In this month of remembrance, we remember those who lost their lives in service to our country. We attend ceremonial services like those at Sunnybrook and East York Cenotaphs on Nov. 11. And our forebears invested in permanent memorials, such as the stained-glass windows of Leaside United Church, placed in remembrance of nine “Leaside lads.”
But in a sense, plaques in public places are memorials too, of people, places and events. Leaside has a few – I counted nine, plus “the one that got away.” More on that soon!
Map of Leaside Plaques
1. The glacial erratic Leaside Library (165 McRae Dr.)
We don’t have any plaques commemorating Indigenous subjects, but we do have one about a glacial erratic – a Pre-Cambrian rock – sitting close to the entrance of Leaside Library where you cannot miss it.
2. Agnes Macphail House (2 Donegall Dr./720 Millwood Rd.)
The plaque fronts a duplex in Art Moderne style, which was the home of Agnes Macphail, the first woman elected to the Canadian Parliament. The plaque was installed in 2012, following a fund-raising campaign by the East York Historical Society.
3. Thomas Elgie House (262 Bessborough Dr.)
A Heritage Toronto plaque marks the Thomas G. Elgie house, constructed in 1883. It’s the oldest surviving house in Leaside, built in the 1880s. The house sat on a vantage point overlooking the picturesque Walmsley Brook. Since then, streets have been laid out, and lands have been subdivided, but the Elgie house remained as a testament to those earlier times.
At least, that is, until 2013, when an application came to the Committee of Adjustment for consent to sever the property into three lots, and several “minor variances” to permit a major infill development. The City moved to designate the property in 2014.
The Committee of Adjustment rejected the severance of the property and the minor variances. The Ontario Municipal Board heard the case, and a settlement was reached which did involve the lot split and a move forward of the house, albeit by a reduced amount.
4. The Queen was here! (Parkette at Eglinton and Bessborough)
The unnamed parkette at the northwest corner of Bessborough and Eglinton overlooks 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. Sadly, this plaque mysteriously disappeared, sometime in 2014. It’s believed that the fence was built around a tree planted by Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Toronto in 1951, just months before her coronation.
5. Canada’s First Air Mail (Brentcliffe and Broadway)
Canada’s First Air Mail heritage plaque sits on an island where Broadway and Brentcliffe converge. 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 E., marking the site (Leaside Airport) where the plane touched down. However, it later disappeared, and was replaced, but not in the same place. The Brentcliffe/Broadway Parkette was thought to be a “less vulnerable location.”
6. Serena Gundy’s Garden
Serena Gundy Park – named after the first wife of the late James H. Gundy, head of the Wood Gundy securities firm – sits in the valley downstream of where Burke Brook joins the West Don River. The North Leaside entrance to Serena Gundy Park (across from Rykert Crescent and Broadway) features a commemorative plaque on the wall to the right, on which is written: “This was Serena Gundy’s garden. She loved it and would be happy to share it with others.”
The Gundy family owned the land, and the plaque, dated March 8, 1960, marks their transfer to Metro Toronto. Indeed, the terms of the land transfer require that the park be used “…for the purposes of a Public Park for the free use, benefit and enjoyment of the citizens of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, such park to be known as ‘Serena Gundy Park’.”
7. Leaside: A Railway Town – now Longo’s (85 Laird Dr.)
Two commemorative plaques were installed associated with the development of the new shopping centre on Laird in 2012, in accordance with the Heritage Interpretation Plan, to “interpret, celebrate and commemorate the heritage building at 85 Laird, in its context of the railway and industrial history of Leaside.” The site layout was planned to emphasize the east-west sight line to the heritage building, and the plaques are in line with that: one located close to, and visible to those entering the building, the other located near the east-west axis.
8. Canadian Northern Railway Maintenance Facility
9. Site of William Lea Farmhouse (1073 Millwood Rd.)
This commemorative plaque, affixed to the north wall of the William Lea Room, marks the site of the octagonal brick farmhouse built by settler William Lea in 1851-54. The plaque recognizes the contribution of William Lea, and the house, but also the importance of the site in the railway and industrial history of Leaside.
10. World War II Memorial plaque (Leaside Memorial Gardens, 1073 Millwood Rd.)
This plaque is dedicated to the memory of the 17 servicemen from Leaside who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II. This plaque is located at Leaside Gardens at the end of the front wall, to the left of the main entrance, adjacent to the flag staff.
As Ray White described in his 2018 Leaside Life article, the original Leaside Gardens was completed in 1951, just six years after the end of World War II, and the facility was named The Leaside Memorial Community Gardens in the servicemen’s honour. The stainless-steel plaque featuring the 17 names inscribed on it was affixed to the wall in the lobby area of the original facility’s banquet room, past the main entrance and over to the viewing area of the facility as we now know it.
With the expansion of the facility and the construction of the new Dr. Tom Pashby rink, the plaque had to be removed and relocated. On Nov. 8, 2013, 50 years after the original dedication (and 100 years after the incorporation of the Town of Leaside), the combined facility was dedicated, and the restored plaque was unveiled.
11. Bert F. Grant (35 Leacrest Rd.)
This plaque commemorates Bert F. Grant, the visionary founder of the multi-generational family that constructed the Crestview Apartments in 1950-51. They comprise 22 separate buildings on a 10-acre site on Leacrest Rd. from Rolph Rd. to Mallory Cres. The Crestview Apartments property has, remarkably, remained in the same family-owned business since construction, and deserves heritage protection.
After admiring and learning from the varied plaques of Leaside, what’s next – should there be more? If so, what people, places and events would you like to see commemorated? Let us know at .
