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Toronto City Council · 2024-12-17 · 2024.MM24.3

The filed record

Authorization to Release Section 37 Funds for Queensway Market Gardens Heritage Plaque - by Councillor Amber Morley, seconded by Councillor Chris Moise

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The decision

2024-12-17 · Toronto City Council · adopted

As filed

City Council on December 17 and 18, 2024, adopted the following: 1. City Council increase the 2024 Operating Budget for Heritage Toronto on a one-time basis by $7,833.61 gross, $0 net, fully funded by Section 37 community benefits obtained from the development at 689 the Queensway (Source Account: XR3026-3701285), secured for a plaque in connection with the history of the Queensway Market Gardens, for the production and installation of a heritage plaque to recognize the history of the Queensway Market Gardens (Cost Centre: HG0001).

On the agenda

As the city filed it

The Queensway Market Gardens ran on both sides of the Queensway from the Humber River to the west of Kipling Avenue. The soil of south Etobicoke attracted farmers who specialized in growing food and flowers to supply the city. The main produce was vegetables with a few farms having apple and pear trees as well as strawberry and raspberry bushes. Typically market gardens were family-centred operations that were passed down through multiple generations.

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For market gardeners to sell their produce, an informal farmers' market existed on the Queensway at Park Lawn Road from 1915 to 1918. The road was only paved in 1925, so farmers would use horses and wagons to transport crops, but they would often get caught or bogged down due to the mix of rain and loose soil on their way to market. The Queensway Market Gardens were a source of full-time and part-time work for children. They would work after school and on Saturdays. During the summer break from school, they could be seen often weeding rows of vegetables six days a week for five cents a row (approximately $1 today). Children also worked at the Park Lawn Road farmers market, stocking carts and loading horses. Eventually, the farmers market was closed and the area was used for the new 56-acre Ontario Food Terminal which was opened on July 21, 1954. The proposed site of the plaque - Queensway Park - was a former 100-acre farm of one of the earliest Queensway market gardeners, Herod Noble.

Staff recommended

Councillor Amber Morley, seconded by Councillor Chris Moise, recommends that: 1. City Council increase the 2024 Operating Budget for Heritage Toronto on a one-time basis by $7,833.61 gross, $0 net, fully funded by Section 37 community benefits obtained from the development at 689 the Queensway (Source Account: XR3026-3701285), secured for a plaque in connection with the history of the Queensway Market Gardens, for the

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production and installation of a heritage plaque to recognize the history of the Queensway Market Gardens (Cost Centre: HG0001).

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