Ottawa: Then and Now
 

Nice photo comparison of Elgin & Sparks (1901 vs 2012) by Alexandre Laquerre (spacingottawa):

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7041/6...d419355f_b.jpg

Elgin & Sparks – 1901 c. 2012

wow i didn't realize that the war memorial area used to be a row of buildings like that, very cool!

I had no idea about this... Those buildings in the back of the image are fantastic!

The older image is lovely. What's the building that used to be where the NAC is?

City Hall?

To preemptively blunt some of the NCC rants that I can feel coming on this thread, a lot of the lovely buildings that were on Elgin over 100 years ago were lost to fires.

I still blame the NCC. They were probably responsible for the fire.

yes... from wiki:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...%2C_Ottawa.jpg

What a stunning photo comparison. I have never seen this perspective of downtown in the old days. It always seemed to be from Sparks Street.

City Hall in the background burned in 1931. Perhaps if times were better, the building could have been salvaged but after significant debate, it was demolished. Likewise with the Russell House Hotel, another beautiful structure seen in front of City Hall. It was Ottawa's premier hotel until the Chateau Laurier opened and ultimately the latter put it out of business in the mid 1920s. The abandoned hotel burned in the late 20s and was demolished to make way for Confederation Square. What is not seen was another magnificent building, which would have been behind the buildings on the left, the old Post Office. That building did not burn but was demolished to make way for the war memorial in the late 1930s. The 1930s were a tough time in Ottawa as many beautiful structures were torn down, at least partly because of the Great Depression.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ion_Square.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ion_Square.jpg

The Post Office and Russell House Hotel to the left

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...e_19390428.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...e_19390428.jpg
Just after everything was demolished.

Thanks for the pictures. They're all quite interesting.

It is less noticeable now that the concrete has coloured and the landscaping is in, but it is striking how much influence fascist architecture seems to have had.

Wow, what a find. Thanks!

What influence are you seeing? I'm not terribly familiar with fascist architecture, but a visit to Wikipedia seems to suggest far more simple and classical lines than you see here.

I think he's seeing it in the War Memorial.

Another Then&Now from SpecingOttawa (By Alexandre Laquerre)

Coin Bank & Somerset – vers 1935 c. 2012:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/6...0c921385_b.jpg

http://spacingottawa.ca/2012/03/01/c...s-1935-c-2012/

Intersection Sussex & Rideau – ~1910 versus 2012

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7208/6...5fa1a999_b.jpg

By Alexandre Laquerre

http://spacingottawa.ca/2012/02/16/i...0-versus-2012/

By Alexandre Laquerre

Elgin @ Laurier 1939-2011.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6...0aa54021_z.jpg
http://spacingottawa.ca/2011/11/30/m...3-1939-c-2011/

Rideau Canal 1933-2012
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6...297b663f_b.jpg
http://spacingottawa.ca/2012/01/09/c...nant-et-avant/

Sussex & St-Patrick 1940-2011
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6...9ed99ce6_z.jpg
http://spacingottawa.ca/2011/11/20/m...-1940-et-2011/


Looking north at the Rideau Canal 1901-2011
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6...5d2058cc_b.jpg
http://spacingottawa.ca/2012/01/16/l...ant-1901-2011/

By Alexandre Laquerre

Sparks @ Wellington - 1885 vs. 2011
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6199/6...ed0e382b_o.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexlaq...n/photostream/

Sparks & Rideau
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6...fc0e5ed8_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexlaq/6711775211/

From Urbsite:

King Edward Avenue(late 1930s vs 2011)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TsDmFw5b1t...0/P6020052.JPG
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s4DZqzD6yK...kingrideau.jpg




http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oK9BM4wRhD...0/P5010075.JPG
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qz68jGwP_i...ecathcart2.jpg



More photos available:http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2011/06/...-massacre.html

Wow, Simply stunning collection of photos and comparisons...it's too bad that Ottawa, Toronto and a few other cities wasn't a little bit more like NYC, wheras more of the old buildings are retained and restored. As mentioned higher up the page, I'm aware of many being destroyed by fires or other things, but some shouldn't have been demolished just to be replaced by a higher tech building without character or substance.

