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By Curtis Wolfe Tormey Street, bordering Macdonald Gardens Park in Lowertown East, commemorates William Tormey, a blacksmith and civic leader whose work during the Rideau Canal’s construction, and contributions to the development of early Bytown, had a long-lasting impact on the city. Born in 1795 in County Tyrone in what is now Northern Ireland, William…
By Michel Rossignol Thousands of vehicles travel on King Edward Avenue every day, but I remember a few occasions when there was little or no traffic on that street. On Wednesday, October 16, 1957, I was in my third-grade class at Guigues School on Murray Street between Dalhousie and Cumberland. Around 9:30, the teacher told…
Par Michel Rossignol Des milliers de véhicules circulent sur l’avenue King Edward chaque jour, mais je me souviens de quelques occasions où il y avait peu ou pas de circulation sur cette rue. Le mercredi, 16 octobre 1957, une belle journée automnale, j’étais dans ma classe de troisième année à l’École Guigues sur la rue…
By Allen Brown The Lady Grey Drive retaining wall, built in 1911 with local stone, has undergone several repairs over the years, most recently in 2010. Despite these efforts, parts of the wall started to collapse near the Ottawa Rowing Club in 2020. The National Capital Commission (NCC) therefore has begun a project to replace…
By Allen Brown The feature story in the February 2024 edition of the Echo focused on city council’s approval of a new addition to the Andaz Hotel and an adjacent 22-storey residential rental building by Claridge Homes at 141 George Street. The article pointed out that the developer didn’t implement recommendations by the Ontario Municipal…
By Nancy Miller Chenier Viewing these sculptural pieces may give you a slight kink in the neck but looking up in Lowertown is worth the effort. Our quartier has a proliferation of outdoor public art featuring winged creatures. Some are representations of our feathered bird friends while others have human forms. All seem content to…
By Nancy Miller Chenier Though few in numbers, the Italian community in Lowertown made a noticeable contribution to the performing arts. A census of Lowertown residents identified Italian families as early as 1851 and by 1900, an estimated 700 Italians had settled here. This article focuses on members of three families. Rocco Graziadei played music,…
By Nadia Stuewer This article is based on a presentation by John Diener, Vice-President of the Ottawa Jewish Historical Society, entitled “The ByWard Market: The History of Jewish Life and Business”. When people think of the history of the people of Lowertown, they usually think of the French and the Irish settlers. But did you…
By Allen Brown The Lady Grey Drive retaining wall, built in 1911 with local stone, has undergone several repairs over the years, most recently in 2010. Despite these efforts, parts of the wall started to collapse near the Ottawa Rowing Club in 2020. The NCC therefore has begun a project to replace the wall to…
By Michel Rossignol The Canada Day ceremonies on July 1, 2024, included a massive flypast of 49 aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in honour of its 100th anniversary. Since Lowertown is so close to Parliament Hill, ceremonial flypasts by RCAF aircraft inevitably pass over our community. Over the years, flypasts by the…