St. George's Square centre gets split in half

On 28 March 1922, the citizens of Guelph voted to make a significant change at the centre of town. The garden (or "island") that had stood in the middle of St. George's Square was to be split in half. The Blacksmith Fountain had stood in the centre of the Square, surrounded by a small patch of grass and flowers, since 1885. The people of Guelph had been keen to make a splashy gesture in the heart of town, and the fountain filled the bill. The original streetcar tracks diverted to either side of it when they were first installed in 1895. The garden area had even been enlarged for the Old Home Week celebration held in 1908.

Here is a postcard view of St. George's Square as seen from the south, from a photo taken around 1913. It was printed by The Valentine & Sons Publishing Co., Ltd. Montreal and Toronto. Note the new, larger "Prairie" cars on either side the Fountain, with the older open car in the back. It must have been a nice day since the open cars were then used only during good weather.

Amid the bustle of downtown Guelph, the fountain and its garden had been a fixed point, a focus around which all business of the central city revolved. Now that was set to change. What happened?

Impetus for the change in the centre of the Royal City came from Hydro. The City sold the Guelph Radial Railway (the streetcar) to the Ontario Hydro Commission in 1921 for $150,000 and kicked in a debenture of $300,000 for its repair ("Streetcars in Guelph", Thorning 1982). For most of its history, the streetcar had run at a loss. Inflation during the Great War had put upward pressure on salaries while fares were kept low to facilitate ridership. In addition, the system suffered from many years of deferred maintenance. The rails and rail beds were too light for new models of streetcars, and its electrical system was not organized efficiently. Breakdowns and even minor derailments were becoming problematic. Although the service was popular, it was becoming a political albatross for City Council. Selling it off became a political necessity.

Two suitors came calling. The Canadian Pacific Railway offered to purchase and upgrade the lines as an addition to its own holdings. The Ontario Hydro Commission also wanted to purchase the system and add it to a proposed network of intercity trains (rather like the later GO Transit system) in Southern Ontario. In the end, the citizens of Guelph voted down a sale to the C.P.R., leaving Hydro in possession of the prize.

As soon as the sale was complete, Hydro officials and engineers came to the Royal City to plan a total overhaul of the network. One of their recommendations was to have the tracks run straight through the centre of St. George's Square. This measure would simplify reconstruction of the system downtown, making it cheaper to build and run.

Guelphites seemed generally happy to let Hydro revamp the system and improve service. Yet, digging up the garden in St. George's Square proved to be a sticking point. Initially, the Railways and Manufacturers Committee of City Council recommended the change. However, resistance appeared when the matter was raised in a full Council meeting on 16 January 1922 (Evening Mercury, 17 Jan. 1922). For one thing, legal eagles differed over whether or not the city had the power to allow such a usage for the land. The issue was laid out in a letter to Council written by Mr. Patrick Kerwin (of the law firm Guthrie and Kerwin, and future Chief of the Supreme Court of Canada). In the letter, published in the Evening Mercury, Kerwin notes that the City bought the land in question from Dr. William Clarke in 1873. One condition of sale went as follows:

Whereas the said William Clarke has agreed to sell and the said Corporation of the Town of Guelph to purchase, the lands and premises hereinafter described for the purpose of a public garden in the said Town of Guelph, and for the improvement of Wyndham and Quebec streets in the said Town.

The bylaw (No. 230) by which the City officially acquired the land also stipulated a garden in its first clause:

That a freehold estate be acquired for the Corporation of the Town of Guelph in the County of Wellington in the said lands for the purpose of a public garden and for the improvement of Wyndham and Quebec streets in the Town of Guelph.

Few would consider a set of streetcar tracks a public garden, so Hydro's proposal would seem to be in violation of the bylaw and the City's undertaking when it bought the land.

However, Kerwin pointed out, the City's agreement with Hydro gave the Power Commission the right to run tracks through any city property on streets already serviced by the streetcar system. Kerwin argued that the City could simply pass a bylaw that closed the garden and added it to the roadway, thus making it fall under the agreement with Hydro.

Mr. Charles Dunbar, a local barrister and solicitor, wrote a letter to Council, also published in the Mercury, giving a different view. He simply warned that the City had no power to allow a different use for the garden and that unnamed citizens had instructed him to sue the City in the event that it should try to do so.

