Description of Historic Place

Waddell Fountain, a light-coloured stone and granite structure installed in 1914, occupies a prominent site next to walkways and playground amenities in downtown Winnipeg's Central Park. The site's provincial designation applies to the fountain.

Heritage Value

Waddell Fountain is an exuberant and rare Manitoba example of High Victorian Gothic Revival design. Richly embellished and steeple-like, the stone structure also is an exceptional display of the mason's craft. It was erected to commemorate Emily Margaret Waddell, the wife of a local temperance leader. Its design by architect John Manuel, based on a magnificent Edinburgh monument to writer Sir Walter Scott, also symbolizes the Scottish heritage of many early city residents. Built and dressed by the William Penn Stone Co. of Minneapolis, the fountain remains on its original site and is an enduring focal point in Central Park, one of Winnipeg's earliest public parks.

Source: Manitoba Heritage Council Meeting Minutes, December 12, 1992

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Waddell Fountain site include:
- the structure's placement in the northern part of Central Park near formal walkways

Key elements that define the fountain's lively and finely sculpted High Victorian Gothic Revival style, its connection to Emily Margaret Waddell, and its original function, include:
- the tall, tiered, symmetrical form composed of a light-coloured stone superstructure rising to a crocketed pinnacle from the centre of a moat set within a stepped granite base
- the superstructure's supports, including flying buttresses interconnected by large nodding ogee arches and bridge-like anchors over the moat
- components that serve dual aesthetic and functional roles, including intricately carved lion head water spouts and double-tiered basins that overflow into the moat
- a rich collection of Gothic details, identically arranged on all sides, including arch and floral motifs, pinnacles, etc.
- the words 'Waddell' and 'Fountain' inscribed on two sides of the superstructure
- the pump that circulates water in the system, housed in a concrete compartment under the fountain