In the 1950s, a block of Victorian townhouses was  demolished for the construction of the Bloor-Danforth subway line, which runs below the site, and the site was used as a parking lot. In the 1990s, following years of local activism the Department of Parks, Forestry and Recreation announced an international design competition to build a park on the site. The competition called for designs that represented the Victorian style of collecting and the natural environment. The winning design represents a 'box collection,' whereby the park is divided linerally and each of the sections represents a distinct Ontario landscape. The landscapes represented are (East-West):

• Pine Grove
• Prairie Wildflower Gardens
• Birch Grove
• Fragrant Herb Rock Garden
• Crabapple Orchard
• Festival Walk (arbor)
• Ontario Marsh (boardwalks)
• Alder Grove
• The Canadian Shield Clearing
• Herbaceous Border Garden
• Heritage Walk/Old York Lane
• Amelanchier Grove

One of the prominent features of the park is a 700-ton outcrop of Muskoka granite. The park covers 

• - Amsen Associates Ltd - Rock Formation Reconstruction
• - R.J. Van Seter Co. - Fountain Consultant
• - Dan Euser Waterarchitecture Inc - Water Feature Design Consultant
• - Eric Jorgenson - Urban Forestry
• - Horst Dickert - Horticulturalist
• Architect - Oleson Worland Architects  <-- More buildings by this architect.
• Landscape architect - David Meyer
• Landscape architect - PWP Landscape Architecture
• Landscape architect - Martha Schwartz Partners
• Landscape architect - Ken Smith Workshop
• Structural engineer - Rybka, Smith & Ginsler
• Structural engineer - Blackwell Structural Engineers