Dundurn A in Hamilton, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Thomas Baker McQuesten, 1882-1948
Photographed by Tim Boyd, October 23, 2024
1. Thomas Baker McQuesten, 1882-1948 Marker
Inscription.
Over a 30-year career, Hamilton lawyer and politician Thomas Baker McQuesten presided over a remarkable array of public works and beautification projects. Starting in his hometown of Hamilton, McQuesten led multiple park development projects including Gage Park, the Sunken Garden at McMaster University (which he helped bring to Hamilton) and Royal Botanical Gardens, which he saw as his legacy. Appointed provincial Minister of Public Works and Highways in 1934, in less than a decade McQuesten oversaw the construction of the technically advanced Queen Elizabeth Way, three international bridges (including the Rainbow Bridge), hundreds of kilometres of new highways, the complete redevelopment of Niagara Parks, and the restoration of several historical forts and sites. A man of vision, McQuesten was able to accomplish such an impressive body of work because he possessed a unique combination of political skill and integrity, creating major public projects shaped by his esthetic senses attracting the talents of the best artists, landscape architects and builders in Ontario.,
Over a 30-year career, Hamilton lawyer and politician Thomas Baker McQuesten presided over a remarkable array of public works and beautification projects. Starting in his hometown of Hamilton, McQuesten led multiple park development projects including Gage Park, the Sunken Garden at McMaster University (which he helped bring to Hamilton) and Royal Botanical Gardens, which he saw as his legacy. Appointed provincial Minister of Public Works and Highways in 1934, in less than a decade McQuesten oversaw the construction of the technically advanced Queen Elizabeth Way, three international bridges (including the Rainbow Bridge), hundreds of kilometres of new highways, the complete redevelopment of Niagara Parks, and the restoration of several historical forts and sites. A man of vision, McQuesten was able to accomplish such an impressive body of work because he possessed a unique combination of political skill and integrity, creating major public projects shaped by his esthetic senses attracting the talents of the best artists, landscape architects and builders in Ontario.
Au cours des trente années de sa carrière,
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Thomas Baker McQuesten, avocat et homme politique de Hamilton, préside à la réalisation d'un ensemble remarquable de projets d'embellissement et de travaux publics. C'est a Hamilton, sa ville natale, qu'il commence par mener de nombreux projets d'aménagement de parcs, parmi lesquels le parc Gage, le jardin encaisse de l'Université McMaster (il a été l'un des artisans de son transfert a Hamilton) et les Jardins botaniques royaux, qu'il considère comme son héritage
a la posterite. Il est nomme ministre des Travaux publics, et
ministre des Autoroutes du gouvernement provincial en 1934 et, en mois d'une décennie, il dirige la construction de l'autoroute Queen Elizabeth, véritable prouesse technique, de trois ponts internationaux (dont le pont Rainbow) et de plusieurs centaines de kilomètres d'autotoutes, ainsi que la refonte vincegrale de L'organisme Parcs du Niagara et la restauration de plusieurs forts et lieux historiques. Esprit vistonnaire, Thomas McQuesten a bâti cette œuvre impressionnante grâce à sa sagacité politique et son intégrité, une combinaison unique qui a contribué à faire émerger des projets publics d'envergure façonnés pat sa vision du beau, et à attirer en Ontario les artistes, les architectes paysagistes et les bâtisseurs les plus talentueux.
Location. 43° 17.028′ N, 79° 53.509′ W. Marker is in Hamilton, Ontario. It is in Dundurn A. It is on York Boulevard one kilometer east of Plains Road West, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1000 York Boulevard, Hamilton ON L0R 2H9, Canada. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe, in the Hamilton-Halton-Brant Area, and specifically in the Toronto Metropolitan Area. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Rupert’s Land.
Through his work with parks development, McQuesten became associated with an early trend in city planning, the City Beautiful Movement. The idea of the movement was that beauty in cities, as demonstrated by building design, public art, and even landscape design, made for a better place to live, a more harmonious society, and even economic success.
(Submitted on October 23, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)
4. The Rock Garden of the Royal Botanical Gardens, 1930s
Source: Royal Botanical Gardens (public domain)
Photographed by Tim Boyd, October 23, 2024
5. The Queen Elizabeth Way, 1942
From the Official Ontario Road Map
Photographed by Tim Boyd, 2021
6. Gage Park, Hamilton, 2021
Credits. This page was last revised on October 24, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 23, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 174 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on October 23, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
