REJUVENATION: St. Andrew's Playground

Equipment by Kompan.

Surface: rubber.

Updated July 2025. Old review here.

Having just gone to a brand new playground, it was time to visit the site of Toronto’s first.

Or, more accurately, to re-visit.

The first time I came to tiny St. Andrew’s Playground, it was a bit of a sad place; not much to do, outdated equipment…I even suggested in the original review that someone should just put this playground out of its misery and fulfill its destiny to become another downtown condo.

I’m a bit embarrassed by that review, and I would never have made such a cynical, glib comment if I’d known the significance of the location: it’s the spot where, in 1908, the city opened its first park specifically designed for unsupervised childhood play.

Toronto was still very much an industrial city at that point, and children living downtown – often in poverty far more Dickensian than some folks might realize – really didn’t have anywhere safe to play. So a spot at the south end of what was St. Andrew’s Market was chosen to be the city’s first playground.

It must have been quite a novelty for kids at the time, but fast-forward a century or so and St. Andrew’s Playground had become a public space that you’d barely notice, wedged between offices and parking and construction sites.

The 2021 re-juvenation of St. Andrew’s Playground does a lot to honour the spot’s importance. Landscape architects DTAH share some of the details on their website:

“Tracing the memory of market stalls that once existed in the park, catenary lights illuminate the tree canopy, while strategic heritage signage, raised seating platforms, lounge chairs, communal tables and chairs create an animated and human-centered public space.”

The park, though small, is very nicely thought out. It's clear that plenty of time and effort was taken here, and they’ve done plenty to make it a park worthy of its history as the site of Toronto’s first playground.

The only thing missing is, y’know, a really good playground.

I’m not trying to be ungrateful and I truly think it’s a very nice park…it’s just been saddled with a decidedly mediocre playground.

The equipment is from Kompan’s wooden equipment line that they call “Robinia Village” – their budget-friendly response to the current preference for natural-looking (ie. wooden) equipment. We’ve played on this stuff before, notably at Art Eggleton Park, but here at St. Andrew’s Playground the quantity of equipment was a bit underwhelming.

The playhouse is cute, and the flush-to-the-ground inclusive spinner is nice too, but it really feels like a playground constrained by its budget, which is unfortunate considering the site’s history.

But let’s not get too negative here. The upgrades have given this playground a ten-point jump in its rating, and they’ve done a good job of letting passersby know about the historical side of things through plaques and images.

And hey: it’s better than a condo.