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• 1 media/AP.jpg media/AP Frame.JPG 2021-04-02T13:31:15-07:00 Aberdeen Pavilion and Canadian Exhibitions 119 The Aberdeen Pavilion is well known for its use as a venue for many exhibition events. However, its function is also evident in considering other examples. For instance, there are and have been many exhibitions that influenced what is known as the SuperEx. This section explores the different events and architecture that influenced the Aberdeen Pavilion's construction and purpose. image_header 2024-09-16T12:16:37-07:00 Canada has hosted a variety of national exhibitions that continue to be focal points of discussion. Expo 67, for example, was held in Montreal in 1967. This was the highlight of Canada's Centennial celebrations. Over fifty-million people, including thousands from Ontario, traveled to Montreal to experience innovative architecture, entertainment, and other cultural attractions. Many Canadians are also  fairly familiar with the famous Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) normally held in downtown Toronto every August. The CNE has been running since 1879 except for the past year due to COVID-19. Major streets are closed down for the CNE, and there are many methods of transportation designated to getting to the site. It continues to showcase the different technological innovations and commercial products of the nation.
  
  There was once, however, another grand exhibition held in the country's capital, Ottawa. The Central Canada Exhibition (CCE), more commonly known as the SuperEx, was essentially the CNE's equivalent, but for Eastern Canada. The CCE was held at Lansdowne Park during the last two weeks of August, annually since 1888, up until 2011. The illustrated graphic of the CCE from 1900 shows the busyness of Lansdowne Park as an exhibition site with the many buildings spread across the land. One of Lansdowne Park's most prominent landmarks is the Aberdeen Pavilion, which has housed many events including the CCE in Ottawa since its erection. The pavilion played a role in the CCE as a space for people to "getaway" and have fun with the rest of the community.
  
  Constructed in 1898, Aberdeen Pavilion was initially intended to serve as an exhibition site for trade shows and livestock displays. Because its main purpose was to host the agricultural fair, and after the CCE transferred the animal showcase to the pavilion in 1972, the Pavilion earned another nickname: "Cattle Castle." It was, however, also known as the Manufacturers' Building, where it functioned as a display hall during the CCE. The pavilion was designed by Ottawa architect Moses C. Edey, and was named after the Governor General, Earl of Aberdeen. Edey was inspired by Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace, the grand exhibition hall that hosted the Great Exhibition (or London Expo) in 1851. The Great Exhibition was created following the Industrial Revolution as an opportunity for different countries to present their own advancements but mainly to encourage trade and establish British superiority. 
  
  Just as the Crystal Palace served as a home to the world's greatest accomplishments at the time, Aberdeen Pavilion was Canada's site for their own displays. The Crystal Palace was constructed with iron and glass, and the Aberdeen Pavilion's surface resembles the Crystal Palace. However, the Aberdeen Pavilion uses steel and pressed metal. While both sites' initial functions were to host exhibitions, they both embody their own unique features and histories.
  
  Aberdeen Pavilion's hall measures at a width of forty metres, a length of ninety-four, and reaches a height of twenty-two. As the largest column-free structure in the city, it is topped with a gable roofed skylight and a massive octagonal dome, crowned with a cupola and flagpole. As a large-scale exhibition building of the 19th-century, noteworthy elements of Aberdeen Pavilion include its lightweight and innovative use of structural steel covered with pressed metal and glass, as well as its large, uninterrupted interior suitable for the exhibitions it held for years after. Its architectural decorations include a dome decorated with swags and garlands, classical details, corner towers, and a curved roof with monitor windows. Although the classical massive exterior of the Aberdeen Pavilion embodies the strength and pride our country embraces, it masks the lightweight and airy feeling felt by the large volume interior.
  
  
  
  
  
   
• 1 media/Farmers Market.jpg 2021-04-02T21:06:15-07:00 Aberdeen Pavilion Today 55 Although the SuperEx has been discontinued, the Aberdeen Pavilion continues to stand not only as a place of memories for some, but continues to be an attention-grabbing example of local architecture. You can also find the local farmers' market here if you're feeling hungry. image_header 1071677 2023-12-22T04:12:07-08:00 In 1973, the Central Canada Exhibition Association transferred the operation of Lansdowne to the city. The city began developing new ideas for the park and pavilion's uses. However, by this time, the building had been neglected long enough that it began deteriorating. The site was eventually designated a National Historic Site in 1983. The designation was then confirmed by the City of Ottawa under the Ontario Heritage Act in February 1984. The Pavilion had deteriorated even more and, by 1991, was threatened to be demolished due to cost-related reasons when Lansdowne Park was under redeveloping plans. After gaining attention from many citizens, a new project was set out and funded to restore the pavilion which was re-revealed to the public on June 24, 1994.
  
  In more recent times, the Aberdeen Pavilion has been part of Ottawa's end of the Summer fair, the SuperEx. Into the 21st century, it continued to house entertainment and innovation, including the demonstration of the first electric light bulb. For more than a hundred years Lansdowne Park hosted the event. It was considered to be the celebration of the end of Summer especially for students who were returning to school the following September. In 2011, a decision was made by the Central Canada Exhibition Association's board of directors to suspend the fair. In 2015, it was announced that the SuperEx would no longer be held which was said to be due to lack of funding and the new redeveloping plans for the entire park. 
  
  Although the SuperEx is no longer here, the Aberdeen Pavilion has not gone to waste. The Ottawa Farmers' Market began in 2006 at Lansdowne Park, but during the redevelopment of Lansdowne it was relocated to Brewer Park. The market returned to Lansdowne in 2014 which excited many as the Pavilion "provides year-round opportunities for local producers and our customers," as commented by Andy Terauds, the President of the Ottawa Farmers' Market Association. The large scale exhibition site is extremely helpful during the holiday seasons, as not only food vendors take up the space but arts and crafts ones as well. The Winter Market runs from January to April and features over forty artisans and farmers from around the city. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, safety procedures were been implemented to allow the community to continue enjoying what the city has to offer. 
  
  Aberdeen Pavilion was initially built to exhibit trade shows and live stock display. Although now in 2021 it has showcased a lot more than just animals, it has not lost touch with its original function. When not in use, it continues to be its own display of local architecture worth admiring - both inside and out. In all of its lives, the Aberdeen Pavilion embodies a sense of community as a venue for all to gather in. When I visited the site myself for the first time, I was overwhelmed by and engulfed in the vast amount space, but could still imagine the liveliness and excitement of the activities known to have taken place in the venue. The Pavilion is known for its large interior volume that, even when empty, continues to exhibit both past and future memories to be made.
  
  [Project completed for ARTH3107 in Winter 2021].