If you’ve ever stopped to inspect the ‘Berczy Family’ sculpture now located prominently in the south-east corner of the park, you know that our park history is tied to the Consumers Gas Company, the founding politicians of Upper Canada and Toronto, and several talented artists.
The sculpture of a mother and father sheltering two infants in their arms was donated by the Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada Inc., with financial support from The Consumers’ Gas Company and the Council of Metro Toronto in memory of Johann Albrecht Ulrich Moll, better known as William Berczy.
See our ‘About’ page for a few more details, but basically, Moll/Berczy, born in Germany, was co-founder of York (Toronto) in 1794. His younger son, Charles Albert Berczy, was the first president of The Consumers’ Gas Company, from 1847 to 1856, and Postmaster of Toronto. His older son, William Bent Berczy, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and, like his father and mother, a gifted artist.
As an aside, during recent park renovations, Friends of Berczy Park was contacted by a nephew of the artist who made the Berczy Family sculpture, Almuth Lutkenhaus-Lackey , a well-regarded, German-born sculptor who emigrated to Canada. Her nephew recalls watching his aunt work on the sculpture in her studio more than 30 years ago.
Berczy Park 
Great article. Can you tell me why they have the fountain and other platforms fenced off?
Hi Jim, see the May 26th blog post below for the full answer, but short answer: the fences are temporary while the City fine-tunes the fountain and platforms before the June 28 Grand Opening.
That’s Historical Society of Mecklenburg!!
gotcha – thanks for catching that!
My father, Rolf Piro, was a founding member of the Historical Siciety of Mecklenburg. I remember the day he picked up the cheque from Consumers Gas, which helped fund this sculpture, and had the envelope inside his suit jacket pocket. Later, he drove me downtown to Berczy Park to see the statue after it was installed. I was maybe 10 at the time.
Thanks for sharing that great memory!