Queen's Park (Toronto)
Queen's Park is a park in the Canadian city of Toronto . It was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales in 1860 and is named in honor of Queen Victoria . In the middle of the park is the Ontario Parliament building . The term Queen's Park also describes the provincial government in the sense of a metonymy . The site belongs to the University of Toronto , but was leased to the provincial government in 1859 for a period of 999 years for the symbolic price of one dollar a year.
description
The part of the park north of Wellesley Street is laid out as an English landscape garden, overlooked by tall trees that provide shade in summer. Several footpaths radiate to an equestrian statue of Edward VII , which is located on a small hill in the middle. The statue, created in 1911, once stood in the Indian capital New Delhi , but was removed there in 1969 and brought to Canada as a gift. The main north-south path runs between the statue and the 48th Highlanders War Memorial at the top of the park. In the northern part of the park, the official gun salute is traditionally fired; on Victoria Day (May 24th), Canada Day (July 1st) and Remembrance Day (November 11th).
In the southern part of the park is the Ontario Parliament Building, completed in 1893 , the seat of the Legislative Assembly and the Vice-Governor of the Province of Ontario . There are also numerous statues and monuments that commemorate famous people and events in Canadian history: George Brown (influential publisher), King Edward VII, John Macdonald (first Prime Minister of Canada), John Sandfield Macdonald (first Prime Minister of Ontario), William Lyon Mackenzie (Leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion), Oliver Mowat (Third Prime Minister of Ontario), Northwest Rebellion , John Graves Simcoe (First Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada), Queen Victoria, James Whitney (Sixth Prime Minister of Ontario), Veterans Memorial, Police Memorial, Volunteers Memorial, Al Purdy (Poet). A rose garden also honors Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen's Park is roughly oval in shape. However, it has a small inward bend in the southwest. This corresponds to the earlier course of the Taddle Creek, which was covered in 1886. Almost all of the surrounding properties are owned by the University of Toronto. The Royal Ontario Museum and the Gardiner Museum are nearby .
traffic
The park is surrounded by Queen's Park Crescent East and Queen's Park Crescent West. They form part of a major south-north thoroughfare consisting of University Avenue , Queen's Park and Avenue Road. Traffic heads north via Queen's Park Crescent East and south via Queen's Park Crescent West. Both streets are connected to each other and form a counter clockwise roundabout around the entire park. Wellesley Street crosses the park slightly north of the center of the oval.
The Yonge University Line of the Toronto Subway runs under the park ; the closest stations are Museum to the north and Queen's Park to the south. The 506 tram stop is at the latter (the intersection of University Avenue and College Street) .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ King Edward VII. Rudylimberger.com, accessed on July 31, 2010 (English).
- ↑ Taddle Creek. lostrivers.ca, accessed July 31, 2010 .
Coordinates: 43 ° 39 ′ 51.6 " N , 79 ° 23 ′ 32.4" W.