Marie Curtis Park

Marie Curtis Park is a public park in Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the mouth of the Etobicoke Creek on Lake Ontario in the Long Branch neighbourhood. Etobicoke Creek is the boundary of Toronto on the east and Mississauga to the west. Marie Curtis Park was built after the devastating floods of Hurricane Hazel in 1954 destroyed 56 homes and cottages on the site, leaving 1,868 persons homeless and 81 dead. It is named after a reeve of Long Branch, a village now amalgamated into the City of Toronto. The park's official address is 2 Forty-Second Street, Toronto, ON M8W 3P2.GeographyThe park is mostly deciduous forest with areas of meadow, savannah, thicket, woodland, plantation, with a shallow marsh, some sand dunes and a beach. A trail passes through the park from east to west, crossing the creek via a bridge. The river bank is landscaped with man-made materials where it meets Lake Ontario.FacilitiesThe park has a playground, wading pool, two colour children's labyrinth with a push-button activated spiral waterfountain, a public swimming beach, a dog off-leash area, picnic spots and walking trails. The walking trails connect to the Waterfront Trail along the lake-side. At the beach is a mounted 32-pounder cannon manufactured in 1803 by the Carron Company of Falkirk, Scotland. It had come from Quebec City in 1881 to decorate Riverdale Park.