Confederation Park
(on Elgin Street, between Slater and Laurier Street)
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
Opened as a park in 1967, this area was once home to the Roxborough Apartments – a prestigious address that many politicians called home, including Prime Minister Mackenzie King. When King left the Roxborough for Laurier House, he wrote: "I love this quiet and comfortable atmosphere[;] the notes of beauty and refinement are all a part of what is most dear to me."
The Roxborough and other nearby buildings were expropriated and demolished by the federal government in 1965 to make way for the new “National Museum of Science.” Ultimately, the museum would open on St. Laurent Boulevard to allow for room for possible expansion.
The downtown land became the home of the National Arts Centre and Confederation Park. Situated in the Park is a fountain which originally stood in London's Trafalgar Square from 1845–1939. The Park also contains a memorial to Ottawa's fallen Boer War soldiers, funded by local schoolchildren, and the National Aboriginal Veterans' Monument, which reflects Aboriginal beliefs in honour, duty and harmony with the environment.
