Grand National Rink

Business merchant Andrew Wheeler Green{{cite news |title=Obituary |work=Milton Canadian Champion |date=25 September 1930 |page=1}} owned the Grand National Rink{{cite news |title=A.W. Green Buried |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=13 September 1930 |page=2}} at 153 Brock Avenue,{{cite book |title=Toronto City Directory, 1898 |date=1898 |publisher=Might Directory Company, Limited |location=Toronto |pages=110, 1462 |url=https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca/da/pdfs/tcd1898.pdf |access-date=31 August 2021}} south of Dundas Street. Opened in December 1896, the north side of the grounds featured the ice rink and a heated bandstand.{{cite news |title=Grand National |work=Toronto Evening Star |date=11 December 1897 |page=7}} Expansion plans began in March 1897 to add new amenities.{{cite news |title=Beyond the Subway |work=Toronto Evening Star |date=30 March 1897 |page=2}} By May 1900, a new bandstand was constructed and the grounds featured a large fountain surrounded by evergreen trees.{{cite news |title=Roller Polo in Toronto |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=10 May 1900 |page=8}} A basketball court was added along with a race track for sprinting and distance running and an athletic field for jumping and vaulting.{{cite news |title=Grand National Sports |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=30 May 1900 |page=8}} One corner had a summertime outdoor roller skating rink and an open-air hockey rink for the winter.{{cite news |title=Toronto Speed Skaters |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=14 December 1900 |page=8}}

Skating carnivals were held at the Grand National Rink{{cite news |title=By the Way |work=Toronto Globe |date=4 February 1897 |page=10}}{{cite news |title=Cycle Chat |work=Toronto Globe |date=22 December 1898 |page=10}}{{cite news |title=Vanity Fair on Ice |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=30 January 1901 |page=2}} along with speed skating races that attracted crowds of up to 1,000 spectators.{{cite news |title=Fast Skaters, Hot Races |work=Toronto Evening Star |date=20 January 1899 |page=4}}{{cite news |title=Champion Robson Was Beaten Twice |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=2 January 1901 |page=8}} In January 1902, the rink was awarded the bid by the Amateur Skating Association of Canada to hold the Ontario racing championships during the first week of February.{{cite news |title=Skating Races Here in February |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=13 January 1902 |page=3}} Event organizers expected the tournament to attract a wide array of speed skaters from across the country and Green anticipated large attendance numbers.{{cite news |title=To-Night's Championships |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=6 February 1902 |page=8}} However, its location was too distant from the city’s downtown to draw a big crowd and the gathering became a local sporting event with a provincial name.{{cite news |title=The News of Sport |work=Toronto Globe |date=10 February 1902 |page=8}} Green's incurred financial losses forced the closure of the Grand National Rink in 1902.

The grounds of the Grand National Rink remained vacant until the end of 1907,{{cite book |title=Toronto City Directory, 1907 |date=1907 |publisher=Might Directories, Limited |location=Toronto |page=118 |url=https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca/da/pdfs/31385037145370d.pdf |access-date=31 August 2021}} which was then followed by two brief reopenings.

