Sunnyside, Toronto
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Sunnyside is a lakefront district 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 includes a beach and park area along
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
's
Humber Bay Humber Bay is a bay of Lake Ontario south of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located between Ontario Place on the east and Mimico Creek to the west. The bay gives its name to Etobicoke's Humber Bay neighbourhood. History Prior to 1809 the bay ...
, from west of
Exhibition Place Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...
to the mouth of the Humber River. The area has several recreation uses, including
rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
clubs, sports clubs, picnic areas, playgrounds, a nightclub, a bathing pavilion and public pool. The area is a long strip along the lakeshore, bounded by the
Gardiner Expressway The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, commonly known as the Gardiner Expressway or simply the Gardiner, is a partially at grade and elevated municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running close to the shore of Lake Ontario, it extends ...
and rail lines, which separate it from the Parkdale,
Roncesvalles Roncesvalles ( , ; eu, Orreaga ; an, Ronzesbals ; french: Roncevaux ) is a small village and municipality in Navarre, northern Spain. It is situated on the small river Urrobi at an altitude of some in the Pyrenees, about from the French bord ...
and
Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
neighbourhoods to the north. The name originates in a local farm owned by
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
, which was situated just to the north, on the location of the current
St. Joseph's Health Centre St. Joseph's Health Centre is a large Catholic teaching hospital in western Toronto, Ontario. It is located west of downtown Toronto, along the Lake Ontario shore at the intersection of The Queensway and Sunnyside Avenue, just west of Roncesvalle ...
hospital. The area is first noted in Toronto history as the location of the landing of an 1813 attack in the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. As Toronto grew,
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 ...
preserved the open space to the north, while the Sunnyside area along the lake was taken over by new rail lines and a hydro-electric line serving Toronto, although the area remained popular for boating and swimming. By 1900, there were calls to clean up the area and in the 1910s, the area was the site of a massive waterfront reclamation public works project which expanding the land area by , provided a breakwater for boating and built several beaches. Its popularity grew as a summertime recreation area and from 1922 to 1955, the reclaimed land was home to the popular
Sunnyside Amusement Park Sunnyside Amusement Park (also known as Sunnyside Beach Park) was a popular amusement park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that ran from 1922 to 1955, demolished in 1955 to facilitate the building of the Metro Toronto Gardiner Expressway project. It w ...
which ran every summer. The amusement park was demolished to facilitate the building of the expressway, leaving behind several shoreline recreation uses from the era of the park, including the pool, the beaches and the sports clubs, all of which remain popular and well-used each summer.


History

The area is within the traditional lands of several First Nations. An archeological find early in the 1900s near
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 ...
found evidence of an indigenous burial mound similar to those of the
Red Paint People The Red Paint People are a Pre-Columbian culture indigenous to the New England and Atlantic Canada regions of North America. They were named after their burials, which used large quantities of ochre, normally red, to cover both the bodies of the d ...
dating back over 2,000 years. The Wendat were known to move within the Toronto area, until the Iroquois displaced them. The remains of several First Nation villages have been found in Toronto, attributed to the Wendat and the Iroquois. In 1615, it is believed that French explorer
Étienne Brûlé Étienne Brûlé (; – c. June 1633) was the first European explorer to journey beyond the St. Lawrence River into what is now known as Canada. He spent much of his early adult life among the Hurons, and mastered their language and learned ...
was the first European to visit the area. His party first passed through
Teiaiagon Teiaiagon was an Iroquoian village on the east bank of the Humber River in what is now the York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located along the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. The site is near the current intersection of Jane Street ...
, an
Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian la ...
village situated at the site of modern-day
Baby Point Baby Point is a residential neighbourhood in the York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the west by the Humber River from south of Baby Point Crescent to St. Marks Road, east to Jane Street and Jane Street south to Raymond Av ...
. Teiaigon was located along the
Toronto Carrying-Place Trail The Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, also known as the Humber Portage and the Toronto Passage, was a major portage route in Ontario, Canada, linking Lake Ontario with Lake Simcoe and the northern Great Lakes. The name comes from the Mohawk term ''to ...
, a portage route that extended from approximately the area of today's Sunnyside Pavilion north to the
Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk'' ...
area. Part of the trail is presumed to be along the route of today's "Indian Road", to the east of High Park. The Teiaiagon site was abandoned by the Iroquois, who were displaced by the Mississauga. The first European settlement of the area originated in 1750 with the founding of
Fort Rouillé Fort Rouillé was a French trading post located in what is now Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Fort Rouillé was constructed by the French in 1751, building upon the success of a trading post they established in the area a year earlier, known as Fort T ...
by the French on today's
Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, ...
(CNE) grounds. During the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754†...
, the French destroyed the fort in July 1759 to prevent it falling into the hands of the British. Its foundations were excavated in the 1980s. In the War of 1812, American troops attacked the then-town of York. The troops arrived by water and landed on the Sunnyside waterfront east of Roncesvalles. The troops attacked
Fort York Fort York (french: Fort-York) is an early 19th-century military fortification in the Fort York neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was used to house members of the British and Canadian militaries, and to defend the entrance of t ...
to the east the next morning and looted the town. The looting of York led to a retaliatory raid on, and looting of
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, burning the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
.


