Wed, Jun 13 2007 - ROM Walk - Rosedale (View Original Event Details)
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We had a great turnout for this walk – nineteen TOCers descended upon the (luckily prepared) volunteer guides from the Royal Ontario Museum and members of the general public. Since there were four guides, they divided us up into smaller groups of 10-12.
We walked along the curving streets and learned about the origins of Rosedale. It was named for the wild roses that grew all around, and was a sub-division created by the Jarvis family (as in Jarvis St.) in the late 1800s. Mr. Jarvis commissioned some grand houses, but found it difficult to get people to move to Rosedale because at that time it was so far away from the city!
Different styles of architecture are visible in Rosedale, such as Tudor, Georgian, Richardsonian Romanesque, English Cottage, and some that are just eccentric mixtures. Toronto’s oldest house that is still inhabited is in Rosedale – a Regency house built in 1834.
Craigleigh Gardens is a beautiful park that was willed to the city by one of the Osler family. A condition of the bequest was that Mr. Osler’s house be torn down to create the public gardens.
You can find info on Rosedale’s history on the web at http://www.southrosedale.org/docs/rosedalehistory.pdf
A wonderful thing about Rosedale is that it is cool and shady – something we all appreciated on this humid day.
When we ended our tour at Sherbourne station, I realized I’d lost some of our group who had been with other guides. So only four of us (Jo, Libby, Sara and Chi) went to the Groundhog Pub on Bloor at Sherbourne, which proudly displays its award for “Best Burgers” from DineTO. Jo sampled a “Groundhog Burger” (assuming it was named after the pub, not the patty contents) and agreed it was very good.
While chatting at the Groundhog, we discovered the solution to the mystery of Chi’s vaguely puzzled expression throughout the tour – he’d thought this was a tour OF the Royal Ontario Museum. He admitted he had wondered why we were meeting 2 km away from the museum itself.
We found the walk very interesting and informative, and a great way to discover a part of Toronto. The volunteer guides are knowledgeable, patient and really enjoy talking about the neighbourhoods and their histories. Look for more ROMwalks on the calendar (both as TOC events and as reminder postings).
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.