Berczy Park is a small () park in downtown
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario, Canada.
[ The park is triangular in shape, bounded by Scott Street, Front Street and Wellington Street. The park is bordered at its eastern tip, where Wellington and Front join, by the ]Gooderham Building
The Gooderham Building, also known as the Flatiron Building, is an historic office building at 49 Wellington Street East in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the eastern edge of the city's Financial District (east of Yonge Street) in th ...
, a heritage building that is an example of a "flatiron building".[ A widely admired mural graces the western facade of the building.
The park is named after William Berczy, an architect and surveyor, who worked with ]John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. He founded Yor ...
, the first Governor of Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...
, in founding its capital, York, Upper Canada
York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for the capital of ...
, the town that grew into Toronto.[
]
History
The park was opened in 1980, replacing a parking lot.[ Prior to the 1950s, the site was occupied by office building behind both the Gooderham and Coffin Block.][ A key focal point of the renovated park was the replacement of the park's original fountain, with a larger two-tier fountain that incorporated sculptures.][ The park was redesigned by landscape architect ]Claude Cormier
Claude Cormier (born June 22, 1960) is a landscape architect from Quebec. The majority of his projects are located in Montreal and Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded p ...
of Montreal, who also designed Toronto's Sugar Beach
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double s ...
. The renovations cost $7.2 million.[
The renovation was the first since the park opened. Among the required work was the removal of several large trees that had outgrown the soil reservoir provided for them. Fifty new trees were planted in Silva Cell growing chambers, each tree having of soil provided for its roots to grow.][ The park officially reopened on June 28, 2017.][
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Features
The distinctive feature of the park is a large, two-tier fountain with cast-iron statues of 27 dogs and a cat. The dogs are all looking up towards a large bone perched on the fountain's peak. The cat is looking north at statues of two small birds perched on the arm of a lamp post about away from the fountain. The fountain also includes a ground level trough to provide drinking water for real dogs.[ Each of the dog statues contributes to the fountain function by each sprouting water upwards from their mouths.][ There is also a second cat statue perched on an electrical box at the south-west corner of the park.
At the east end of the park, there is an irrigated pea gravel patch, intended for dog owners to allow their pets to do their business.][ The landscaping includes grassy berms and garden beds. A children's play area is planned for the northwest corner of the park.][ Scott Street, on the west side of the park, features curbless borders and pavers to integrate the street into the park design.][ The City's Economic Development and Culture Division has commissioned a public artwork titled Jacob's Ladder by Toronto artist Luis Jacob. It will be installed in late 2017 on the west side of the park.][
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References
External links
{{Parks and squares in Toronto
1980 establishments in Ontario
Parks in Toronto