Malvern East
Toronto Public Library - Burrows Hall Branch & Burrows Hall Community Centre
1081 Progress Avenue
Opened in 1998, as part of a complex with the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, Burrows Hall serves the local community. The library contains a collection in multiple languages, including a large collection in Chinese. Located at Burrows Hall Community Centre is Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere (R.I.S.E), which is a youth-led community initiative, founded by Randell Adjei, that focuses on creating a space and opportunities for young people to express themselves through performance and literary arts. R.I.S.E began in 2012 as a small informal group of 20 youth sharing their poetry and stories with each other at a resource centre in Scarborough Town Centre. As more people participated in the group, they transformed into a youth-led collective of artists and activists.
Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto
5183 Sheppard Avenue East
This Cultural Centre has become a significant multicultural hub within the community and the city as a whole. Constructed in 1998, the building includes a traditional Chinese garden, an octagonal public courtyard, performance hall, multipurpose space, resource centre, art gallery, art studios and conference rooms. The Chinese Cultural Centre provides a number of services for the community and hosts annual cultural festivals, events and educational programs. The 'Legacy in Motion' Mural, on the northeast corner of the building, depicts a flock of birds in flight and symbolizes the sharing of arts and culture internationally. The large birds represent elements of arts and culture, such as architecture, visual arts, dance, theatre or cuisine. The smaller birds feature textile patterns from around the globe. The mural was painted by lead artist Rob Matejka with Leyland Adams, Joefrey Anthony Cabalu, Mel Coleman, Banafsheh Erfanian, Siddarth Khaire, Raoul Olou, Menelik Powell and Kareen Weir.
Dorothy Anne Manuel Artbox
Southwest Corner of Sheppard Avenue East and Gateforth Drive
This piece bridges symbols of art and music with local imagery, such as the performance space in Burrows Hall Community Centre, to promote self-expression through art.
Burrows Hall Park
295 Burrows Hall Boulevard
The nearly 10 hectare park near Markham Road and Sheppard Avenue features a lit ball diamond and a children's playground.
Tim Hunter Artbox
Southwest Corner of Sheppard Avenue East and Lapsley Road
This piece incorporates varying elements to symbolize local diversity. The Cyclops is used to question beauty standards and looks at passersby while saying "I(eye) love you".
Murison Park
99 Murison Boulevard
A 4.2 hectare park near Sheppard Avenue East and Morningside Avenue that features a ball diamond, a multipurpose sports field, a children's playground and a forested area covering the east half of the park.
Emily Carr Public School
90 John Tabor Trail
This school is named after famed artist Emily Carr, who was one of the most prominent Canadian painters of the early twentieth century. Carr was born in 1871 in Victoria, British Columbia, and trained at art schools in San Francisco, London, and Paris, developing a unique post-impressionist style of painting. She began painting totem poles and Indigenous villages in the 1910s, but initially struggled to find an audience for her work. In the late 1920s, then in her 50s, she was selected to join an exhibition of the Group of Seven painters in Ottawa. She was welcomed into the group and painted most of her famous works in the time period following - much of it inspired by Northwest Coast Indigenous cultures - with her art being displayed in prominent galleries in Canada and the United States. She also became an accomplished author in the 1940s, writing 5 books, one of which won a Governor General's Literary Award. While her art continues to be lauded, subsequent reassessments of her work have focused on what many believe to be her appropriation of Indigenous cultures.
Shawn Blu Rose Park
30 Empringham Drive
A 2-hectare park near Morningside Avenue and McLevin Avenue that features a baseball diamond, a picnic area, a children's playground and a splash pad. Formerly known as Empringham Park, this park was renamed in 2006 to honour Shawn 'Blu' Rose, a local youth worker who passed away in 2005. Rose was a leader in his community who demonstrated commitment to young people and worked tirelessly to erase and overcome barriers.
Katrina Canedo Artbox
Sewells Road between Alford Crescent and Brenyon Way
Painted in 2014, Filipino-Canadian artist Katrina Canedo depicts a fun, happy, and cartoonish animal group portrait in this art box to symbolize the very tight-knit and diverse Malvern community.
Malvern Recreation Centre and Toronto Public Library - Malvern Branch
30 Sewells Road
Malvern Recreation Centre is a free centre that offers a wide variety of programs and amenities for all ages. The centre has a focus on youth specific programming, including volunteer opportunities and a youth advisory council. The Toronto Skateboard Committee runs an indoor wooden skatepark inside the ice rink of the Malvern Recreation Centre in the summer months. The Malvern Library opened in 1982. The library houses a youth hub and features collections in English, Chinese, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Tagalog, Tamil, Urdu and Punjabi. The library also houses the Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection, one of the most significant Black and Caribbean heritage collections in Canada. It includes over 16,000 print and audiovisual materials about the Black and Caribbean historical and cultural experience. Also on site is one of the Toronto Public Library's 23 specialized Youth Hubs.