The north end of the Grand National Rink became the Royal Alexandra Rink, reopened as an outdoor hockey rink in January 1908{{cite news |title=Hockey on Open-Air Rinks |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=8 January 1908 |page=10}} at 189 Brock Avenue.{{cite book |title=Toronto City Directory, 1910 |date=1910 |publisher=Might Directories, Limited |location=Toronto |pages=99, 1066, 1425 |url=https://archive.org/details/torontocitydirectory1910/page/1424/mode/2up |access-date=31 August 2021}} Its secretary was Thomas Bert Andrew,{{cite news |title=Hockey Doings |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=21 February 1908 |page=13}} a hockey player with the Bank of Toronto Hockey Club in 1904{{cite book |title=Spalding's Official Ice Hockey Guide 1907 |editor1-last=Toombs |editor1-first=Frederick R. |date=January 1907 |publisher=American Sports Publishing Company |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/officialrulesfor03newy/page/40/mode/2up |page=40}}{{cite news |title=Big Surprise in the Bank League |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=10 February 1904 |page=10}}{{cite news |title=Torontos Again Champions |work=Toronto Globe |date=10 February 1904 |page=12}} whose brother, William Herbert Andrew,{{cite news |title=Retired Druggist Served in QOR |work=Globe and Mail |date=2 March 1951 |page=5}} attended the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1902. The last scheduled hockey game at the Royal Alexandra Rink was held in March 1908.{{cite news |title=Woodgreen Ahead |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=6 March 1908 |page=11}} By April, the rink and its adjoining property became the grounds for a three-acre (1.2 ha) baseball field{{cite news |title=A Twenty-One Game Schedule for C.A.L. |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=28 March 1908 |page=20}} with a large bleacher-seating area.{{cite news |title=New Grounds for Amateur League |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=16 March 1908 |page=9}}

Toronto Marlboros treasurer Arthur Hillyard Birmingham{{cite book |title=Spalding's Official Ice Hockey Guide 1906 |editor1-last=Farrell |editor1-first=Arthur |editor-link=Arthur Farrell |date=January 1906 |publisher=American Sports Publishing Company |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/officialrulesfor04newy/page/114/mode/2up |page=114}} and his brother, team captain Herbert Frederick Birmingham, organized a consortium of hockey players to bring the Toronto Professional Hockey Club, a predecessor of the Toronto Maple Leafs, over to the Eastern Canada Hockey Association (ECHA){{cite book |title=A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey |last=Harper |first=Stephen J. |author-link=Stephen Harper |year=2013 |location=Toronto |publisher=Simon & Schuster Canada |isbn=978-1-4767-1653-4 |page=208}}{{cite news |title=Ottawa Hears of It |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=24 November 1909 |page=12}}{{cite news |title=That Arena Again |work=Toronto Globe |date=24 November 1909 |page=9}} in response to the hockey club's withdrawal from the Ontario Professional Hockey League on November 19, 1909.{{cite news |title=Toronto Out of the Pro. League |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=20 November 1909 |page=25}} The Birmingham brothers telegraphed a proposal to the ECHA on November 24{{cite news |title=A Hockey Rink Under Canvas |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=24 November 1909 |page=12}} about their plan to erect a large canvas roof over the site of the former Grand National Rink{{cite news |title=A Rink in a Tent |work=Toronto Globe |date=25 November 1909 |page=9}}{{cite news |title=The News of Sport |work=Toronto Globe |date=25 November 1909 |page=9}} and install wooden sideboards for a hockey rink by the end of 1909. The cost to build the temporary structure with a seating capacity for 4,000 people was {{CAD|2000|link=yes}}. Construction of a permanent hockey arena for the professional team was scheduled for the following year on the grounds of the baseball field. The ECHA, which then became the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), accepted the proposal on the condition that the new indoor arena had to be ready to house the Toronto club by the next summer.{{sfn|Harper|2013|p=209}}

The former Royal Alexandra Rink became the Brock Avenue Rink, reopened in December 1909{{cite news |title=Brock Avenue |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=16 December 1909 |page=14}} at 189 Brock Avenue.{{cite book |title=Toronto City Directory, 1911 |date=1911 |publisher=Might Directories, Limited |location=Toronto |pages=96, 431, 1434 |url=https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca/da/pdfs/31385037145404d.pdf |access-date=31 August 2021}} The ice rink featured amateur hockey games,{{cite news |title=Boys' Union Hockey League |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=11 January 1910 |page=13}} skating carnivals{{cite news |title=Brock Ave |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=10 January 1910 |page=5}}{{cite news |title=Brock Avenue |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=24 January 1910 |page=5}} and speed skating races.{{cite news |title=Jacobson Is a Good One |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=5 March 1910 |page=25}} When the CHA dissolved on January 15, 1910,{{cite news |title=New Pro. League Formed |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=17 January 1910 |page=11}}{{cite news |title=New Seven-Club League |work=Toronto Globe |date=17 January 1910 |page=8}} its hockey teams were transferred over to the National Hockey Association and its agreement with the Birmingham brothers came to an end.{{sfn|Harper|2013|p=209}} The last known skating event at the Brock Avenue Rink was held in March 1910 and the Mutual Street Arena in downtown Toronto became the first home arena of the Toronto Hockey Club and, subsequently, the Toronto Maple Leafs.{{sfn|Harper|2013|p=9}}

