Photographs Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1979X.00.483 |
Object Name |
Photograph |
Title |
Photograph, St. George's Square, Old Home Week, 1908 |
Date |
1908 |
Year Range from |
1908 |
Year Range to |
1908 |
Description |
Black and white panoramic photograph of St. George's Square during Old Home Week in 1908. The photograph shows the Bank of Montreal, the Royal Bank of Canada, a section of Wyndham Street East, the old Post Office, the Gummer Building on Douglas Street, Canadian Bank of Commerce and building adjacent to it on Quebec Street East. Buildings are decorated with bunting, Union Jack flags and other flags. Printed on two banners near the Blacksmith Fountain read as "We Welcome Our Visitors / This is the Day We Celebrate". |
Notes |
Historic Context: St. George's Square The site of St. George's Square was designated for the Church of England by John Galt (1779-1839) in 1827. The slight elevation of the land in the square's centre became the location for the first St. George's Church in Guelph. The original wooden church was completed in 1834. A stone structure replaced the wooden church in 1851. Negotiations between the Church, the Town Council, and Wyndham Street businesses resulted in the structure's demolition in 1872. The St. George's Church parish relocated to a new building at 99 Woolwich Street. The original church had sat at the central point of the square so removing the building improved traffic in the busy downtown area. The square was paved in 1907 after the installation of underground sewers. John Belmer Armstrong (1838-1892), a local carriage manufacturer, donated the Blacksmith fountain as the Square's centrepiece in 1884. The statue, intended to represent Guelph's industry, stands on a basin supported by a cast iron pedestal. The introduction of streetcars onto Guelph roads required a central location for streetcars to station at. As a result, the fountain was relocated in 1922 to Priory Square on Macdonell Street. In the early 1960s, urban renewal plans resulted in the demolition of many original buildings across the City. St. George's Square saw the removal of the Post Office (1902), the first Bank of Montreal (1856), the first CIBC (1856), and the Tovell building (1882). Reconstruction efforts began in 1981 to make St. George's Square a "people's place". By the following year the Eaton Centre Mall was constructed and the Family Fountain following in 1985 across the street. The Old Quebec Street Mall replaced the Eaton Centre Mall in 2003. In 2012, the bus station was relocated from St. George's Square to Guelph Central Station at 79 Carden Street. Updates 2025 |
Search Terms |
Bank of Montreal Blacksmith Fountain Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) Douglas Street Old Home Week Post Office Quebec Street St. George's Square Tovell Building Victoria Hotel Wyndham Street Wyndham Street - Upper |
Subjects |
SCENES - STREET ARCHITECTURE - PUBLIC EXTERIOR SPECIAL EVENTS |
Collection |
Photographs |