Gaffney Park Commemorative Plaque, 2020
File information | File dimensions | File size | Options |
Original JPG File | 1800 × 1200 pixels (2.16 MP) 15.2 cm × 10.2 cm @ 300 PPI |
1.4 MB | Restricted |
Screen | 1200 × 800 pixels (0.96 MP) 10.2 cm × 6.8 cm @ 300 PPI |
322 KB | Restricted |
Resource ID
8135
Access
Open
Address
73 Terry Drive, Toronto, ON M6N 4Y8
Date of Creation
2020
Historical Themes
Industrial Heritage, Parks and Natural Heritage, Transportation History
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Time Period
Pre-colonization, 1835-1899, 1900-1953
Caption
Gaffney Park Commemorative Plaque, 2020
Description
For 130 years, the site of Gaffney Park was the centre of this neighbourhood’s transition from industrial area to suburb. Former railway lines and mines have left their mark on the local geography, becoming trails and parks. In the 1880s, the area attracted property investors, who created the short-lived Toronto Belt Line Railway. Designed to promote suburban expansion outside Toronto, the railway ran two circular routes out of Union Station. The Humber Loop passed through here. The railway was not financially viable and it closed in 1894. Starting in the 1920s, philanthropist and Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe operated a sand and gravel pit northwest of today’s Gaffney Park. This area was rich in glacial deposits left by the prehistoric Lake Iroquois more than 10,000 years ago. In the 1940s, Smythe subdivided his land for housing. Forgoing profit to provide affordable housing for veterans, Smythe helped turn this area into a suburban neighbourhood. A small portion of the former Belt Line track was later used by Canadian National Railways. The last trains ran in the 1980s, and this portion of the railway land became Gaffney Park.
Marker lat / long: 43.671729, -79.486937 (WGS84)