Kew Gardens (Toronto)

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The Kew Gardens bandstand

Kew Gardens is a large park in The Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada. The park stretches from Queen Street East to the lakeshore at Kew Beach.

The park began as a private venture by Joseph Williams. He had had a 20 acre farm on the site since the 1850s, but as more visitors from the city began to visit to lake front he transformed his holdings into a tourist destination. He set up a large park and built several recreation facilities on the site beginning in 1879, naming it after Kew Gardens in London. Williams built a substantial house for himself on the site, which still stands and is home to the park's caretaker. On the lakeshore Williams built facilities for swimming and boating. Inland there were picnic areas, trails, tennis courts and lawn bowling. A substantial clubhouse, as well as guest cottages were also constructed. The park was much more genteel than others in the area, with no nosiy rides or liquor being served. It soon became a popular destination, easily reached from the city via the Queen streetcar.

The park was taken over by the City of Toronto in 1907 and turned into a municipal park. Most of the buildings were demolished, as the amusement industry shifted to the much larger Scarboro Beach Amusement Park nearby. Today the park is one of the main public venues in the Beaches neighbourhood. It is home to a number of facilities including tennis courts, a baseball diamond, a wading pool, and in winter, a skating rink. A number of historic buildings survive, including Williams' cottage, the bandstand, and the Leuty Lifeguard Station. In the northeast corner of the park is the historic Beaches branch of the Toronto Public Library. A number of monuments and memorials are also now located in the park, including the Dr. William D. Young Memorial. It is also the main venue for the Beaches International Jazz Festival each summer.