Berczy Park
Berczy Park is popular park in downtown Toronto.[1] The park is named in honour of William Berczy, a prominent citizens of York, Upper Canada.
In 1962 historic buildings lined both sides of the triangular parcel of Front Street East and Wellington Street East, between Yonge Street and Church Street.[1] Plans were made to raze almost all the buildings.
The St Lawrence Market, and most of the historic buildings on the south side of Front ended up being preserved, other than those where the St. Lawrence Centre and the Sony Theatre were built. Many of the historic buildings on the North side of Wellington ended up being preserved. The Gooderham and Worts building, at the apex of the building ended up being preserved. But, before funding dried up, all the buildings immediately west of the Gooderham and Worts building were demolished.
After the cancellation of the redevelopment a 1 acre (0.40 hectares) trapezoidal parcel was turned into a parking lot.[1]
The parking lot was turned into a park, with trees, paved areas, benches, and a fountain.
Two million dollars CAD were spent to improve the park, in the mid 2010s. The improvements included regrading, the addition of some sculptures, and the replacement of the original modest fountain with the Berczy Park dog fountain.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
"Was this the worst development idea?" (video). Insider Toronto. 2026-05-08. Retrieved 2026-08-19 – via YouTube.
In 1962, Toronto approved a plan that would have completely transformed downtown. It was called the St. Lawrence Centre, a massive cultural megaproject designed to create a single destination for the arts.