The Relic Linear Park System is a community-led vision that features architectural relic stones and Indigenous artwork within the Grange Park neighbourhood. The park system is guided by the Grange Green Plan and Relic Park Prospectus. It will include two new parks, one on St. Patrick Street – south of Dundas Street West – and one on the northeast corner of Dundas Street West and McCaul Street. The parks will connect the linear park system to Campbell House Museum to the south, with the gateway or endpoint of the system at Dundas Street West and McCaul Street.
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This timeline is subject to change.
These parks do not have names yet. At the end of the design process, parks are often given names that describe the park’s features or location (e.g. Princess Street Park). These names, developed by City staff, make it easy for residents to identify and locate parks in their neighbourhoods and around the city.
Alternatively, community members can develop and submit proposals for a commemorative park name before the end of the park design process. A proposal to give a park a commemorative name instead of a location-based name is first reviewed by City staff and then needs to be approved by Community Council.
Visit Property Naming to learn more and submit a commemorative property name.
This project has been classified as an Involve project based on the International Association of Public Participation Spectrum. This means we work directly with the public, stakeholders, and rightsholders throughout the design process to ensure that ideas and aspirations are understood and considered in the design process.
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From February 20 to March 10, an online survey collected feedback on the proposed design for each park. A summary of the results will be shared on this page as soon as they are available.
On November 29 and December 12, approximately 26 Indigenous community members participated in one of two in-person pop-up events where the draft designs for the two new parks were shared. Some participants simply came to learn about the new parks, some indicated their preferences on pop-up boards, and others provided verbal or written comments. The first pop-up was held at Native Child and Family Services of Toronto and the second pop-up was held at Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.
From October 19 to November 12, an online survey collected feedback from community members on the draft designs for the two new parks. In total, the survey received 283 responses from 321 participants of various ages and backgrounds. Ten respondents identified as First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Aboriginal or Native.
On October 23 and October 28, the project team hosted in-person pop-up events (three total) with approximately 70 community members. The draft designs for the two new parks were presented. Some participants came to learn about the new parks, some indicated their preferences on pop-up boards and others provided verbal or written comments. The first pop-up was at Queen St. W. near Simcoe St., the second pop-up was at Grange Parkand the third pop-up was at Dundas St. W. near McCaul St.
The project team hosted two in-person pop-up events, one at Cecil Community Centre on September 20, and one at Grange Park on October 5. The goal was to provide an opportunity for community members to ask questions and share their ideas and vision for the new parks. The Cecil Community Centre facilitated the outreach to Asian-Canadian communities. The Grange Park event was set up near the playground in order to gather insights from parents and children.
Download the pop-up summary.
From July 25 to August 7, an online survey received 501 responses from community members on the visions for each park.
Download the survey summary.
A new 1000 m2 park (about the size of two tennis courts) is coming to St. Patrick Street, south of Dundas Street West. The park will connect to Simcoe Street through a Privately-Owned Publicly Accessible Space (POPs).
The park vision and big moves were developed based on Community Engagement Phase 1 feedback, and considersthe available budget, site conditions, and operational requirements for the parks.
The new parks on St. Patrick Street and Dundas Street West will be part of the Relic Linear Park System, reflecting the community-led and Community Council-approved Grange Green Plan. Reflecting this plan, the parks will incorporate both functional and decorative hand-carved, repurposed, stone relics from Toronto’s more recent settler colonial architectural history. Relic-themed artworks by Indigenous artists will be incorporated to reflect the ongoing and historic presence of Indigenous peoples on these lands since time immemorial. The parks will provide lush, green, and calm spaces with a variety of seating areas where community members can sit, relax, connect with others, and reflect on our rapidly changing city.
The design reflects the project vision and big moves.
Orange lines indicate linear bench seating.
Red dots indicate pole lighting.
Liminal sites, such as shorelines that mark the threshold between opposing elements of water, and the earth and sky – like liminal states of beings, as in the dream between sleep and awake – are spiritually active places.
In the Anishinaabe world view, the universe is understood to be comprised of layers. Divided into contrasting upper and lower worlds and zones of power, this tiered cosmos is animated by the ongoing and reciprocal interaction of beings and persons both natural and spiritual. The mishibizhiig – the underwater panthers – reside in the lower realms of water. With lynx-like bodies, metallic scales, horns, and the tail of a serpent, mishibizhiig rule the lakes, rivers, caves, and deep crevices in the earth.
Blending the stone traditions of Ojibway and European cultures, the carved figures are meant to be reminiscent of stone gargoyles and grotesques from western architecture. As ancestor Anishinaabe artists would paint narrative images of underwater panthers and beings on cliff faces along the shoreline, so too do these carved figures preside and guard over what lies below.
The artwork will comprise of granite blocks with hand carved bas-relief images of several mishibizhiig. The mostly black granite that forms the sculpture will be sourced from within Canada. The use of granite is intended to create a contrast from the other carved relics found within the project, granite compared to limestone or sandstone.
