THE DOVE OF PEACE STANDS AS REMINDER OF PAPAL VISIT
Edmonton Catholic School district found home for iconic structure
One of Edmonton’s most picturesque vantage points is the sloping perch of Gallagher Park, tucked into the heart of the Cloverdale community.
Home to Edmonton’s Folk Music Festival, the spot is a popular stop for residents and visitors alike, who admire in its serene parkland ambience and amazing view. Along with the iconic Muttart Conservatory, Gallagher Park is the site of a famous landmark known as The Dove of Peace, a sculpture created to recognize an important event in Edmonton’s history.
“The Dove of Peace was designed and built to stand over the dais where Pope John Paul II stood to deliver his greetings and blessings during his visit in September of 1984,” says Helen Scarlett, archives co-ordinator at Edmonton Catholic Schools.
The papal alter and dove structure was designed and created by architectural consultant Eddie Williams.
In the 1970s Eddie Williams was a world-class athlete, representing his homeland of Ireland. At the height of his athletic career, Williams won the Irish decathlon championship in 1978, but his track and field career was cut short due to cancer.
Williams moved to the Edmonton area in 1980 and established an architectural career that lead him to the creation of The Dove of Peace.
The structure was erected on a farm site north of Edmonton. The frame of the structure originally included a white canvas tarpaulin that covered the wings, to provide protection from potential heat or rain during the Pope’s address. The structure no longer has the canvas covering, and sits open to the elements.
“The structure had to be white, and shaped so that there was a shadow cast by the tail at the time of the mass,” Williams recalls. This required strategic calculations that took into account “the sun’s angle for that time of year and that time of day.”
After the Pope’s visit, the Edmonton Catholic School district came forward with a plan to provide a permanent home for the symbol of world peace.
“In 1988 our school district was celebrating its centennial, and we partnered with the Knights of Columbus, the Edmonton Jr. Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Edmonton to co-ordinate The Dove of Peace to Rise Again project,” says Scarlett.
The Dove of Peace to Rise Again project was a major undertaking.
The steel construction of the dove incorporated pipes varying in diameter from 40 centimetres, tapering to 15-centimetre wing tips, with a total weight of five tonnes. The relocation of the structure would require a budget of $120,000, which was raised through corporate and private donations.
The Columbian Choirs, under the direction of Mr. Paul Bouret, performed The Concert for Peace at St. Joseph’s Basilica as a public fundraising event.
The Dove of Peace Committee included board chair John A. Vrolijk, architect Eddie Williams, structural engineer Henry Kasten, electrical engineer Anthony Grice, as well as committee members Alberta Dargis, Greg Schiller, Donna Swiniarski and David Whalen.
Together they spearheaded the project to acquire the sculpture and orchestrate its move, which involved the transportation and re-establishment of the structure in its permanent location at 9560 Connors Road NW.
“When it was moved to its permanent location, a time capsule was buried under the dove,” says Scarlett.
Many schools in the district participated by offering mementoes of 1988, with the intention of opening the time capsule at the district’s bicentennial in 2088. The public was invited to participate in the project, and contributions of $100 entitled donors to contribute to the time capsule and have their names inscribed on a plaque at the site.
Although Gallagher Hill — named after the city’s third mayor, Cornelius Gallagher — now represents a fitting home for the hallowed sculpture, the park was not always the grassy knoll we see today. Prior to 1971 the area was a city landfill that housed Edmonton’s largest garbage incinerators. In those days a heavy haze often fell over the Cloverdale neighbourhood, reaching as far east as Bonnie Doon.
After 40 years of constant use, the landfill was re-zoned into parkland, as piles of ash and halfburned rubbish were bulldozed into the sloping hills that currently make up the landscape of Gallagher Park.
Today the location provides an ideal setting for The Dove of Peace, as its impressive 17-metre (56-foot) wingspan stretches out to welcome visitors. The image of the dove is a religious symbol depicting the Holy Spirit and is frequently referenced in Christianity.
In the Book of Genesis, the dove returning to Noah after the flood symbolized peace, hope and rebirth of a new land once ravaged by devastation. Symbolically, Gallagher Park is a fitting location for the structure.