1900 Ottawa Fire

Though a blaze that raged through town in 1900 is generally referred to as the “Great Ottawa Fire,” the city has been plagued by a multitude of infernos throughout its history. (And what else would a great lumber town fear in the 1800s but the fiery ravages?) Settled long before Ottawa, the city of Hull (now called Gatineau) would have been much larger now, it is often said, if it weren’t for the fires that kept taking most of the city during the 1870s and 80s. As for Ottawa, it didn’t help that, until 1874, the town relied on volunteer firefighters, many of whom would simply ignore the fire bell when it rang, and when the city started offering a cash reward to water carriers that reached fires first, competing companies broke into brawls when they should have been dousing flames. On April 26, 1900, the Great Ottawa Fire started on the Hull side, causing devastation throughout much of the city, and crossed into Ottawa via the bridge at Booth Street. The Ottawa fire department turned out en masse to fight the blaze, and calls were put out to Montreal, Smiths Falls, Brockville, Peterborough, and Toronto for additional help, as the blaze sent up plumes of smoke that could be seen for hundreds of kilometres. Damage extended as far south as Dow’s Lake, and lumber baron J. R. Booth lost 55 million board feet of lumber. Fortunately, the high limestone cliffs separating the Chaudiére district from the rest of Ottawa, coupled with a drop in wind speed, prevented the flames from overtaking the Parliament Buildings. Still, the affected area encompassed a one-kilometre (0.5-mi) wide strip from the
Chaudiere Falls south for four kilometres (2.5 mi to Carling Avenue, leaving seven dead, 3,000 buildings destroyed, and 15,000 people homeless. The area known as LeBreton Flats, just west of the downtown core by Scott and Booth Streets, has been almost completely vacant since, with new development beginning only over the past few years, with the construction of the new Canadian War Museum.

Gas Explosion

Just before noon on May 29, 1929, Ottawa residents were startled by a violent gas explosion in the main sewer line between the Ottawa River and Centretown. Over the next nine hours, a series of explosions ran the stretch of the main line more than five kilometres (3 mi) long, shooting manhole covers three storeys into the air in an area stretching from Sandy Hill (roughly the intersection of Cartier and Waverley Streets) through New Edinburgh and into the suburb of Eastview. Surprisingly, only one person was killed (a janitor in the basement of the building at the centre of the explosion), but a number of buildings were destroyed, including St. Martin’s Reform Episcopal Church in New Edinburgh. After the dust had settled, officials made inquiries into the cause, but the findings were inconclusive, despite the fact that residents along the line had reported the smell of gas to the city for months prior to the explosion. One outcome, though, was a bylaw passed to stop volatile liquids from being dumped into sewers.

Smallpox Epidemic

The smallpox isolation facility on Porter’s Island, on the Rideau River between Old St. Patrick Street on one side and New Edinburgh Park on the other, was typical of the types of quarantine arrangements during epidemics, with small shanty-like shacks housing patients who, for the most part, quickly died where they lay. The facility operated until the early part of the 1900s and treated victims of typhoid and influenza as well as smallpox. Between January and March 1911, there were 987 cases of typhoid reported in Ottawa, 83 of which resulted in death. In 1910, a consultant recommended regular chlorination to treat the water, and the Gatineau Hills as an alternate source, because an earlier typhoid outbreak was traced to the use of an emergency intake valve in Nepean Bay (located on the Ottawa River below the Royal Canadian Mint at the base of the Nepean River behind Parliament Square). The island now exists as a park and is a great site for birding, with urban fishing available, and a section of private property. It is also home to the Island Lodge retirement centre. A footbridge provides access from St. Patrick Street (except during the winter months, when it remains closed).

Ottawa, Clothing-Optional

Founded in 2004 by two guys from Vancouver and Seattle respectively, the World Naked Bike Ride is an international event with participants from numerous activist groups—including the Work Less Party of British Columbia, THONG (Topless Humans Organized for Natural Genetics) of Chicago, and Seattle’s Naked Freedom Film Festival. WNBR’s mandate is summed up best on their website: “We face automobile traffic with our naked bodies as the best way of defending our dignity and exposing the unique dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians as well as the negative consequences we all face due to dependence on oil and other forms of non-renewable energy.” Ottawa’s
annual version of this event began in June of 2005 with about nine participants (there were over 50 participants at the 2007 event). Here, the au naturel cyclists’ route leads them from the fountain in Confederation Park (where there’s body painting), then along Somerset Street West. Sometimes they’ll even stop for gelato and a swim in the Ottawa River along the way. If you participate, be aware that traffic laws must be obeyed—otherwise, the only required accoutrement is a helmet.