A new 261 m2 park (about ¾ of a basketball court in size) is coming to the northeast intersection of Dundas Street West at McCaul Street. There will be a small Privately-Owned Publicly Accessible Spaces (POPs) connected to the east of the park. The new park is planned to be the gateway into the larger Relic Linear Park System.
The park vision and big moves were developed based on Community Engagement Phase 1 feedback and considers the available budget, site conditions, and operational requirements for the parks.
The new parks on St. Patrick Street and Dundas Street West will be part of the Relic Linear Park System, reflecting the community-led and Community Council-approved Grange Green Plan. Reflecting this plan, the parks will incorporate both functional and decorative hand-carved, repurposed, stone relics from Toronto’s more recent settler colonial architectural history. Relic-themed artworks by Indigenous artists will be incorporated to reflect the ongoing and historic presence of Indigenous peoples on these lands since time immemorial. The parks will provide lush, green, and calm spaces with a variety of seating areas where community members can sit, relax, connect with others, and reflect on our rapidly changing city.
The design reflects the project vision and big moves. The inspiration for this park is an outdoor gallery.
Large art frames composed of steel I-Beams showcase the architectural relic pieces. The I-beams serve to highlight the invisible frames supporting Toronto’s buildings and acknowledge those who built them. This includes Mohawk (Haudenosaunee) iron workers, who for over a century were renowned for their bravery and skill in the construction of numerous buildings. The I-beams assembled by Mohawk ‘Skywalkers’ as well as immigrant laborers created the structures that hold up Toronto’s built form, possibly, even the buildings from which the relics belonged.
Illuminated Indigenous Public Art by Jay Havens is reminiscent of Mohawk pottery. The artwork incorporates traditional patterning that will be cut into the feature to allow for light to escape, creating a beacon of light and a focal point for the park design.
Orange lines indicate linear bench seating.
Visitors to the 292 Dundas Park will be drawn to this beautiful structure of geometric designs; a kind of shadow box. During the daylight hours, the steel frame with aluminum insets offers shade while designs move across the pavement painting the land with Indigenous art and designs. For half of the year sunset is early in Tkaronto and that is when this artwork begins to shine. An immersive space is created using light and patterns reminiscent of Mohawk pottery once the sun goes down and this artwork becomes a beacon of light. This lighting opportunity will continue to lay patterns on the trees and surroundings in beautiful ways while keeping the park bright in the evening.
The idea of casting pottery designs over the land and possibly even the relics that are present within the park acts as a way to Indigenize the space and the relic objects themselves using patterns and shapes which exist long into the past and also the present Indigenous culture of the city. The experience of walking through relic park will work to re-territorialize and build relationship between the public and the Indigenous understanding of land that they are walking on. By having them interact with pottery in their immediate physical environment they are looking at forms which have come from the literal clay the city of Tkaronto is built on.
This artwork is an opportunity to forward the art form, not using pottery directly but using cutting edge technology to create a rendering of the older patterns, casting a meaningful juxtapositioning with the present day park design and the inclusion of colonial relics.
The Relic Park Linear System is guided by the Grange Green Plan and the Relic Park Prospectus, which outline the project context, vision, and goals for enhancing and creating new green spaces in the Grange Park neighbourhood.
The vision for the Relic Linear Park System was ignited by community voices and developed in partnership with The Grange Community Association (GCA) and the Campbell House Museum. The City will use these guiding documents to inform the project as it progresses.
If relic pieces or artwork are damaged and pose a safety issue, they will be removed from the park and will not be replaced due to the bespoke nature of the pieces.
Through conversations with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, it was brought to the City’s attention that the architectural relic fragments, stones, and sculptures come from a period when Toronto was created through colonization by European settlers and these pieces are remnants of early colonialism. Acknowledging this, the City put out a call to hire Indigenous artist(s)/designer(s) to work as part of the larger design teams and incorporate Indigenous perspectives and history to the parks. Indigenous artists have been hired onto each park design team and Indigenous artworks are included in the park designs.
The Grange Green Plan, prepared in partnership with the GCA and the local Councillor, creates an action plan to maximize green space in the Grange Park neighbourhood by recognizing the importance of finding opportunities to enhance existing green spaces and identifying opportunities for creating new ones. The purpose of the Grange Green Plan is to improve public green space, enhance private greening efforts, and contribute to the City’s environmental and climate change agenda, improving both human and ecosystem health within the Grange Park community.
The plan was considered by Toronto and East York Community Council on July 4, 2018 and was adopted without amendments.
Key priorities of the plan include:
The Relic Park Prospectus, prepared in partnership with the local Councillor’s Office, the GCA and Campbell House Museum, outlines a further vision and approach to the public realm enhancements and new parks that integrate architectural relics through a new green corridor in the Grange Park neighbourhood. The project proposal also includes potential design details, and site-specific schematic designs for various public spaces proposed within the park system.