Naturally, a spirited debate ensued in the Council Chamber. Alderman Mahoney suggested that the City take no action. Then, if Hydro chose to tear down the garden and install trackage, they would face the legal consequences instead of the City facing them.

Opponents of the change pointed out that the citizens of Guelph had just voted against installing a war memorial in the middle of St. George's Square, preferring Exhibition Park for its location. (It was finally built in 1927 in Trafalgar Square.) Alderman Drew interpreted this vote to mean that the citizenry would also oppose running the streetcar through the middle of the Square. Aldermen Oakes and Yeates argued that the Square would remain a "beauty spot" only if it retained the garden in the middle.

Alderman McElroy, a proponent of the Hydro plan, raised the estimate from the Hydro engineers that laying tracks through the centre of the Square instead of around it would save $25,000, a substantial amount. Alderman Barlow added that he thought that the aesthetics of the Square would be enhanced if the streetcar ran through its centre. (The Hydro plan included green space on either side of the tracks.) He also said that voters had rejected the site for the war memorial precisely in order to give Hydro the opportunity to use it for the railway. Alderman Penfold reported a figure from the Hydro engineers saying that running the streetcar through the middle of the Square instead of around it would save $500 per month in operating costs. Alderman Baldwin replied that, since the report of the Railways and Manufacturers Committee lacked specific figures and calculations, the financial aspects of the scheme were rather indefinite.

In the end, the Council voted to send the report back to the Railways and Manufacturers Committee for reconsideration. On 2 February, the Committee met and made the same recommendation as before, namely that Hydro should run its tracks through the middle of the Square, with the City's blessing (3 Feb. 1922; Evening Mercury). The matter therefore returned to Council on 6 February. There followed a spirited discussion covering essentially the same ground and proving equally conclusive (7 Feb. 1922; Evening Mercury). In the end, the Council voted 9 to 7 to send the matter to a plebiscite.

On 28 March 1922, the plebiscite was held on the following question (28 March 1922; Evening Mercury):

Are you in favor of the Council permitting the Hydro Power Commission of Ontario to construct the tracks of the Guelph Radial Railway Company through St. George’s Square, and to re-arrange the said Square in accordance with Hydro Plan 502-71?

The vote went "Yes...873" and "No...484", a decisive majority (though a low turnout for an electorate of 5,035). Mayor Howard declared himself pleased with the result, saying that it was "a step in the right direction" for Guelph. Ex-Mayor Carter said that, although he was opposed to the plan, he was satisfied that the electorate had spoken and so the plan should go ahead.

The work began on 5 September with the removal of the electric lighting from the Square's centre (6 Sep. 1922; Evening Mercury). A few days later, the Blacksmith Fountain was removed and set aside with the intention of placing it in one of the grass plots to be installed on either side of the new tracks (9 Sep. 1922; Evening Mercury). Then, the Parks and Buildings Committee of City Council recommended that the Fountain be moved to a new location, preferably Priory Park (28 Sep. 1922; Evening Mercury). The reason for this recommendation was not noted but it was reported the next day that the Hydro crew had suggested that the grass plots in the Square be made smaller than planned. Perhaps removal of the Fountain was intended to support this suggestion. In any event, City Council agreed to the relocation of the Fountain but insisted that the grass plots in the Square remain at the size specified in plan 502-71 (4 Oct. 1922; Evening Mercury). The next evening, the streetcars began to move over the new tracks in the middle of the Square.

The unexpected removal of the Blacksmith Fountain occasioned some regret (5 Oct. 1922; Acton Free Press):

In a rather pathetic editorial the Guelph Herald referred in feeling terms last Saturday to the removal of the iron figure of the sturdy blacksmith which surmounted the fountain on St. George’s Square. This splendid figure, presented to the city by the Armstrong Carriage Company in their palmy days, has occupied the prominent site in the centre of St. George’s Square nearly ever since the old church was removed—forty years or more ago. The demand for a straight street car line through the Square necessitated the removal of this landmark. It will be missed by many who are not residents of the Royal City.

In place of the symbol of industry, Guelph had a central transit station.