If the World Naked Bike Ride isn’t enough for you, unfortunately there really aren’t that many other places to get publicly naked in and around Ottawa (big surprise). Some options include: the relative privacy of the nude beach at beautiful Meech Lake in Gatineau Park, or the sketchier digs (not nearly as upscale as the first) nearby at the old mill falls. Maps and other information can be found by checking out the Federation of Canadian Naturists website (fcn.ca), or the Ottawa Naturists (onno.ca).

Fleet Street Pumping Station

Located in an unassuming grey building in LeBreton Flats under Old Wellington Street is the Fleet Street Pumping Station. Opened in 1875 as Ottawa’s first pumping station, it directs unfiltered water from the Ottawa River into the city’s supply system. At first, it used the energy of Chaudiere Falls to force untreated water into the system, until 1915 when an electric motor-driven station was built on Lemieux Island; a complete water purification plant was constructed in 1932. The station was built on the heels of a number of health epidemics in the Ottawa area, significantly reducing the amount of illness once city residents finally had access to clean drinking water.

Ottawa Parks

Ottawa is a city full of great parks. Here are a few good ones for kids:

St Luke’s Park: Operated by the Jack Purcell Community Centre, this is one of the cleanest and safest closed-in parks in the downtown area. Various play structures include swings, basketball nets, and a summer pool. The Bethell Field House was once a field hospital in the 1920s. (Elgin at Frank Streets, behind the Second Cup)

Dundonald Park: Home of the Centretown Movies (where a screen is set up in the park for summer showings of popular films), the small play structure and sandpit are enclosed to keep the small kids in and the bigger kids out. Dundonald is also known as “beer park” in some circles, but don’t let that deter you from bringing your kids here; it gets this nickname by virtue of being situated across the street from the Beer Store. Look for the plaques directly across from the store dedicated to Russian file clerk Igor Gouzenko, who lived in the apartment building across the street at 511 Somerset Street West. (Somerset West at Bay Streets)

Strathcona Park: This park is filled with huge open spaces and various play structures. The imposing fountain at the top of the hill was presented to the City of Ottawa in 1909 by Donald Smith, a.k.a. Baron Strathcona, statesman, railway builder, and businessman, who drove the last spike in the railway that crossed the country. (Laurier Avenue East at Range Road, Sandy Hill)

Strathcona Park: Don’t let the name repeated from above fool you; this is a completely separate park in the Glebe. There aren’t any playgrounds here, but some lovely trees to run around under. (Bank Street at Strathcona Avenue)

Andrew Haydon Park:
Located on the shores of the Ottawa River in the west end of the city, this park is named after a former mayor of the City of Nepean. It features a lovely view of Britannia Bay and includes a picnic area, artificial lake, concession stands, washrooms, and a yacht club. Swimming is not recommended. (Holly Acres Road and Carling Avenue)

Rideau Hall: Home of the Governor General

The majestic Rideau Hall (perched on a site that overlooks the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers) was originally an 11-room house that Scottish stonemason Thomas McKay built for himself and his family in the 1830s. Thirty years later, the federal government leased the house, along with 80 acres of adjacent “McKay’s bush,” for Governor General Viscount Monck and his household prior to their arrival in Ottawa. Upon Confederation, the house was purchased as the official residence of the Governor General, and underwent extensive renovations, including a new wing, conservatory, and, later on, an entrance lodge in 1868, a new ballroom in the early 1870s, and the rebuilding of the entire façade in 1910. Originally known only informally as “Rideau Hall” (Lady Stanley, wife of Governor General Lord Stanley, was chastised by Queen Victoria in 1889 for using the informal name instead of the official “Government House”), the name has stuck, and the building is commonly known by both titles. The present building boasts 60 rooms, some on display during summer tourist season. Unfortunately, since the capital was seen as a desolate and cultural backwater for many years, it was also where several early Governor General residents were heard complaining about their stay; fortunately for the mood of the surrounding city, there hasn’t been any equivalent complaining for decades.

