June 2025
Gage Park is an iconic jewel in the southern Ontario city of Hamilton. The 30-hectare multi-use park was created in the 1920s in a style reflective of the Canadian City Beautiful movement, featuring outstanding gardens, a large selection of trees, including Cherry Blossom trees that attract large crowds every spring, a 14,000 square-foot greenhouse that features a collection of subtropical plants and a children’s play area.
Gage Park was created in 1916, when the City of Hamilton purchased land from the Gage family on Main Street East and Gage Avenue. The Gage family had lived in the Hamilton area since 1790, William Gage, his wife Susannah and their children, along with his late brother John’s wife Mary, sister of Susannah, and her two children, James and Elizabeth, settled in Saltfleet Township, having come from Greenbush, New York. Both William and John has served during the Revolutionary War with the 2nd Ulster County Regiment of the New York Militia. James was killed defending Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery on 6 October 1777.
The centrepiece of the park is a historical stone fountain, designed in a Beaux Arts style and dedicated in 1927. A 300-foot long watercourse leads from the north entrance into the park, up a set of stairs with stone piers and balustrade, then up to the fountain itself.
In preparation for the 100th anniversary of the fountain’s installation, a full restoration was undertaken in 2015.
Sources: Gage Park Fountain | Stevens Burgess Architects, Gage Park | City of Hamilton, Gage Park, Hamilton – Wikipedia, HISTORY – Friends of Gage Park, Gage Park Tropical Greenhouse | City of Hamilton, Gage Park Fountain – SDG Landscape Architects.
