Strathcona Park is a large park in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It lies on the west bank of the Rideau River and marks the eastern edge of the Sandy Hill neighbourhood.
The area of the park was originally the swampy floodplain of the river and impossible to build on. The site first became home of the Dominion Rifle Range, where soldiers had trained before departing for the Second Boer War. That history is preserved in the name of Range Road, which runs along the west of the park. The area was turned into a park by the Ottawa Improvement Commission between 1904 and 1907. It was named after Lord Strathcona, a Canadian businessman and politician who had financed his own regiment in the war. [1]
The most prominent feature of the 15-acre (6.1 ha) park is the fountain atop the hill; it was donated by Lord Strathcona in 1909 and sculpted by French artist, Mathurin Moreau. [2] The four upright figures symbolize the four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, America), which was a commonly used artistic metaphor until the 19th Century [3] . A twin fountain stands in downtown Buenos Aires.
The park's original design was a classic example of English public park design. It contained a pair of small ponds, gazebos, and Ottawa's first golf course. In the 1940s, the ponds were filled in because of their expense and replaced with a wading pool. A baseball diamond was constructed at the southern end of the park in the 1920s and, for many years, was Ottawa's main venue for the sport.
The banks of the Rideau were once a popular swimming area, but the perception of pollution now make that unpopular. During the summer, the water level is low enough to ford the river and cross to Riverain Park in Vanier, but the Adàwe Crossing bridge, opened in December 2015, now makes fording the river unnecessary. [4] Just to the south of Strathcona Park is Dutchy's Hole Park and Robinson Field. In the winter, the park, with its large hill at the northern end, is a popular site for tobogganing and making snowboard jumps.
The park remained under the control of the OIC successor agency the National Capital Commission until 1987, when it did not renew its lease with the city. Since then, the park has been managed by the municipality. In the early 1990s, the park was refurbished by the city. One of the most noted additions was the play structure designed by artist Stephen Brathwaite, who designed a structure to look like ruins and was inspired by Mackenzie King's ruin garden at Kingsmere. The structure was assembled out of blocks of stone that had been part of the Parliament buildings, the Chateau Laurier, and other prominent Ottawa structures.
Since 1986, the park has been home to Odyssey Theatre, a professional company that presents open-air plays each summer on a stage at the northeast corner of the park. Odyssey Theatre's unique performances of classical plays and original creations are inspired by the Italian commedia dell'arte and incorporate international forms of puppetry, clowning, and dance-theatre.
In July 2014, the city began construction of a pedestrian and cyclist bridge across the Rideau River to connect the Rideau River Eastern Pathway at Donald Street with Strathcona Park and Somerset Street East. [5]
The park is surrounded by a series of large homes that once housed the elite of Ottawa. Most are now embassies, and the area around the park is often called Ottawa's Embassy Row. Perched above the park is the Russian embassy, formerly the Soviet Union embassy.
Sandy Hill is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, located just east of downtown. The neighbourhood is bordered on the west by the Rideau Canal, and on the east by the Rideau River. To the north it stretches to Rideau Street and the Byward Market area while to the south it is bordered by the Queensway highway and Nicholas Street. The area is named for its hilliness, caused by the river, and its sandy soil, which makes it difficult to erect large buildings. It is home to a number of embassies, residences and parks. Le cordon bleu operates its Canadian school there, at the opposite end of Sandy Hill from the University of Ottawa.
Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a sod turning, and a letter from Governor General Dalhousie which authorized Lieutenant Colonel John By to divide up the town into lots. Bytown came about as a result of the construction of the Rideau Canal and grew largely due to the Ottawa River timber trade. Bytown's first mayor was John Scott, elected in 1847.
Rideau Street is a major street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and one of Ottawa's oldest and most famous streets running from Wellington Street in the west to Montreal Road in the east where it connects to the Vanier district. Rideau Street is home to the Château Laurier, the CF Rideau Centre and the Government Conference Centre. Along with Wellington Street and Sussex Drive it was among the first streets in Ottawa to be host to businesses; it was created with the founding of the early town. The Plaza Bridge by the Rideau Canal is at its westmost point and the Cummings Bridge is at its eastmost point.
