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Thorold, Ontario
Battle of Beaverdams Park is named for the War of 1812 battle that took place near Thorold. Centrally located, the park contains many of the town’s historical plaques and cultural artifacts. While it houses artifacts, the park is essentially an artifact itself. It is the site of a former alignment of the Welland Canal, with exposed lock walls still evident. SHIFT led a team of consultants through a multi-phased process to redesign Battle Beaverdams Park that included public consultation, concept development, and detailed design.
While rich in artifacts, a redesign of the park presented a unique challenge, forcing a fresh look at each existing historical artifact, teasing out their story and meaning. Re-siting each object became the preferred solution, giving purpose to their location and physically weaving their stories into the broader site narrative.
The park redesign presented opportunities to re-think how certain historical narratives may be experienced by the visitor. For example, landscape interventions help recover the historical prominence of the former Welland Canal alignment. A new fountain at the north end of the park will be built, inspired by the morphology of the canal and the surrounding street grid. A weathering steel archway frames the view towards the exposed walls of Lock 25, a significant remnant artifact, and inlaid concrete bands mark the former canal edge on park paths.
Additional photography by David Delouchery.