. The team was a minor league affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National ...

minor professional hockey club. The arena was in use until the 1950s by the Humber Valley Hockey League's Hornets and Redmen. It was demolished in 1961, after groundwater in the ravine damaged the structure. The site is now parkland (two baseball diamonds). It is used as green space for three nearby schools: Annette Public, High Park Alternative School and St. Cecilia's Catholic. In 2016, Indigenous artists Chippewar, Aura,

Chief Lady Bird Chief Lady Bird (also known as Nancy King) is a Chippewa and Potawatomi artist, illustrator, educator and community activist from Rama First Nation and Moosedeer Point First Nation, who currently resides in Toronto, Ontario. Chief Lady Bird ...

, Mitch Hol and Evan Lovett created a 90-foot mural featuring an owl and a Thunderbird.

References

* * ;Notes Defunct sports venues in Toronto {{Icehockey-stub