Early development

European settlement came in the early 19th century. Land grants were given in the area of Swansea, High Park and east of High Park.
Colborne Lodge Colborne Lodge is a historic house museum located in an 1836 home in Toronto's High Park. John George Howard, an architect, engineer and prominent Toronto citizen, built this house, which became the property of the city following his death in 1890 ...
, located within High Park, just north of the lake and owned by John Howard was built in 1837. In the 1850s, the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
built the first rail line along the waterfront, between High Park and the waterfront. At first, the rail line was built at ground level with level crossings and was not a physical barrier. Starting just east of Roncesvalles the rails used to rise the hill to the level of today's Springhurst Avenue to the
South Parkdale railway station The South Parkdale railway station was a passenger rail station on the Grand Trunk Railway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located at Jameson Avenue and Springhurst Avenue in the former village of Parkdale. It was demolished in 1911 as part o ...
. A major change came with the 'Parkdale Grade Separation Project'. The rail lines along the waterfront were evened up to a level grade along the waterfront, with a large digging project from Dowling to east of Dufferin. The hill necessitated that trains travel at full throttle to climb the hill, a factor in an 1870s train collision. In 1910, the station was relocated to the foot of Roncesvalles and named Sunnyside. The rail lines were widened and elevated above the shoreline from Sunnyside station west to the Humber, taking more of the waterfront area, nearly to the shoreline. This necessitated the removal of a level crossing between Queen Street and Lakeshore Road and a bridge over the tracks was built, with subways at several road intersections. The first lakeshore road, a toll road along the waterfront, was built in the 19th century, prior to the incorporation of Parkdale. The Village of Parkdale extended King Street to its intersection at Queen Street to bypass the toll road. A road connection was built from the intersection of Roncesvalles, King and Queen Streets to the lakeshore road on or about 1900, giving access to trams to deliver visitors to High Park. There was a level crossing of the tracks south of today's St. Joseph's Hospital. The bridge over the tracks was completed in July 1914 and the level crossing closed. The trams then followed the new route across the bridge to King and Queen. The crossing was the location where a busker, Charlie Soley, performed for many years to those passing to High Park. Less than tall, and weighing , he had a grey beard and wore a
cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...
leaf to cover his head from the sun. Soley played fiddle music on the violin and his death was front-page news in 1916, when he died at the age of 54 from bronchitis. Along the south side of the lakeshore road, commercial uses such as Dean's Boat House (a boat factory) and Meyer's Hotel were built on or around 1900. The Parkdale Canoe Club, today's Boulevard Club was inaugurated in 1905. With the coming of hydro-electric power from Niagara Falls hydro-electric lines and towers were erected along the waterfront. The area to the south of the rail lines was narrow, but as the Parkdale area grew in population, the foot of Roncesvalles became a popular swimming area. A series of changing booths was built in 1911 along the waterfront for bathers. A slide was built alongside the new bridge to the lake for swimmers. In 1916, the City started providing free streetcar service to take children to bathe at Sunnyside. File:Sunnyside Holiwell Pic-nic.jpg, Group at Sunnyside Farm, 1859 Image:Sunnyside-Trains-1910.jpg, View east from Sunnyside Avenue, 1910 Image:Sunnyside-changing-booths-1911.jpg, View of swimming changing facilities, 1911 Image:Meyer's Hotel.jpg, Meyer's Hotel at foot of Indian Road, 1911 Image:Sunnyside 1913.jpg, View of Lakeshore Road looking east to Sunnyside, 1913. Image:Toronto Learn to Swim Cars.jpg, Free bathing cars started in 1916.