The transformation of the Square did not end without a little more drama. Some local motorists evidently objected to the extent of the gardens planned for either side of the central tracks. Hydro workers, who had ripped up the area under the gardens in order to lay concrete beds for them downed tools until the matter was resolved (1 Nov. 1922; Evening Mercury). The next Council meeting featured a long and passionate argument among Aldermen as to whether or not the garden plots should be shrunk according to Hydro's wishes. The Council debated the following resolution:

That this Council approve of the Hydro-Electric Commission reducing the open space now existing at St. George’s Square by ten feet on each side.

On the "no" side, Alderman Burgess said that the Council would look like "a lot of school boys" if they reversed their earlier decision in spite of the situation not having changed. He also maintained that the Council had no right to alter the plan since it had been approved in a plebiscite. Alderman Drew argued that Council should leave the situation alone since it could be easily changed later if that seemed advisable. If no alteration were needed, then the Council would have saved itself the difference in construction costs.

On the "yes" side, Alderman Jaffray argued that the large gardens would be an undue danger to traffic. The argument is not spelled out but the idea seems to have been that the large gardens would squeeze traffic into smaller space in the Square, thus increasing congestion. Assuming that congestion is dangerous, then large gardens would increase risk of collisions for drivers. On the matter of cost, Alderman Evans said that the extra construction cost arising from reducing the gardens would be well worth the saving of danger to life and limb.

The resolution finally came to a vote. The Alderman tied 8–8, so Mayor Howard cast the deciding vote in favor: The gardens would each be 10 feet (3m) narrower. Interestingly, Alderman Wing later told the Council that he had been confused during the vote: voting for the resolution when he meant to vote against it (11 Nov. 1922; Evening Mercury). He wanted to revisit the resolution during the next Council meeting. Hydro officials did not wait for another possible reversal of policy. On 11 November, workmen began tearing out the old curbs and pouring cement for the new ones for the smaller design (13 Nov. 1922; Evening Mercury). The new layout became a cement accompli and was not revisited by Council.

Sod was laid for the new, smaller gardens and flower bulbs planted to rise the next year (1 Dec. 1922; Evening Mercury). Work was completed by 7 December, all but for paving of the bare roadbed left by removal of the surface torn up to shrink the gardens. After much debate, Guelph had its new island in the Square.

The new setup can be seen the postcard below, printed by The Valentine & Sons United Publishing Co., Ltd., Toronto, from a photo taken around 1925. Note that, in spite of the increased presence of cars on the street, Guelphites still walked and sat in the roadway.

Despite missing the Blacksmith Fountain, Guelphites seemed pleased with new setup. The new, rationalized street railway represented progress although it did not, in the end, save the city from the cost of running it at a loss. Portentously, a number of motor busses were hired to "help out" with the people-moving duties while the street car system was under renovation (1 Apr. 1922; Evening Mercury):

Two of three busses owned by Messrs. McElroy and Daly, were very kindly loaned to Manager House of the local street railway this morning, when it became known that the suspension of Hydro power would be indefinite. The busses were immediately put into commission as “Street Cars”, and are being operated today on the Elora Road–York Road and O.A.C.–Suffolk street lines.

Busses were run as "street cars" on each line as it was rebuilt. Even as the day of the new street railway system dawned, its eclipse began.

---

The redesign of the centre of St. George's Square suggests a number of things about how Guelphites of the day viewed their city. Sale of the streetcar to Hydro over the C.P.R. suggests that citizens viewed the service more like a utility than a private enterprise. Its sale to a public utility may also explain the broad willingness to let Hydro lay tracks through middle of the Square. Although some people saw the move as an abuse of a public space, many evidently saw the new use as compatible with the established understanding of it.

The change in St. George's Square also illustrates how Guelph faced challenges brought on by the increasing presence of automobiles on the streets of the Royal City. Although only a minority of Guelph families had cars at the time, owning a car was becoming a common aspiration. Many residents looked forward to the day when they could breeze through the city in their cars and wanted a streetscape that reflected that aspiration. This may explain the successful pressure that some citizens brought to bear on Council to shrink the garden plots in the new layout.

Besides the redesign of the Square, there was a proposal to turn the middle of Macdonnell Street into a parking lot in order to augment curbside parking (8 Nov. 1922; Evening Mercury). The scheme was not adopted but it suggests the enthusiasm for cars among Guelphites and a brewing conflict over how best to use the downtown streets.

