 Hanlan's Point Amusement Park, 1911 | |
 | |
| Location | Hanlan's Point, Toronto Islands, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°37′18.32″N79°23′40.21″W / 43.6217556°N 79.3945028°W |
| Status | Defunct |
| Opened | 1880s |
| Closed | 1930s |
Hanlan's Point Amusement Park was an attraction on Hanlan's Point on the Toronto Islands that operated from the 1880s [1] until the 1930s and was regarded as "Canada's answer to Coney Island". [2]
Hanlan's Point is the most westerly of the Toronto Islands. Originally a cottage community, one of the first settlers there were was John Hanlan, after whom the island is named, and his family in 1862. [3] In 1878, the Hanlan family converted their cottage into a hotel, and then replaced it with a new, larger 25-room Hanlan's Hotel in 1880, and began to develop the island as a tourist attraction. [4] The Hanlan's Point Amusement Park was one of a series of attractions built by the Hanlans in the 1880s. [5] In 1892, Ned Hanlan sold the amusement park, hotel, and other amenities to the Toronto Ferry Company which operated all the ferries travelling between the islands and the mainland, providing the only means for the general public to travel to the island. [6]
In its heyday the amusement park was one of Toronto's major attractions and included a roller coaster, a miniature train, midway, grandstand, a vaudeville theatre, dancing pavilion, shooting gallery, tea garden and various rides and games. It is best remembered for having a 40 foot high platform from which diving horses would leap into Lake Ontario. Hanlan's Point Stadium was built next to the amusement park and was the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team, both of which were also owned by the ferry company. [7]
A fire on August 10, 1909, destroyed the hotel, the wooden stadium and all but five concession stands of the amusement park and did $200,000 in damage. The amusement park and a stadium, now made of concrete, were rebuilt in time for the 1910 season. [5]
The park started to decline in the 1920s due to competition from the Sunnyside Amusement Park which opened on the mainland in 1922 and was accessible by automobile and streetcar, making it easier to access than Hanlan's Point which could only be reached by ferry. Attendance declined further in 1926 when the Maple Leafs baseball team moved from Hanlan's Point Stadium to Maple Leaf Stadium at the foot of Bathurst Street. [8] [2] In 1927, Lol Solman sold the Toronto Ferry Company, which owned the ferry service to the island as well as the amusement park, the stadium, and other amenities, to the City of Toronto with the Toronto Transportation Commission assuming operation of the ferries and the amusement park. [5] [9] The park was demolished in 1937 in order to make way for the Toronto Island airport. [8] [2] Today, the portion of Hanlan's Point which is not occupied by the airport remains a public recreation area consisting of Hanlan's Point Beach, a baseball diamond, bicycle and hiking trails, a tennis court, a volleyball court, picnic areas, fire pits and parkland as well as the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse. [3] [10] [11]
The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sunlight Park was the first baseball stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The all wood structure was built in 1886 at a cost of $7,000 by the International League baseball team the Toronto Baseball Club.
Hanlan's Point Stadium was a baseball stadium and lacrosse grounds in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was erected in 1897 at Hanlan's Point on the Toronto Islands for the minor league Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club. It was destroyed by fire twice, in 1903, and again in 1909. Adjacent to the Hanlan's Point Amusement Park, the site was in use for various sports until the late 1930s.
Maple Leaf Stadium was a jewel box-style baseball stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the foot of Bathurst Street on the south side of Lake Shore Boulevard. It was built in 1926 by Lol Solman for his Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team of the International League. Previously, the Maple Leafs had played at Hanlan's Point Stadium. It continued to be the home of the Leafs for 42 seasons, until the team left town following the 1967 season. The stadium was demolished in 1968. Fans often referred to the stadium as the "Fleet Street Flats".
Edward "Ned" Hanlan was a Canadian professional sculler, hotelier, and alderman from Toronto, Ontario. He was the World Sculling Championship, from 1880 to 1884. According to Rowing Canada Aviron, Hanlan is "widely regarded as Canada’s first individual sporting hero."
