King's Square is a historic

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 Uptown Saint John,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The grounds of the square itself was established in 1785 when the city was granted it by charter, though it was not until 1844 when King's Square became a park. It was named after

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. The square features multiple monuments and plaques paying tribute to individuals who have contributed to the city’s heritage. It also has several tall trees, most of which were planted during the 1883 Centennial Celebrations onto commemorate the arrival of the Loyalists in the city. At the center of the park stands a two-storey bandstand, donated in 1909 by the City Coronet Band, in honour of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

Features

At the center of the park stands the King Edward VII Memorial Bandstand, a two-storey tall bandstand equipped with a copper roof and metal framework. It was constructed in 1908 and donated to the city in 1909 by the City Conet Band. Adjacent to the park sits buildings such as the

Saint John City Market The Saint John City Market in Saint John, New Brunswick, is the oldest continuously-operated farmer's market in Canada, with a charter dating from 1785. The market is located at 47 Charlotte Street. History Prior to the establishment of the market ...

, the Imperial Theatre, as well as the Admiral Beatty Hotel. Charles Gorman Monument

The park holds several monuments, including a marker honouring Charles Gorman, a local

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

who competed in the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

and

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

Winter Olympics. The east side of the park holds a 20’ tall monument for John Frederick Young, a 19-year-old who, on October 30, 1890, drowned while trying to rescue a 10-year-old boy in nearby waters. Another monument located at the park is “The Loyalist Cross”, a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

monument in honour of the first sellers representing the province. Constructed in 1934, it was unveiled on New Brunswick’s 150th anniversary.

History

King's Square was established in 1785, being named after the incumbent

. It was one of the four squares originally included in the town plan. In 1847, the park's site was cleared and laid out using a

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

flag pattern. In 2019, Hurricane Dorian hit the city, causing damage to the park. In total, five of the nearly 200-year-old trees in the park fell to the ground. On September 15, 2021, seven new maple trees were planted to replace the fallen trees.

References

{{Authority control 1785 establishments in New Brunswick History of Saint John, New Brunswick Parks in Saint John, New Brunswick