Ottawa Greenspaces

There were complaints about Ottawa city planner Jacques Gréber when he started creating a horseshoe of green space around Ottawa in the 1950s (frustrated developers called him “Jacques Grabber”). But thanks to him, we now have 200 square kilometres (124 sq mi) of greenbelt around the downtown core alone. For picnicking, swimming, Frisbee, hiking, snowshoeing – you name it – here are some locations worth considering (depending on your goals, of course). (Inline skaters can use the miles and miles of paths that line either side of the Rideau Canal, from Wellington Street/Rideau Street all the way down to Hog’s Back, and back.)

Andrew Haydon Park, Acres Road and Carling Avenue: In the west end of the city, this park is named after a former mayor of the City of Nepean. It sits on the Ottawa River and has a view of Britannia Bay. Includes a picnic area, artificial lake, road concession, and yacht club. Considering the state of some parts of the Ottawa River, swimming is not recommended.

Commissioners Park (at Dow’s Lake), Carling Avenue at Queen Elizabeth Driveway: Home to the Dow’s Lake Boathouse, with concessions and restaurants, this is a popular spot during many regattas, as well as during the Tulip Festival in May, and the Winterlude carnival in February.

Confederation Park, Elgin Street at Laurier Avenue: Across the street from the new City Hall (110 Laurier Ave. W.), this is the site of various events throughout the year, including Winterlude, the Ottawa Jazz Festival, and Canada Day celebrations, as well as many others. The fountain here once stood in Trafalgar Square in London, England.

Dow’s Lake: Formerly Dow’s Swamp, Dow’s Lake was created during the construction of the Rideau Canal, and its proximity to Confederation Park, the Central Experimental Farm, and Dow’s Lake Boathouse make it a good spot for picnickers and boat enthusiasts.

Garden of the Provinces, Wellington at Bay Streets: Across from the Library and Archives Canada building, this park commemorates the union of 10 provinces and the territories with flags, bronze plaques featuring the provincial flowers, and a symbolic fountain overlooking LeBreton Flats and the start of the Ottawa River Parkway.

Gatineau Park: a 15-minute drive north of downtown Ottawa, this park is home to a whole slew of trails for biking, walking, snowshoeing, skiing, or hiking. Hog’s Back Falls (officially known as Prince of Wales Falls), Hog’s Back Road at Colonel By Drive: Near Carleton University, these falls are where the Rideau Canal passes through the first locks in Ottawa, with a swing bridge to enable sailing boats to pass under the roadway.

Hog’s Back Park and nearby Vincent Massey Park are both popular spots. Jacques Cartier Park, Rue Laurier, Gatineau: This park, situated between the Interprovincial and Macdonald-Cartier bridges, has great views of Rideau Falls and Nepean Point, and is a popular festival events location, with the Outaouais Tourism office nearby, and the Canadian Museum of Civilization across the street. Pathways connect to Leamy Lake and the Gatineau River.

Leamy Lake Ecological Park and Archaeological Site, Leamy Lake Parkway, accessed from Boulevard Maissoneuve, Gatineau: Where the Gatineau River meets the Ottawa River, this was once a stopping-off point for the First Nations peoples as well as French fur traders, and has since been recognized as a rich site for archaeological digs. The park also has a lake with swimming and windsurfing, and a concession stand. The new Casino de Hull is directly across from Leamy Lake beach.

Major’s Hill Park, Mackenzie Avenue (behind the Château Laurier Hotel): The city’s oldest park, it was developed in 1874 for its view of the Parliament Buildings, and was once the home of Lieutenant-Colonel John By (though his home is long gone). Currently the park is the site of the Astrolabe Theatre and the noon gun, fired daily off Nepean Point.

Mer Bleue Conservation Area, Anderson Road off Inness Road: This parkland is a peat bog, more typical of what you might find in Canada’s far north, despite being located southeast of the city.

New Edinburgh Park, Stanley Avenue and Dufferin Road: On the eastern bank of the Rideau River, this park has plenty of wildlife, including blue herons, muskrats, turtles, and butterflies. In the winter, there is an outdoor skating rink. Pine Grove Forest, Hunt Club at Conroy Roads: This 12-square-kilometre (7.5-sq-mi) urban forest, managed by the National Capital Commission, combines natural and planted forest, and offers wide and level trails for hiking.

