Ravine and recreation complex.
Details of Site Location: The deep ravine between Annette Street Public School and St. Cecilia Roman Catholic School with Annette Street at the north end and Clendennan Avenue at the southwest end.
Boundary History: Edward Lawson purchased 12 acres, including the ravine, in the mod-1880s and built one of the earliest Junction villas on the west side opposite Laws Street circa 1887. The ravine was sold separately from the house during the 1890s. Joseph Smith (not the same person as the park developer) built a smaller villa closer to the western rim in 1890. The point where Laws Street meets Annette Street was known as the “Junction Beauty Spot” because of the ravine. Two other villas were built on the northeast corner by Theodore Heintzman (1890) and on the northwest by John Stewart (1891). Only the Heintzman house remains.
Current Use of Property: Currently, the property serves the Annette Street Recreation Centre and Ravina Playing Fields.
Historical Description: The private recreational facility known as Ravina Park was developed by Joseph and Jesse Smith and opened in 1906. Jesse Smith, who was a grain buyer, served on the Union Stockyards Board and was Mayor of Toronto Junction 1905-6. Joseph Smith built his house at 48 Roland Avenue overlooking the ravine. At the park, the emphasis was on winter sports: hockey, curling and pleasure skating. By 1925 it had grown to 4 3/4 acres of land on which there was a covered hockey arena, a curling rink, club building, and swimming tank. There was also a large open— air skating rink. Bands played for skaters at the open-air rink on weekend evenings. In 1926 the artificial ice rink opened, playing host to the well-attended Saturday night doubleheaders of the industrial hockey league. Tennis courts were also added. In 1952-4 the city purchased the property, demolishing the arena in 1961 because of structural problems caused by underground water.
Relative Importance: The ravine itself is important as a natural feature of the Humber watershed. The stream, which feeds Grenadier Pond travels underground along Laws Street, through Ravina Gardens, after which it has been largely filled in and built upon, before emerging once again on the south side of Bloor Street. The stream seems to have flowed above ground until Bloor was filled in circa 1914. It providing water for trout ponds on the Kennedy estate (1870s until at least 1914) immediately north of Bloor Street for the Mineral Baths at 32 Gothic Avenue and, undoubtedly, for the swimming poo1 and early outdoor ice facilities at Ravina Park.
Planning Implications: In planning, some effort at natural rehabilitation might be made for the ravine, perhaps as a joint project between the schools which share the playing fields.
Reference Sources: Diana Fancher, “Recreation Preserve Celebrates Local History” and “Brilliant Hockey at West End Rink” (1996), from the West Toronto Weekly, 1920s issues; Parks and Recreation Department, City of Toronto; files of West Toronto Junction Historical Society.
Acknowledgements: West Toronto Junction Historical Society.