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Macdonald Gardens could become heritage park

One of Ottawa's oldest city parks could become a protected heritage space if councillors approve a plan to designate the Lowertown park under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The Macdonald Gardens Park at Cobourg Street was built in 1914, on the site of a former cemetery.

A city heritage staff report makes the case for the heritage designation, arguing the park has architectural, historical and contextual significance.

Council's built heritage subcommittee will discuss the issue at its meeting Thursday morning.

Park was former cemetery

Although most of the remains were moved over time after the cemetery was closed in the 1870s, there are reports that unclaimed remains stayed at the park — and are still buried there. (Oddly, the city's report does not mention this fact, even though a 1936 local newspaper story quoted a man who saw a skull roll down his street by the park, when some landscaping work was being undertaken.)

The park was designed by Frederick G. Todd, who the Canadian Encyclopedia calls "the first truly resident landscape architect in Canada," one of a small handful of landscape architects and planners committed to designing greenspace in urban settings in the first half of the 20th century in Canada.

Designer major figure in early landscape architecture

The Massachusetts-born Todd apprenticed under Frederick Law Olmsted, of New York's Central Park fame, and designed a number of landscaped parks in major centres across Canada.

Todd designed Shaughnessy Park in Vancouver in 1907, and made ongoing contributions to the landscape projects in Montreal, where he lived from 1900. Todd created designs for St. Helen's Island Parks, Memorial Cemetery and The Garden of the Way of the Cross — associated with St. Joseph's Oratory — and restored Mount Royal Mountain.

Todd was commissioned by the forerunner to the National Capital Commission for a major plan for the city, which was never carried out. But Todd's plans for Macdonald Gardens Park were.

There have been some changes to the park over the years, but the park's role as a tranquil space for "passive recreation" with paths, open spaces and native trees remains to this day, according the city heritage staff's report.

And the so-called "summer house", a stone hexagonal gazebo which sits on a small hill, is a landmark from nearby Cobourg, Tormey, Heney and Wurtemburg streets.

Councillor in favour

Area Coun. Mathieu Fleury is supportive of the plan for heritage designation for the park, which he characterizes as greatly contributing "to the green urban infrastructure in Lowertown."

In his comments included in the report, Fleury also pointed out that it would be appropriate to protect and recognize Macdonald Gardens ahead of the 150th celebrations considering the park was named after Sir John A. Macdonald.