Downsview Park 5.19

Downsview Park is a federally owned and managed park located in the Downsview area of North York, Toronto. The park was first home to de Havilland Canada, an aircraft manufacturer, and later was a Canadian Forces Base. In 1999, the Government of Canada declared it as "Canada's first urban national park.", little development took place, and the park remains mostly untouched.HistoryAircraft manufacturing and baseThe area was first used in 1929 by de Havilland Canada, where it housed the company's Canadian operations. The manufacturing plant was used to make aircraft during World War II. After the war, the Department of National Defence (Canada) needed space to station Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons in the area. In 1947, the federal government acquired and consolidated 270 properties in Downsview surrounding the manufacturing plant.Urban parkIn 1999, the federal government announced, to great fanfare, that the park would become "Canada's first urban national park." Downsview Park announced an International Design Competition. In 2000, Bruce Mau and Rem Koolhaas submitted the winning design scheme, known as "Tree City." In the years that followed, little development took place, and the plans fell into dormancy.