Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens, Public garden in Lawrence Park, Toronto, Canada.
Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens is a public garden in Lawrence Park featuring formal flower beds with roses and herbs, stone balconies, and crushed brick walkways. Mature maple, willow, and oak trees frame the cultivated plantings.
Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens was founded in 1933 by public subscription to honour Alexander Muir, composer of "The Maple Leaf Forever". Landscape architect Edwin Kay designed the original park opposite Mount Pleasant Cemetery using the maple leaf as a theme. To make room for the Davisville subway yard, the Toronto Transportation Commission moved the park, including its stone walls and plants, starting in 1951 at a cost of over CA$100,000. The relocated park was formally dedicated on May 28, 1952, with Kay's symmetrical design replicated.
The stone retaining wall inside the park is also a monument to Alexander Muir, inscribed with the refrain of "The Maple Leaf Forever", the song he composed. A decorative gate at the Yonge Street entrance carries a plaque depicting a maple leaf, placed to mark the park's 1952 reopening. The gardens are popular for wedding photography.
The gardens sit on the east side of Yonge Street, south of Lawrence Avenue, with an entrance from Yonge. On the south side, Alexander Muir Road descends into Blythwood Ravine to the Lawrence Park Lawn Bowling & Croquet Club. The grounds form part of the self-guided Northern Ravines & Gardens Discovery Walk.
An international panel recognized this garden as one of Toronto's 25 best urban design projects completed before 1985. This selection highlights its enduring quality and influence on local green space planning.
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