Viola Desmond Park
85 Hupfield Trail
Formerly known as Hupfield Park, this 3.2-hectare park near Morningside Avenue and Old Finch Avenue features a ball diamond, multipurpose sports field, basketball court and a children's playground. In 2018, a request was submitted to the City of Toronto to rename Hupfield Park to Viola Desmond Park. In 1946, Viola Irene Desmond, a Black Canadian businesswoman, challenged racial segregation at a film theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia and inspired future generations of Black Canadians to advance the civil rights movement in Canada. She was featured in a Historica Canada 'Heritage Minute' and in December 2016 it was announced that she would be the first Canadian woman depicted on the face of a Canadian banknote. Honouring Viola Desmond in Scarborough provides people of all backgrounds with an opportunity to learn about and celebrate an important historic role model.
Mary Shadd Public School
135 Hupfield Trail
Opened in 1985, this public school was named after American-Canadian Mary Ann Shadd, a Black educator and abolitionist who helped enslaved persons escape from the United States to Canada via the Underground Railroad. She was also the first Black woman newspaper editor in North America.
Explore Malvern East
Now is the time for residents to experience all that tourists have been raving about for years. Discover shops, stops, places and spaces on city main streets. Stay curious, Toronto.
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Explore FREE Public Art Across the City. Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021-2022 is a year-long celebration of Toronto's exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it.
We hope that you enjoyed exploring this Toronto neighbourhood and found many other points of interest along the way. While StrollTO highlights some of the 'hidden gems' in the neighbourhood, there may be others that could be included in a future edition. Would you like to share a point of interest that you discovered in the neighbourhood? Email us at [email protected].
Neighbourhood Stroll
Malvern originally formed in 1856 as a farming hamlet and today is a lively and diverse suburban community, largely the result of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation taking over the farmlands to build a community of affordable homes in 1972. With a boom in immigration to the area in the 1980s, Malvern is a community that continues to welcome newcomers to Canada. This stroll highlighting the eastern portion of the area features plenty of lovely green space, beautiful public art, and important community gathering spots.
- Toronto Public Library - Burrows Hall Branch & Burrows Hall Community Centre
1081 Progress Avenue
Opened in 1998, as part of a complex with the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, Burrows Hall serves the local community. The library contains a collection in multiple languages, including a large collection in Chinese. Located at Burrows Hall Community Centre is Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere (R.I.S.E), which is a youth-led community initiative, founded by Randell Adjei, that focuses on creating a space and opportunities for young people to express themselves through performance and literary arts. R.I.S.E began in 2012 as a small informal group of 20 youth sharing their poetry and stories with each other at a resource centre in Scarborough Town Centre. As more people participated in the group, they transformed into a youth-led collective of artists and activists.
- Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto
5183 Sheppard Avenue East
This Cultural Centre has become a significant multicultural hub within the community and the city as a whole. Constructed in 1998, the building includes a traditional Chinese garden, an octagonal public courtyard, performance hall, multipurpose space, resource centre, art gallery, art studios and conference rooms. The Chinese Cultural Centre provides a number of services for the community and hosts annual cultural festivals, events and educational programs. The 'Legacy in Motion' Mural, on the northeast corner of the building, depicts a flock of birds in flight and symbolizes the sharing of arts and culture internationally. The large birds represent elements of arts and culture, such as architecture, visual arts, dance, theatre or cuisine. The smaller birds feature textile patterns from around the globe. The mural was painted by lead artist Rob Matejka with Leyland Adams, Joefrey Anthony Cabalu, Mel Coleman, Banafsheh Erfanian, Siddarth Khaire, Raoul Olou, Menelik Powell and Kareen Weir.
- Dorothy Anne Manuel Artbox
Southwest Corner of Sheppard Avenue East and Gateforth Drive
This piece bridges symbols of art and music with local imagery, such as the performance space in Burrows Hall Community Centre, to promote self-expression through art.
- Burrows Hall Park
295 Burrows Hall Boulevard
The nearly 10 hectare park near Markham Road and Sheppard Avenue features a lit ball diamond and a children's playground.
- Tim Hunter Artbox
Southwest Corner of Sheppard Avenue East and Lapsley Road
This piece incorporates varying elements to symbolize local diversity. The Cyclops is used to question beauty standards and looks at passersby while saying "I(eye) love you".
- Murison Park
99 Murison Boulevard
A 4.2 hectare park near Sheppard Avenue East and Morningside Avenue that features a ball diamond, a multipurpose sports field, a children's playground and a forested area covering the east half of the park.
