King George Park
Côte St. Antoine and Murray
611,748 sq. ft. – 14.10 acres
Still called familiarly and affectionately by locals by its earlier name of Murray Park after William Murray, who sold a piece of his farmland to the City in the 1920s, King George Park was given its new moniker to mark the British Royal’s visit to Canada with his wife, Queen Elizabeth, in 1939.
At the northern limit of the park’s fourteen acre expanse is an immense playing field where lacrosse, Canada’s national sport, is played, along with rugby and soccer. In winter, the park is home to an outdoor rink for skating enthusiasts.
In the park’s central area are located a dog run, a tennis court area, a wading pool, a basketball net, as well as the comfort station, designed by internationally celebrated Westmount architect, Robert Findlay.
Findlay and his son Frank were commissioned by the City to design the pavilion in 1936, possibly as a make-work project during the Great Depression. The stone structure is classical in style, and houses men’s and women’s changing rooms and washrooms.
Steps rise from the lot for toddlers on the park’s eastern edge, and a water pond nestles at the base of the great stone wall.
According to some sources, beneath the park’s rolling slopes lie fresh water wells sacred to the native people who first inhabited the area, along with some of their graves.
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