Churchill Square (officially "
Sir Winston Churchill Square") is the main
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English 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 district ( ...
square in
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
,
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, which plays host to a large number of festivals and events including: the
Edmonton International Street Performers Festival, Edmonton Fashion Week,
The Works Art & Design Festival,
Taste of Edmonton,
Cariwest, and
Edmonton Pride.
Site
It is bordered on the north by 102A Avenue, on the west by 100 Street, on the south by Harbin Road (102 Avenue) and on the east by Rue Hull (99) Street. In 2009, 102A Avenue was closed to vehicle traffic permanently, providing easier pedestrian access to City Hall.
Surrounding the square are several cultural and governmental buildings, including
Edmonton City Hall
The Edmonton City Hall is the home of the Edmonton City Council, municipal government of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Designed by Dub Architects, the building was completed in 1992. It was built to replace the former city hall designed by architect ...
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 to the east, the
Citadel Theatre to the south-east, the
Stanley A. Milner Library (the main branch of
Edmonton Public Library) to the south and
Edmonton City Centre mall to the west.
The centrepiece of the square builds a life-size bronze statue of
Churchill, unveiled by
Lady Soames 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 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 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 (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) 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 ('), meani ...
, 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, being located above
Churchill LRT Station, and also near a bus transfer point at
CN Tower
The CN Tower () is a communications and observation tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Completed in 1976, it is located in downtown Toronto, built on the former Railway Lands. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway co ...
.
St. Albert Transit and
Strathcona County Transit also run three bus routes each (StAT routes 201, 202 & 211 & SCT routes 401, 411, & 413) past Churchill Square.
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.
See also
*
List of city squares
References
*
{{Edmonton landmarks
Parks in Edmonton
Squares in Canada
Tourist attractions in Edmonton