Infilling builds a waterfront

By this time very little lands were left along the waterfront, and the lands were used for buildings on piers, rail lines, road ways, hydro towers and temporary changing booths for bathers. The general sentiment was that the lakeshore was in a dismal state.
Thomas Joseph Stewart Thomas Joseph Stewart (July 26, 1848 – November 9, 1926) was a Canadian politician. He was mayor of Hamilton, Ontario from 1907 to 1908. He was a Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that s ...
, a federal MP in 1913, remarked that Sunnyside was a "dirty, filthy hole." In 1914, the
Toronto Harbour Commission The Toronto Harbour Commission (THC) was a joint federal-municipal government agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The agency managed Toronto Harbour as well as being responsible for major works along the Toronto waterfront. It built both ...
started a million ($ in dollars) project to improve the waterfront from
Ashbridge's Bay Ashbridges Bay is a bay and park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Lake Shore Boulevard next to Woodbine Beach in the Beaches. The Martin Goodman Trail and boardwalk run through the park along the bay. The boardwalk runs from ...
in the east, to the Humber in the west. Following this plan, most of the 1910s and early 1920s was spent on construction and most of the waterfront lands were little used. All of the buildings on the water west of Roncesvalles were demolished. The Commission extended the shoreline about to the south, from Wilson Park Road to the Humber River (the western boundary of Toronto at the time), using landfill brought from
Pickering, Ontario Pickering (2021 population 99,186) is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada, immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. Beginning in the 1770s, the area was settled by primarily ethnic British colonists. An increase in population occurre ...
and sand dredged from the lake bottom. The hydro-electric lines and the Canoe Club building, previously located on the water, were now inland. The new lands were divided between roadway expansions and park land. The shoreline itself was converted to beach along most of the length. A 'breakwater' would serve to create a protected waterway along the shore from the Humber to Bathurst Street. Lakeshore Road, now connected to King and Queen by bridge, was widened to four lanes from the Humber to the
Jameson Avenue Jameson Avenue is a multi-lane arterial road in the Parkdale neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a north-south roadway from Lake Shore Boulevard to Queen Street. Originally laid out in the 19th century as a two-lane residential s ...
area. The Harbour Commission made waterfront land available for lease and several of the waterfront businesses returned. Dean's Boat House would be rebuilt in the eventual Palais Royale building. The location of Meyer's Hotel became the site of the Sunnyside Pavilion Restaurant. The new Beach and its Bathing Pavilion would open in 1922. Image:Sunnyside Lakeshore Bridge.jpg, Road bed of new Lakeshore Road, 1914. Dredging boat at right. Image:Sunnyside East Dredging 1920.jpg, Eastern section in 1920 showing infill of lake. Image:Sunnyside Centra Lakefront.jpg, Central section in 1916 showing infill of lake. Image:Sunnyside-Dredging-2.jpg, Dredging efforts circa 1920 showing Boulevard route and infill.


Sunnyside Amusement Park

The Beach grew in popularity and the Harbour Commission leased land for rides on a temporary basis, eventually leading to the construction of the
Sunnyside Amusement Park Sunnyside Amusement Park (also known as Sunnyside Beach Park) was a popular amusement park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that ran from 1922 to 1955, demolished in 1955 to facilitate the building of the Metro Toronto Gardiner Expressway project. It w ...
in 1922 and its permanently located rides. The Park's popularity grew, leading to more rides, night clubs and outdoor bandshells. Dean's Boat House was converted fully into the Palais Royale night club, the Sunnyside Pavilion into the Top Hat night club. The Sunnyside Pool (known also as the "Tank") was opened in 1925. Events such as ship burnings, tight-rope walkers and outdoor concerts made the Park a popular spot into the 1950s. Ambitious plans were planned to build a massive "Palace Pier" amusement area on a pier at the Humber River, although only a dance hall was ever built.


Marilyn Bell swim

In 1954,
Marilyn Bell Marilyn Grace Bell Di Lascio (born October 19, 1937) is a Canadian retired Long-distance swimming, long distance swimmer. She was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario and later swam the English Channel and Strait of Juan de Fuca. Perso ...
a 16-year-old marathon swimmer from Toronto became the first swimmer to swim across Lake Ontario. Her arrival at the foot of Roncesvalles was greeted by an estimated crowd of 300,000. She had joined a swim challenge sponsored by the CNE for another swimmer and was the only one of the three that attempted it to finish. Marilyn Bell Park at the foot of
Jameson Avenue Jameson Avenue is a multi-lane arterial road in the Parkdale neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a north-south roadway from Lake Shore Boulevard to Queen Street. Originally laid out in the 19th century as a two-lane residential s ...
is dedicated in her honour.


