The location of the new Lord Stanley monument was announced last week, placing it on the popular and busy corner of Sparks and Elgin streets. However, doing so will displace its current occupant, a giant bronze sculpture of a grizzly bear.
The group behind the project, The Lord Stanley Memorial Monument Inc., has been searching for a location for the monument since 2009. The original site at Colonel By Drive and Rideau Street recently fell through and it looked to Sparks Street as the alternative.
Despite the excitement over the new Stanley monument, many residents are opposed to the bear’s forced change of habitat – and with good reason.
For more than two decades, Canadian sculptor Bruce Garner’s grizzly bear has been towering over pedestrians at the corner on Sparks and Elgin streets, delighting tourists and Ottawa residents alike. The bronze bear, suspended in motion while grasping at a salmon, was commissioned by Metropolitan Life Insurance and donated to the Sparks Street Mall in 1990. It has remained a signature piece of Sparks Street ever since. The statue, however, has more than just superficial importance. Named “Territorial Prerogative,” it shows the importance of nature in Canada and of the respect we should accord the country’s natural resources.
The bear sits in the middle of the downtown core and it comes as a surprise to see four-metre tall animal alongside the cars and shops in the city. It is a reminder of what human urban growth has done to nature and the animal population. The message it represents and its arresting presence should be protected.
The bear’s sculptor, who died last October, never intended for the statue to be moved, according to his wife, Tamaya Garner. In an interview with the Ottawa Citizen, she said that the grizzly sculpture was installed with concrete and if it is relocated, “it’s going to be damaged.”
But this particular corner has some significance to the Lord Stanley monument due to its close proximity to the former Russell Hotel, present-day Confederation Square.
It was in this hotel that it was announced that Lord Stanley would donate a cup to honour the Canada’s winning hockey team. Although this history is important, the statue does not necessarily need to be right beside Confederation Square. The corner of Sparks and Metcalfe was a suggested location for the Stanley monument as well, and is also only a stone throw away from the square.
Displacing the bear statue is not the right solution. There are many high-traffic, tourist areas in Ottawa that would be suitable for a monument to Lord Stanley, which won’t be completed until 2017, according to the president of the Lord Stanley Memorial Monument Group Inc., Paul Kitchen.
While this monument representing the history of Canada’s favourite game will be an important symbol to Canadians, it shouldn’t come at the expense of another equally important piece of art. Advocates for the Lord Stanley memorial should keep on searching and let the mama bear keep her home.