Heritage Research Report: Memorial Park - 110 Simcoe Street South

When the Public Utilities Commission erected a building nearby in 1931, the City of Oshawa (incorporated in 1924) rented space on the upper floor and demolished the old office building on the north-east corner of the lot. [...] A piece of marble from the old Westminster Abbey and a fragment of the residence of the wartime governor general of Canada, the Duke of Connaught, add to the significance of the memorial. [...] Location and Description of Property Memorial Park is located in the heart of downtown Oshawa on Simcoe Street South and bounded by Simcoe Street South on the east, John Street West on the south, Centre Street South on the west and Metcalfe Street on the north. [...] Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest The associative value of Memorial Park is linked to its role in contributing to an understanding of the development of the neighbourhood that surrounds the park and the City of Oshawa, from it being the site of the Pedlar People Limited and then its use as a memorial to the City’s war-dead. [...] The monument features a bronze First World War soldier on top of a stone monument that contains the names of the employees of the Borden Company Ltd., a Toronto- based dairy, honouring its fallen employees and serves as a reminder of the role the Canadian Corps played in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.