Coming of the automobile

As suburbs to the west were built, and the
Queen Elizabeth Way The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The freeway begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western ...
(QEW) to
Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one of Ni ...
was built, the Lakeshore Road became very busy with traffic. The QEW eastern terminus connected with the existing Lakeshore Road at the Humber, meaning that travellers from points west would have to travel through Sunnyside to get to Queen Street to get to central Toronto. Transportation engineers studied the problem beginning in the 1940s. Plans were discussed with various routes for a highway along the lakeshore or as far north as Bloor Street. While the Amusement Park was popular, there was considerable opposition to its demolition. However, its popularity started to decline in the 1950s. When the new "
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
" government of Toronto was formed in 1953, one of its first priorities was to build the Lakeshore Expressway, connecting the Queen Elizabeth Way to downtown Toronto in partnership with the provincial government. Under the leadership of
Fred Gardiner Frederick Goldwin Gardiner, (January 21, 1895 – August 21, 1983) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and businessman. He was the first chairman of Metropolitan Toronto council, the governing body for the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, f ...
, the project, which necessitated the demolition of the Park and a waterfront neighbourhood south of Jameson Avenue to the east, was pushed through, starting in 1955. The
Toronto Harbour Commission The Toronto Harbour Commission (THC) was a joint federal-municipal government agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The agency managed Toronto Harbour as well as being responsible for major works along the Toronto waterfront. It built both ...
cancelled all land leases in the area after some off-season fires and demolished all but the Palais Royale and the Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion and Pool. The highway required most of the Amusement Parklands along the railway right-of-way and the Lakeshore to Queen Street bridge was demolished. Where the road link from King, Queen and Roncesvalles existed, a narrow, high pedestrian bridge over all of the roads was built to link the foot of Roncesvalles to the waterfront. At the same time, other roadways were built or expanded, including the new Queensway, with a dedicated streetcar right-of-way to the north, using some of the High Park lands on the north side of the railway right-of-way. The Lake Shore Boulevard was doubled in width to six lanes and redesigned into a 'scenic drive' style with the two directions separated by a grassy boulevard with no facilities for pedestrians. Today, a majority of the lands are given over to transportation uses. What was left was converted to parklands, eventually subdivided into Budapest Park and Gzowski Park. Two children playgrounds were built and numerous trees were planted. In the 1960s, the parklands were transferred from the Harbour Commission to the
City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a rec ...
. While a small children's amusement park next to the Palais Royale on the waterfront was attempted in the 1960s, the amusement park idea was finally abandoned for good and the
Centreville Amusement Park The Centreville Amusement Park is a children's amusement park located on Centre Island, part of the Toronto Islands, offshore of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park has been operated by the Beasley family since 1967, currently through Etobicoke- ...
was built on the Toronto Islands. The area north of the rail lines is no longer a connecting point for different modes of transportation. Sunnyside railway station closed in 1971 and the
Sunnyside Bus Terminal Sunnyside Bus Terminal was an interurban bus station located in Sunnyside in the west end of Toronto at the foot of Roncesvalles Avenue and its intersection with King Street and Queen Street West (and later The Queensway) in Toronto, Ontario, Ca ...
, which handled intercity coach traffic, closed in 1990. The changes in traffic patterns and the closing of the amusement park also affected businesses in the Queen and Roncesvalles area, leading to much upheaval. Image:Sunnyside-Trains-View-2008.jpg, View east from Sunnyside Avenue, 2008 of the old railway station area. Image:Sunnyside West 2008.JPG, View west of the pedestrian bridge of the old amusement park lands.


