| Queen's Park | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario |
| Operated by | Government of Ontario |
Queen's Park is an urban park in the Downtown area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1860 by Edward, Prince of Wales, it was named in honour of Queen Victoria. The park is the site of the Ontario Legislative Building, which houses the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and so the phrase Queen's Park is also frequently used as a metonym to refer to the Government of Ontario. The property is technically owned by the University of Toronto, but was leased to the Government of Ontario in 1859 for a period of 999 years, set to expire in 2858. Queen's Park is also the name of a street and a subway station, as described below.
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Features
The section of the park north of Wellesley Street follows the traditional British design, dominated by large trees that provide extensive cover during summer. Footpaths radiate outwards from an equestrian statue of Edward VII, which stands on a large mound at the centre of the northern section. The statue originally stood in India, but was moved to Canada after 1969, when India became a Commonwealth republic. The main north-south path runs between the statue and the war memorial of the 48th Highlanders at the park's northern tip. The site is approximately oval; however the southwestern edge of Queens Park "kinks" in somewhat (lower left side of the aerial image). In the past, this was the bank of Taddle Creek. With the creek long-buried, the kink remains.
Statues and monuments
The southern section of the park is the site of the Ontario Legislature, the seat of the provincial government. The grounds contain several monuments commemorating notable historical figures and events:
- George Brown, one of the Fathers of Confederation by Charles Bell Birch 1884
- King Edward VII by Thomas Brock 1919; originally installed at the old King Edward VII Park (now Netaji Subhash Park) in Delhi, India in 1919, removed in 1967, sold in 1968 and re-installed in Toronto in 1969
- Sir John A. Macdonald, first Prime Minister of Canada
- John Sandfield Macdonald, first Premier of Ontario by Walter Allward 1909
- William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion by Walter Allward 1940
- Sir Oliver Mowat, third Premier of Ontario by Walter Allward 1905
- Northwest Rebellion memorial
- John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada by Walter Allward 1903
- Queen Victoria by Mario Raggi 1870
- Sir James Pliny Whitney, sixth Premier of Ontario by Hamilton MacCarthy 1927
- Ontario Veterans Memorial
- Ontario Police Memorial by Siggy Puchta 2000
- Queen Elizabeth II Rose Gardens in honour of Her Majesty's Silver Jubilee in 1977 and Golden Jubilee in 2002
- Al Purdy, celebrated Canadian poet
- Canadian Volunteer Monument by Robert Reid 1870
A monument honouring militia volunteers who died fighting against Fenian invaders at the Battle of Limeridge is located just west of Queen's Park in an isolated corner of the University of Toronto campus, at coordinates 43°39′45″N 79°23′36″W / 43.662637°N 79.393308°W. Although this monument was in Queen's Park at the time of its unveiling in 1870[1], it has since been cut off from the rest of the park by the construction of Queen's Park Crescent.
The University of Toronto occupies most of the land surrounding the park. Ministry buildings of the Ontario government are located to the east of the park, in an area between Wellesley Street and Grosvenor Street. The Royal Ontario Museum, McLaughlin Planetarium, and Gardiner Museum buildings are not adjacent to the park, but are on the street of the same name (see below).
Gallery
 Statue of George Brown |
 Statue of Sir Oliver Mowat |
 Statue of Sir James Pliny Whitney |
 Battle of Limeridge (U of T campus) |
 Statue of John A. Macdonald |
 Statue of King Edward VII moved from Delhi, India in 1969 |
Transport
The oval park is bounded by Queen's Park Crescent East and West. These form part of a major through route consisting, in order, of these separately named streets:
- University Avenue (south of College Street)
- Queen's Park Crescent East and West
- Queen's Park
- Avenue Road (north of Bloor Street)
Queen's Park Crescent East and West carry northbound and southbound traffic respectively and are linked to make a complete anticlockwise loop around the park. University Avenue, Queen's Park (with no suffix), and Avenue Road have two-way traffic and lie in essentially the same straight line. Wellesley Street bisects Queen's Park Crescent slightly north of the loop's centre.
The Yonge-University-Spadina subway line runs below University Avenue, Queen's Park (the park, to one side of the legislature), and Queen's Park (the street), serving the area via its Queen's Park and Museum stations. Other public transit access is provided by the 5 Avenue Road and 94 Wellesley bus routes, and the 506 Carlton streetcar route.
See also
- Monarchy in Ontario
- Parliament Hill in Ottawa
- Parliament Hill in London
- Government Hill in Hong Kong
References
- ^ "Celebration of Dominion Day—Unveiling of a Monument in Toronto—Imposing Ceremonies" (PDF). The New York Times. 1870-07-03. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A01E4D8143DE63BBC4B53DFB166838B669FDE.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Queen's Park |
Coordinates: 43°39′53″N 79°23′33″W / 43.664659°N 79.392453°W
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