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Beating summer heat in 1920s Lowertown
By Nancy Miller Chenier On July 13, 1921, the temperature in Ottawa reached 38° C (100 Fahrenheit). The heat had been building for weeks and residents of Lowertown were sweltering. Men, women, and children were seeking every method possible to get relief from the weeks of hot weather. So, what were some of the options…
Read the latest issue of The Echo! (15-4, Autumn 2024)
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Lowertown fire stations, then and now
By Michel Rossignol In 1864, Ottawa’s municipal government decided to improve the city’s firefighting capabilities by buying two hook and ladder wagons for two fire brigades, one in Lowertown and one in Uppertown. There were no funds to buy horses, so the wagons had to be pulled by twenty volunteer firefighters. There was another problem….
King Edward Avenue and the speed camera: what it revealed and what we’ve taken away
By Josiah Frith As I write this, a few blocks from King Edward Avenue, the sound of a truck engine brake cuts through the morning. It’s a familiar interruption here – not occasional, but routine – and it says more about the street than any traffic report. King Edward is not behaving like an ordinary…
It’s back: Bordeleau Park’s beloved dock on the Rideau
By Sandra Milton and Nancy Miller Chenier, Adopters of Bordeleau Park After a brief disappearance earlier this summer, the much-loved dock at Bordeleau Park has made a welcome return to the Rideau River, thanks to the persistent efforts of city park staff and the local community. Installed originally around 2012, the floating wooden dock –…
Thoughts on a climate-resilient Lowertown
By Kate Laing Call it solastalgia or eco-anxiety, the feelings are the same – worry, concern, and grief about the future of our planet. Like many others, I am thinking daily about the climate crisis and how to manage its impacts, both globally and right here in our own community of Lowertown. We have dedicated…

