Read the latest issue of The Echo! (16-3, August 2025)
Download the full PDF version here.
Having the courage to change
By Josiah Frith, Lowertown Community Association There was a time when horses ruled Ottawa’s streets, pulling carts, carriages, and wagons through Lowertown and beyond. But the charm wore thin. Horses were unpredictable, left the roads filthy with manure, and limited the city’s ability to grow. So came the trains. By the mid-1800s, rail lines were…
New heritage plaque: Union of Canada
By Allen Brown On March 24, city councillor Stéphanie Plante, municipal heritage planner Taylor Quibell and Lowertown Community Association president Sylvie Bigras unveiled a new plaque commemorating the Union of Canada and its demolished building, located at the corner of York and Dalhousie streets, the current site of the Andaz Hotel. Ms. Quibell recalled that…
Niche fraud online
By Malcolm and John Harding of Compu-Home Everyone who uses the internet is vulnerable to online fraud but certain groups are increasingly targeted by criminals who focus on their specific vulnerabilities. We all would do well to become aware of the ways in which friends and relatives (and we ourselves) are in groups that are…
Letting Lowertown grow: a future rooted in strength
By Josiah Frith I grew up understanding that the best things in life take time. My father, a municipal politician on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast in the 1980s, worked to preserve old-growth forests. He taught me that these forests were not just collections of trees, but thriving, self-sustaining ecosystems. Their strength came from their history,…
Books by or about Lowertowners: A review of 1 Sussex Drive by Gabrielle D’Emilio-Lappa, Friesen Press, 2021
By Nancy Miller-Chenier Lowertowners know that our community already has a link with Rideau Hall through Adrienne Clarkson (née Poy), the 26th Governor General, who started her life in Canada at 277 Sussex Drive and decades later moved to 1 Sussex. This book shares the memories of Richard Legrand, amongst others, who moved from Rideau…
BAMM’s Snack Shack: A little family restaurant with a big heart
By Liz MacKenzie BAMM’s owners, Matt and Ashley Atton, are escapees from the dreary routines and pressures of office work. In Matt’s case, it offered a return to being a chef, far away from the mania of five-star hotel fine-dining management. Their breakaway plan took shape when Tugal, the Portuguese soccer hangout at the corner…
A new space created by and for youth in Lowertown
By Amine Mohammed Harmach A space made by and for youth in Ottawa’s Lowertown came back into being this May at the Youth Centre, located at 201 Friel Street. After school from Monday to Thursday, the Transitions and Drop-in programs offer a series of activities for roughly twenty participants. Initiated by the Lowertown Community Resource…
Beyond the plaque: 163-165 Bolton Street
By Nancy Miller Chenier This is the first in a new series that tells the stories of some of the 50+ individually designated heritage buildings in our community. The Ontario Heritage Act, first enacted fifty years ago in March 1975, allowed our municipality to designate individual properties for their architectural and historical value. When the…
Days of joy and thanksgiving
By Michel Rossignol In troubled times, it is comforting to remember days in the past when residents of Lowertown celebrated. For example, there were many joyful celebrations on Monday, May 7, 1945. The day began quietly like most days that spring, but by the evening, people were dancing in the streets of Lowertown. Today, the…