War Memorial

The war memorial at Confederation Square, at the top of Elgin Street at Wellington, is designed to be larger than life. You have to go pretty high up to get a good idea of just how big a site it is (and this photo omits the vast plaza off screen to the right). I took this photo the same day I took this one of the roof of the Central Post Office.

Obviously, this is the site of Canada's annual Remembrance Day ceremony. Every November 11 at 11am, this square is filled with veterans and dignitaries, and the streets surrounding it are packed with onlookers.

Some other things become clear at this location when viewed from above. One is that the former train tunnel that runs along the Rideau Canal below the Chateau Laurier (more recently the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, and Parliamentary offices).

Another is the alignment of the Plaza Bridge. I've always been a bit confused by the layout of the concrete here (which is more slippery to bike on when it's wet), but from up above you can clearly see how it follows the Canal.

[Look for more one-photo posts under the label Singles]

Doors Open Ottawa 2012: Château Laurier

This coming weekend is Doors Open Ottawa, and there are about two dozen sites in Centretown and Somerset Ward alone (which I've listed and linked to below). Doors Open Ottawa still needs volunteers, so get in touch with them if you're willing to help out for a couple of hours, even on just one day.

One location, just outside Centretown, is the Chateau Laurier hotel, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with its counterpart, Union Station. Much has been said and written about the Château (including a few posts on this blog.

The two were opened in April 1912 by the Grand Trunk Railway system, and connected by a pedestrian tunnel uner Rideau Street. This tunnel will be open to the public for Doors Open Ottawa this year, a particular treat. The Chateau will have special displays celebrating the century mark.

In 1911, prior to the hotel opening, these 14" wide colour posters were sent all around the world to promote the new hotel. David Jeanes, a local expert on railway history in Ottawa, recognized the image: "This poster is the same image as the framed print which used to hang in the main lobby of the Chateau until the end of the Canadian National era. It was done in 1911 by the famous creator of birdseye views, American artist Richard W. Rummell."

This particular one was purchased at an antique show a few decades ago, and hung on the wall in my parents' TV room growing up. Its colours have washed away, so the image above is after some adjustments in Photoshop.

The image shows the old Post Office and City Hall on what is now Confederation Square, the old Parliament buildings before the fire of 1916, the Alexandra (interprovincial) bridge and canal locks, trains running along the canal, streetcars and horse-drawn carriages, and of course the Chateau Laurier and Union Station.

For a more detailed (and illustrated) history of the Château Laurier, check out Vintage Chateau and Chateau Laurier: 1928 Wing on Urbsite, posted in 2009.

2012 Doors Open Ottawa locations in Centretown

In previous years, I've blogged some Doors Open Ottawa locations outside Centretown, including the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat and the former Ottawa City Hall on Sussex.

Here's a list of locations on this year's official list of Doors Open Ottawa locations that are in Somerset Ward (* = in Centretown). Many are on the new free shuttle, and nearly every church in Centretown is on the list. Make sure to check the official website to confirm the hours and other restrictions. The numbers are linked, where possible, to the item in the official listing, and the building name is linked to relevant pages on this blog.

*8. Beaver Barracks, 464 Metcalfe at Catherine (Sun. only)
*11. Blackburn Building, 223 Somerset Street West (Sat. & Sun.)
18. Canadian War Museum, Lebreton Flats: guided tours of the museum's vaults (Sat. & Sun., registration required)
*22. C.D. Howe Building's green roof, 240 Sparks (Sat. & Sun.)
*23. Christ Church Cathedral (Sat. only)
*24. Church of St. Barnabas, James & Kent (Sat. & Sun.)
*29. Commissariat Building (Bytown Museum), North end of the Canal (below Parliament Hill) - I recommend their urban forest exhibit! (Sat. & Sun.)
37. Dominican University College/Saint-Jean-Baptiste Priory, 96 Empress Ave. (Sat. & Sun.)
39. Embassy of Hungary ("Birkett Castle"), 299 Waverley at Metcalfe. (Sat. only)
44. Chaudière Falls No. 2 Generating Station, Chaudière Island, Lebreton Flats (Sat. & Sun.)
*48. First Baptist Church, Laurier and Elgin (Sat. & Sun.)
*49. First Church of Christ, Scientist, 288 Metcalfe between Lewis and Gilmour. (Sat. & Sun.)
*56. City Hall Heritage Building (Sat. & Sun.)
58. Joyful Land Buddhist Centre, 879 Somerset Street West (near Rochester, Sat. only)
*59. Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgar at Elgin (Sat. & Sun.)
#60. Laurentian Leadership Centre (Residence of J.R. Booth), 252 Metcalfe at MacLaren (Sat. & Sun.)
*63. Library of Parliament - Former Bank of Nova Scotia, 25 Sparks Street (Sat. & Sun.)
*64. Lisgar Collegiate Institute, 29 Lisgar Street (Sat. only)
*67. McPhail Memorial Baptist Church, 249 Bronson Ave (Sat. only)
*70. National Association of Friendship Centres, 275 MacLaren (Sat. & Sun.)
98. St. Vincent Hospital, 60 Cambridge St. N (Sat. & Sun)
*104. St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 82 Kent at Wellington (Sat. & Sun.)
*114. St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 400 Sparks at Bay (Sat. & Sun.)
*117. Supreme Court of Canada, 301 Wellington near Kent (Sat. & Sun.)

Lots to choose from!

