Queen's Park is a neighbourhood and community park in
New Westminster,
British Columbia,
Canada.
The recreational area and tourist attraction dates from 1887. The park is in extent, and is located north east of the city hall. The park houses
Queen's Park Arena
Queen's Park Arena is a 3,500 seat multi-use arena located within Queen's Park in New Westminster, British Columbia.
The arena was built in 1930 and opened on September 19. In its time, the Queen's Park Arena hosted the New Westminster Bruins o ...
, current home of the
New Westminster Salmonbellies
The New Westminster Salmonbellies are a Men's Senior 'A' lacrosse team located in New Westminster, BC. Their home arena is Queen's Park Arena. They compete as part of the Western Lacrosse Association and have won the Mann Cup 24 times, most re ...
, a
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
, seasonal animal petting farm, spray park, tennis courts, sports fields and
band shell
In theater, a shell (also known as an acoustical shell, choral shell or bandshell) is a curved, hard surface designed to reflect sound towards an audience.
Often shells are designed to be removable, either rolling away on wheels or lifting into ...
.
Queen's Park residential area is to the southwest of the park, bounded on the northwest by 6th Avenue, on the southwest by 6th Street, on the southeast by Royal Avenue, and on the north by the park itself.
History
1859 to 1900
Queen's Park was the first established public park in British Columbia, as New Westminster was established in 1859.
Originally, the park was named 'Queen's Ravine' by
Colonel Richard Clement Moody. In the 1870s, the reserve in which the park was in was split into an area for a penitentiary, asylum, and the park itself. The park was officially declared open in 1887 as a celebration of Queen Victoria's 50th year as a monarch.
In 1890, an exhibition building was built which could house up to 5,000 people.
The building was created for viewing of the athletic fields and race track.
1901 to 1945
The first zoo was built in the park in 1906 by the local firemen, which contained animals such as bears and cougars. The New Westminster Arena was built in 1914 with the original intention of housing horse competitions, but was transformed into an ice rink instead. During the
First World War, the park was used as a training site for the Royal Expeditionary Force. The buildings were also transformed into barracks to house the soldiers in training. In 1929, there was a large fire which destroyed most of the buildings in Queen's Park, and the area was not restored until much later, due to the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. The park was later turned again into training grounds and housing for soldiers in the Westminster Regiment during the
Second World War.
See also
*
Tipperary Park
Tipperary Park is a community park located in the Downtown neighbourhood of New Westminster, just Northeast of New Westminster City Hall. The park technically only includes the grounds Northeast of 4th Street, however, the park's name is often us ...
References
External links
New Westminster Parks, Culture & Recreation
{{Coord, 49, 12, 51.41, N, 122, 54, 18.30, W, display=title, region:CA-BC_type:landmark
Neighbourhoods in New Westminster
Parks in Greater Vancouver