
Aerial view of Queen's Park in winter, facing north. The
Ontario Legislature is situated in the middle of the park.
'Queen's Park' is an
urban park in the
Downtown area of
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 Legislature, which houses the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and so the phrase 'Queen's Park' is also frequently used to refer to the
Government of Ontario. 'Queen's Park' is also the name of a street and a subway station, as described below.
Features
The section of the park north of
Wellesley Street follows the traditional
British design, dominated by large trees that provide extensive cover during summer.
Footpaths radiate outwards from an
equestrian statue of
Edward VII, which stands on a large mound at the centre of the northern section. The statue originally stood in
India, but was moved to Canada after 1949, when India became a
Commonwealth republic. The main north-south path runs between the statue and the
war memorial of the
48th Highlanders at the park's northern tip.
The southern section of the park is the site of the
Ontario Legislature, the seat of the provincial government. The grounds contain several monuments commemorating notable historical figures and events:
★
George Brown, one of the
Fathers of Confederation
★
King George V
★ Sir
John A. Macdonald, first
Prime Minister of Canada
★
John Sandfield Macdonald, first
Premier of Ontario
★
William Lyon Mackenzie, leader of the
Upper Canada Rebellion
★ Sir
Oliver Mowat, third Premier of Ontario
★
Northwest Rebellion memorial
★
John Graves Simcoe, first
Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario
★
Queen Victoria
★ Sir
James Pliny Whitney, sixth Premier of Ontario
★
Ontario Veterans Memorial
★
Queen Elizabeth II Rose Gardens in honour of Her Majesty's
Silver Jubilee in 1977 and
Golden Jubilee in 2002
The
University of Toronto occupies most of the land surrounding the park. Ministry buildings of the Ontario government are located to the east of the park, in an area between Wellesley Street and Grosvenor Street. The
Royal Ontario Museum,
McLaughlin Planetarium, and
Gardiner Museum buildings are not adjacent to the park, but are on the street of the same name (see below).
Transport
The oval park is bounded by Queen's Park Crescent East and West. These form part of a major through route consisting, in order, of these separately named streets:
★
University Avenue (south of
College Street)
★ Queen's Park Crescent East and West
★ Queen's Park
★
Avenue Road (north of
Bloor Street)
Queen's Park Crescent East and West carry northbound and southbound traffic respectively and are linked to make a complete anticlockwise loop around the park. University Avenue, Queen's Park (with no suffix), and Avenue Road have two-way traffic and lie in essentially the same straight line.
The
Yonge-University-Spadina subway line runs below University Avenue, Queen's Park (the park, to one side of the legislature), and Queen's Park (the street), serving the area via its
Queen's Park and
Museum stations. Other
public transit access is provided by the 5 Avenue Road and 94 Wellesley
bus routes, and the
506 Carlton streetcar route.
See also
★
Monarchy in Ontario
See also
★
Parliament Hill,
Ottawa, Ontario
★
Parliament Hill, London
★
Government Hill,
Hong Kong
External links
★
Location of Queen's Park with links to other web pages related to the area