[Look for more one-photo posts under the label Singles]

Fields of Asphalt

Perhaps you've also stood at the corner of Elgin and Queen and marvelled at the geometry of the intersection. It's a large area dedicated to vehicles, smack dab in the middle of downtown Ottawa. If you're a cyclist, you've also probably cursed the potholes, too.

The entire length of Elgin Street was resurfaced this year, and this intersection was naturally repaved as part of that project.

With fresh smooth, black asphalt, not yet marked up with dashes, the intersection looks even more vast, and the blacktop continues down both sides of Confederation Boulevard.

Top of the Rideau '77

While visiting family overseas at the end of August*, I digitally scanned the photo albums so I could have a copy. Since my grandparents had been stationed in Ottawa in the mid 1970s, some prominent Ottawa landmarks made their way into the background of some of the photos.

This small set of photos depicts a boat parade on the Rideau Canal in May of 1977, presumably for the tulip festival. The photos were taken from alongside the Rideau Canal by the NAC, looking across the canal to the east side. Here, for example, is Union Station (now the Government Conference Centre):

A less prominent building was also photographed that day: Canada Post's Ottawa Station A (Station B is at Sparks & Elgin), located on a part of Besserer Street that's now buried under the Rideau Centre:

Downstairs coupling

Seen back in April, under the Plaza Bridge, on the stairs connecting the canal level by the Union Station to the upper level by Major's Hill Park.

The channel running down the middle of the stairs is to make it easier for people to walk their bikes up and down stairs. Being in the middle of the stairs allows you to choose to push your bike from the right or left, acccording to your preference.

[Look for more one-photo posts under the label Singles]

Astrolabe Theatre on Nepean Point

Despite growing up in Ottawa, I realized I'd never been to Nepean Point when the Citizen reported that the NCC would be taking down the theatre there. In fact, I didn't even know there was an amphitheatre at Nepean Point. So on a half-decent Saturday last month I went up there to check it out (if you follow me on Twitter or just the photos), you'd have seen some of the photos I took with my phone at the time.

Nepean Point is characterized by the statue of Samuel de Champlain, who is portrayed holding up an astrolabe (when instead it should be suspended). The statue of the Anishinabe scout used to be on a plinth at the base of Champlain's statue, until it was removed for good taste. You can see the plinth in the photo below right under Place du Portage in the background.

Capital Bixi opens Wednesday

The NCC has announced that the Bixi bike-sharing program is coming to the Capital. Well, coming back, that is. There was an NCC-led four-station pilot of the programme in 2009, with two stations in Ottawa and two in Gatineau. One of the stations was across from Confederation Square (not to be confused by the building, school or park of the same name), next to the National Arts Centre and within view of the Chateau Laurier:

They planned to have it back in 2010, but there were no bids to the RFP. The NCC planned to team up with the Cities of Gatineau and Ottawa to have a 50 station, 500 bike system this year, but neither city wanted to put the money towards it. Ottawa instead decided to put the money toward a pathway tunnel under Somerset, a decision I supported, though it would of course have been nice to fund both. If you follow me on Twitter, You'd have seen my photo from Saturday of where the tunnel will go (I plan to do a proper write-up of it eventually). Anyway, here's a photo of the other 2009 station on this side of the River, in the Byward Market.

Knox Church spruces up

Knox Presbyterian Church is a familiar site on Elgin Street at Lisgar. Anyone who attends Lisgar Collegiate or works at City Hall has probably walked past it hundreds of times on the way to Elgin. Here's the view from the kitty-corner:

As the Church's website explains, this is actually Ottawa's third Knox Church. The first one was in Sandy Hill. The second, opened in 1874, was on Elgin and Albert. This colourized postcard showing a photograph taken sometime between 1912 and 1915 from the old City Hall shows Knox Church in the foreground, with the still-extant First Baptist behind it on Elgin and Laurier, and Victoria Memorial Museum Building-with tower-in the background.

The Bridges of Rideau Canal, part 2

This is the fourth in the canal series of posts, depicting photos from the Rideau Canal Skateway and Winterlude. Last time, in The Bridges of Rideau Canal, Part 1, we peered at the Arboretum footbridge, and visited the overbearing and majestic (respectively) Bronson and Bank street briges. From here, we'll continue North!

Since the Midtown Footbridge hasn't been built yet, the next bridge in our tour is the bridge at Patterson Creek in the Glebe. This is by far the smallest one you can skate under. I like to clack my skate blades against the ice to hear the echo while skating under it. But this wasn't possible the day this photo was taken. There was an awfully big snowfall in early January, so the snow would have muffled any echo. Here you can see some cross-country ski tracks in the snow leaving Patterson Creek:

The next one is another beautiful old bridge, Pretoria. I've shown shots of Pretoria bridge in some previous Canal posts, but we need a little backstory. Here it is early in the 2009 season, when the Canal was only open from Pretoria to Bank:

Video of the Union railway, pre-Colonel By Parkway

Drumbent tipped me off to this 1965 Buster Keaton clip of "The Railrodder" (sic--think "hot rod"). In clip 2 of the film, Buster is seen riding his rail car along the Rideau Canal, under the Laurier bridge, toward Union Station and past Parliament Hill.

Exciting to see what it was like before it all got paved over!

Compare this shot with Laurier bridge and the Chateau Laurier in the background from 1965:


With this shot from 2005 at the start of the construction of the Corktown Footbridge:


Quite a bit has changed! More trees, but also more big ugly buildings (plus the U of O's Desmarais building which has gone up since)

Will rail ever make a comeback, I wonder?