Victoria Park: Past, Present, and Future

Beautiful Victoria Park, downtown London's playground. What a long history it has. What changes it's seen. What events it's witnessed.

Card printed by Raphael Tuck & Sons, nd.

It started, of course, as London's Military Reserve. But when the British regimental occupation officially ended in 1869, the young city was left with a hole in its centre. Instead of  filling it, the City Hall of the day sensibly left it as a playground. Governor General The Earl of Dufferin christened it Victoria Park while visiting in August 1874. 

In 1878, a landscape gardener from the U.S. named Miller* published his proposed layout of the park. Probably soon afterward, formal landscaping began. In 1879, one of the early park's loveliest features was added: a three-tiered, 17-ft. high fountain created by Paul Peel's father, John R. Peel. Its top featured a statue of Cupid.

A 1908 postcard (Valentine & Sons) features the Victoria Park fountain on the left. Note horse and buggy driving through at right. The park was open to vehicles until 1951.

A pity about that fountain. In about 1939, it was replaced by the boring circular piece below:

Victor Aziz, nd. 

In 1964, the entire fountain was demolished. Pity. 

But there's always been lots of other things to look at in the park. Often they were military. In 1860, through the efforts of Major James Shanly, two Russian guns captured in Crimea arrived in London by the Grand Trunk Railway. Years later, they were installed in Victoria Park where they remain. 

Valentine & Sons postcard ca. 1917.

Other military reminders are the Boer War Memorial, added in 1908, and the Cenotaph in 1934. 

Cenotaph. Victor Aziz, London, nd.

The First Hussars' tank, Holy Roller, one of many that landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, was added in 1956 on the 100th anniversary of the unit. It was recently refurbished.

Portions of the park were used for sporting events, even before it was a park. An 1867 baseball game took place between members of the Forest City Base Ball Club on the Cricket Square, the southern portion of what's now the park. The afternoon game was played in the presence of a large number of spectators. 

But there was a reason it was called the Cricket Square; it was often used for that game. On September 8-9, 1872, several thousand people, many arriving by train, attended a match between the Gentlemen Eleven Cricketeers of England and 22 selected Ontario players. While the day was proclaimed a holiday so working people could see the match, a 12-ft. fence was built around the field to prevent people seeing it for free.  Meanies. 

The park was used for all kinds of outdoor events besides sports. In 1882, 7,000 people came out to see a demonstration of electric lights hanging from poles. That crowd would be amazed by the Holiday Season light display held every year since 1958. 

And what a convenient place to meet celebrities! More than 5,000 people came out to honour Londoner George "Mooney" Gibson, catcher of the 1909 world champion Pittsburgh baseball team, when he came home that October. 

Not to mention Royalty. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, was greeted in the park by 20,000 Londoners when he visited in October 1919. His niece, Queen Elizabeth II, was greeted by another large crowd when she visited us on June 28, 1973. 

In recent years the park has hosted various festivals and concerts. Home County was first held in the park in 1974, Rib Fest in 1987, and Sunfest in 1995. Everyone from the Royal Canadian Big Band Festival to April Wine have played the bandstand. 

The Architecture

The park being a central part of the city, it was surrounded by magnificent buildings. One was London Life, now Canada Life, built in the Beaux-Arts style on the south side in 1928. 

The Post Card Greeting Co. Ltd., Toronto, ca. 1932.

Many grand homes surrounded the park on the north and east sides, since wealthy people liked to be in the heart of things. Mooney Gibson had a nice place at 252 Central on the north side. The west side was - and still is - dominated by St. Peter's. 

In later years, homes on the east side were demolished to build our 1971 City Hall and London's failed attempt at a civic square to the north. Centennial Hall, a pathetic mid-century stab at combining a concert hall with an event space, is just to the north of that.  George Mooney's home on the north side was torn down by Farhi Holdings Corp. in about 2004, despite its importance as part of the heritage streetscape on the north side. 

Central Avenue, with hole where the Gibson house was located.

