Queen's Park (Toronto)


Queen's Park is an urban park in downtown 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. The phrase "Queen's Park" is regularly used as a metonym for the Government of Ontario or the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
The park is nearly an enclave of the University of Toronto's St. George campus, which occupies most of the surrounding lands. In 1859, the land was leased by the University of Toronto to the City of Toronto government for a 999-year term. In 1880, a "portion of the Queen's Park selected the Government of Ontario, as a site for the erection of new Legislative and Departmental buildings". The land that is occupied by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is owned by the Government of Ontario. The north park is owned by the University of Toronto and leased to the city. Ministry buildings of the Ontario government occupy other properties to the east of the park, in an area between Wellesley Street and Grosvenor Street.

History

Shortly after King's College was established in 1827, the institution purchased from two farming estates north of the Town of York, including present day Queen's Park.
This was part of the from portions of three park lots:
The cornerstone for one of the college's earliest buildings was laid at the site on 23 April 1842. The building was built on the present site of the east wing of the Ontario Legislative Building, and was completed in 1843; although it remained vacant until 1845. The building was initially planned to be the southeast wing for a larger building, although these additional wings were never built as a result of budget shortfalls. The building was situated within a landscaped park surrounded by tree-lined avenues, and was accessed through two gates to the north and south. While the university occupied the property it was known as University Park.
In 1853, the Parliament of the Province of Canada expropriated the building for its use; with the University of Toronto relocating classes held in that building to the Third Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada. The Parliament of the Province of Canada was based in Toronto from 1849 to 1853 and again from 1856 to 1858; having relocated several times within the Province of Canada during its existence.
Given the park's popularity with local residents, the municipal government of Toronto entered negotiations with the university to lease the land for the purposes of creating a public park; with a 999-year lease for of land eventually formalized on 29 August 1858. The terms of the lease also outlined that the government had the right to build a legislative building on the property if they so desired.
On 11 September 1860, the property was officially dedicated as Canada's first municipal park by Edward, Prince of Wales ; and was named Queen's Park, in honour of Queen Victoria. The park was originally planned to be opened the previous Saturday, although heavy rain led the dedication ceremony to be rescheduled to Tuesday. During the ceremony, he also laid a cornerstone for an eventual statue of Queen Victoria at the southern apex of the park. However, financial difficulties and delays would eventually see this spot be occupied by a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada. The statue for Victoria would eventually be purchased and placed near the entrance to the legislative building in 1902.
In 1879, the provincial government acted on its option to construct a new legislature on the property and informed the city of its intention to do so. However, construction was delayed by inconclusive design competition, with the design commission finally awarded in 1886 to Richard A. Waite. Ownership of the southern portion of the park was also handed over to the provincial government in 1886. The Ontario Legislative Building was completed in 1892, and hosted its first legislative session on 4 April 1893. After the building's completion, Russian cannons originally placed at the southern tip of the park in 1859 were moved to the legislature's entrance. The Russian cannons were war prizes captured by British forces during the Crimean War, and gifted to the city of Toronto by Queen Victoria 1859.
Although the new legislative building split the park into two sections, local residents continued to congregate there for concerts, memorial services, military parades, and political gatherings. During the late-19th century, the northern portion of Queen's Park also hosted a public speakers' forum on Sunday. During the First World War, the park was used as a gathering point for soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
In 1984, Queen's Park hosted two tree planting ceremonies for the eastern white pine, after it was declared the province's official tree that year. The first tree planting ceremony took place on 25 May 1984 by Bob Welch, the deputy premier of Ontario in order to commemorate Arbour Day. The second tree planting ceremony also took place that year at the same location, with Queen Elizabeth II and the then-Duke of Edinburgh planting two eastern white pines on 29 September 1984. A plaque marks the spot of the tree plantings, and the trees that grew from it.
In the early 2000s, Canadian poet Dennis Lee and poet advocate Richard Griffin led a campaign to erect a statue of Al Purdy, another Canadian poet, on the grounds of Queen's Park. The campaign specifically insisted that the statue should be located at Queen's Park, in order to demonstrate the significance of poetry and the arts in Canada's cultural life. The statue was eventually built and unveiled in 2008, making it the first statue at Queen's Park that commemorates an individual that was not a political figure or monarch.

Layout

The shape of Queen's Park is similar to an oval, although the southwestern edge of Queens Park "kinks in" somewhat. The "kink" in the southwestern edge formed the former bank of Taddle Creek, a waterway underground. The oval park is bounded by Queen's Park Crescent East and West. These form part of a major through route consist of University Avenue, Queen's Park Crescent East and West, Queen's Park, and Avenue Road.
Queen's Park Crescent East and West carry northbound and southbound traffic respectively and are linked to make a complete counterclockwise loop around the park. University Avenue, Queen's Park, 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 portion of the park north of Wellesley Street is maintained by the Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division and includes a number of benches along paving stones, and picnic tables. The section follows the traditional British design, dominated by large trees that provide extensive cover during summer. The pathways radiate outwards from an equestrian statue of Edward VII, which stands on a large mound at the centre of the northern section. The main north-south path runs between the equestrian statue and the 48th Highlanders of Canada Regimental Memorial at the park's northern tip. The north section of Queen's Park is the 'saluting station' for the Province of Ontario. Gun salutes are conducted here to mark special occasions including Victoria Day, Canada Day, and Remembrance Day. Other salutes are also conducted here throughout the year as dictated by protocol.
The portion of Queen's Park south of Wellesley Street is maintained by the provincial government and includes the Ontario Legislative Building south of Wellesley Street, the parking lot to the south of the building, and the remaining portions of the park. In contrast to the northern portion of the Queen's Park, minimal landscaping was done to the southern portion of the park. However, the southern portion of the park includes the majority of the monuments and memorials in the park, and its gardens.
The first portion of the Queen Elizabeth II rose gardens was dedicated in 1977, to mark the silver jubilee of Elizabeth II. An extension to the garden was added in 2003 to mark the Queen's golden jubilee. A platinum jubilee garden featuring tobacco plants from Massey College's Chapel Royal was unveiled in 2022 to mark the Queen's platinum jubilee. The gardens also feature the first plaque in the park that recognizes the area as Treaty 13 territory. The southern portion of the park also includes the "White Trillium Garden", a garden that is landscaped with white trilliums, the official floral emblem of the province. There also exists a native species garden, a garden primarily landscaped with vegetation native to the area, including eastern white cedars, hackberries, and some perennial flowers. The southern tip of the park facing University Avenue features the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada.

Geography

Queen's Park is situated on top of sandy sediment, having been deposited there when the area was the floor bed for Glacial Lake Iroquois. Initially, the area was covered with eastern white pine, northern red oak, and white oak trees. However, because a number of non-native trees from Europe were planted around the area during the early 19th century, the park presently holds a large variety of trees from Europe, as well as trees native to Toronto. Attempts have been made to restore the park to resemble how it appeared prior to the introduction of non-native species through the planting of additional trees native to the area.

Transit access

of the Toronto subway runs below University Avenue, Queen's Park, and Queen's Park, serving the area via its Queen's Park and Museum stations. Other public transit access is provided by the 13 Avenue Road and 94 Wellesley bus routes, and the 506 Carlton streetcar route.