Public Grounds of the Parliament Buildings

Photo by contributors David & Kellie Clifford - Posted July, 2009

Photo by Alan L Brown with assistance from Sally Brown - Posted September, 2012

Plaque Location

The City of Ottawa
On the west side of Parliament Hill
under a flagpole near the Parliament buildings

Coordinates: N 45 25.451 W 75 42.038

Plaque Text

In 1873 the Department of Public Works contracted with New York landscape architect Calvert Vaux to design a plan for the public grounds of Parliament Hill. Superseding a design by the English sculptor Marshall Wood, Vaux's design was implemented in 1873-75. A terrace connecting the access roadways integrated the dominating Parliament buildings with the departmental buildings. Small geometric flower beds, diagonal walks and a central fountain, long since removed, ornamented the lawn. While changes in planting have altered the effect of Vaux's design, its major features are clearly discernible.

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The Parliament Buildings

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Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

Posted May 26, 2013
I am writing the biography of Marshall Wood, sculptor. There has never been any information that he designed the grounds for Parliament only the statue and busts in the library. I am finding 35 works done by Marshall, ten were in Australia. I have that record direct from five cities that took me a month of search.

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