Dundas Driving Park Essay

1. Dundas Driving Park (Starting Point)
Dundas Driving Park is a peaceful, beautiful and historical park located on Cross Street, Ontario. It is located in the heart of the Dundas community and is surrounded by a circular pathway that allows the community to drive right through it. There are large acorn trees surrounding the area with the new baseball diamonds, wading pool, outdoor skating arena, playgrounds, picnic tables, snack huts and pavilions for dining with BBQ pits. The enclosing area is also bounded by Victorian and Confederation homes. Before all the man-made structures were made, the circular pathway was used as a racetrack for harness racing in the mid-1860s. This racetrack was known as one of Canada’s earliest harness race tracks.

It serves as the building for government purposes and events of significance in Dundas. Dundas Town Hall was designed by Francis Hawkins, with the influence of Neo-Romanesque tradition. It was constructed with an external body of sandstone, triangular decorative wall surfaces and a clock tower in the centre of the roof. In 1946, a new staircase was also installed to the South Entrance. Another addition added by architect Arthur Taylor are the influences of a more modern Italianate design. It is now a single story building with recessed windows, polygonal roof, squared office rooms and geometrically changed designs on the North side. It was also known as Haymarket Square, where farmers meet to bring produce to the town. When finished in 1849, a jail was put in the basement, along with butcher stalls and farmer stands. Once finished in the place of architectural, political and historical significance head northwest on Main Street towards York Street. Then turn right onto York Street. Walk towards the Tim Hortons and then turn right onto Cootes Drive and Hamilton Regional Road 8. Turn left onto King Street East, keep going straight and the last destination, Desjardins Canal will be on the

It was a canal of great purpose and history. The writing on the plaque mentions that in the pioneer days waterways provided necessary methods of transportation. In 1823 the government approved the making of a canal and Pierre Desjardins took the initiative to form a company in 1826 and create the canal. The canal finally opened in 1837 and was a great addition to the development of Dundas. When the Canal wasn’t needed anymore the Great Western Railway was built on the Canal in 1853. The railway connected Niagara Falls and Windsor through Hamilton and London. The railway was widely used and depended on for transportation of goods for consumers and producers. On March 12, 1857 was Canada’s worst railway disaster in history. The collision was triggered by a broken axle on the engine, which launched the train from the tracks and made it collide through the bridge deck and on the 45-cm thick ice of the canal. This created a lot of casualties and the City of Hamilton proclaimed March 16, 1857, the official day of mourning. In the present day, the remainder of the canal can be spotted at the North of Cootes Drive in east Dundas and in the decaying trunks and logs in the shallows of Cootes