The spiral staircase on the Mackenzie King Bridge was designed by engineer Charles Reginald MacDonald, who died earlier this month.
The spiral staircase on the Mackenzie King Bridge is a symbol of Charles Reginald MacDonald’s accomplishments.
The former chief of engineering at the National Capital Commission died March 11, 2009 at St. Vincent’s hospital, but his legacy lives on through the changes he made to the Ottawa landscape.
“Reg, as chief engineer, was responsible for working with landscaping architects,” says chief landscape architect Gerald Lajeunesse. “He really understood what it meant to build the capital.”
MacDonald collaborated with others from the NCC to put together different pieces of the Ottawa landscape. He worked on the parkway, several bridges, and many of the parks and paths around the city.
Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, MacDonald graduated from St. Francis Xavier University’s engineering program in 1951. He worked for CN Railway and Public Works Canada before becoming the NCC’s chief engineer. This was a position he held until 1988, when he retired. Lajeunesse says MacDonald’s sensitivity to aesthetics and good design is what set him apart from other engineers.
“We work closely with the engineers to conceptualize and design,” says Lajeunesse. “Reg was the best spokesperson I’ve known in the engineering field.”
MacDonald’s obituary, posted in the Ottawa Citizen on March 15, made special mention of a spiral staircase near the National Arts Center. Jim Hanson, a friend of MacDonald’s, says the staircase was an important mark MacDonald left on the city.
“That was something that he could point at and know that it wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for him,” says Hanson. “He had collaborated on a whole bunch of different projects around the city, but that staircase was just one of those big things.”
Lajeunesse says the spiral staircase is an iconic part of the landscape.
“They have become landmarks in the core of the capital,” he adds.
People walking by the bridge say that the spiraling staircase is one of those things that everyone recognizes, even if they do not realize it.
“It’s a part of the bridge that everyone sees. Everyone around here has probably walked down it at least once in their life,” says Ottawa resident Joe Park. “People instantly recognize what you’re talking about when you mention the spiral staircase on the Mackenzie King Bridge.”
MacDonald worked with the National Capital Commission on turning the city into what it is today, says Hanson. MacDonald was also part of the team that engineered the parkway.
“I remember Ed would have nothing to do with putting traffic signals on the parkways,” says Lajeunesse. “He understood the definition of a parkway, and traffic lights weren’t part of it.”
MacDonald left a wife of 53 years, Joan, a daughter, Margaret, a son, Reg, and several grandchildren. He was also the Choir Director of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church and a well-known tenor soloist.
Family and friends gathered for a mass in memory of MacDonald on March 18. Those who did not know him can remember him by keeping an eye out for his spiral staircase on the Mackenzie King Bridge.