The Toronto Island ferries connect the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario to the mainland of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The main city-operated ferry services carry passengers (all) and commercial vehicles (some) from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal at the foot of Bay Street to three docks on the islands. Private motor vehicles are not carried. The ferry operated by PortsToronto carries passengers and vehicles to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the island from the foot of Eireann Quay. Additional private ferries carry passengers to various island boat clubs. Ferry services to the islands began in 1833, and the Toronto Island Ferry Company began in 1883.
The Toronto Ferry Company was formed from the merger of the Doty Ferry Company with A.J. Tymon's Island Ferry Company, two of Toronto's early ferry operators to Toronto Islands in 1890. TFC was founded and headed by businessman Lol Solman, who owned several attractions on the Toronto Islands including Hanlan's Point Amusement Park, Hanlan's Point Stadium and the Hanlan's Hotel. The company's ferry license and ships as well as the amusement park and other assets were acquired by the Toronto Transportation Commission in 1927. On March 17, 2021, The Toronto Ferry Company Inc was registered under the Ontario Business Corporations Act to Michael A. McLaughlin.
Sunnyside is a lakefront district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It includes a beach and park area along Lake Ontario's Humber Bay, from west of Exhibition Place to the mouth of the Humber River. The area has several recreation uses, including rowing clubs, sports clubs, picnic areas, playgrounds, a nightclub, a bathing pavilion and public pool. The area is a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long strip along the lakeshore, bounded by the Gardiner Expressway and rail lines, which separate it from the Parkdale, Roncesvalles and Swansea neighbourhoods to the north. The name originates in a local farm owned by John Howard, which was situated just to the north, on the location of the current St. Joseph's Health Centre hospital.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were a high-level minor league baseball club located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which played from 1896 to 1967.
Hanlan's Point Beach is a nude beach on the western side of the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario on the shore of Lake Ontario.
Lawrence "Lol" Solman was a prominent businessman in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Toronto Maritime Museum or Toronto Waterfront Museum or The Pier Museum was a museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It celebrated the history of the Toronto waterfront, the history of commerce on the Great Lakes, and the role of maritime commerce in the development of the City of Toronto.
The Centreville Amusement Park is a children's amusement park located on Centre Island, part of the Toronto Islands, offshore of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park has been operated by the Beasley family since 1967, currently through Etobicoke-based William Beasley Enterprises Limited, on land leased from the City of Toronto government and is open daily during the summer. Beasley also operates the "Far Enough Farm" adjacent to the park.
The Toronto Harbour Commission (THC) was a joint federal-municipal government agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The agency managed Toronto Harbour as well as being responsible for major works along the Toronto waterfront. It built both Malton Airport and the Toronto Island Airport in 1939. The agency was founded in 1911 and operated until 1999 when the port operations were transferred to the new Toronto Port Authority (TPA), now PortsToronto.
Sunnyside Amusement Park was a popular amusement park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that ran from 1922 to 1955, demolished in 1955 to facilitate the building of the Metro Toronto Gardiner Expressway project. It was located on the Lake Ontario waterfront at the foot of Roncesvalles Avenue, west of downtown Toronto.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Toronto:
Diamond Park was a baseball stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs professional baseball club from 1901 until 1907. It was located at the south-east corner of Liberty Street and Fraser Avenue. The stadium was also used for rugby football and lacrosse.
Bluebell was a ferry built in Toronto, Ontario, Canada by Polson Iron Works for the Toronto Ferry Company. She was a steam-powered vessel, propelled by side-wheels. She ferried passengers between the Toronto mainland and the Toronto Islands.
Scarboro Beach Park was a lakeside amusement park in the the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto from 1907 until 1925. The park was originally in East Toronto until its annexation by the City of Toronto in 1908.
