Barbara Hall Park[1] (formerly Cawthra Square Park) is a park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[2][3] The park was renamed to commemorate Barbara Hall in 2014.[4] Hall was the first Mayor of Toronto to march in the Toronto Pride Parade in 1995.[5] An AIDS memorial is installed in the park.[6] The memorial was vandalized in 2023.[7] A trans memorial was installed in the park in 2014.[8]
A memorial wall for transgender people is located within the park, near the Toronto AIDS memorial. It was originally created as a temporary chalk memorial by local trans women on July 10, 2014.[9] Inspired by the recent passing of a trans community member, the memorial was envisioned as a place where trans people and their lived names could be honoured and remembered.
Shortly after the installation of the trans memorial, and in preparation for the official renaming ceremony,[10] clean-up crews removed the memorial from the wall. Toronto Centre MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam apologized for the removal,[11] and the memorial was immediately restored. Following the official ceremony, Barbara Hall, a human rights advocate and long-time ally of trans people[12] met with community members to pay her respects.[13]
Since then, despite a subsequent erasure and restoration of the memorial in 2017,[14] the park has acted as a community hub for vigils,[15]Trans Day of Remembrance events, and a focal point for trans advocacy.[16]
Redesign
Recognizing the cultural significance of the park as a gathering space for the LGBTQ community, and the need to honour the park's memorials, the City of Toronto invested in a major redesign beginning in 2023.[17] Staged improvements began in 2025 and are expected to be fully completed by 2027.[18]
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