Confederation Park
Encyclopedia
Ottawa City Hall
The current Ottawa City Hall is the city hall of Ottawa, Canada. The downtown complex consists of two connected buildings: a modern wing located on Laurier Avenue and a 19th century heritage wing located on Elgin Street...
; on the east by the Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
; on the north by the Mackenzie King Bridge
Mackenzie King Bridge
The Mackenzie King Bridge is a bridge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Just a few blocks away from Parliament Hill, south of the Plaza Bridge, it runs in a generally east-west direction, with the east end at the Rideau Centre and Department of National Defence Headquarters. The west end runs between...
, the Rideau Centre
Rideau Centre
Rideau Centre is a three-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street , the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie King Bridge, and Nicholas Street....
and the National Arts Centre
National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
; and, to the west, by Elgin Street
Elgin Street (Ottawa)
Elgin Street is a street in the Golden Triangle of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally named Biddy's Lane, it was later named after Lord Elgin....
and the Lord Elgin Hotel
Lord Elgin Hotel
The Lord Elgin Hotel is a prominent hotel in downtown Ottawa, Canada with 355 guest rooms, located at 100 Elgin Street at Laurier Avenue, across from Confederation Park...
.
Description
Confederation Park is one of the 'Capital' parks in Ottawa maintained by the National Capital CommissionNational Capital Commission
The National Capital Commission , is a Canadian Crown corporation that administers the federally owned lands and buildings in Canada's National Capital Region, including Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec.The NCC was created in 1959, replacing the Federal District Commission , which had been...
. It is an urban park, with paved pathways, monuments and an open lawn on the eastern side for gatherings. It is basically flat in its topology. A large fountain is located in the center of the park. Constructed of Peterhead granite
Boddam, Aberdeenshire
Boddam is a coastal village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is north of Aberdeen and south of Peterhead. Sea cliffs rise to , south of the village: a coastal path leads along these to the Bullers of Buchan....
, it honors Colonel John By
John By
Lieutenant-Colonel John By was a British military engineer, best remembered for supervising the construction of the Rideau Canal and, in the process, founding what would become the city of Ottawa....
. The fountain was relocated from Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where it had stood 1845 to 1939. A twin of the fountain, which had also stood in Trafalgar Square, is located in Wascana Park
Wascana Centre
Wascana Centre is a 9.3 square kilometre park built around Wascana Lake in Regina, Saskatchewan. It brings together lands and buildings owned by the City of Regina, University of Regina, and Province of Saskatchewan, each of which is represented on the board of directors, and contains government,...
, Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
). The park also is the site of a totem pole donated to the City of Ottawa to commemorate British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
's 1971 centennial, the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument and a Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
memorial statue.
The park is surrounded on all sides by large buildings. On the east, on the other side of the Canal, is the 'brutalist' modern skyscraper of Defence headquarters. On the south, across Laurier Avenue is the complex of Ottawa City Hall and the Ontario Court building. On the west, on Elgin, is the large Lord Elgin Hotel. To the north, the modern National Arts Centre complex can be seen.
The pathways through the park serve as a common shortcut for pedestrians heading from Elgin Street
Elgin Street (Ottawa)
Elgin Street is a street in the Golden Triangle of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally named Biddy's Lane, it was later named after Lord Elgin....
and/or Centretown
Centretown
Centretown is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada defined by the city as "the area bounded on the north by Gloucester Street and Lisgar Street, on the east by the Rideau Canal, on the south by the Queensway Freeway and on the west by Bronson Avenue." Traditionally it was all of Ottawa west of the...
to destinations to the north and east (the National Arts Centre, Rideau Street, Sussex Drive
Sussex Drive
Sussex Drive is a major street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's major ceremonial and institutional routes....
, the Rideau Centre and/or the Byward Market
Byward Market
ByWard Market is a district in Lower Town located east of the government & business district, surrounding the market buildings and open-air market on George, York, ByWard and William Streets.The district is bordered on the west by Sussex Drive, on the...
), since it is a more direct route than walking uphill on Elgin and Wellington Street
Wellington Street (Ottawa)
Wellington Street is an important street in Ottawa, Canada most notable for being one of the first two streets laid out in Bytown in 1826 Wellington Street (French: Rue Wellington) is an important street in Ottawa, Canada most notable for being one of the first two streets laid out in Bytown in...
s.