The time is fast approaching when St. George's Square may be redesigned again. A new proposal includes a traffic circle, reminiscent of its old configuration. It will be interesting to see how the process and results today compare with those of the past.

The island in the Square

The City of Guelph is contemplating some further changes to its downtown spaces. One of the changes under consideration is the construction of a large roundabout in St. George's Square. The main aim of the proposal is to establish a convivial public plaza in the large space that the new design would create there. A mock-up of the new design appears in the draft Streetscape Manual produced recently by the city:

The report on downtown Guelph prepared by the Project for Public Spaces notes that:

Throughout history, St. George’s Square has always been a Central Square for the City of Guelph. During the past half century however, the Square’s more ceremonial and iconic elements gave way to more functional elements that were needed to support a growing city, namely transit service and a growing street network. Until very recently, St. George’s Square was the central bus transfer hub for downtown Guelph.

The proposed redesign would, among other things, return the Square to its earlier role.

Of course, the history of St. George's Square, and the space in its centre, is more complicated than that. It has been the site both of much traffic and of much controversy. A little of the story of St. George's Square appears in this earlier blog entry. However, since the Square has been of perennial interest to postcard makers, its history can be explored in this blog more thoroughly. For the present, I will outline this history and save more detailed accounts for later postings.

The Square began as a spot dedicated by John Galt to the Anglican Church. The first St. George's Church, a wood frame structure, was built in the middle of the space in 1833. Thus, it was the first island in the Square. Its location in the middle of Wyndham St. made it "one of the most conspicuous objects in the town..." in the opinion of a British visitor (Johnson 1977, p. 114). By 1851, the growth of the congregation required a larger church, and a stone building was constructed in the same location. As soon as 1859, however, prominent parishioners were seeking a new site for the church, one that was bigger still and removed from the commercial centre of the City (Johnson 1977, p. 223). By 1873, Dr. William Clarke had arranged for a new site (the current one) and the sale of the old site to the town. The second church was razed and the new one built at that time. After the rubble was removed, the Square stood empty for almost the first time.

The removal of the Church seems to imply that the townsfolk did not appreciate the detour that it necessitated. However, it did not take them long to seek out a new landmark to put down in the same place. In 1884, the citizens decided that the middle of the Square would be a good place for a fountain. The City Council collected donations, including a bronze statue of a blacksmith from local manufacturer J. B. Armstrong. The statue was placed atop a marble fountain and surrounded by a little garden, the whole becoming known as "The Blacksmith Fountain" (Couling 1996, p. 6).

The Blacksmith Fountain was octagonal in shape, framed by a small stretch of grass, and surrounded in turn by a short fence. It was joined by an arc-light on a pole for illumination. And thus, St. George's Square had its island back. A photo of the Square featuring the Blacksmith Fountain can been seen here.

The first major change to the island was the arrival of the Guelph Street Railway system in 1894. George Sleeman, the brewer, entered into what we would call a public-private partnership with the City to build a streetcar system (Johnson 1977, p. 285). As the tracks were laid up Wyndham St., they passed on either side of the Blacksmith Fountain. The Fountain then became an important stop along the streetcar's route. This confluence of uses proved fateful.

A good view of the Fountain as it then appeared can be seen on the postcard below. It was printed by Warwick Bros. & Rutter of Toronto.

The photo was taken in 1907. The presence of the clock face in the Post Office tower dates the photo to no earlier than 1907 and the Fountain was altered in 1908, as we shall see.

The photo provides an excellent view of the Fountain and its immediate surroundings. The plantings around it are rendered in green by the lithographer, and the streetcar tracks on either sign are quite visible. Also visible is the base of the arc-light pole on the Upper Wyndham side. Interestingly, serrations are also apparent on the top of the fence rails around the Fountain. It seems clear that the designers of the garden wanted to let no casual intruders near the structure. It was for viewing only!

In 1908, Guelph celebrated its first Old Home Week. Photos of St. George's Square during parades through the city (like this one) show that the island had been renovated. The Fountain appears unchanged but the garden around it has been enlarged and changed to an oval shape, with the long axis along Wyndham St. The oval neatly fills in the lines of the streetcar tracks around the Fountain. Also, the arc-light pole has been replaced by a flag pole.

