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The City of Toronto first delivered recreation programs to
youth in the 1890s. By 1910, Torontonians agreed that organized children's leisure was in
the public interest and a civic responsibility to be shared broadly. Access was gained to
relatively abundant resources. Between 1900 and 1930, Toronto's annual spending on parks
and recreation rose from $66,000 to $3.5 million. The rhetoric of reform and vigorous efforts to acculturate immigrant children soon faded. The City linked the pursuit of wholesome recreation to serving the needs of Toronto's boys and girls and reducing disparities in play. Quantification became the chief measure of success. Growth in the number of children reached and services consumed indicated that Toronto was on the right track. The constant imbalance between demand and supply suggested that much more remained to be done. Many civic departments, agencies, boards, and commissions provided facilities and programs. Depending on whether you wished to swim, skate, or slide, read, paint, perform, or play sports, you might come under the wing of the City Engineer's Office, the Property Department, the Parks Department, the Board of Education, the Toronto Public Library, the Life Saving & Police Patrol Service, the Toronto Transportation Commission, or the Art Gallery of Toronto. |
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©2001. City of Toronto |
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