- - - - - - -
This is a small parkette in Mimico with a peaceful view of the lake. Bring your chess or checkers set as there is a permanent board set up. Great for watching swans and other waterfowl.
Please bring a pen to sign the log.
Miles Park - Miles Road
Miles Park straddled both sides of present day Miles Road down to Lake Ontario. Miles Park was the creation of Arthur Miles. Miles was born in Toronto in 1873. He originally worked on a dairy farm before leaving for South Africa in 1894 to seek his fortune in the gold fields of South Africa. Within a few years he obtained a senior position with the Crown Deep Mine Company owned by Paul Kruger.
He established his 3 acre lakefront estate in Mimico in 1912 complete with a private zoo. The zoo was established on the north side of the street and included birds, monkeys, ostriches, horses, donkeys, camels and an elephant. On the south side of the street was the pleasure grounds including a dancing pavilion, picnic area, snack building and a baseball diamond. The Park was open to the public for use by all. Many community and church groups availed themselves of Mr. Miles' hospitality. At the foot of the street he built a large "U" shaped wooden pier into the lake which held a number of decorative swans.
At the foot on the street on the south side he built his large home at 11 Miles Road. Mr. Miles was generous with his good fortune, and the grounds were open to the public free of charge. Many organizations availed themselves of his warm hospitality over the years. However, as the Town of Mimico grew, complaints about the smell of the zoo grew in number. In the early 1930s Mimico Council asked him to consider leaving. Reluctantly, he left and purchased a large 200 acre estate in Erindale, to which he was able to move the zoo animals. (from a blog by Michael Harrison)
(Thanks to Swed31 for bringing the history of this road to my attention.)
