In the November issue, I wrote about the hidden history of the Herb & Spice building on Wellington Street West! The building has a history that you wouldn't have expected!
Check out the full article here:
https://kitchissippi.com/2021/11/05/brews-and-billiards-the-history-of-the-herb-spice-building/
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| (Source: City of Ottawa Archives, CA-24328) |
In case you missed it, CBC published a story this weekend about the Laroche Park remediation work, and some of the discoveries they are unearthing as they dig. CBC interviewed me for the story! Check out the full article at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/laroche-park-revitalization-artifacts-found-1.6198891
This month's issue of the Kitchissippi Times contains my article on the evolution of Champlain Park (or Riverside Park, as it was originally known). It's a great story all made possible by Robert H. Cowley, son of Captain Daniel Keyworth Cowley, who operated a farm just west of what is now Island Park Drive in the 19th century.
Cowley was a visionary, and it was his push that likely led to the western extension to the Queen Elizabeth Driveway (aka Island Park Drive) taking the path it does today, and arriving at what was once three scenic islands off the shore. Cowley's ownership of the land and push for the Driveway led to the establishment of Champlain Park, and eventually the arrival of Island Park Drive.
It's an interesting story, and for those who live in Champlain Park, a great bit of history on how the neighbourhood was first formed.
I've intentionally not written too much on Champlain Park over the past five years as I know fellow historian Bob Grainger is actively working on a book on the history of the neighbourhood. But this story was just too great not to share!
A few vintage photos and visuals, so hope you enjoy!
https://kitchissippi.com/2021/10/12/robert-h-cowleys-vision-and-the-birth-of-champlain-park/
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:
Thank you, I am very much looking forward to this presentation!
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/
Check out the newest issue of the Kitchissippi Times for a neat article I've written on the history of the piece of land at the top of the Churchill Avenue hill. For years it has been a coin laundry/dry cleaners known as "Laundry Land", but I was surprised when my research took me back to when part of the building was originally a faith healing church as far back as 1900! It's been several other things since then, and has quite a colourful history.
Working on this story has also yielded one of the biggest coincidences of my life. I'd been poking at the story for a couple of weeks back in June, when one day into my inbox I read the subject line "Hornerite Church on Churchill". It was an email from esteemed historian Bruce Elliott. I'm always glad to hear from Dr. Elliott on any subject, and in this case he was kindly forwarding something he had randomly come across that he thought I might be interested in. What a huge coincidence, as I was already in the midst of researching the Hornerites and the history of that Church! For about ten seconds when I read that subject line, I was stunned. How does anyone even know I'm working on this, I wondered. Anyways, what a coincidence, but the article did reveal a few details that led me to making the important confirmation that the Church was actually moved, and not demolished and replaced by a new commercial building. So great timing on that for sure.
Anyhow, it's a sad story, the closing of Laundry Land, and who knows what lies in store for that impressive piece of land in the heart of Westboro. So I'm happy to share the history of the property, and the building.
Click here: https://kitchissippi.com/2021/08/09/loads-of-history-if-the-walls-of-laundry-land-could-talk/
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| (Photo credit: Francis Ferland/CBC) |