- Emily Carr Public School
90 John Tabor Trail
This school is named after famed artist Emily Carr, who was one of the most prominent Canadian painters of the early twentieth century. Carr was born in 1871 in Victoria, British Columbia, and trained at art schools in San Francisco, London, and Paris, developing a unique post-impressionist style of painting. She began painting totem poles and Indigenous villages in the 1910s, but initially struggled to find an audience for her work. In the late 1920s, then in her 50s, she was selected to join an exhibition of the Group of Seven painters in Ottawa. She was welcomed into the group and painted most of her famous works in the time period following - much of it inspired by Northwest Coast Indigenous cultures - with her art being displayed in prominent galleries in Canada and the United States. She also became an accomplished author in the 1940s, writing 5 books, one of which won a Governor General's Literary Award. While her art continues to be lauded, subsequent reassessments of her work have focused on what many believe to be her appropriation of Indigenous cultures.
- Shawn Blu Rose Park
30 Empringham Drive
A 2-hectare park near Morningside Avenue and McLevin Avenue that features a baseball diamond, a picnic area, a children's playground and a splash pad. Formerly known as Empringham Park, this park was renamed in 2006 to honour Shawn 'Blu' Rose, a local youth worker who passed away in 2005. Rose was a leader in his community who demonstrated commitment to young people and worked tirelessly to erase and overcome barriers.
- Katrina Canedo Artbox
Sewells Road between Alford Crescent and Brenyon Way
Painted in 2014, Filipino-Canadian artist Katrina Canedo depicts a fun, happy, and cartoonish animal group portrait in this art box to symbolize the very tight-knit and diverse Malvern community.
- Malvern Recreation Centre and Toronto Public Library - Malvern Branch
30 Sewells Road
Malvern Recreation Centre is a free centre that offers a wide variety of programs and amenities for all ages. The centre has a focus on youth specific programming, including volunteer opportunities and a youth advisory council. The Toronto Skateboard Committee runs an indoor wooden skatepark inside the ice rink of the Malvern Recreation Centre in the summer months. The Malvern Library opened in 1982. The library houses a youth hub and features collections in English, Chinese, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Tagalog, Tamil, Urdu and Punjabi. The library also houses the Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection, one of the most significant Black and Caribbean heritage collections in Canada. It includes over 16,000 print and audiovisual materials about the Black and Caribbean historical and cultural experience. Also on site is one of the Toronto Public Library's 23 specialized Youth Hubs.
- Viola Desmond Park
85 Hupfield Trail
Formerly known as Hupfield Park, this 3.2-hectare park near Morningside Avenue and Old Finch Avenue features a ball diamond, multipurpose sports field, basketball court and a children's playground. In 2018, a request was submitted to the City of Toronto to rename Hupfield Park to Viola Desmond Park. In 1946, Viola Irene Desmond, a Black Canadian businesswoman, challenged racial segregation at a film theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia and inspired future generations of Black Canadians to advance the civil rights movement in Canada. She was featured in a Historica Canada 'Heritage Minute' and in December 2016 it was announced that she would be the first Canadian woman depicted on the face of a Canadian banknote. Honouring Viola Desmond in Scarborough provides people of all backgrounds with an opportunity to learn about and celebrate an important historic role model.
- Mary Shadd Public School
135 Hupfield Trail
Opened in 1985, this public school was named after American-Canadian Mary Ann Shadd, a Black educator and abolitionist who helped enslaved persons escape from the United States to Canada via the Underground Railroad. She was also the first Black woman newspaper editor in North America.
Accessibility information: All points of interest are visible from the sidewalk. Most of this stroll takes place on streets and paved paths. However, there may be some unpaved paths and uneven surfaces in Burrows Hill Park and Murison Park . There may also be additional barriers, including but not limited to stairs, steep inclines, and narrow passageways, along or at other destinations.
The StrollTO itineraries may follow routes that do not receive winter maintenance. Please review winter safety tips and for more information contact 311.
Soundtracks of the City
From global superstars to local favourites and ones to watch, the Soundtracks of the City playlists all feature artists who have called Toronto home. Whether it’s a lyric about the neighborhood, an artist representing a cultural community, or a tie-in to the StrollTO itinerary itself, all the music reflects connections to an individual ward or the City as a whole.
Music was chosen based on an artist’s Spotify presence and each song’s broad appeal, as well as its associations with the cultures, languages and ethnicities that reflect Toronto’s neighborhoods and diverse music scene. Soundtracks of the City combines 425 songs that feature more than 500 different local artists or acts, showcasing songs in 23 different languages.