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.

The Craft Beer Local History Connection

 

No, I didn't drink these all at once. Not that it hasn't been tempting during this past year of pandemic.

Actually, this can collection illustrates a point, which is that there's lots of craft breweries (and cideries) in Southwestern Ontario and many of them are featuring local history on their cans. Which is interesting for me because beer and history are two of my favourite things. They both give me a "buzz." 

Craft beer is an extraordinary phenomenon with new small breweries popping up all the time.  Our society is rejecting large-scale production by multinationals, in brewing at least. London's very own Labatt may be one of the largest brewers in Canada but it's now Belgian-owned (I think - the number of mergers in recent years makes it hard to keep track) and many of us prefer to support smaller, locally-owned businesses. 

It makes sense for smaller breweries to feature local history, landmarks, and folklore on their cans. It gives their product a uniqueness and character companies like Labatt can no longer claim. Those of us who buy the bevvy not only enjoy a refreshing drink but learn something while we're at it. Observe the following: 

Toboggan Holy Roller

Toboggan, based on London's Richmond Row, takes its name from a toboggan slide built nearby in the 1800s. This particular lager, though, features the First Hussars' Sherman tank, Holy Roller, which sits across the street in Victoria Park. Holy Roller landed in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944 and has been in the park since 1956 and is recently refurbished. According to the Toboggan website, a portion of beer sales goes towards preserving the tank and supporting Canadian veterans, both worthy goals.

Railway City Crew

The city of St. Thomas, Elgin County, is the "Railway City," having once been Canada's railway capital. According to the city's tourist website, a total of eight railways brought in more than one hundred trains a day in 1914. Every freight train in the old days had a "crew," of course, usually consisting of a conductor, two trainmen or brakemen, an engineer, and a fireman. 

But for most of us, St. Thomas is the city that killed an elephant:

Railway City Dead Elephant

Poor Jumbo. P. T. Barnum's circus elephant was killed in St. Thomas on September 15, 1885. He had just finished his performance that evening and was being led to his box car when a train came roaring down the track. He was hit and fatally wounded, dying within minutes. 

Sad story, but a nice I.P.A.

Doc Perdue's Boxing Bruin by Cowbell

A little farther afield, up in Blyth, Huron County, Cowbell Brewing Co. pays tribute to a nineteenth-century veterinarian, Doc Perdue, who rescued and cared for animals, including a bear cub named Bruin. According to the can, when Bruin grew up, Perdue featured him in impromptu boxing exhibitions.  

Powerhouse 

Back in London, you can find Powerhouse Brewery in the repurposed Kellogg's Factory in Old East Village. The brewery takes its name from its home in the electrical facility of the old cereal factory, proudly pictured on all their cans. The Kellogg's plant closed in 2014, ending the company's 100-year presence in London. 

Toboggan Blackfriars Bridge

Just found Blackfriars Bridge stout in a can. Features London's very own recently-refurbished Blackfriars Bridge which, of course, is not far from Toboggan itself. The bridge has been portrayed in many artistic works, including a series of stained glass windows by Ted Goodden, but it was about time it appeared on a beer can. One of my favourites. 

Black Donnellys Vigilante Session IPA

When many people think of local history, they think of the Donnellys. Black Donnellys Brewing Co., near Mitchell, pays tribute to the Donnelly family with this IPA. "Trouble's brewing." Indeed.