Where has the plaque gone?

Where is the plaque?The parkette at the west corner of Bessborough and Eglinton east occupies a fine vantage point with a view over the playing field at Leaside High School. In its centre sits a tree, girdled by an impressive wrought iron fence, which is the former site of a plaque, which mysteriously disappeared sometime in 2014.

Divadale resident Geoff Clark noticed it missing while on a daily walk late that year. It’s still missing, and he would like to see it put back.

But what did it commemorate? He thinks it had “something to do with Leaside as a community, maybe the Queen’s visit or East York amalgamation.” And who placed it? The province or municipality? The  town of Leaside or Borough of East York?

Can you help solve the mystery?

This is not the first time a North Leaside plaque has disappeared. Jane Pitfield in her book Leaside describes how the plaque commemorating the 40th anniversary of Canada’s first airmail flight in 1918 was placed in front of the apartment building at 970 Eglinton East, marking the site of the Leaside Airport where the plane touched down.

It later disappeared and was replaced, but not in the same place. Now the Canada’s First Airmail plaque sits on an island where Broadway and Brentcliffe converge, which was thought to be a “less vulnerable location” than Eglinton Ave.

About Geoff Kettel 218 Articles
Geoff Kettel is a community connector and advocate for “making places better”. He is currently Co-President of the Leaside Residents Association, Co-Chair of the Federation of North Toronto Residents‘ Associations (FoNTRA), member of the Toronto Preservation Board and Past Chair of the North York Community Preservation Panel. He writes a monthly column on heritage and planning in Leaside Life.