$1.2 M Dickson Park grandstand construction nearly complete in West Galt

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Dickson Park Grandstand reopend after renovations
The Dickson Park Grandstand reopened after renovations, in this photo taken July 14, 2024. Photo by Kevin Swayze

UPDATE JULY 2024: Repairs to the historic Dickson Park Grandstand are complete in Cambridge.

It looks like the reconstruction of the Dickson Park grandstand will be done by winter 2023.

Work involves a top-to-bottom restoration of the 104-year-old historically designated structure.

Work started in late July 2023 on the nearly $1.3 million project, funded by the City of Cambridge and Ottawa.

Work involves repairs to the flat roof, replacing the wooden bench seating and concrete foundation, and new access step repairs.

To passersby, reconstruction of the Dickson Park grandstand looks like the time winter weather will do it arrives in December 2023.

On Sat., Nov. 4, 2023, painters worked in the unseasonably warm 9 C weather, working under the roof from a cherry picker lift.

  • Dickson Park Grandstand 2023 reconstruction showing new wooden seating.
    The Dickson Park grandstand is an historically protected structure in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1919. In 2003, it underwent a $1.2 million restoration.
  • Dickson Park Grandstand 2023 reconstruction showing rotten wood removed from structure.
    The historic Dickson Park grandstand in Cambridge, Ontario, closed in July 2023 for renovations costing almost $1.3 million.
  • Dickson Park Grandstand 2023 reconstruction showing painting underway.
    Painters finishing work under the roof of the Dickson Park grandstand in Cambridge, Ontario, on Nov. 4, 2023.
  • Dickson Park Gran.dstand 2023 reconstruction showing work nearly complete on new flat roof
    The 2023 renovation of the historic Dickson Park grandstand in Cambridge, Ontario, included a new flat roof, wooden bench seating and access stairs.
  • Dickson Park Grandstand 2023 reconstruction cost on sign.
    The 2023 renovation of the historic Dickson Park grandstand in Cambridge, Ontario, cost almost $1.3 million.

Dickson Park History

Dickson Park was created in 1871 when William Dickson Jr. donated 21 acres of land to the Town of Galt.

The original grandstand was built in 1891 or 1892, says Jim Quantrell, in his history book Time Frames, from the City of Cambridge Archives.

The grandstand was doubled in size around 1904, as the Galt Horse Show was a big annual event in Dickson Park at the time.

On Jan. 8, 1916, the grandstand burned to the ground. Three boys later admitted to setting the fire.

Today’s grandstand in Dickson Park was built in 1919. Today, it is a historically designated structure under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Use the slider to compare now and then photos. There’s been a grandstand at Dickson Park in Cambridge since 1890 or 1891. The photo of the original grandstand is courtesy of the Cambridge City Archives. It shows the structure after it was expanded in 1904. It burned to the ground in January 1916. Today’s grandstand was built in 1919 and is undergoing renovations in 2023.