Area Description
Richmond Hill (2011 population 185,541) is a town located in the southern portion of York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is bounded by Bloomington Rd. (Aurora town limit) to the north, York Regional Road 7 (Vaughan city limit west of Yonge St., Markham city limit east of Yonge St.) to the south, Bathurst St. (Vaughan city limit) to the west, and Ontario Highway 404 (Markham city limit) to the east. Its southern limit is about 4 kilometres (3 miles) north of the Toronto city limit, Steeles Avenue, and approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the downtown core of Toronto. The town extends 14 kilometres (9 miles) north-south and 7 kilometres (3.5 miles) east-west. It is the third most populous municipality in York Region and the 28th most populous municipality in Canada.Richmond Hill has in recent years seen a huge population upsurge, being Canada's fastest-growing community in the 1990s. It is an affluent town with a large number of people employed in areas of business, finance, industry and healthcare. The town is home to the world-renowned David Dunlap Observatory telescope, at one time the second largest telescope in the world, and still the largest in Canada. Richmond Hill is twinned with Lakeland, Florida and has a sister city, Shijiazhuang, China.
Richmond Hill has 166 parks, under the Town of Richmond Hill Parks, Recreation, and Culture department, of which most are small urban parks and 544 hectares of undeveloped natural area for recreation. The largest such park is Richmond Green Sports Centre and Park which includes several baseball diamonds, two ice skating rinks, a 300-person amphitheatre and a skateboard park. Tennis courts are located throughout the town with two quality tennis facilities located at David Hamilton Park and Crosby Park, home to the Richmond Hill Lawn Tennis Club. The Richmond Hill Lawn Tennis Club is the town's community tennis club offering residents organized tennis programs including: competitive doubles, house league, singles ladders and social tennis.
The Town also has a total of 6 public swimming pools, including Canada's largest indoor wave pool. The Wave Pool is a family-friendly, wheelchair accessible facility that includes a swirl pool, on-deck sauna, and 160 ft twisting water slide. Additionally, each summer, the town features a concert series entitled "Concerts in the Park". Each concert has a specific theme, such as children's music and "The Beach Boys", and all are very popular. These series are held by Mill Pond and the Richmond Green. The Richmond Hill Heritage Centre serves as a museum of the town's history. It also runs a variety of programmes related to the town's history. The town is also home to the Richmond Hill Country Club, which features an 18 hole championship layout, Summit Golf & Country Club, and the Bloomington Downs Golf Course.
In 2009, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts was opened. This 43,000-square-foot (4,000 m2) multi-use cultural facility offers quality entertainments of art and music.
Richmond Hill was a winner in the 2003 National Communities in Bloom competition, with a special mention about the town's floral displays.
