Christie Pits, originally Willowvale Park, is a 8.9 heactare park located at 750 Bloor Street West and Christie Street, across from the Christie subway station. The park features the Alex Duff Memorial Pool, located at its edge, three baseball diamonds, a multi-sport field, basketball and volleyball courts, an atrificial ice rink, a childern's playground and labrynth, a splash pad, a wading pool, and a commuity garden. The sides of the pits are highly sloped, and are used in winter for tobogganing and related activities. Garrison Creek runs under the park, converted to a storm sewer at the turn of the 20th century. This facility has street parking around the outskirts of the park.
The park was named after the Christie Sand Pits which were on the location until the early 1900s. The sand pits had been named after Christie Street, which was named after William Mellis Christie, co-founder of the Christie & Brown Cookie Company, now known simply as Mr. Christie.