Increasing neighbourhood interest

The changes in the area led to a decline in its usage. Increasing pollution of Lake Ontario also led to a decline in use of the waterfront for swimming. The boardwalk was removed. This changed in the 1970s, when local environmental groups organized regular clean-ups of the waterfront, removing trash from the lakeshore. Interest in cleaning the water to allow swimming in the Lake again was raised. The Bathing Pavilion was renovated in 1980 and its cafe became a popular local spot to enjoy the waterfront. A pedestrian bridge was built at the foot of
Jameson Avenue Jameson Avenue is a multi-lane arterial road in the Parkdale neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a north-south roadway from Lake Shore Boulevard to Queen Street. Originally laid out in the 19th century as a two-lane residential s ...
, restoring a link to the waterfront that had been lost in the demolition of the waterfront neighbourhood. In the 1990s, the Martin Goodman Trail for cyclists was inaugurated, including a pedestrian bridge over the Humber. A new boardwalk was built out of recycled plastic planks along the water. In the first decade of the 21st century, there has been renewed local political interest in the waterfront. Neighbourhood associations raised concerns about private land usage including proposals to lease more waterfront by the Boulevard Club and other organizations. Concerns were raised about the Palais Royale renovation and subsequent parking lot development. The building of the Gardiner and the road expansions effectively put a barrier between the neighbourhoods and the waterfront, and this remains unresolved. In the 2010s, Dowling Avenue's connection to Lake Shore Boulevard was closed. The Dowling Avenue bridge over the Gardiner was demolished. The bridge was replaced with a pedestrian bridge to give another connection from Parkdale to the waterfront.


Points of interest


Buildings

The
Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion is a landmark public pavilion in the Sunnyside lakefront area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built in 1922, its original function was to provide changing facilities for swimming in Lake Ontario, however lake conditions we ...
was renovated in 1980 and now houses a cafe with a patio on the boardwalk and a tea garden. The beach to the south of the pavilion now hosts beach volleyball. The Pavilion and surrounding park host regular multicultural events and a Canada Day celebration. The pool was rededicated as the 'Gus Ryder Pool', named after the founder and coach of the Lakeshore Swim Club of New Toronto. At the foot of Roncesvalles, the former nightclub Palais Royale is operated on a special events rental basis. East of Roncesvalles is the Boulevard Club sports complex. Founded as the Parkdale Canoe Club, the club also has several tennis courts along with its boating activities. Further east is the Toronto Argonaut Rowing Club, the Toronto Sail and Canoeing Club and a Royal Canadian Legion branch. At the foot of Ellis, the park is now the site of a relocated Joy Oil heritage gas station from the 1930s. It has been moved from its original location north of Lake Shore Boulevard to the south side just east of the parking lot. At the western end of Gzowski Park is the
Queen Elizabeth Way Monument The Queen Elizabeth Way Monument, also known as the Lion Monument and as the Loring Lion, is an Art Deco monument located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 1939–1940 monument honouring Queen Elizabeth was built as a decorative marker monument f ...
, relocated from its location between the east and west lanes of the then Queen Elizabeth Way, which had its starting point from the Humber River. The monument was relocated to the park and rededicated by Queen Elizabeth in 1989.


Boardwalk/Martin Goodman Trail

The first boardwalk was built in the 1910s by the Harbour Commission, in the amusement park area. In the 1930s, the boardwalk was re-constructed as a make-work project and extended from the Humber to Jameson Avenue to the east. This was eventually removed in the 1960s. In the 1990s, a new boardwalk, constructed of planks of recycled plastic was built along the shore from the foot of Roncesvalles west to the Humber River. The boardwalk is for pedestrians only. The
Martin Goodman Trail The Martin Goodman Trail is a Humber Bay Arch Bridge The Humber Bay Arch Bridge (also known as the Humber River Arch Bridge, the Humber River Pedestrian Bridge, or the Gateway Bridge) is a pedestrian and bicycle through arch bridge south of Lake Shore Boulevard West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comp ...
was constructed to cross the Humber River to lakeshore parks to the west of the river.


Parks

The lakefront has several named parks along different sections. Sunnyside's western section, from the Humber River to west of the Bathing Pavilion is named in honour of
Casimir Gzowski Sir Kazimierz Stanisław Gzowski, (March 5, 1813 – August 24, 1898), was an engineer known for his work on a wide variety of Canadian railways as well as work on the Welland Canal. He also served as acting Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 189 ...
, a pioneer engineer in the building of railways in Canada. The park houses a monument built in the 1960s that has displays of his personal history. The park contains a children's playground and picnicking areas, a food concession stand, a stormwater catchment pond, and a leash-free dog area. The dog off-leash area is located to the east of the mouth of the Humber River. In 1964, to commemorate the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
, the parklands between the Palais Royale and the Sunnyside Pavilion were named Budapest Park. The area has a major monument to the conflict, picnic lands, a children's playground and a wading pool. A small parkette located east of the Boulevard Club with a small beach is named Vimy Ridge Parkette. Further east is Marilyn Bell Park, near the location where
Marilyn Bell Marilyn Grace Bell Di Lascio (born October 19, 1937) is a Canadian retired Long-distance swimming, long distance swimmer. She was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario and later swam the English Channel and Strait of Juan de Fuca. Perso ...
came ashore after her historic Lake Ontario swim. Image:Hungarian Monument Budapest Park Toronto.jpg, This Budapest Park monument commemorates the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
. Image:Gzowski Monument.JPG, Gzowski Monument Image:Lakeshore Supertest Gas Station.JPG, The old 'Joy Oil' 1930s-era Gas Station. Image:Queen Elizabeth Way Monument.jpg, The Queen Elizabeth Way Monument


