High Park North

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Explore High Park North

Now is the time for residents to experience all that tourists have been raving about for years. Discover shops, stops, places and spaces on city main streets. Stay curious, Toronto.

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We hope that you enjoyed exploring this Toronto neighbourhood and found many other points of interest along the way. While StrollTO highlights some of the 'hidden gems' in the neighbourhood, there may be others that could be included in a future edition. Would you like to share a point of interest that you discovered in the neighbourhood? Email us at StrollTO@toronto.ca.

Neighbourhood Stroll

This neighbourhood, located just north of High Park, offers a fascinating past, several true architectural gems, proximity to both some of the best green space in the city and excellent main street businesses. The eastern portion of the neighbourhood, known as the West Bend, features a unique character thanks to its historic role as a manufacturing centre and settlement for new immigrants to Toronto. The stroll features sites significant to the Ukrainian-Canadian community like the Taras H. Shevchenko Museum, the notable Indigenous history of Indian Road, and fantastic greenspaces such as Lithuania Park. Some spectacular pieces of public art can be found along the way with the murals in Ravina Gardens and the 'We Are All Animals' installation. Plenty of great local businesses can be found along the stroll in the Bloor West Village and Bloor by the Park BIAs.

Main Streets: Bloor Street West and Dundas Street West

Toronto Public Library - Runnymede Branch
2178 Bloor Street West
Designed by noted Canadian architect John Lyle, the Toronto Public Library's Runnymede branch opened in 1928. In its design, Lyle attempted to create a uniquely Canadian style of architecture, which combined elements of European styles and Canadian themes and ornamentation. Some notable features include a pitched, hipped roof inspired by early Quebec architecture, and Indigenous motifs such as totem poles and arrowheads.

Isaac Weber, Rawn Razor, Brad Ladoeur & Lindsay Lickers Mural
Under the subway underpass on Clendenan Avenue (just north of Bloor Street West)
This mural depicts the natural and First Nations context of the area and promotes environmental preservation by incorporating the area's three distinct ecosystems and animals that historically thrived (but no longer live) in the area.
32 Gothic Avenue & High Park Mineral Baths
32 Gothic Avenue
*Note: Private property. Please observe the house from the street only. This heritage-designated building was originally constructed as a home by retired Toronto businessmen George Johnston St. Leger in 1889. In 1905, it was purchased by Dr. William J. McCormick, who transformed the building into the High Park Sanitarium. The Sanitarium based its medical practices largely on the beliefs of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, an American doctor who emphasized preventing and curing disease through diet, fresh air, physical activity, and treatments such as hydrotherapy and electrotherapy. Perhaps the most prominent feature of the Sanitarium was its mineral baths, which were initially intended for patients only, but were later opened to the general public. Even after the Sanitarium was closed in 1922, the High Park Mineral Baths remained a popular fixture on the property until the early 1960s when they were removed for construction of the Bloor-Danforth subway line. The building was a maternity hospital for a time after the Sanitarium closed, and is now a condominium.

Ravina Gardens
290 Clendenan Avenue
After experiencing problems with graffiti, StreetART Toronto - in collaboration with Wallnoize - engaged 40 local artists to paint murals on the walls surrounding the park in order to help beautify it and celebrate Toronto's diversity. Some of the incredible murals include depictions of sporting motifs including Indigenous sports themes (lacrosse), rock climbing, blade running, and legendary sports figures such as Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Johnny Bower and boxer Muhammad Ali. Another mural, painted by a number of Indigenous artists, depicts an owl and a Thunderbird. One notable historic sidenote regarding Ravina Gardens is that it was once home to a hockey rink, where the legendary Conn Smythe ran the first training camp for the New York Rangers in 1926 (the team went on to win the Stanley Cup two years later in 1928). Conn Smythe later became the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs and was instrumental in the construction of Maple Leaf Gardens.

