What to know
- Honest Ed’s Park was just opened on Friday in Mirvish Village in the Annex.
- The park pays tribute to the late Ed Mirvish, a Toronto businessman and philanthropist known for his discount store Honest Ed’s and for the city’s theatre district, Mirvish.
- Among the guests attending the opening were Mayor Olivia Chow and Ed’s son David Mirvish.
Mirvish Village is now home to a new park honouring Honest Ed’s founder Ed Mirvish.
On Friday, the City of Toronto and Peterson, the development company behind the new Mirvish Village, officially opened the city’s newest park.
The 1,213-square-metre green space pays tribute to the late Mirvish and his beloved discount store, Honest Ed’s, which closed almost a decade ago on December 31, 2016 after first opening its doors in 1948.
Mirvish, who passed away at 92 in 2007, was a legendary Toronto businessman, philanthropist, and theatre producer best known for founding the iconic Honest Ed’s and helping transform Toronto into a world-class theatre destination through his restoration of historic venues. He became one of the city’s most beloved figures for his support of the arts, charitable work, and lasting impact on Toronto’s cultural landscape.
Mayor Olivia Chow, Danielle Martin, Member of Parliament for University–Rosedale, and Councillor Dianne Saxe for University–Rosedale all attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“Honest Ed’s was more than a landmark. It was a place that brought people together and reflected the spirit of Toronto,” Chow said in a press release.
“This new park carries that legacy forward by creating a welcoming green space where neighbours can gather, families can spend time together and everyone can enjoy the outdoors in the heart of Mirvish Village.”
Ed’s son David, who founded Mirvish Productions and Peterson CFO Judy Leung were also at the ceremony.
“The redevelopment of Honest Ed’s and Mirvish Village is a wonderful continuation of the community my parents built over many decades at Bathurst and Bloor,” David said.
“Just as Honest Ed’s welcomed everyone and became a destination, Honest Ed’s Park will welcome everyone and offer a place to come together in the heart of the neighbourhood.”
To pay homage to one of Mirvish’s favourite sayings, “for the birds, cheep cheep cheep,” Ed Mirvish Park contains native trees and plants that support bird species local to Toronto and an interactive water feature designed to look like a bird bath.
This park isn’t the only tribute to the late businessman, philanthropist, and patron of the arts at Mirvish Village. Peterson recently reinstated the iconic light-up Honest Ed’s sign to commemorate Honest Ed’s Alley, a micro-retail space that will soon have over a dozen vendors and a food hall.
