Lord Stanley's Gift Monument facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lord Stanley's Gift Monument |
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 View from west, of Stanley Cup commemorative sculpture on Sparks Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
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| Design: | Covit/Nguyen/NORR |
| Opening date: | October 28, 2017 |
| Owner: | City of Ottawa |
| Location: | Sparks Street at Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
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Location in Ottawa |
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The Lord Stanley's Gift Monument is a special monument in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It celebrates the amazing gift of the Stanley Cup ice hockey trophy. This famous trophy was donated by Canada's Governor-General, Lord Stanley of Preston, way back in 1893.
You can find the monument at the east end of the Sparks Street Mall in Ottawa. It was built after a big public effort to remember Lord Stanley's important donation.
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The Stanley Cup: A Hockey Legend
The Stanley Cup is one of the most famous trophies in sports! It has a long and exciting history.
How the Stanley Cup Began
In the early days of hockey, Lord Stanley and his family lived in Ottawa. They loved watching and playing the sport. They often attended games of the Ottawa Hockey Club.
In 1892, Lord Stanley sent a letter to the Ottawa Hockey Club. In it, he announced a big surprise: he would donate a special cup! This cup would go to the best hockey team in Canada each season. He also suggested a new way to play, where teams would play each other more often. The team with the best record would win the cup.
Who Controls the Cup?
The Cup was first given to the Montreal Hockey Club in 1893. They won the first championship under the new rules. For many years, amateur teams from all over Canada competed for the trophy.
In 1908, professional players were allowed to play for the Stanley Cup. A new trophy, the Allan Cup, was then created for amateur champions. From 1910, teams from the National Hockey Association (NHA), which later became the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1917, and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) played for the Cup.
After the PCHA stopped playing in the mid-1920s, only NHL teams have competed for the Stanley Cup. The original people in charge of the Cup, called trustees, managed it until 1914. Since 1947, the National Hockey League has been fully responsible for the trophy.
The original Stanley Cup and the one used today are kept at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario.
The Lord Stanley's Gift Monument
In 2009, a hockey historian named Paul Kitchen started an idea. He wanted to create a public monument in Ottawa to honor Lord Stanley's gift. His group began raising money from many different places.
Building the Monument
The Canadian Government's Canadian Heritage department gave CA$2.15 million to help finish the project. The total cost was about CA$2.5 million. Other groups like the City of Ottawa, the National Hockey League, and the Ottawa Senators also helped.
Many artists sent in designs for the monument. A special group of judges, including famous hockey player Ken Dryden, chose the winning design. It was created by Covit/Nguyen/NORR from Montreal.
The monument was officially revealed on October 28, 2017. Important people like Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and representatives from the NHL attended the ceremony.
What the Monument Looks Like
The monument is a metal sculpture that looks like the original Stanley Cup bowl. It stands about 20 feet (6.1 m) tall. The bowl part is made of shiny silver metal ribs. These ribs curve to form the unique shape of the trophy.
You can actually walk through the bowl because it's open on two sides! The base of the bowl has colorful lights that make the sculpture glow. Nearby, there's a large black disk that looks like a hockey puck.
The Cup and puck sit on a special paved area that looks like an ice rink. Inside this "rink," there are 39 decorative pucks. Each one represents a team that has won the Stanley Cup. There are also signs nearby that tell the story of the trophy and how the monument was built.
Images for kids
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Original Stanley Cup
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Montreal Hockey Club: first champions
