Sunnyside

Opened in the roaring 1920s, Sunnyside Beach was the place Torontonians came to play for decades. This waterfront icon played host to bathers, concerts, tightrope-walkers and even an amusement park. The Palais Royale was one of Toronto’s most popular dance halls, featuring jazz greats like Duke Ellington and Count Basie. In 1954, sixteen-year old Marilyn Bell ended her historic first swim across Lake Ontario nearby. Not long after that, the Gardiner Expressway went up and the amusement park came down. Today, you can still use the Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion and swim in the pool (aka, “The Tank”), have drinks and a bite to eat on a patio overlooking the beach, and of course, have a splash in Lake Ontario.