The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge, also known as the Alexandra Bridge or Interprovincial Bridge, is a steel truss cantilever bridge spanning the Ottawa River between Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec. In addition to carrying vehicle traffic, a shared use pathway on the bridge for pedestrians and cyclists is maintained by the National Capital Commission.
Old Ottawa South is an older urban neighbourhood in Capital Ward in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Old Ottawa South is a relatively small and compact neighbourhood, located between the Rideau Canal and the Rideau River. The eastern boundary is Avenue Road. Bronson Avenue forms the western border of the residential neighbourhood. Carleton University is on the other (western) side of Bronson but the campus can be considered to be geographically within Old Ottawa South as the campus is also nestled between the river and the canal.
Laurier Avenue(French: Avenue Laurier) is a central east west street running through Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as "Maria Street" and "Theodore Street", it was renamed in honour of Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Laurier House, the residence of Prime Ministers Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King, is located at the corner of Laurier Avenue East and Chapel Street.
Wellington Street is a major street in Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. The street is notable for being the main street of the Parliamentary Precinct of the Parliament of Canada. It is one of the first two streets laid out in Bytown in 1826. The street runs from Vimy Place, just west of Booth Street, to the Rideau Canal where it connects with Rideau Street and delimits the northern border of the downtown core. It is named after the Duke of Wellington, in recognition of his role in the creation of the Rideau Canal, and therefore of Ottawa.
Somerset Street is a street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into Somerset Street East and Somerset Street West by the Rideau Canal.
Green Island in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is an island at the junction of the Rideau River, just off Sussex Drive in Ottawa at the Rideau Falls at the confluence with the Ottawa River. It is situated near the neighbourhood of New Edinburgh.
The High Commission of Pakistan in Ottawa is the diplomatic mission of Pakistan to Canada.
LeBreton Flats known colloquially as The Flats is a neighbourhood in Somerset Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It lies to the west of Centretown neighbourhood, and to the north of Centretown West. The Ottawa River forms the western and northern limit, with the western side being a wider area of the river known as Nepean Bay.
Confederation Park(French: Parc de la Confédération) is a public park and National Historic Site of Canada, located in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the south by Laurier Avenue and Ottawa City Hall; on the east by the Rideau Canal and National Defence Headquarters; on the north by the Mackenzie King Bridge, the Rideau Centre and the National Arts Centre; and to the west by Elgin Street and the Lord Elgin Hotel.
Lower Town (also spelled "Lowertown" is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Vanier Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to the east of downtown. It is the oldest part of the city. It is bounded by Rideau Street to the south, the Ottawa River to the west and north and the Rideau River to the east. It includes the commercial Byward Market area in the south-western part, and is predominantly residential in the north and east.
Overbrook is an urban neighbourhood situated in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward, in the east end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located across the Rideau River from the neighbourhood of Sandy Hill and is just to the south of Vanier. To the east of Overbrook is the former City of Gloucester. It was constituted as a police village in 1922 and was annexed by the City of Ottawa in 1950.
The architecture of Ottawa is most marked by the city's role as the national capital of Canada. This gives the city a number of monumental structures designed to represent the federal government and the nation. It also means that as a city dominated by government bureaucrats, much of its architecture tends to be formalistic and functional. However, the city is also marked by Romantic and Picturesque styles of architecture such as the Parliament Building's Gothic Revival architecture.
The Plaza Bridge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is an automotive and pedestrian bridge that crosses the Rideau Canal just south of the Ottawa locks. It joins Wellington Street and Elgin Street in the Downtown core to the west with Rideau Street to the east. The Chateau Laurier abuts the bridge at the east end, while Parliament Hill is just beyond the west end. It is the northernmost bridge over the canal, just north of the Mackenzie King Bridge.
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. Roughly triangular in area, with Canada's National War Memorial at its centre and the Valiants Memorial at its periphery, the square is bounded by Wellington Street to the north and branches of Elgin Street to the east and west.
Dutchy's Hole Park or Robinson Park is a park on the Rideau River in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the downtown Ottawa neighbourhood of Sandy Hill. The park has a wading pool, playground, and a football field, called Robinson Field. Pathways connect the park with Strathcona Park, the Rideau Campus of the University of Ottawa and via a former train bridge with Parc Riverain/River Road Park across the Rideau River in Vanier.