The Community League offers different spaces for use by community members and people who are not league members. Some are free to use, such as the playground and skate park. Others require a booked rental, such as the main building’s hall, or Riverdale House. There is a skating rink and skate shack that is usually very well maintained by volunteers in the winter.
The hall is a bit small compared to many, but this is a great place to hold medium to small size functions.
The kitchen is small but has the ability to deal with most functions. There are two large commercial refrigerators that are able to hold lots of beverages for an event with a bar, or lots of food for a fully catered dinner (catering is not provided), and many other necessary appliances and accessories.
The hall also has chairs and tables to meet the needs of most users. There are large windows with blinds that offer lots of sunlight (if the blinds are open). There is a huge patio that is accessible directly from the main room, which provides a perfect space in summer to use in many ways.
There is a generous coat room, and a small room that can be booked in addition to the main hall. This provides space for things like a dressing or waiting area for the bride at a wedding.
The only negative is the washrooms. They are very small and old. They are often not the cleanest due to the stream of park users throughout daylight hours in the summer. It is also pretty much impossible to keep park users out of the entrance way and washrooms unless you close and lock the door. To be clear, if your event is in the evening or at sometime there are not a lot of people in the park, the washrooms will remain clean for your booking. The community league ensures they are before your event. The problem comes from park users after your rental begins.
Probably the single best feature of this hall over others in the city is its location. Riverdale is a small, quiet, relatively safe community located in the river valley in the heart of the city. The Community League space is across the road from the river. Because Riverdale is on a flood plain, the banks of the river are not very high. This is something that doesn’t occur in many places in the city. The neighbourhood, park and river valley have many large older trees that offer beautiful backgrounds for photos. The Community League also has beautiful planters and other landscaping that is well maintained. No other hall in the city, in my opinion, offers such a beautiful and quiet setting for an event.
There is a decent size parking lot adjacent to the main building. It is sometimes a bit crowded with park users, but this is not usually a problem. There is also ample street parking available for those who can walk up hills.
Riverdale House is a beautiful small venue. The floor is good for dancing. There are tables and chairs available. There is a kitchenette that is open to the space, with enough appliances and accessories to provide for the size of the space. There is a path between the House and the hall and parking lot.
Accessibility:
Parking:There is accessible parking for the hall, but not for the rink shack or the smaller but beautiful room upstairs, Riverdale House.
The main building: This building is accessible to enter, and to access the patio; however, the bathrooms are not very accessible for wheelchair users. By this I mean that most wheelchair users would not be able to use the toilets. But they might be able to use the sink. Unfortunately the fixtures on the sinks are not very friendly for people with dexterity or strength issues in their hands.
Riverdale House: The path to Riverdale House is unpaved making it difficult for wheelchair users to manage. It is also a difficult path for those with disabilities that affect their walking, due both to the unevenness of the surface and the distance from the parking lot. Riverdale House also has a threshold to enter that may prevent some wheelchair users from getting in.