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Friday 20 September 2024

Cullen Gardens

Cullen Gardens & Miniature Village.

Location: Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Address: 4015 Cochrane Street
Date: Nov 2022

   There used to be a wonderful place that could be enjoyed by young and old alike. There was a beautiful garden with extensive flower displays. For the children there was a miniature village where tiny people lived and drove trains, cars and boats around the grounds. This was Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village. Sadly, it was closed in 2005. Here are some old photos from our visits and a few ways you can still see a bit of the magic today.

Len Cullen Statue At Cullen Central Park.
  
   Cullen Gardens was created by Len Cullen who owned Weall & Cullen garden centres. If you visit what is now called Cullen Central Park you will see his statue.

Cullen Gardens Memorial Fence With Miniature House.

    Beside Len sits a tiny house which represents the 150 miniatures that made up the village that stood here from 1980 to 2005.

Cullen Gardens Miniature Parkwood Estate

    A scale model of Parkwood Estate was one of the many miniature buildings. The real Parkwood Estate is located nearby in the neighbouring town of Oshawa.
 
A Typical Miniature House At Cullen Gardens.

    This house (above) looks like it could be found just about anywhere.  

Burning Miniature House At Cullen Gardens.

  This building was always on fire and the firefighters were battling a tiny blaze on the roof.

Main Street Miniature Village Cullen Gardens.

  The Miniature Village had a main street display with cars and businesses. The Littlest Hobo even visited this street in the episode Small Pleasures. The German Shepherd star walked right onto the main street just behind the green and grey building with pillars. He then continued down the street towards the left. You knew your tourist attraction was doing well in the 1980s if the Littlest Hobo visited.  During other episodes he also visited places such as the Toronto Zoo and Canada's Wonderland.

Cullen Gardens Santa Claus Parade.

  The gardens were a year round attraction. In the winter a miniature Santa Claus parade travelled down the main street with floats full of Christmas cheer.

Santa Claus At Cullen Gardens And Miniature Village.

  The parade always finished off with a special float for Santa Claus himself.

Miniature Helicopter Arrival Cullen Gardens.
 
  Another special guest arrived at this building by helicopter, while a marching band performed.
 
Cullen Gardens Boat Pond.

    The long building, possibly a hotel, sat beside a remote controlled boat pond.  Different watercraft sped around the pond.

Cullen Garden Tulips.

  Surrounding the miniature houses were gardens filled with seasonal flowers. A highlight was when the tulips were in bloom.

CN Rail Train Goes Around Cullen Gardens.

  A small CN Rail train also did laps through the gardens, going under bridges and behind bushes only to reappear further along the tracks.
 
Loopy Bushes At Cullen Gardens.

   The shrubbery was always cut into interesting shapes and figures.

Cullen Gardens Floral Peacock.

  Flowers were arranged in the shape of giant ducks or peacocks.
 
Real Peacock At Cullen Gardens.
 
  Real peacocks would do their best to compete with their floral cousins.

Covered Bridge Cullen Gardens.

  As you travelled deeper into the valley there was a covered bridge that crossed a small creek. The creek was known as Lynde Creek and flowed all the way down to Lake Ontario.

Covered Bridge Cullen Central Park.

  The creek and the bridge are still there today.

A Cougar At Cullen Gardens.

  In the woods you might have encountered a cougar back when Cullen Gardens was open. This cougar was a model placed there on purpose. It seems to be debated if Ontario has any cougars, or how many it once had.

Trees in Cullen Central Park.

  We didn't see any cougars when we visited Cullen Central Park. That doesn't mean they didn't see us.

Patly Mills Grindstone In Cullen Central Park.

  Another relic of the past that you can see in the current park is Patly Mills. This grindstone is from the mill which opened in 1951 and processed oatmeal and flour. Cullen Gardens Miniature Village was built right where Patly Mills used to stand.

Farming Display At Cullen Gardens. 

  Cullen Gardens also had a farming display to show you how life once was. Unlike the miniature village, these were life sized.

Building A Cabin At Cullen Gardens.

  Someone had built a display of someone building a cabin. Again, a life sized model of how things used to be.

Cullen Central Park Cabin.

  In current day, there was a cabin at Cullen Garden Park. It is possible that the Cullen family used to stay here at some point in the past.

Lynde House At Cullen Gardens.

  At Cullen Gardens there used to be Lynde House which was set up as a museum. The Lynde House was built during the War of 1812 and moved from its original location to Cullen Gardens in 1986.  When Cullen Gardens closed, the house was moved again to nearby 900 Brock Street South in Whitby.  It still operates as a museum today.

Mini Fairground At Cullen Gardens Miniature Village.

  The last section of the Miniature Village was a mini fairground that was located away from the rest of the village. It had little moving thrill rides and even a replica of the Flyer roller coaster. The real Flyer used to operate at the Canadian National Exhibition each year.

Miniature Houses At Niagara's Floral Showhouse.

  Just when you thought the Miniature Village was no more, it rose up again. After Cullen Gardens closed, the miniature homes were sold to the town of Oshawa and sat in storage. Eventually, the homes were purchased by Niagara Parks. Many of them can now be visited at the Floral Showhouse in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

A Robin In A Miniature House.

  A robin decided to live in this lovely red building.

Cullen Gardens Miniature Village At Niagara Falls.
Miniature Firehall at Niagara Floral Showhouse.

  Scattered around the Floral Showhouse grounds are many buildings from the Cullen Gardens. More should be arriving as they complete some restoration. We are glad that the homes are back where they belong, between beautiful floral displays. You can always visit them here for a bit of that old magic.

Cullen Barns Before It Was Demolished.

   Oh wait, we forgot about Cullen Barns! Here is a final look above. Sorry to report to anyone who used to enjoy the displays and flowers in this store. Formerly located at Kennedy Road and Steeles Ave East in Markham, Ontario, the barn buildings are no more.


Map of Our World
Cullen Gardens And Miniature Village

Post # 339