In 1981 Charlotte Gobeil got a rare look inside the Monastère du Précieux Sang then located at 774 Echo Drive in Ottawa South. Her visit with a documentary crew to the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood captures a fascinating glimpse of these cloistered nuns. Ms. Gobeil was welcomed by this contemplative order to witness the women's daily life of devotion.
In some ways, not too much has changed in fifteen years—on the eve of a move away from Old Ottawa South, a resident recounts what he'll miss most about the neighbourhood in this article from the June 2004 OSCAR.
Ten things I love (and will miss) about Old Ottawa South — By Jim Watson
The National Capital Commission has amassed a huge collection of images of Ottawa and area over the years. Included in this collection is a 1929 view of the roadway alongside the Rideau Canal from the Bank Street Bridge in Ottawa South.
Here's a then & now comparison.
In this excerpt from the March 1990 OSCAR, June Kelly O'Byrne recounts memories of life on Sunnyside Avenue from the 1920s and beyond, with recollections of family and friends, and recalls the many local stores and businesses in the neighbourhood.
Ottawa South Memories by June Kelly O'Byrne
In 1920 my parents bought a little house on Sunnyside Ave. on a big lot which extended to Woodbine Place. Dad had just returned from the First World War and was fortunate to obtain employment as a Letter Carrier. His "route", as he called it, encompassed Echo Drive at the Precious Blood Convent to Cameron Ave. (Cowan's Ice House and Wilson's Lumber Yard), east to the Rideau River, including what is now known as Rideau Gardens. Some senior citizens may remember him, as he received many a "tip" at Christmas time from the residents of those streets.
For many years, the hill behind St. Margaret Mary Church was the meeting spot for intrepid tobogganers. The February 1983 OSCAR caught a snapshot of the fun.
In the midst of reconstruction along Bank Street, a June 2003 OSCAR article featured pictures of Bank Street businesses from 1957, namely Cutts Motors on Bank Street at Chesley Street plus the Esso (White Rose) gas station on Bank Street at Aylmer Avenue.
In this announcement from the October 1978 OSCAR, Larry McDonald reports on a new name in the neighbourhood.
A photo archive of Old Ottawa South from the not too distant past.
Old Ottawa South photographer Tom Alföldi likes to take to the skies for aerial photography. In 2011, he captured pictures of the bridges of Old Ottawa South, which can be seen in the December 2011 OSCAR. Here, have a look at his aerial shots of a few of our neighbourhood buildings.
Designed in 1920 by prominent Ottawa architect Werner Ernst Noffke, No. 10 Graham Station, is an elaborate Spanish-Colonial style building named in honour of Ottawa Fire Chief John W. Graham, who served that post from 1910 to 1921.
The Sunnyside branch of the Ottawa Public Library is one of the gems of our Old Ottawa South neighbourhood. Much loved and very well used by young and old, it has been in existence almost as long as the entire Ottawa library system itself, but of course it looked very different in the beginning.
