:cdnsalute: ‘Dramatic’ Stanley Cup monument touted for Ottawa' :cdnsalute:
OTTAWA — A plan is in the works to commemorate the donation of Canada’s most iconic sports trophy, the Stanley Cup, with a “grand scale” monument in the heart of the nation’s capital.
If all goes well, the larger-than-life monument will become an important new landmark in the city by 2017.
The idea of commemorating the 1892 gift from Canada’s sixth governor general, Lord Stanley of Preston, was first proposed by Ottawa hockey historian Paul Kitchen in a 2009.
It quickly gained the backing of a high-powered committee of volunteers who have since formed a not-for-profit group called the Lord Stanley Memorial Monument Inc.
At a meeting in mid-December, the group chose a site at Rideau Street and Sussex Drive as its preferred location for the monument, which carries an estimated price tag of $5.5 million.
On Dec. 23, it wrote to the National Capital Commission to formally request that it reserve the site for the Stanley monument, which would be one of Ottawa’s largest and most prominent.
The proposed site is currently an unappealing mix of roadways, narrow sidewalks and concrete pedestrian underpasses. But it’s about to undergo a dramatic transformation. The commission and the City of Ottawa are hatching plans to reconfigure the intersection to create a spacious new public square.
Marie Lemay, the commission’s chief executive officer, said the idea of commemorating Lord Stanley’s gift — and the broader theme of hockey and its importance to Canadians — is “definitely” appropriate for the site.
“We’ve been very receptive to this idea from Day 1,” she said. “We believe this is an absolutely good theme for the capital.”
City council, which has passed a resolution endorsing the idea of commemorating Lord Stanley’s gift, would have to agree to back the project.
If the city signs on, Lemay plans to present the plan to the commission board at its meeting in April to confirm the theme and location. She hopes to complete the entire project by 2017 — the 125th anniversary of the gift of the Stanley Cup.
An aide to Lord Stanley, who was governor general from 1888 to 1893, announced his intention to donate a challenge cup, emblematic of hockey supremacy in Canada, at a banquet at Ottawa’s Russell House Hotel in 1892.
The cup, a late Victorian electroplate silver punch bowl, was first awarded in 1893 to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. It has been the National Hockey League’s championship trophy for more than 80 years.
Originally, the Stanley committee envisioned a “colossal” monument, as tall as the National War Memorial or higher. It has since scaled that back substantially.
“We’re prepared to be completely reasonable about this,” Kitchen said. “We understand the statue has to fit the site.”
But the monument should be visible from a distance, he said. It should be “much larger than life size. We don’t want a little candlestick stuck in the ground.”
The Lord Stanley Group is planning a national design competition for the monument.
“We really do want something extraordinary,” Kitchen said. “We want something of dramatic beauty.”
The group plans to raise money for the project from corporate donors, members of the public and government agencies with commemoration programs.
Ottawa Citizen article
(Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)
OTTAWA — A plan is in the works to commemorate the donation of Canada’s most iconic sports trophy, the Stanley Cup, with a “grand scale” monument in the heart of the nation’s capital.
If all goes well, the larger-than-life monument will become an important new landmark in the city by 2017.
The idea of commemorating the 1892 gift from Canada’s sixth governor general, Lord Stanley of Preston, was first proposed by Ottawa hockey historian Paul Kitchen in a 2009.
It quickly gained the backing of a high-powered committee of volunteers who have since formed a not-for-profit group called the Lord Stanley Memorial Monument Inc.
At a meeting in mid-December, the group chose a site at Rideau Street and Sussex Drive as its preferred location for the monument, which carries an estimated price tag of $5.5 million.
On Dec. 23, it wrote to the National Capital Commission to formally request that it reserve the site for the Stanley monument, which would be one of Ottawa’s largest and most prominent.
The proposed site is currently an unappealing mix of roadways, narrow sidewalks and concrete pedestrian underpasses. But it’s about to undergo a dramatic transformation. The commission and the City of Ottawa are hatching plans to reconfigure the intersection to create a spacious new public square.
Marie Lemay, the commission’s chief executive officer, said the idea of commemorating Lord Stanley’s gift — and the broader theme of hockey and its importance to Canadians — is “definitely” appropriate for the site.
“We’ve been very receptive to this idea from Day 1,” she said. “We believe this is an absolutely good theme for the capital.”
City council, which has passed a resolution endorsing the idea of commemorating Lord Stanley’s gift, would have to agree to back the project.
If the city signs on, Lemay plans to present the plan to the commission board at its meeting in April to confirm the theme and location. She hopes to complete the entire project by 2017 — the 125th anniversary of the gift of the Stanley Cup.
An aide to Lord Stanley, who was governor general from 1888 to 1893, announced his intention to donate a challenge cup, emblematic of hockey supremacy in Canada, at a banquet at Ottawa’s Russell House Hotel in 1892.
The cup, a late Victorian electroplate silver punch bowl, was first awarded in 1893 to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. It has been the National Hockey League’s championship trophy for more than 80 years.
Originally, the Stanley committee envisioned a “colossal” monument, as tall as the National War Memorial or higher. It has since scaled that back substantially.
“We’re prepared to be completely reasonable about this,” Kitchen said. “We understand the statue has to fit the site.”
But the monument should be visible from a distance, he said. It should be “much larger than life size. We don’t want a little candlestick stuck in the ground.”
The Lord Stanley Group is planning a national design competition for the monument.
“We really do want something extraordinary,” Kitchen said. “We want something of dramatic beauty.”
The group plans to raise money for the project from corporate donors, members of the public and government agencies with commemoration programs.
Ottawa Citizen article
(Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)