Photos of Old Home Week that year tend to obscure the island (although this photo shows people sitting in it while enjoying a parade.) However, postcards from roughly the same time more clearly show the island after this renovation. The card below, for example, shows the island along with its new fence. Keep off the grass! Also, note that the arc light is now mounted on a wire strung across the Square.

This card was also printed by Warwick Bros. and Rutter of Toronto, although in halftone (now yellowed). In addition to the features already mentioned, you can see benches placed at the end of the island facing Upper Wyndham for people to sit on as they kill time or await the next streetcar.

One aspect of street life that stands out in those older pictures is that people, streetcars, and horse-drawn conveyances tend to mingle freely on the street. In those days, streets were regarded as public places. Thus, everybody had a right to be in them. Standing in the middle of the street talking or waiting for a streetcar, for example, were perfectly acceptable things to do. All that changed in the era of the automobile.

By the 1920s, people were committed to the automobile as their main means of personal transportation. As a result, other street users were pressured to change their ways. Streetcars struggled to compete for ridership, while people on foot were increasingly confined to the sidewalks. These trends are certainly evident in the changing fortunes of the island in the Square.

In 1921, the Guelph streetcar system was purchased by Ontario Hydro, which set about rationalizing its service. One of their first moves was to make changes in the layout of the island. The Blacksmith Fountain was removed and relocated to its new home in Priory Square, where it remains today. New streetcar tracks were run directly through the centre of the Square, while two half-oval gardens were planted on either side. In effect, the island was split in two. Its inside edges provided boarding platforms for the streetcars while benches were placed on its outside edges for people to sit in the street.

This configuration can be seen in the postcard below. It was printed by The Valentine & Sons United Publishing Co., Ltd., Toronto, from a photo taken ca. 1925. (It is postmarked on 1 April, 1931.)

The picture suggests how many cars were commonly on the street at that time. With increasing car traffic in the Square, the presence of a transit depot in its centre island seemed bound to create conflict. And it did! However, remarkably perhaps, the island in the Square persisted for quite a while yet. Among other factors, the Great Depression and the Second World War delayed any major changes in infrastructure.

One change that did occur in that time, however, was the replacement of the streetcars by busses. The streetcar system proved to be a money-loser for Ontario Hydro, which attempted to sell the system back to the City in 1926. No sale! Finally, the streetcars were replaced entirely by busses in 1937, which continued to use the island as a central depot.

The island of this era, now going by the name of "The Circle", can be viewed in this postcard from 1942 (Coulman, 1977, n. 211). It was published by the Photogelatine Engraving Co., Ltd., Toronto and was postmarked in 1953.

The Circle remains much as before, although it now plays host to buses, and there are no benches to allow people to sit in the street. Still, pedestrians are clearly expected to cross through traffic in order to get to the bus stop, a maneuver that grew increasingly dangerous as time went on.

After the Second World War, the economy picked up steam and car ownership resumed its climb. As such, the Circle had to go. In 1953, in the midst of much controversy, the City altered the island again. It increased the middle space from two lanes to four and placed concrete barriers along each side. The barriers discouraged pedestrians from walking through the middle of the Square to catch a bus.

This setup can be seen in the following postcard, taken on Dominion Day in 1954 (Coulman, 1977, n. 212). (Note the patriotic bunting hanging over the roadway.) It was published by the Photogelatine Engraving Co., Ltd., Toronto ca. 1955.

Not long after this photo was taken, the island was removed entirely. Bus stops were moved off to the sides of the Square. Now cars could pass along Wyndham Street straight through the middle of the Square without impediment.

The Street View scene roughly equivalent to the previous postcard would be the one below. No island there!

View Larger Map

The fate of the island illustrates the impact that automobile adoption had on many streets in older cities. Designed originally for foot and horse traffic, these streets were redesigned to more closely resemble highways, by widening and straightening. The island in the Square resisted this treatment for a long time, out of its centrality to public transit and perhaps the attachment of older citizens to the Royal City's established ways. These are themes that can be explored in further postings.

Setting aside any practical considerations, I find it intriguing to imagine being on foot on an island in the middle of the Square, having traffic pass around me like the spokes on a wheel turning about its hub. It is hard to imagine, though, since I am used either to fleeing across it on foot or to wheeling through it in my car. If the notion of putting an island back in St. George's Square is to succeed, it will have to capture the imaginations of Guelphites, who will now find it alien and unfamiliar.