Invitation! September 29th: The history of the Tunney's Pasture property brought alive!

My presentation is just two weeks away!

On the evening of Wednesday September 29th, at 7 p.m., I will be making a live, online presentation as part of the Historical Society of Ottawa speaker series, on the history of the Tunney's Pasture property. If you have not registered yet, I encourage you to do so now (click here: http://tinyurl.com/HSO-allston). 

This will be a detailed history of the land going back through all its uses (and proposed uses) of the 1800s and 1900s, from its days as a mill site operated by Nicholas Sparks, a shantytown, a hub for the proposed Georgian Bay Canal plan, a residential subdivision, a heavy industrial site, an abbatoir... and yes, the spot where Anthony Tunney's cattle grazed. I'll speak to its evolution to a federal government hub, and maybe even a brief look ahead at the proposed redevelopment project that will change Tunney's over the next two decades.

There will be a ton of visuals and photos. This is not just a boring history chat... this is going to bring the most interesting tidbits of Tunney's Pasture history alive in a 60 minute presentation! 

I'll be featuring a lot of new photos and new stories that I have never shared before.

I am proud to be asked to be a speaker for the Historical Society series. The HSO holds just a few presentations each year, and to be recognized in this way is very meaningful to me. I invite you to join me on this special evening. 

Admission is free, and no membership in the HSO is required. You can simply jump online using the link and watch the show without any need to speak or share video, as if you're watching Netflix (but good luck finding anything half as interesting as the history of Tunney's on Netflix!) 

To register click this link: http://tinyurl.com/HSO-allston, and just enter your name and email address. It will reserve a spot for you in the presentation (spaces are somewhat limited) and ensure you receive a reminder email with the viewing link prior to the 29th. 

More information can be found at the HSO website for the event here:

https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/activities/events/eventdetail/48/16,17/tunney-s-pasture-the-story-behind-ottawa-s-field-of-dreams

Thank you, I am very much looking forward to this presentation!

The fascinating Holland Brothers and their namesake street Holland Avenue

In this month's Kitchissippi Times, be sure to check out my new column profiling the fascinating Holland brothers, Andrew and George and their significant impact on the early days of our neighbourhood. You'll be surprised to read about all of their professional accomplishments, and how they directly affected the development of our community, including many of the streets and its infrastructure. 

The article also talks about the growth of Holland Avenue, a street which is growing in prominence as Kitchissippi continues to evolve (just wait until the Tunney's Pasture redevelopment begins!). Holland was the main street they designed as part of their subdivision plan for the area, a street laid out for the initial purposes of featuring the streetcars going south to the Farm, and later west to Britannia. 

Read all about these two incredible individuals, and the history of Holland Avenue at:

https://kitchissippi.com/2021/09/09/the-history-of-holland-avenue-a-story-of-two-brothers/