{{Main|McCormick Park}}

The city of Toronto purchased the property of the former Grand National Rink for {{CAD|34000|link=no}} in December 1910{{cite news |title=Want $34,000 for Ground |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=8 December 1910 |page=7}}{{cite news |title=May Buy Brock Ave. Site |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=16 December 1910 |page=7}} for the purpose of establishing a playground. The parcel of land became the McCormick Playground in 1911,{{cite news |title=New Playgrounds Opened |work=Toronto Globe |date=3 July 1911 |page=8}} named in recognition of Mary Virginia McCormick, the daughter of American inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick{{cite news |title=Miss McCormick, 80, of 'Oaklands,' Dies |work=Globe and Mail |date=27 May 1941 |page=4}}{{cite news |title=Once Had Oaklands; Reaper Heiress Dies |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=27 May 1941 |page=10}} who lived in Toronto in 1908{{cite web |title=Background Report: De La Salle College 'Oaklands' 131 Farnham Avenue |url=https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-82436.pdf |publisher=City of Toronto |access-date=31 August 2021 |date=July 2015 |page=4}} and donated to the Toronto Playgrounds Association in 1910.{{cite news |title=For Children's Playground |work=Toronto Globe |date=15 August 1910 |page=7}}{{cite news |title=A Check for $10,000 for Big Playground |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=7 September 1910 |page=3}}{{cite news |title=The M'Cormick Playground |work=Toronto Globe |date=4 March 1911 |page=9}} The McCormick Recreation Centre opened at the north end of the property in 1912{{cite news |title=Came From Chicago to Give Playgrounds |work=Toronto Globe |date=23 September 1912 |page=9}}{{cite news |title=Children Get New Playplace |work=Toronto World |date=23 September 1912 |page=9}} at 163 Brock Avenue.{{cite book |title=Toronto City Directory, 1914 |date=1914 |publisher=Might Directories, Limited |location=Toronto |pages=119, 1083, 1826 |url=https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca/da/pdfs/torontodirec191400midiuoft.pdf |access-date=31 August 2021}}

By 1963, the outdoor playground became known as McCormick Park.{{cite book |title=Greater Toronto City Directory, 1963 |date=1963 |publisher=Might Directories, Limited |location=Toronto |page=78 |url=https://archive.org/details/torontocitydirectory1963/page/n91/mode/2up |access-date=31 August 2021}} A new McCormick Recreation Centre was opened in 1964{{cite news |title=2 Reporters Evicted From Union Meeting |work=Globe and Mail |date=30 October 1964 |page=5}}{{cite news |title=Busy Children Take Over $750,000 Recreation Centre |work=Globe and Mail |date=30 October 1964 |page=39}} at 66 Sheridan Avenue,{{cite book |title=Greater Toronto City Directory, 1965 |date=1965 |publisher=Might Directories, Limited |location=Toronto |page=78 |url=https://archive.org/details/torontocitydirectory1965/page/n91/mode/2up}} located immediately east of the original building which itself became the site for the McCormick Playground Arena in 1972,{{cite web |title=McCormick Arena |url=http://www.mccormickarena.com |url-status=live |publisher=McCormick Playground Arena Board of Management |access-date=31 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826185627/http://www.mccormickarena.com/McCormick_Arena_2018-19/Home.html |archive-date=26 August 2019}} an indoor skating arena at 179 Brock Avenue.{{cite web |title=Toronto Municipal Code, Community and Recreation Centres |url=https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/96ae-Toronto-Municipal-Code-former-Chapter-25.pdf |publisher=City of Toronto |access-date=31 August 2021 |page=24 |date=January 2019}}

