By Morgan Dumas and Diti Dumas
Nestled in the heart of Rosedale, Chorley Park was not always just the beautiful park that is located there today. The history of Chorley Park began when the Ontario Government was searching for a new location to build a residence for the Lieutenant Governor of the province who had been living in the Government House at King and Simcoe. In and around 1909, a site on Bloor St. was bought but shortly after sold when officials felt the area would soon be overpopulated with commercial buildings.
Two years later, in 1911 the site was changed to Douglas Dr. in Rosedale and new designs for the property were drawn up by Frances R. Heaks whose designs were modeled after chateaus in the Loire Valley. It was built during 1911-1915 in French Renaissance style and cost four times the initial budget of $215,000. Soon after the property was built, The Great Depression occurred and the maintenance began to get very costly and a subject of complaint at Queen’s Park, especially by politician and premiere at the time, Mitchell Hepburn.
He stated that he was going to close the building as soon as the Lieutenant-Governor left office. In 1937, the building closed after 22 years of use. In June of that year, the province of Ontario auctioned off most of the furniture found within the house. The Hospital for Sick Children accepted the property in July, but didn’t make very much use out of it except for replacing the building’s leaky roof.
In 1940, the property regained its purpose when it was transferred to the military and turned into a hospital and a convalescent home for soldiers. The military maintained this hospital for an additional decade after WW2 ended and used the building as a training and recruitment centre during the Korean War. In 1955, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police attained the use of Chorley Park for their administration staff. Then the property was used as a temporary home (under the University of Toronto) for refugee students from Hungary, who had left their homes in anticipation of the Hungarian Revolution.
Over the next three years, there were lots of different negotiations between the city and the federal government over transferring the property as it was quickly deteriorating before their eyes. A deal was finally reached in 1959 when the city purchased the property at Chorley Park for $100,000. Fred Beavis and many of the city councilors were in agreement that the building should be demolished due to the cost of repairs, which were estimated at $250,000. They believed this money could be better spent, such as in the preservation of the St. Lawrence Hall.
The Parks Committee voted 6-4 to allow the demolition to begin after a year of debate in 1960. Afterwards, pieces of this historic building were used as restaurant décor, chimney pieces were integrated into Les Cavaliers Church and some of the gas lamps were added to the décor of Tom Jones Steak House in 1966.
If you visit Chorley Park today, it still boasts the same gorgeous and breath-taking greenery and secluded acres of Rosedale land that it did all those years ago and as you enter the park you will see a commemorative plaque on a rock at 245 Douglas Dr. This plaque reads: “Chorley Park was originally the property of Toronto Alderman John Hallam, born in Chorley Lancashire. In 1911 the garden provided the setting for Ontario’s last government, which was designed by F.R. Heaks and built of Credit Valley stone in French Chateau style.
The house stood at the end of a curving approach from Roxborough Drive. From 1915 it was imposing official residence for 5 Lieutenant-Governors, where distinguished visitors and Toronto citizens attended levees, receptions, charity balls, until closed for financial reasons in 1937. Acquired by the government of Canada, it served as a military hospital from 1940 to 1953 and later as a RCMP headquarters for Toronto Militia purposes. Chorley Park was purchased by the City of Toronto in 1960 and the building was demolished a year later when the site was developed as a public park.”
Diti Dumas is a Sales Representative with Royal LePage R.E.S. Ltd./JOHNSTON & DANIEL DIVISION, Brokerage. Diti is a regular contributor to the Muddy York Blog. Diti’s website is located at www.ditidumas.com.
Morgan Dumas is an aspiring writer and journalism student from Ryerson University in Toronto.
