Riverdale Park (Toronto)
| Riverdale Park | |
|---|---|
Riverdale Park, looking south
|
|
 Location of the park in Toronto
|
|
| Type | Public Park |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario |
| Coordinates | 43°40′11″N 79°21′20″W / 43.669827°N 79.355428°WCoordinates: 43°40′11″N 79°21′20″W / 43.669827°N 79.355428°W |
| Area | 104 acres (42 ha) |
| Created | 1880 |
| Operated by | City of Toronto |
Riverdale Park is a large park spanning the Lower Don River in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, between Cabbagetown to the west and Broadview Avenue in Riverdale to the east.
The park has recreational fields for soccer, baseball, and Ultimate on both sides of the river. There is also a swimming pool, tennis courts and outdoor hockey rink to the northeast, and a running track in the centre. A footbridge crosses the Don Valley Parkway, Bayview Avenue, the Canadian National Railway Bala subdivision tracks, and the river and joins the two sides of the valley as well as the Lower Don Recreational Trail that follows the river. The bridge is located near the site of a butternut tree bridge built by Eli Playter that provided access to his property and mill around the 1790s. The bridge is depicted by Elizabeth Simcoe's watercolour painting Playter's Bridge near York, ca. 1796.
At the south-east corner of the park is Bridgepoint Hospital and a monument to Sun Yat-Sen. Immediately to the west of the park in Cabbagetown is Riverdale Farm, a city operated, publicly accessible farm.
In the summer, a free movie series takes place in the park. According to its website, "Everyone is welcome ~ Bring a picnic, friends and family to enjoy great PG rated films under the stars. All the films begin at dusk"
The land on the east side of the Don River was originally owned by John Scadding, one of the early settlers to Toronto and the estate manager and clerk for John Graves Simcoe, Governor of Upper Canada. John Scadding's cabin, built in 1794 just south of the present day park, was relocated to the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition in 1879. 120 acres (49 ha) of Scadding's farm property had been purchased by the City of Toronto in 1856 for the Don Jail, and the rest of the lands opened as a park in 1880. More land was added later to bring the park up to 162 acres (66 ha) in size, but the construction of the Don Valley Parkway in the 1960s reduced this to the current figure of 104 acres (42 ha). On Broadview Avenue east of the park is John Cox Cottage, a 1807 log home.
...
Wikipedia