Hampton Park, Ottawa
Encyclopedia
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, in the Canadian province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. It is directly north of the Queensway
Queensway
-United Kingdom:*Queensway *Queensway *Queensway Tunnel, in Merseyside*Queensway tube station, in London*Queensway, Rochdale, in Greater Manchester.*Queensway , a shopping centre*Queensway , a defunct furniture retailer...
at Island Park Drive
Island Park Drive
Island Park Drive is a short, but important and scenic, north-south street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is one of several parkways in Ottawa administered by the National Capital Commission providing scenic routes throughout Canada's capital region....
. It is considered a sub-neighbourhood of the Westboro area. It was first developed in 1910 by J.C. Brennan who shares his name with Brennan Avenue which is a residential street in the area. The neighbourhood is full of youth and lies quite near Hampton Park Plaza and Richmond Road. The park is maintained by the National Capital Commission
National 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...
.
Many streets in the Hampton Park neighbourhood are named for upper-class neighbourhoods of London, including Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
, Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, and Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
. The name Hampton Park might itself be named after the neighbourhood of Hampton
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
in London.
History
Hampton Park has a fairly long history in the context of parks in the city of Ottawa. Baseball games were played in the park at least far back as 1916. An Ottawa Citizen article from the time indicates that the park was the location of a Trolley Line Baseball League game between BritanniaBritannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
and Ottawa West
Ottawa West
Ottawa West was a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1997 and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1908 to 1926 and from 1955 to 1999. It covered the western part of the Ottawa area.-Federal...
.
The park itself has existed in Ottawa's west end for almost 100 years. The area was purchased by the Federal District Commission (now the National Capital Commission
National 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...
) in 1927. The park is several blocks in length and has a flat grassy area with benches as well as a wooded area with paths which is mainly used by people walking their dogs.
Current Use
The area of the park just north of the Queensway contains a basketball court, two baseball diamonds, a seasonal outdoor swimming pool, a playground, swings and change room facilities.Dogs are allowed in Hampton Park on leash but many people still allow their dogs off leash in the northern part of the park. City of Ottawa by-law officers have been seen in the park but it is unclear whether they have jurisdiction in the NCC-operated park.
Queensway expansion and Hampton Park
Hampton Park is notable for being the construction site for the Island Park bridge replacement project that occurred during the summer of 2007.In recent years there has been mounting pressure from the Ontario provincial government to expand the Queensway and make it more efficient. This led to a proposal by the National Capital Commission to build a new offramp on the west side of Island Park drive. The proposed offramp would have cut through part of the wooded area north of the Queensway and would have linked Island Park Drive with Merivale Road via a roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
.
After months of pressure from the Island Park community the plan was eventually scrapped.