Macdonald Gardens to become heritage park

Lowertown'sMacdonald Gardens is on course to become an official heritage spaceafter Ottawa's built heritage sub-committee voted Thursday to grantit the special recognition.

The park, bordered by Tormey, Cobourg, Heney and Wurtemburg streets,was designed in 1914 by Frederick G. Todd, known as Canada's first landscape architect, on the site of a former cemetery.

It's a fabulous gift to the community.- Nancy Miller-Chenier, Lowertown Community Association

Architect Barry Padolsky,vice-chair of the sub-committee,saidit's time the park was properly recognized.

"Todd was one of the founders of the landscape architecture movement in Canada. He was involved in the first master plan for the national capital, so he's a very significant character in urban design history," Padolsky said.

Lowertown Community Association co-chairNancy Miller-Chenierwas pleased with Thursday'sdecision.

"It's a fabulous gift to the community," she said.

Human remains

The original cemetery was closed in the 1870's and the human remains were moved to the nearby Beechwood and Notre Dame cemeteries. Anewspaper story from the 1930's describes how the removal plan was far from thorough though, leading to theoccasional shocking find.

"There is quite a significant newspaper story that describes a man walking by and seeing some children kicking something around and when he approached them he discovered it was a skull," Miller-Chenier says.

"He spoke to them [and]they said, 'Oh yes, mister, there's lots of these!'"

According to local legend, the part of the park where the summer house is located is called the Hill of Bones. Miller-Chenier saidthat unless an archeological scan is conducted, shecannot be certain that more human remains aren't still buried there.

Eroding Lowertown's heritage character

Padolsky said he hoped the designation would remind people about Lowertown's vibrant history. He told the sub-committee Lowertown East could have been a designated heritagedistrict had slum clearances ordered by the city,province and federal governments in the 1970s not destroyed the neighbourhood.

"As we approve this [park], let's just remind ourselves that we in the public sector have also done our bit to erode the heritage character of Lowertown," Padolsky said.

Padolsky is calling on council to now turn its attention to AngleseaSquare, the area made famous by the 1984 children's novel Angel Square by Brian K. Doyle.