Humberside Collegiate Institute
280 Quebec Avenue
Originally known as Toronto Junction High School, the school was renamed Humberside Collegiate Institute after The Junction area was annexed into Toronto in 1909. The building is considered to be an excellent example of Romanesque architecture, which was prominent in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The front entrance of the school contains a memorial to students who perished during the First and Second World Wars. Another notable feature is a large mural in the school's auditorium by Group of Seven member, Arthur Lismer. This mural is believed to be the largest he ever painted; it depicts a scene of soldiers and Indigenous peoples meeting. Many trees are located along the pathways outside the school, which were planted to commemorate Toronto's sesquicentennial in 1984. Stained glass windows were installed in the building by artist Robert Jekyll in collaboration with grade 10 students in 1992 to celebrate the school's 100th anniversary. Notable alumni of Humberside Collegiate include comedian Samantha Bee, athlete Abby Hoffman, and boxer George Chuvalo.

Public Studio 'We Are All Animals'
1830 Bloor Street West
Situated across from High Park as part of a condo development, 'We Are All Animals' by Public Studio is intended to address the coexistence of ecology, environmentalism and technology. It features a large LED screen that acts as a landscape tableau. The LED screen depicts a randomly generated, changing landscape over the course of time that was created from digital gaming software. Two limestone coyotes in the courtyard are also part of the installation.

Lithuania Park
155 Oakmount Drive
This 2.2-hectare park lies on the west side of Keele Street, north of High Park. It features a ball diamond, a multipurpose sports field and a children's playground.
Indian Road & Ogimaa Mikana: Reclaiming/Renaming, formerly Bloor Street and Indian Road
Intersection of Indian Road and Bloor Street West
In the Parkdale / Roncesvalles neighborhood, streets such as Indian Grove, Indian Road Crescent, Indian Valley Crescent, and Indian Trail were all named in acknowledgement of a First Nations trail that ran North-South through the area and would have skirted the edge of the original extent of the High Park savanna lands, which were important First Nations hunting and medicine grounds. The trail connected the Lake Ontario shore at what is now Sunnyside Beach to a major East-West route (the Davenport trail) that ran along the entirety of the North shore of Lake Ontario. In this part of the city, this East-West trail likely ran along what is now Annette Street and further to the West it intersected with the Humber River branch of the Toronto Carrying Place portage, which continued to Lake Simcoe to the North. In 2013, a campaign to restore Anishinaabemowin place names to roads and trails called Ogimaa Mikinaa (Leader's Path) was launched in Toronto by Susan Blight and Hayden King. The project started with a street sign installation that renamed Queen Street as Ogimaa Mikinaa, in acknowledgement of the strong women-identified leaders of Idle No More. This installation then led to many other renaming installations in Toronto and other Ontario cities. The term 'Indian', a misnomer historically used to refer to First Nations people in North America, is now considered derogatory in Canada and conversations are currently underway to rename streets like Indian Road using more respectful terminology.

Taras H. Shevchenko Museum
1604 Bloor Street West
This museum is intended to popularize the work of Taras Shevchenko, who is known as 'the Bard of Ukraine', and commemorate the contributions of Canadians of Ukrainian descent to the social, economic and cultural life of Canada. The museum features much of Shevchenko's poetry, which is rotated on a regular basis to correspond with different themes from Shevchenko's life.

Chelsea Avenue Playground
103 Chelsea Avenue
A small park near Bloor Street West and Keele Street that features a mature tree canopy, a wading pool and a children's playground.

Accessibility information: Most points of interest are viewable from the street and/or park paths, though there are stairs involved in entering the portion of Ravina Gardens where the murals are located.

The StrollTO itineraries may follow routes that do not receive winter maintenance. Please review winter safety tips and for more information contact 311.

Soundtracks of the City

From global superstars to local favourites and ones to watch, the Soundtracks of the City playlists all feature artists who have called Toronto home. Whether it’s a lyric about the neighborhood, an artist representing a cultural community, or a tie-in to the StrollTO itinerary itself, all the music reflects connections to an individual ward or the City as a whole.

Music was chosen based on an artist’s Spotify presence and each song’s broad appeal, as well as its associations with the cultures, languages and ethnicities that reflect Toronto’s neighborhoods and diverse music scene. Soundtracks of the City combines 425 songs that feature more than 500 different local artists or acts, showcasing songs in 23 different languages.