Park Lawn Cemetery

Park Lawn Cemetery is a large cemetery in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It currently has around 22,000 graves. It is managed by the Park Lawn Limited Partnership, which also runs five other cemeteries in Toronto. The cemetery offers ground burials and a mausoleum for above-ground interment and cremation urns. It is located south of Bloor Street, west of the Humber River.

Park Lawn Cemetery
Northwest entrance to Park Lawn Cemetery.
Details
Established1892
Location
2845 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M8X 1A6
TypePublic
StyleNon-denominational
Owned byPark Lawn LP
No. of graves22,000
Websitewww.parklawnlp.ca

Park Lawn Cemetery & Mausoleum opened in 1892 as Humbervale Cemetery and was owned by local farmers in the area. It was sold in 1912 and again in 1915 to Park Lawn Cemetery Company, and was renamed to the current name.[1] In 1999 Park Lawn opened Paradise Mausoleum; phase two of Paradise Mausoleum was completed in 2007.

Controversy arose in 1995 when the company re-zoned a section of the cemetery to permit construction of a condominium building. While the building was strongly opposed by some who had purchased lots, or had residents buried there, the Ontario Municipal Board approved the project. The cemetery has twice been attacked by vandals, once in 1990[2] and again in 2006. Both times several youths were convicted of damaging or toppling several hundred stones.

Notable interments

The cemetery contains 96 war graves of Commonwealth service personnel, 19 from World War I and 67 from World War II.[3]

Athletes

Politicians

Musicians

Businesspersons

Others

Mass grave

The cemetery contains a mass grave containing the remains of 75 "Home Children" from Britain.[10][6]

Other cemetery locations

Five other cemeteries affiliated with Park Lawn are located in or near Toronto:

  • Forest Lawn - established in 1911 (crematorium in 1980) and located on the west side of Yonge Street, north of Highway 401 in North York
  • Hillcrest - established in 1916 and located at Islington Avenue and Highway 7 in Woodbridge
  • Riverside - established in 1892 and located at Royal York Road and Lawrence Avenue West in Etobicoke
  • Sanctuary Park - established in 1927 and located at Royal York Road and The Westway (across from Riverside) in Etobicoke
  • Westminister - established in 1926 and located at Bathurst Street north of Finch Avenue West in North York, next to the Jewish burial grounds Beth Tzedec Memorial Park and overlooking the G. Lord Ross Reservoir.

References
  1. Bradburn, Jamie. "Toronto Cemetery Sojourns: Park Lawn Cemetery | cityscape". Torontoist. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  2. "Teen jailed in cemetery vandalism" Cal Millar. Toronto Star. Jul 17, 1990. pg. A.7
  3. CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty record.
  4. Toronto Sun
  5. Park Lawn: Glen Brydson
  6. Toronto.com
  7. Park Lawn: Alex Romeril
  8. Park Lawn: Sir Henry Pellatt
  9. Ukrainians in the United Kingdom
  10. Dozens of ‘British home children’ lie forgotten in Etobicoke cemetery. Feb. 27, 2016

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