Images of the Glebe Lansdowne 2.0

The 40-acre “park” that was Lansdowne is about to be raided –again. Lansdowne 2.0 development proposals are on the table (see elsewhere in this issue of the Glebe Report).

Storied Lansdowne Park began in 1868 as 40 acres of city-owned land set aside mostly for agricultural events. The first Central Canada Exhibition (the Ex) was held there in 1888 and continued until 2010. Lansdowne was also a venue for housing and for mustering troops in the Boer War and in both world wars. In 1947, the Catholic Church held a Marian Congress there that attracted up to 250,000 attendees and featured a procession of parade floats along The Driveway and the 13-year-old Dionne Quintuplets singing hymns, followed by spectacular fireworks. In 1952, Lansdowne was