The Granite Club (founded as the Toronto Granite Curling Club) is a private social and athletic club in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. Founded in 1875, it has a long history of sports competition. It is located at 2350

Bayview Avenue Bayview Avenue is a major north–south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Bayview is designated as List of numbered roads in York Region, York Regional Road 34. It is 46 ...

, north of

midtown Toronto Midtown is one of four central business districts outside the city's downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the north of Old Toronto, its borders are roughly defined by St. Clair Avenue to the south and Eglinton Avenue or Lawren ...

History

The Granite Club was founded in 1875 on St. Mary's Street in downtown Toronto. It was initially a curling club. It provided a curling rink and a skating rink as facilities. After only five years on St. Mary's Street, expansion was needed in order to improve existing facilities and to accommodate the growing membership. In 1880, the club moved to 471 Church Street, where it added

lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

. By 1885, the membership had reached 447 members. Later in the 1880s, the club's members formed and sponsored an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team, considered the first or one of the first organized ice hockey teams in Toronto. The

Toronto Granites The Toronto Granites were an amateur senior ice hockey team from Toronto, Ontario. The Granites were Allan Cup champions in 1922 and 1923. They were chosen to represent Canada at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. The Granites won the ...

ice hockey club would last into the 1900s and produce Canadian amateur champion and Olympic champion teams. In the 1920s, the club organized competitive

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

at the club. Over time, singles champions such as

Kurt Browning Kurt Browning (born June 18, 1966) is a Canadian figure skater, choreographer and commentator. He is the first skater to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition. He is a four-time World Champion and Canadian national champion. He comp ...

Patrick Chan Patrick Lewis Wai–Kuan Chan (born December 31, 1990) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. He is a Figure skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Team event, 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, Figure skating at the 2014 ...

and

Barbara Ann Scott Barbara Ann Scott (May 9, 1928 – September 30, 2012) was a Canadian figure skater. She was the 1948 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1947–1948), and a four-time Canadian national champion (1944–46, 48) in ladies' singles. K ...

, have trained at the club. The pairs champions of

Barbara Underhill Barbara Ann Underhill (born June 24, 1963) is a hockey skating coach and Canadian former pair skater. With partner Paul Martini, she is the 1984 World champion, the 1979–1983 Canadian national champion, and the 1978 World Junior champion ...

and

Paul Martini Paul Lloyd Martini (born November 2, 1960) is a Canadian former pair skater. With partner Barbara Underhill, he is the 1979–1983 Canadian national champion, the 1984 World champion, and the 1978 World Junior champion. They represented Cana ...

also trained at the club. In 1925, a piece of land on St. Clair Avenue West, near Yonge Street, was purchased to accommodate a growing membership, the changing face of recreational activities and conversion from a gentlemen's to a family club. The St. Clair location housed seven badminton courts, several five-pin bowling lanes, a swimming pool and two squash courts in addition to curling, skating, lawn bowling and tennis. The fourth club home was opened in 1972 on a 22-acre site on Bayview Avenue north of Lawrence Avenue in the

Bridle Path A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...

district, bordering on the Don Valley. Alterations and additions to the new building have continued and the acquisition of adjacent properties to the north have both expanded the club's developable land and established the ability to add floor space to the clubhouse. In 1994, five new tennis courts were added to the property to the north. In 2006, the club added one tennis court and introduced a state-of-the-art aquatics complex with a retractable roof. In 2012, the club broke ground on its most significant capital project since moving to Bayview. The "Shiftingravity" expansion has expanded fitness offerings, a new children's area and activity centre, a consolidated pro shop and 200 additional parking spaces. The location on Church Street is now the site of Barbara Hall Park, and the 1906 clubhouse is now a community centre, "

The 519 The 519, formerly known as The 519 Church Street Community Centre, is an agency by the City of Toronto. A Canadian charitable, non-profit organisation, it operates a community centre in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, ...

". The north wall of the curling rink building on the south side of Monteith Street was partially retained, in use as a park fence. When the club moved in 1972, the St. Clair club was demolished, its front entrance becoming part of the

Guild Park and Gardens Guild Park and Gardens is a public park in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park was formerly the site of an artist colony and is notable for its collection of relics saved from the demolition of buildings primarily in do ...

collection.

Facilities

The Granite Club has facilities for: *

aquatics Aquatics may refer to: *Aquatic sports in the Olympics and other international competitions, including the disciplines of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, and open water swimming *Water-related sports more broadly (including boa ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

* fitness *

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

(indoor range) *

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...

pickleball Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played i ...

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

dining and meetings *

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

shop and

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

services *

sports equipment Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since th ...

and clothing *

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

s and special events, as well as an art collection.

References

External links

{{Commons category, The Granite Club
Official website

The story of the Granite Curling Club
Figure skating clubs in Canada 1875 establishments in Ontario Curling clubs in Ontario Sports clubs and teams established in 1875 Clubs and societies based in Toronto Multi-sport clubs in Canada