Vincent Massey Park, Heron Road (west of Riverside Dr., 733-7704): Just north of Hog’s Back Park and Mooney’s Bay, this park, named for Canada’s first Canadian-born Governor General, is used for events involving large groups, with numerous picnic tables and fireplaces as well as softball fields, horseshoe pits, and a bandstand; in winter, it has some of the best tobogganing hills in the city. A parking fee of $4 is charged from May to October each year.

For the Birds

One of the foremost birders in North America is Ottawa-born Bruce Di Labio, who currently lives just outside Ottawa in the village of Carp. A member of the Ottawa Field- Naturalist’s Club (which is the oldest natural history club in Canada, dating back to 1879), Di Labio spent much of the 1980s working for the Museum of Nature in ornithology before working for the Canadian Nature Federation as Staff Naturalist and finally launching his own birding business in 1998. He conducts birding classes, field trips, and local group tours in Canada, and has also led birding tours to Arizona, Alaska, Texas, New Jersey, California, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Churchill, Manitoba. (See also the Ottawa Field-Naturalists)

Life’s a Beach

If you feel safer with lifeguard supervision while you’re out in the sand, here are some beaches the City keeps an eye on: Britannia Beach (2805 Carling Ave., 820- 1211), Mooney’s Bay Beach (2926 Riverside Dr., 248-0863), and Westboro Beach (follow Ottawa River Pkwy. to Kitchissippi Lookout).

Canada’s Parliament Buildings

Thought originally to be an Algonquin camp (given the view of the Ottawa River), the modern site of Parliament Hill would first become a military barrack (Barrack Hill). But when Queen Victoria dubbed Ottawa the Capital of the Province of Canada (a region made up predominantly of Upper Canada and Lower Canada, now Ontario and Quebec) in 1857, construction of the Parliament Buildings began. The neo-gothic stone buildings and the spire of the Peace Tower are the heart of political life in Canada, including the Senate, the House of Commons, and the Library of Parliament.

The Peace Tower houses a 53-bell carillon, a huge clock, and the memorial chamber commemorating Canada’s war dead. Through all of this, the seat of Canadian government still sits on disputed Algonquin lands. In 1916, a huge fire destroyed everything but the library. Construction of the new Parliament Buildings turned out to be plagued by the same problems as the original. Shortages due to World War I, coupled with construction difficulties, delayed the expected completion date by several years before the government’s new digs finally opened in 1920. The new Centre Block was sympathetic in style with the existing buildings on Parliament Hill, but close inspection, especially from the rear where comparisons with the original library are easily made, will reveal the differences.

The new building was constructed to be resistant to fire, incorporating intricate stone carvings in place of much of the original wood panelling. As well, since they used soil taken from a landfill across the river, an Aboriginal burial site where the Museum of Civilization currently sits; some say it is entirely possible that the second Parliament Buildings include fragments of Natives’ bone in its structure. Currently housed on Wellington Street, the original Parliament Buildings (both pre- and post-fire versions) were expected to house the entire government of Canada, but with new provinces and new portfolios, the original buildings quickly became too small. The thinking for the subsequent construction was, “the closer the better,” with newer foundations broken for the Confederation Building, the Supreme Court, the Library and Archives Canada Building, the Langevin Block, the Bank of Canada, the Department of Trade and Commerce, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the original United States Embassy.

There was talk a number of years ago about creating some new buildings on the Hill for the sake of new office space, but the state of disrepair in some of the buildings is so advanced that prominent stonemasons were warning as recently as May 2007 that “without emergency repairs, someone could be killed by falling masonry,” and that even a minor earthquake could do permanent damage. They’ve known about the problem for years (major repairs on the West Block have been going on for some time), but the state of disrepair might simply be overtaking government inaction.

Unfortunately, some of the recent government action in the Langevin Block included Prime Minister Stephen Harper lining an entire hallway with portraits of himself, just outside of his office. For general tourist information, a good place to check while on your way through the Parliament Buildings site, or before you get there, is Capital Infocentre at 90 Wellington Street (across from Parliament Hill, 239- 5000).