For years now Londoners have debated the future of the park's periphery. Including me. We seem to be split into two armed camps:

First, there are the people who think development anywhere is better than more suburban sprawl onto farmland. It will be wonderful to have people living downtown. The park will be frequented more because there will be lots of people living nearby. And we need housing badly.

Second, there are the people who think the look of the park will be spoiled. Tall buildings will block the sun. Developers, today's meanies, don't care if Londoners live in a concrete jungle. City Hall does whatever the developers want. 

It occurs to me that both sides may be right. We do need housing downtown but the surface parking lots are the best place to build. Even the city knows this now. Victoria Park could have been left alone, its remaining heritage left untouched. 

But for better or worse, the Victoria Park Secondary Plan is now in effect. Another chapter in Victoria Park's history is about to begin. When future generations of Londoners visit their downtown park, will they thank us? Or blame us? 

Building heights allowed under the revised January 2024 version of the Victoria Park Secondary Plan: 

• Minimum of three storeys, maximum of 35 storeys south of Dufferin Avenue.
• Minimum of two storeys, maximum of 30 storeys on the city hall property and west side of park near Kent Street.
• Maximum of 25 storeys on select parcels to the east and west sides of the park.
• Minimum of two storeys, maximum of 16 storeys on the park’s northwest corner, at Richmond Street and Central Avenue.
• Maximum of 17 storeys at the northeast corner of Wolfe and Wellington streets.

*Either William or Charles, depending on the source.

Redevelopment Fit For a Princess

 

Domus Developments would like to renovate 300 and 306 Princess Avenue, above, into nine-unit apartment buildings. Each old home would be divided into six one-bedroom apartments while proposed rear additions would contain three more two-bedroom units. Since rezoning would be necessary for the rear units to be built, the proposal will go before London City Council's Planning Department in March. 

Being part of the West Woodfield Heritage Conservation District, these houses are designated under part of the Ontario Heritage Act. A heritage alteration permit will be necessary before a building permit is issued. From this article, it sounds like city staff are supportive and the project will likely go ahead.

300, on the left, is a stately Queen Anne with Romanesque stone arches over the doors and windows and a wonderful central tower that's reminiscent of Italianate. In other words, its style is eclectic. It was built ca. 1893 for James R. Shuttleworth, a prominent fruit wholesale merchant. Shuttleworth was president of the Children's Aid Society of London in the 1890s. 

 Bottle from J. Tune & Son          

306 is less spectacular but has decorative wood trim and a lovely wrap-around porch. It was built in 1906 for Charles Henry Tune of J. Tune & Sons Soda Water Works, a London company established about 1882 on Clarence St. north of York. A couple of years later the company moved to the south side of York between Richmond and Talbot. It employed about eight hands and shipped soda water as far west as Windsor and as far east as the Ingersoll and Woodstock area. The J. in the company title was Charles' father, James. Eventually the Tunes became London Soda Water Works. At left is a bottle from my personal collection, dating to the J. Tune & Son days. 

As someone who used to live nearby, I've long been concerned about the deteriorating state of these architectural and historic gems. According to the linked article, Domus President Michael Mescia loves these buildings and wants to preserve them as they are. I'm glad to hear that.

I'm a little concerned, though, when I look at the artist renderings. Scroll down through the article and have a look. I know they're only drawings but I think I'm seeing replacement single-pane windows which wouldn't have existed at the time the homes were built. And 300 looks like a new grey excrescence will supplant the current  second-storey woodwork. What will the end result look like?

I admit I have a bee in my bonnet about windows. So many otherwise wonderful heritage renovations have replacement windows that look entirely inappropriate. I know it's difficult to add modern innovations while maintaining historic charm. And those moving into the future apartments will demand "mod cons." But there are so many older buildings in London with startlingly unsuitable windows. I find myself groaning inwardly as I stroll the city streets. 

So I'm happy to learn about this project but not without reservations. I hope the end result will look like something the Shuttleworths and Tunes would approve of. Or at least recognize.