History
The area was part of Ottawa's downtown for many years, the site of businesses related to the nearby Rideau CanalRideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
, such as Dey's Boat Works. The location was the site of The Arena
The Arena, Ottawa
The Arena, also known as Dey's Arena was an arena for ice hockey located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was the home of the Ottawa Hockey Club from 1908 to 1923. It was the third in a series of ice hockey venues built by the Dey family of Ottawa...
from 1908 to 1927, where the original Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team played. The land bordering the canal was cleared in 1927, including the demolition of the arena. The land was used to build "The Driveway" roadway along the canal, as a scenic improvement of the capital.
Along Elgin Street, the location was occupied by the Roxborough Apartments, a luxury apartment complex that had once been home to many Ottawa elites, such as Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
and Louis St. Laurent
Louis St. Laurent
Louis Stephen St. Laurent, PC, CC, QC , was the 12th Prime Minister of Canada from 15 November 1948, to 21 June 1957....
. As part of the 1949 Greber Plan
Greber Plan
The Greber Plan, or General Report on the Plan for the National Capital , was an urban plan developed in 1950 by Jacques Gréber for the Federal District Commission of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.Its main components were:...
, the site was to be cleared for a "Confederation Park" along the Canal from Laurier Avenue to Wellington Street surrounded by public buildings. The apartments and a number of buildings were expropriated and demolished by the federal government to build a "National Museum of Science" in 1965. The area north of the Mackenzie King bridge had already been cleared as part of the building of Confederation Square
Confederation Square
Confederation Square is an urban square in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and is considered the second most important ceremonial centre in Canada's capital city, after Parliament Hill...
. That section was ultimately used for the construction of the National Arts Centre
National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
. In 1967, the Museum site was converted to parkland, to commemorate the Canadian Centennial
Canadian Centennial
The Canadian Centennial was a year long celebration held in 1967 when Canada celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. Celebrations occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1. 1967 coins were different from previous years' issues, with animals on each...
(the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
).
From 1971 to 1993, the park was home to Ed Zelenak's massive sculpture, "Traffic." The controversial work was a large brown tube of fiberglass that was compared to a large worm or piece of dung, and led to much debate over modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
in Ottawa. It was later relocated to a more obscure location by the National Gallery.
Events
In the summer, the Ottawa International Jazz FestivalOttawa International Jazz Festival
The TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival was founded in 1980 and is now a multi-week festival of jazz music, featuring performers from all around the world. It is held in the summer in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and takes place at various locations throughout the city. The main events...
's main events are held here. In the winter, Winterlude
Winterlude
Winterlude is an annual festival in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec that celebrates winter.Winterlude is run by Canada's National Capital Commission and was started in 1979. The event is one of Ottawa's most important tourist draws, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year...
uses the location for displays, events and its ice sculpture competition. Events of Canada Day
Canada Day
Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...
are held at the site as well. Other festivals that spill over from the neighbouring Cartier Square plaza in front of Ottawa City Hall
Ottawa City Hall
The current Ottawa City Hall is the city hall of Ottawa, Canada. The downtown complex consists of two connected buildings: a modern wing located on Laurier Avenue and a 19th century heritage wing located on Elgin Street...
use the park.
Other parks
There are several other parks in Canada sharing the name 'Confederation Park'. A 400 hectares (988.4 acre) urban parkConfederation Park, Calgary
Confederation Park is an urban park in northwest Calgary, Alberta.It is developed over an area of , between the neighbourhoods of Mount Pleasant, Capitol Hill, Collingwood and Highland Park. 10th Street West bisects the park from north to south....
is located in Calgary, Alberta. Another is located in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
on the Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
waterfront. Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
's Confederation Park is also on the Lake Ontario waterfront by Kingston City Hall.
Occupy Ottawa
The Occupy movement's presence in Ottawa began on Saturday October 15, 2011 with around 500 people participating at Confederation Park. A march on Sussex Drive was held the second day, passing by the U.S. embassy. Around 75 people camped in tents, with the group planning to occupy the downtown park indefinitely. Many participants, prepared for the long haul, described Occupy Ottawa as a movement of presence, rather than just a protest.External links
- Webcam from the Lord Elgin Hotel - Webcam overlooking Confederation Park.
- 360 Panorama from OttawaKiosk.com - 360 Degree picture of Confederation Park during Winterlude.