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.
Recently on March 1st, as a Saint David's Day tribute, the Bytown Museum posted an historic photo of the Lewis Williams family. Lewis Williams came from Wales in 1817 and settled along the Rideau River in then Nepean Township; the heritage-designated Williams house still stands at 96 Southern Drive, in Old Ottawa South.
Many of us have used the path from mid-block along Belmont Avenue into Windsor Park. But did you know that the pathway was formerly a municipal street?
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.
Sidewalks on Echo Drive east of Bank Street and Pig Island nestled between boathouses on the canal? Yes, in a certain era.
This story from the September 1994 OSCAR by David Bouse notes some of the similarities along the Rideau River over the many years of settlement in Ottawa South. An 1830 watercolour by artist James Pattison Cockburn inspires some comparisons.
In an effort to eliminate similar sounding or duplicate names, the City of Ottawa is changing some familiar streets. Bronson Place has been renamed Canal Woods Terrace.
Old Time Stuff, by Earl G. Wilson, was a regular feature of the Ottawa Citizen for many years. This O.T.S. article transcribed here is from the Ottawa Citizen June 16, 1939.
Tells About Conditions In Ottawa South Back in 1909
Some of the people presently residing in that thickly populated section of Ottawa South west of the Bank street, between Sunnyside and Cameron, will hardly credit the statement that thirty years ago a road ran across country from the corner of Sunnyside and Seneca to Billings Bridge. This interesting fact is divulged by Mr. William Kippen, who has resided on Seneca street, near the corner of Sunnyside since 1909.
