Trinity Bellwoods

Trinity Bellwoods carries a storied past dating back to the 19th century when it was home to the original Trinity College. Today, remnants of the college’s architectural charm still grace the landscape, echoing the neighborhood’s historical roots. The area has undergone a transformation from its early origins to become the urban oasis it is today. Garrison Creek was a short stream about 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi) long that flowed southeast into the west side of Toronto Harbour in Ontario, Canada. It has been largely covered over and filled in, but geographical traces of the creek can still be found, including the natural amphitheatre known as Christie Pits and the off-leash dog “bowl” of Trinity Bellwoods Park. The name “Garrison Creek” was used because Fort York was built near the creek mouth. Volunteers lead popular tours of the course of the old watershed. Starting in the 1870s, the stream was diverted into underground sewers under city streets and the original course was filled in with soil. 

By 1920, the stream was entirely diverted into the sewer system. There are many artifacts of the Creek’s existence, including buried bridges along Harbord Street and Crawford Street south of Dundas Street. The unusual courses of Niagara Street (north of Fort York) and Vaughan Road (St. Clair and Bathurst area) indicate that they were once trails following the banks of the creek. On the 19th century map, present-day parks located atop the stream bed are marked in green. They are nearly close enough to each other to form a linear ribbon of green where blue once flowed. Examples of such parks include Christie Pits, Dufferin Grove and Trinity Bellwoods. Within these parks, a valley landscape marks the former course of Garrison Creek. Some of the streets running through and alongside these parks have concrete sides indicating former bridges that are now firmly on the ground as the valley was raised using landfill.