Grasett Park

Grasett Park

Opened in July 2021, Grasett Park celebrates the response of the City of Toronto, particularly its physicians, nurses and other caregivers, to the influx of Irish migrants during the summer of 1847. Many of these migrants arrived gravely afflicted with typhus, known then as ship fever.

Situated at the corner of Adelaide Street West and Widmer Street (on the same plot of land as Toronto’s first purpose-built General Hospital), the park is named after Dr. George Robert Grasett, who was appointed as Medical Superintendent of the Hospital in June 1847 and who – along with fellow doctors, nurses, orderlies and other caregivers – died shortly thereafter from the same illness he sought to treat.

These courageous individuals played an important role in the medical history of the city.  At the time, Toronto’s population was roughly 20,000.  The arrival of 38,560 Irish migrants fleeing the Great Famine, including thousands who became sick during the perilous journey, quickly overwhelmed the Hospital’s capacity and resources. Temporary fever sheds were erected in the field behind the hospital, where Grasett Park now stands.