Galt Gardens is a

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. It is the location of many of the city's

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

and is also the home of the

Southern Alberta Art Gallery The Southern Alberta Art Gallery Maansiksikaitsitapiitsinikssin is a contemporary art gallery located in downtown Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It has three gallery spaces and a gift shop. History In 1974, local residents formed the Southern Alber ...

History

Competitors in a foot race in Galt Gardens (4731062123)

The land that eventually became Galt Gardens was owned by the

Galt Galt or GALT may refer to: Biology and biochemistry * Galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase, an enzyme * Gut-associated lymphoid tissue, a subset of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue People and fictional characters * Galt (surname), a list o ...

family, local entrepreneurs. When the original town plan was surveyed in 1885, Elliot Galt ensured the area was reserved as parkland. As the central business district of Lethbridge sprung up around the land, which had come to be known as ''The Square'', the citizens began using it as their own, and it served as the location for most town fairs and sports events. In 1909, Elliot and John Galt donated the land to the city to be held in perpetuity as parkland. The park was named Galt Gardens in their honour and it was the cultural focal point of the city for many years. Although trees had been planted around the edge of the park as early as 1901, significant plans were created to further develop the park. The Lethbridge fire department took responsibility for much of the landscaping, and by the 1920s the garden resembled what it is today. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and until the 1970s, the park saw a substantial increase in panhandlers. The panhandling and related activities drove people away from the park, and eventually citizens brought the issues to the attention of

Lethbridge City Council The Lethbridge City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Lethbridge, Alberta. Eight councillors and the mayor comprise the council. The mayor is the city's chief elected official and the city manager is its chief ...

, which subsequently tightened some bylaws. In 1991, plans were developed for revitalization of the park, but no further work took place until 2003, when the Lethbridge Rotary Club approached the city with a $3.7 million master plan to revitalize the park for a Rotary 2005 Centennial Project. The city, province and local businesses promised funds for the development.

Notes

References

External links

Galt Gardens
at City of Lethbridge {{Authority control Parks in Lethbridge