Queen's Park in Toronto

Queen's Park in Toronto

Queen’s Park is an urban park in Downtown Toronto. It was opened in 1860 by Edward, Prince of Wales, and named in honour of Queen Victoria.

The park is the site of the Ontario Legislative Building, which houses the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and the phrase “Queen’s Park” is regularly used as a metonym for the Government of Ontario.

The section of the park north of Wellesley Street follows the traditional British design, dominated by large trees. Footpaths radiate outwards from an equestrian statue of Edward VII, which stands on a large mound at the centre of the northern section. This statue originally stood in India. It was moved to Canada after 1969, when India became a Commonwealth republic.

The site of the park is approximately oval and it’s bounded by Queen’s Park Crescent East and West. 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 (fired at 1200 EDT), Canada Day (fired at 1200 EDT), and Remembrance Day (fired at 1102 EST). Other salutes are also conducted here throughout the year as dictated by protocol.

It's Elena who took all the pictures of the Queen Park.

This park is located in downtown Toronto.

Path of the park.

Queen Park, Victorian building.

Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe (1752-1806). First Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada between 1791 and 1796. Founder of the City of Toronto on July 30th, 1793.

Park's green space.

Highlanders Regiment War Memorial.

Memorial Cross in the park.

Sir John. A. MacDonald (1815-1891). Canada's first prime minister was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and immigrated with his family to Kingston, Upper Canada, in 1820. A successful lawyer, he was elected to the provincial elgislatuer inm 1844 and became leader of the conservative party. He played a leading role in the effort to achieve a federal union of Britain's North American colonies which restulted in the Formation of the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. MacDonald served as Prime Minister, 1867-1873 and 1878-1891, and under his administration large territories were added to Canada, a transcontinental railway built and settlement of the West encouraged. At his death Canada's autonomy, based on rapid economic development and a close Brithis-Canadian relationship, was assured.

A Very Ferousious squirrel!

Monument to Al Purdy, a great Canadian poet (1918-2000).

Equestrian statue of King Edward VII. Originally standing in Edward Park, Delhi, India, this statue was erected on the present site through the generous subscriptions of the citizens of this area. This gift to the City of Toronto was made possible by the Government of India and the former Canadian High Commissioner to India, His Excellency The Right Honourable Roland Michener, C.C., C.D. Governor General of Canada, and brought to this City through the personal generosity of Henry R. Jackman, Esq., Q.C.. May 24, 1969. William Dennison, Mayor.

View on the downtown from the park.

Alexander MacDonald grave and monument (headstone).

Erected to the memory of the officers and men who fell on the battlefields of the north-west in 1885. Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori.

Queen Victoria.

Canons near the Queen Victoria monument.

The legislative building, opened in 1893, brought a new public purpose to the park and significantly altered the original landscaping of its southern grounds. By then, the city encircled the park. Unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, July 6, 2010. Ontario Heritage Trust, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Within a city, trees are important not only for their aesthetic value, but also for their role in maintaining a healthy environment and atmosphere. Among other things, they are vital to the absorption of carbon dioxide; the reduction of heat accumulated from buildings, pavement, roads, and vehicles; and the control of stormwater runoff. Trees within a city on private and public lands are collectively referred to as the “urban forest”. A selection of common Toronto trees found in Queen’s Park. PLANTING TRENDS OVER TIME. Toronto’s urban forest has a mixture of native and non-native tree species, with thousands of different cultivated varieties. Trees of different species and ages growing throughout the city, on streets, in parks, and on private property, reflect the trends and fashions in planting at different periods of the city’s history.

The main block of the massive Romanesque Revival structure, with its towering legislative chamber, was completed in 1892 and on April 4, 1893, the first legislative session in Queen’s Park was opened under Premier Sir Oliver Mowat.

Statues and monuments located in the Queen’s Park:

• Statue of John A. Macdonald by Hamilton MacCarthy
• Statue of John Graves Simcoe
• 48th Highlanders Regimental Memorial
• George Brown, one of the Fathers of Confederation, by Charles Bell Birch 1884
• King Edward VII, by Thomas Brock 1919; installed at 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, by Hamilton MacCarthy 1894
• 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
• Jesus Christ, central figure of Christianity