Memorials. Monumental or otherwise. An Artist’s Review.

Boer War.

Recently I did a post on Charlottetown’s fountains, so I thought it would be a good idea to look at some of Charlottetown‘s monuments.

As would be expected in Canada we have our fair share of war memorials. The two most prominent memorials are located at Province House. This one is the Boer war memorial, and is probably similar to all Boer war memorials in any city or town in the British Commonwealth. It is one of those memorials most people walk past without ever noticing, it is suitable to its task, and it has an off-the-shelf quality that I kind of like. I’ll have one heroic Canadian please, and can you toss in a broken cannon?

War Memorial.

This is the Cenotaph and is the most impressive of all Charlottetown memorials. It is well placed in front of Province House and is best viewed from University Avenue. It is something that you look at when you walk past, and I think it’s a successful monument.

Owen Connolly.

In the 1800s Owen Connolly was a successful merchant in the town of Charlottetown. His bust is on the roof of a building he owned on Queen Street. For many years it was neglected, but recently it was cleaned and is now easily visible from the street. I’ve always liked it for its simple charm.

Francis Bain.

This is a strange little monument to the Island-born naturalist Francis Bain. It’s a sad little plaque attached to a rock, and the strange thing is, it was erected by the Natural History and Antiquarian Society of P.E.I. for an Island naturalist and the rock is probably from Nova Scotia and not from Prince Edward Island. Our Island rock is red sandstone.

Workers Memorial.

This is a monument to workers injured or killed on the job. I really don’t feel this is in any way a suitable monument, and something like this belongs only in a grave yard. I feel a monument for injured or killed workers deserves to be designed by an artist, and not thrown together by a committee. I don’t know if a lack of funds was the reason for this but it really does look like it was off-the-shelf, but not in a good way.

Sir John A. Macdonald.

This really isn’t a monument to Sir John A. Macdonald, but it’s the only public sculpture in Charlottetown of Canada’s first Prime Minister. It was at first a controversial sculpture mainly because the artist is an American, but lately I’ve noticed it seems to be popular with people on the street. Many people pose for photographs by sitting on the bench next to Sir John A., and a surprising number make out with him while having their photo taken. Especially late on Saturday night.