They turned a parking lot into a park – Berczy Park, in downtown Toronto just east of Yonge Street, on the west side of the Gooderham Flatiron Building. We’ll take a short walk east from Yonge Street to enjoy the park, history of the area, and eventually one of the most famous photo locations in Toronto. Bringing a dog along with you is optional.
If you’re coming from downtown, or Union Station (TTC subway station and Go Trains) you’ll walk east along Front Street, past the Hockey Hall of Fame in the 1885 Bank of Montreal building (the only building on that block to survive the 1904 Great Fire of Toronto), and the Meridian Hall – (originally known as the O’Keefe Centre, then the Sony Centre).
The Six Nations Peace Treaty mural
As we continue east along Front Street you’ll see the “The Six Nations Peace Treaty,” Que Rock’s vibrant mural on the wall of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts along Scott Street. Que Rock is an Anishnaabe Artist from Nipissing First Nation. For more information take a look at this YouTube video: The Original 6 Nations Peace Treaty: A Visual Healing Art Experience
Berczy Park
North across Front Street is Berczy Park which is situated between Wellington Street East to the north, and Front Street East to the south. The park runs between Scott Street and the back of the Gooderham Building. The park address is: 35 Wellington St E, Toronto, ON M5E 1C6
Jacob’s Ladder sculpture – two hands in the ground
The fountain is the main attraction, but lets start with the 2017 sculpture of two hands emerging from the ground. This piece is on the west side of the park – entitled ‘Jacob’s Ladder‘ by Toronto artist Luis Jacob. It was designed as a children’s play structure with ropes between the fingers, but the ropes couldn’t be safely and securely attached. The Friends of Berczy Park website has an article from Oct. 27th, 2017 about the artwork here
Berczy Family sculpture
Another smaller piece of art in the park is the sculpture of a mother and father sheltering two infants in their arms – called ‘Berczy Family‘ by the artist Almuth Lutkenhaus who lived in Ottawa from 1966 until her death in 1996. The family has stood in Berczy Park since 1982 and was donated by the Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada Inc., with financial support from The Consumers’ Gas Company and the Council of Metro Toronto in memory of Johann Albrecht Ulrich Moll, better known as William Berczy.
Berczy Park Dog Fountain
Finally we turn our attention to the fountain itself! The updated park and fountain opened June 28th, 2017, and was designed by Montreal designer Claude Cormier and Associates – CCxA . The two-tier fountain includes cast-iron statues of 27 dogs two cats, and two yellow bird sculptures perched on a lampost nearby. At the top of the fountain is a bone that all the dogs are looking at. The designers’ website includes some examples of what inspired them, including a painting by the American painter William Holbrook Beard (1824 – 1900) known for his “humorous treatment of bears, cats, dogs, horses and monkeys.”
If you know your dogs you can see how many of the various breeds of dogs you can find, including: Bernese Mountain Dog, West Highland Terrier, Fox Terrier, St. Bernard, Dalmatian, Great Dane, Jack Russell Terrier, St.Bernard, Giant Schnauzer, Golden Retriever, Beagle, Pug…
The park was first opened in the early 1980’s and has been popular ever since.
Flatiron Building mural
The west side of the Flatiron build is a perfect place for art – a blank canvas within view of the downtown core, with only parking lots to compete with at the time.
In 1971 Benson and Hedges commissioned three murals in Toronto, including one by Donald Solomon here. This is the only photo I can find of the mural. (See a few photos of the Gordon Rayner – interwoven colour bars – mural at York/Front/University here and a photo of Rita Letendre’s mural Sunrise on the top of the Neill Wycik building on Gerrard Street .)
But the most famous piece of art in the park is the Berczy Park or Flatiron Building mural by Canadian artist Derek Michael Besant. it was unveiled in 1980, only a few years after the park, and so much of the surrounding area, was literally a parking lot.
History of the area
The St. Lawrence neighbourhood to the east is full of history, but I couldn’t find much about this piece of land beyond a list of buildings that once stood on the site, including:
- 26 to 34 Front St. E. – Pacific Buildings- demolished between 1966 and 1967
- 36 to 38 Front St. E. – unnamed offices at
- 40 to 42 Front St. E. – Sterns Building – jeweller Samuel Stern until 1910 and demolished between 1962 and 1963
- 44 Front St. E. – unnamed silverware factory and offices
- 46 to 48 Front St. E. – unnamed wholesalers
- 50 Front St. – Janus (later as Frontwell) Building – demolished between 1966 and 1967
Gooderham Flatiron building view towards Toronto
Well walk a bit further east, through the busy intersection at Church Street to appreciate one of the more famous views of Toronto – the 1892 Gooderham Building where Front and Wellington Streets meet at Church Street.
It was the second ‘flatiron’ building on the site, replacing the old Coffin Block flatiron building that was built on the site in the early 1830’s.
We’ll leave you here to take your own photo, then continue east to St. Lawrence Market.
Details and links for all of the historic photos from the the City of Toronto Archives and the Toronto Public Library are available on our Wholemap Historic Toronto photos webpage for the St. Lawrence neighbourhood.