Output Options

Print this page
Send this page

P5879

Details

ID Number: P5879
Item Name: Image
Maker: Bruce Photo
Title: Presentation of Victoria Jubilee Fountain / Inauguration de la fontaine Victoria lors du jubilé
Title (Fre): Inauguration de la fontaine Victoria lors du jubilé
Date: 1897/06/22
Description: Black and white photograph of the presentation of the Victoria Jubilee Fountain to the Town of Walkerville by Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd.; the photo was taken by Bruce Photo (from Toronto) on June 22, 1897; the photo depicts a great number of people in an open square; in the centre of the photograph a man is speaking while standing on a chair; men and women, many in hats and many holding umbrellas, are facing the man speaking; on the left and to the centre, horse drawn carriages are parked; at the back of the photograph the Essex Fusiliers are lined up watching the proceedings and behind them three sets of firefighters are standing on their trucks; several people in the foreground are holding bicycles and there is a flag hanging; in the background there is a long building that has "The Page Wire Fence Co. Ltd." painted on the side; printed beneath the photograph: "Presentation of a Fountain to the Town of Walkerville by Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd. June 22nd, 1897 Bruce Photo, Toronto".
History: The Walkerville council decided that the erection of a fountain would be the focal point of the town's proposal celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The Walker family assumed financial burden of the memorial fountain as a gift to the people of Walkerville. Designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn, the fountain was dedicated on June 22, 1897. The festivities began with a parade which included town councillors and dignitaries in carriages, the Walkerville Band, members of the Bicycle Club and the Walkerville Fire Department. The parade was terminated at the site of the memorial fountain at the corner of Assumption and Second Streets (now Devonshire Road). Mrs. Edward Chandler Walker laid the cornerstone. The building of the fountain was completed in July of the same year. Over the decades the fountain fell into disrepair and the fountain was relocated to Willistead Park in 1958.
Place made: Canada - Ontario - Walkerville
Collection Name: Museum Windsor