Riverdale Farm officially opened on September 9, 1978. Originally owned by John Scadding, the City of Toronto purchased what was to be Riverdale Park in 1856. In 1894, the Riverdale Zoo opened to become Toronto’s first zoo, but eventually it was closed in 1974 with the animals relocated to the new Toronto Zoo in Scarborough. From 1974 to 1978, many of the Riverdale Zoo buildings were removed and the site leveled. The Residence, the Donnybrook, and the Island House buildings are the only zoo buildings left remaining on the Riverdale site.

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