Sunnyside Bike Park

The Sunnyside Bike Park is a recreational bicycling facility providing legal dirt biking activities in the area. It is situated on the land north of Lake Shore Boulevard between Ellis Avenue and Colborne Lodge Drive, west of a stormwater pond. It has several different sections: a skills zone, pump tracks, jump lines and a "drop and wall ride". The park opened in July 2014.


Boating and watercourse

A protected waterway from
Ontario Place Ontario Place is an entertainment venue, event venue, and park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The venue is located on three artificial landscaped islands just off-shore in Lake Ontario, south of Exhibition Place, and southwest of Downtown Toronto. ...
to the Humber River exists behind the 1912 breakwater along the full length. In 2006, a special watercourse was built at the foot of Jameson Avenue at Marilyn Bell Park for a Dragon Boat Championships. At 600 metres, it is too short for other boating races and may be extended to 1300 metres in length. The waters of Humber Bay are popular for boating. Several canoe, rowing and dragon boating clubs exist. The Boulevard Club, the former Parkdale Canoe Club operates a large facility to the east of
Roncesvalles Avenue Roncesvalles Avenue is a north–south minor arterial street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It begins at the intersection of Queen Street West, King Street West and the Queensway running north to Dundas Street West. At its southern starting point ...
with a marina and tennis courts. The
Argonaut Rowing Club The Argonaut Rowing Club is an amateur rowing club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The club was founded in 1872. The current junior head coach is Connor Elsdon. In the past, the club fielded teams in ice hockey and football, and the football team c ...
is headquartered at the foot of Dowling Avenue on the waterfront and trains in the area.


Beaches

There are several beaches along the Sunnyside waterfront. A small beach exists to the east of the Boulevard Club. At its easternmost point, a small area of the original bluff still exists. This is the last vestige of the original shoreline in the area. The main beach is located to the south of the Bathing Pavilion. There is room for several courts of
beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...
. Paddleboards are available for rental here. A dragon boat club exists at the site. The water is safe for swimming, except after major rainfalls, when swimming is closed for several days due to high bacteria counts attributed to run-off into the Humber River. The beach is open for swimming most of the summer, although Lake Ontario's water temperature does not rise above 25 degrees Celsius. The water at the beach was long considered too polluted for swimming, but efforts are being made to reduce pollution further. A major tunnel was built to contain most of the storm water that was polluting the river, diverting the water to wastewater treatment. Two storm water management ponds were built north of Lake Shore Boulevard West in 2007. Water conditions are indicated by flags posted along the beach. In 2012, the City of Toronto water department proposed using
landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
from soil excavated during the construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT to construct a chain of artificial islands near the mouth of the Humber River to divert its flow away from the beach. Heavy rains can flush pollutants down the river, temporarily making the beaches near its mouth unsafe for swimming. The proposed Humber Islands would extend approximately one kilometre off shore, and would be connected by an underwater berm, directing the river's flow into deep water.


Plans

The
City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a rec ...
City Council has commissioned a study of this area of the waterfront entitled the "Western Waterfront Public Consultation". Plans include the realignment of Lake Shore Boulevard West to free up space for pedestrian, recreational and cycling uses.


References and notes

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See also

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Palais Royale Palais Royale is a dance hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Shore Boulevard at the foot of Roncesvalles Avenue on Lake Ontario. Originally built as a boat works, it became notable as a night club in the now-defunct Sunnyside Amusem ...
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Sunnyside Amusement Park Sunnyside Amusement Park (also known as Sunnyside Beach Park) was a popular amusement park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that ran from 1922 to 1955, demolished in 1955 to facilitate the building of the Metro Toronto Gardiner Expressway project. It w ...
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Toronto waterfront The Toronto waterfront is the lakeshore of Lake Ontario in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans 46 kilometres between the mouth of Etobicoke Creek in the west and the Rouge River in the east. History Lake Ontario is a recent lake. A ...


External links


Western Waterfront Public Consultation
{{coord, 43.637737, N, 79.456301, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title Beaches of Toronto Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Toronto