Riverside Park (Guelph)

Riverside Park is an 80-acre (32-hectare) park located by the northern part of Woolwich Street in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It is built around a portion of the Speed River that runs through Guelph.

Riverside Park opened in 1905 spanning 14.5 acres. Its development was related to the Guelph’s now discontinued streetcar system. The park was a stop on one of the Guelph Radial Railway’s (a precursor to the modern Guelph Transit system) streetcar line, and the company held a contest in 1905 to name the new attraction. The name “Riverside Park”, from the site’s proximity to the Speed River, was the winning selection. Since its foundation the park has expanded to 80-acres, with many on-site features and has become a noted landmark and attraction in the city. Riverside also hosts a number of events each year, many of which have become longstanding traditions in the city.

The floral clock of Riverside Park is mechanized and fully functional, showcasing over 6000 plants. The only mechanized components seen from the exterior are its hands. It is 28 feet in diameter and displays numeric floral patterns on its face, each number spanning 4 feet. Each year floral patterns are changed to celebrate different events or people, and in winter the Arabic numbers are replaced with illuminated Roman numerals. In the start of 2011, a floral arrangement commemorating St. Joseph’s health centre was made. The clock also exhibits a floral calendar that is changed daily.

The floral clock was originally built in 1949 and rebuilt in 1955 according to the designs of John “Jock” Clark, the city’s long-time park administrator. The clock serves as a focal point of the landscape yet does not act as an isolated centerpiece. Instead, it is the heart of the gardens through which plant life flows. The contours of the adjacent flowerbeds and forestry are deliberately made ambiguous to enhance the sensation of nature’s surround. The feeling of an organic emersion plays on the clock’s intended metaphor, a dependency and union of man and nature. The floral clock at Riverside Park is the only patented floral clock in Canada.

Near the west entrance to the park is a model of the first house ever built in the city of Guelph. John Galt built the original house in 1827 where he and his family held residence. The house, christened The Priory, was named after Charles Prior, one of the men that aided Galt in Guelph’s founding. The Priory was a neatly cut cabin made up of laterally stacked logs and served multiple purposes, also functioning as a tavern, a post-office and in 1887 a railway station. To immortalize its history, a to-scale model was built and is now on display behind a perimeter of fencing at Riverside Park. The model is scaled to a ratio of 1 ½ In. to the Ft.

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