History
| Lansdowne Park | |
|---|---|
| Buildings | |
| Aberdeen Pavilion | |
| Frank Clair Stadium | |
| Ottawa Civic Centre | |
| Sports | |
| Ottawa 67's | |
| Ottawa CFL team | |
| Ottawa Renegades | |
| Ottawa Rough Riders | |
| Other | |
| Redevelopment | |
| Ottawa SuperEX | |
| Ottawa | |
In 1847, the then Bytown was deeded 24.5 acres (9.9 ha) acres by the Dominion government, and acquired another 15 acres (6.1 ha) bought from owners over several years, to make up the initial grounds of Lansdowne Park. Two notable exhibitions occurred prior to the first Central Canada Exhibition. In 1875 the City of Ottawa hosted the thirtieth annual Exhibition of the Provincial Agricultural and Arts Association. In 1877 an exhibition included the first public demonstration of the telephone in Canada.
A third provincial exhibition was held at Lansdowne in 1879. In order to provide sufficient space for subsequent fairs, the City acquired more of Lansdowne in 1883 for $25,000, as well as the buildings that were already there. The Central Canada Exhibition Association was formed in 1888 and the site witnessed many improvements, including the erection of a new Horticultural Hall and Grandstand. The first Central Canada Exhibition opened on September 20, 1888 and was held annually until 2010.
The Aberdeen Pavilion has also figured prominently in military matters: troops of Lord Strathcona's Horse were encamped there during the Boer War; the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry mustered there before being sent to France in the First World War; and during World War II it served as an induction centre for thousands of Canadian troops heading overseas and was the home to The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards).
The City of Ottawa periodically reviews the use and state of the facility. Lansdowne was developed as a municipal fairgrounds, and somewhat rural in nature. Over time, permanent buildings were built on the site, and a majority of the site was paved, both for parking and for exhibition use. As the result of a review in the 1990s, the City demolished some of the buildings, and restored some parkland. The City restored Aberdeen Pavilion at the time, using funds planned for a Central Canada Ex move, in exchange for allowing the Ex to continue to use the site.
Read more about this topic: Lansdowne Park
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“We said that the history of mankind depicts man; in the same way one can maintain that the history of science is science itself.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“No matter how vital experience might be while you lived it, no sooner was it ended and dead than it became as lifeless as the piles of dry dust in a school history book.”
—Ellen Glasgow (1874–1945)
“There has never been in history another such culture as the Western civilization M a culture which has practiced the belief that the physical and social environment of man is subject to rational manipulation and that history is subject to the will and action of man; whereas central to the traditional cultures of the rivals of Western civilization, those of Africa and Asia, is a belief that it is environment that dominates man.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)