Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
Square") is the main
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 ...
square in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
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 ...
The Works Art & Design Festival
The Works Art & Design Festival is a thirteen day festival held at the end of June and the beginning of July in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from ...
,
Taste of Edmonton
Taste of Edmonton is an annual outdoor festival held in Edmonton, Alberta. In 2021, the festival will be held at Churchill Square (100 Street) as 2020 went on hiatus. The festival runs for 11 days, July 22nd – August 1st. Hours are 11:00–23: ...
,
Cariwest Cariwest is an annual non-profit three-day Caribbean Arts Festival that takes place annually in the second weekend of August in the heart of downtown Edmonton, Alberta. Cariwest and its surrounding events attract more than 60,000 people each year. T ...
, and
Edmonton Pride
The Edmonton Pride Festival (commonly known as Edmonton Pride) was an LGBTQ2S+ pride festival, held annually in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Edmonton City Hall to the north, the Law Courts and the Art Gallery of Alberta to the north-east, Chancery Hall and the
Francis Winspear Centre for Music
The Francis Winspear Centre for Music is a performing arts centre located in the downtown core of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Opened in 1997, it is the home of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. The centre is named after Francis G. Winspear, who don ...
Stanley A. Milner Library
The Stanley A. Milner Library is the flagship branch of the Edmonton Public Library. It is located on the southern side of Sir Winston Churchill Square in the downtown core of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The main library is near walking distance t ...
(the main branch of
Edmonton Public Library
The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) is a publicly funded library system in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, available for use by any member of the public. Library cards are free to all Edmontonians; as part of its centennial in 2013, the Edmo ...
) to the south and Edmonton City Centre mall to the west.
The centrepiece of the square builds a life-size bronze statue of
Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
, unveiled by
Lady Soames
Mary Soames, Baroness Soames, (; 15 September 1922 31 May 2014) was an English author. The youngest of the five children of Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine, she worked for public organisations including the Red Cross and the Women's ...
on May 24, 1989. It is a copy of a statue made by
Oscar Nemon
Oscar Nemon (born Oscar Neumann; 13 March 1906 – 13 April 1985) was a Croatian sculptor who was born in Osijek, Croatia, but eventually settled in England. He is best known for his series of more than a dozen public statues of Winston Churchill, ...
.
History
Historically, Edmonton's main square was Market Square, located just to the south of Churchill Square, on the site of the present Milner Library. The City Market was housed in Market Square from its beginning in 1900, originally with the market happening outdoors. Successive plans were considered to develop the square into a civic centre, beginning in 1912. A building was built far away on 107 Avenue for the market to be moved indoors in November 1914, but was never used for this purpose and was boycotted by vendors and customers. The market returned to its original location and the city agreed to help construct a shelter. Beginning in 1915 the market was moved indoors, and by 1920 only overflow stalls were outside. From 1916, when the shelter was built, to 1965, when it moved off the site, the market flourished as the hub of Edmonton life. The City Market was finally shifted east to 97 Street, and the area was redeveloped according to a plan to create a "civic centre" in the area by constructing the new art gallery and library to accompany the new city hall which had been built in 1957.
In 1969,
Lillian Shirt
Lillian Shirt (born Lillian Piché; March 2, 1940 – July 18, 2017) was a Cree women's rights activist from Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6 Territory, Alberta, Canada who was known for her political initiative against the discrimination ...
drew national media attention for protesting housing discrimination by erecting a tipi on the square. During the protest, which lasted 12 days, was joined by several others who set up tents and an additional tipi.
Churchill Square has undergone several face-lifts, the most recent, expensive, and most controversial, being completed in 2004, in time for Edmonton's Centennial Celebrations. These renovations saw the removal of a large amount of green space, as well as the building of several new structures in the square including an
amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
, a waterfall, as well as several structures for retail space (currently occupied by the Three Bananas Cafe and Tix on the Square).
Transportation
Churchill Square is well served by the
Edmonton Transit System
The Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) (previously known as Edmonton Transit System) is the public transit service owned and operated by the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It operates Edmonton's bus and light rail systems. In , the system had ...
, being located above
Churchill LRT Station
Churchill station is an Edmonton Light Rail Transit station in Edmonton, Alberta. It serves both the Capital Line and the Metro Line. It is an underground station located beneath Churchill Square and is a part of the Edmonton Pedway system.
An a ...
St. Albert Transit
St. Albert Transit (StAT) is the public transportation system in the city of St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, which is located about northwest of downtown Edmonton. Scheduled bus service consists of local circuits within the community and express c ...
and
Strathcona County Transit
Strathcona County Transit provides local, commuter, and school bus services to the community of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, which is east of Edmonton in Strathcona County. Transportation for elderly citizens and people with disabilities is prov ...
also run three bus routes each (StAT routes 201, 202 & 211 & SCT routes 401, 402, & 413) past Churchill Square.
Currently under construction, the new Valley Line LRT will expand Churchill Station with an above-ground platform on the south end of the square on 102 Avenue.
Surrounding buildings
Although Churchill Square is not the name of any street in Edmonton, and all the streets in the area are named, the square is used as the address for buildings facing it, they are numbered clockwise starting in the north.