Notable athletes who skated at the Grand National Rink include the following:

• Alice Louisa "Louie" Hern, Toronto women's skating champion in 1900 in the mile-long (1.6 km) mixed pairs{{cite news |title=Champion Team of Toronto Skaters |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=16 February 1900 |page=6}}{{cite news |title=Speediest Lady Skater |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=7 February 1901 |page=8}} who married her skating partner in 1902.{{cite web |title=Toronto, 1902, Part 1 (Ontario Marriage Registrations, 1800-1927) |website=Ontario Vital Statistics Project |url=http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maryc/tor02.htm |publisher=Archives of Ontario Microfilm MS 932, Reel 106, Volume A, 1902. Marriage Registration No. 002686-02, Toronto, 17 September 1902 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127095241/https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maryc/tor02.htm |archive-date=27 November 2023}}

• John S. Johnson, American speed skating world record holder in 1895{{cite news |title=World's Records Go by the Board at Montreal |work=Toronto Evening Star |date=4 February 1895 |page=4}}{{cite news |title=New Records at Montreal |work=Toronto Globe |date=4 February 1895 |page=6}} who competed in the mile-long (1.6 km) race at the rink in 1901.{{cite news |title=Odds and Ends |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=16 February 1901 |page=6}}{{cite news |title=Skating Notes |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=18 February 1901 |page=8}}  

• John "Johnny" Nilsson, American speed skating world record holder in 1897{{cite news |title=Record Smashed |work=Toronto Evening Star |date=6 February 1897 |page=2}} and 1900{{cite news |title=The Championship Meeting |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=5 February 1900 |page=6}} who competed against Johnson at the rink in 1901.

• William Charles Lawrence "Larry" Piper, Canadian skating champion in 1901 in the 220-yard (200 m) hurdles{{cite news |title=Toronto Skaters Came Home To-Day |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=18 February 1901 |page=8}}{{cite news |title=The Speed Championships |work=Toronto Globe |date=18 February 1901 |page=8}}{{cite news |title=Toronto Skaters Have No Excuses |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=3 February 1902 |page=8}} who later became a professional baseball player in the minor leagues in 1908.{{cite news |title=Larry Piper |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=24 February 1908 |page=11}}

• Frederick "Fred" James Robson, Canadian skating champion in the 220-yard (200 m) straightaways in 1900{{cite news |title=Toronto Man Won the 220 Yd. Championship |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=5 February 1900 |page=6}}{{cite news |title=Champion Robson Returns |work=Toronto Globe |date=5 February 1900 |page=10}} and 1901 who later won speed skating world records in 1904{{cite news |title=World's Record at Skating |work=New York Times |date=6 February 1904 |page=7}} and 1911.{{cite news |title=Two New Skating Records |work=New York Times |date=1 February 1911 |page=9}}

• Lot Roe, Ontario skating champion in the two-mile (3.2 km) and five-mile (8 km) races at the rink in 1902{{cite news |title=Robson Skated in Excellent Form |work=Toronto Daily Star |date=8 February 1902 |page=9}} who later won a speed skating world record in 1910.{{cite news |title=Roe Skating Champion |work=New York Times |date=30 January 1910 |page=1}}

• Lewis "Lou" Leslie Walker, Toronto men's skating champion in 1900 in the mile-long (1.6 km) mixed pairs with Hern who later married her in 1902.

{{reflist}}

Category:Defunct sports venues in Toronto

Category:Ice rinks

Category:1896 establishments in Ontario

Category:1902 disestablishments in Ontario

Category:1908 establishments in Ontario

Category:1908 disestablishments in Ontario

Category:1909 establishments in Ontario

Category:1910 disestablishments in Ontario