In May and June of 2022, my two-part series looking at the birth and early days of the Hampton-Iona neighbourhood was published in the Kitchissippi Times.
In the article, I call Hampton-Iona the "Savannah, Georgia of west-end Ottawa", due to its vintage houses, each one unique, on wide, deep lots, many of which back on to parkland. It's a gorgeous neighbourhood, with all kinds of long, lost history. I do my best in two columns to cover a summary of the highlights of it's history - including it's years as "Laurentian View", a name that still pops up on the occasional map or real estate listing. Part two particularly focuses on the growth of the Standard Bread company, which had its beginnings in the middle of Hampton-Iona. One of its original buildings actually still stands on Hilson Avenue today!
Lots of photos and tidbits worth checking out! See the two parts at:
PART ONE: https://kitchissippi.com/2022/05/18/the-early-history-of-hampton-iona/
My late husband grew up on Hilson, know the street well. Sadly His family’s house was recently torn down to put up a huge half double. This looks like the house at the corner of Iona and Hilson and was a convenience store for many years.
ReplyDeleteYes, early on it was called "Baird's" stopped there many times on my way to Hilson Public. Black balls 3 for a penny, black licorice in many shapes, wax filled with sugary liquid, bazooka gum, the list goes on.
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