Wipe The Slate Clean

How could any guide to this government town be complete without an entry for the international company Iron Mountain, who will happily destroy all of your office records for you?
1-800-32 -8345

Sir Galahad in Ottawa

Are you wondering why there is a statue of Sir Galahad directly in front of the grounds of Parliament Hill? Well, here’s the story: Lady Minto, wife of Canada’s Governor General at the turn of the 20th century (who later founded the Minto Skating Club in 1903), hosted a series of weekly skating parties at Rideau Hall, giving the sport a tremendous boost. At one of these outings, in 1901, Miss Bessie Blair, daughter of the Minister of Railways and Canals, and her skating partner fell through the ice on the Ottawa River near the mouth of the Gatineau River. Fortunately, Blair’s companion escaped, but the attempt by government employee Henry Albert Harper to rescue Miss Blair failed, and both were lost. To acknowledge both Harper’s bravery and the loss of such a close friend, William Lyon Mackenzie King, in the days before he became prime minister, commissioned a statue of Sir Galahad, known as “the pure.” A confirmed bachelor his whole life (if you don’t count his spiritual advisors or his faithful dog, who he thought was a reincarnation of his departed mother), Mackenzie King had many close friends, both male and female, but apparently Harper was especially close, leading to a particular kind of rumour around town. Perhaps this statue can be considered a tribute to Mackenzie King’s knight in shining armour.

Rockcliffe Park

The original village of Rockcliffe Park, situated just west of Lowertown and Vanier, belonged to Thomas McKay, the Rideau Canal’s contractor; for many years, his widow lived in a stone mansion on the northern boundary of the village. Incorporated as a municipality to preserve its pastoral nature (and to hold back the building boom of the 1920s), it had only a score of permanent homes; otherwise, it was occupied by summer cottages and two private schools, Ashbury College (for boys, established 1910, whose students included actor Matthew Perry, among others), and Elmwood School for girls (established 1915, where author Elizabeth Smart attended).

Because of deliberate laws against buildings for any purpose “other than as a single detached family dwelling,” there are no apartments or businesses, meaning that there might be a lot of space for kids to play on the streets, but no doctor’s offices nor businesses to help pay taxes, which has caused Rockcliffe Park to have some of the highest property tax rates in the city. Despite becoming part of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton in 1969, it still retained its status as a village, but was finally amalgamated into the City of Ottawa in 2001.

A Stately Manor

One of the earliest and most impressive buildings in Rockcliffe is the Apostolic Nunciature (724 Manor Ave.), home of the Pope’s representative in Canada. The huge structure is reminiscent of an English lord’s estate, and comes complete with an arched gate. Assessed at approximately $5.3 million in 2000, the mansion was built in 1838. It was dubbed “Rockcliff” for the limestone cliffs that border the Ottawa River. The village itself was later named in its honour. The mansion, also known as the Rockcliffe Manor House, was purchased by the Holy See in 1962.

LeBreton Flats

Captain John LeBreton was a decorated veteran of the War of 1812 who was severely wounded in the Battle of Lundy’s Lane (one of the deciding battles in the war). The area now known as LeBreton Flats was named for this war hero, who received a land grant in Bytown on the Ottawa River (where the present day neighbourhood of Britannia sits, farther west, by Brittania Beach off Carling Avenue).

When lands extending from Carling to the middle of the Ottawa and from Bronson Avenue to Booth Street were offered for auction in Brockville, Captain LeBreton bought the whole lot. This angered the Governor General, the Earl of Dalhousie, who refused to buy the land for the Crown at LeBreton’s price. Imagine: originally, LeBreton’s lands were considered prime for the Rideau Canal project, but LeBreton wanted too much money, moving Dalhousie’s plans farther east into Nicholas Sparks’ rocky lot (much of what is now home to Centretown from Wellington Street south, including west past current Bronson Avenue and east to the Rideau Canal). This helped Sparks to become the era’s only wealthy Irishman in town. In 1962, the Crown expropriated and bulldozed a portion of LeBreton’s land for a vast redevelopment program – that has yet to come to fruition – carving everything away down to Scott and Albert Streets to the south, and cutting Wellington Street off from itself (a sign now hangs in the area for “Old Wellington Street”). Somehow the small residential street known as lower Lorne Avenue, off Albert Street and just below Nanny Goat Hill, survived. In 2006, local residents fought back and won against renewed development, saying that unless the city designated the street a heritage conservation area, the turn-of-the-century homes would give way to suburban-style houses that they insist don’t belong there.

Thus, the houses on lower Lorne Avenue exist as the only example of what LeBreton Flats used to look like. In 2004, some development did start to appear, with the newly designed Canadian War Museum (see photo above) opening in 2005, and the promise of a series of apartment and government buildings where the Transitway meets Booth Street. But most of what has happened, yet again, is the removal of what was already thriving (a lovely campground, for example).

Next Page »