Garrison Common in 1845 Owen Staples? (1866 - 1949). Pen & ink sketch. 16.4 x 34.0 cm. TPL (TRL) B 3-19a Surrounding Fort York was a large piece of land known as the Garrison Common used as a drill ground for soldiers. Some of this land was transferred to the province for the asylum on Queen Street. Eventually the land was used for the site of the Crystal Palace in 1859 and the future Provincial Exhibition, now the CNE.