Anyways, it's a lot of fun to see pictures like these, and see the way things used to be...

Those are some beautiful shots, and some great buildings at Elgin and Sparks. Those wide open spaces of the Greber plan make the 'after' shots seem less urban and cold. Strange.

If you cross-reference the various shots of the old Post Office building that stood where Confederation Square is now, it appears the building magically gains a storey in the years between 1885 and the early 20th century. I remember reading about this somewhere. Seems that old 'basement' level that was at canal level 'emerged' to the street level when the grade of Sappers' Bridge was changed.

Wellington Street Looking East between Bay and Lyon
by Alexandre Laquerre

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7201/7...c4291d17_b.jpg

Note: archive picture was taken in 1938

http://spacingottawa.ca/2012/03/29/w...-bay-and-lyon/

just love this picture:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Gy8jBwbDz...evels-3000.jpg

taken from Centretowner blog

In that one picture you have commuter trains, horse and buggey, trolleys, ferry boats. I have always agreed with the NCC's decision to remove the trains from along the canal, but this picture is making me change my mind.

lovely illustrations of Victorian Ottawa
http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2012/06/red-album.html

Ottawa definitely had some elegance to it. I wish a lot more of those buildings were still around. It would give the city a lot of character and would contrast well with some of the modern designs that will be coming to the city.

and not just the buildings, but the places!

Wow, what lovely pictures! The top one is amazing! The buildings might have been the same height (same problem as downtown Ottawa today) but they are done with such quailty and such architectural details.. Reminds me of some arrondissements in Paris :)

http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2012/07/s...urce=BP_recent

What RBC's cube of crap on Sparks replaced.

What a shame. However, I'm happy that they were replaced with something that is actually interesting rather than another unimaginative box.

Sparks street façade isn't too bad, but the Metcalf and Queen elevations are horrible.

There are eels in the aqueduct? what a story! And for those less interested in fauna, it's still a great urbsite post on the history of the Aqueduct, Fleet St. Pumping Station & Pooley's Bridge with photos of Then and Now:
http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2012/08/e...eet-e-e-e.html

Commemoration of Cathedral Hall.

http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2012/08/c...urce=BP_recent

I didn't care before, but now I'm kind of sad. As much as I love progress, every time a see an old building coming down, it kind of hurts.

I agree. While the hall was impractical, it was architecturally quite interesting. I believe the new hall will be facing the Queen Street side of the site, so future users will have lost a magnificent view.

Bank and Slater. Shows a lot about Standard Life Phase III project.

http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2012/09/b...r-streets.html

I remember when growing up in the 1960s how crappy and rundown a lot of downtown buildings appeared. At that time, it was a great relief to see modernization. My perspective would probably change today and I would have a much greater appreciation of those old buildings that no longer exist. On the other hand, many of them had little architectural merit and we should be happy that so many of the surface parking lots prevelant in the 1960s no longer exist.

The old Carnegie library;

http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2012/09/u...e-library.html

Downtown Ottawa before the courthouse and city hall were built:

http://ao.minisisinc.com/WEBIMAGES/I0007482.jpg

from twitter:
http://twitter.com/metroottawa/statu...69859452571649

This should be around 1986. I love this, spot the diffrences.

First the obvious,

-City Hall non-existent and the
-Courthouse U/C

And the less obvious;

-Building behind Place Bell (Barrister House)
-99 Metcalf U/C (orange crane across the street from Ottawa Public Library/Sir Richard Scott building and the Urbandale tower at 100 Metcalf)
-Gillin building behind Lord Elgin all glass (too bad for bad renos)
-Lord Elgin missing mismatched wings
-Lorne building still there
-150 Elgin before bad renos with brown roof
-WEP not yet built
-HSBC not built
-Chambers tower not built
-Heritage Place (Zellers office tower) not built

Across the canal;

-Old Congress centre
-Daly building
-National Gallery U/C

Gatineau

-Museum of Civilization site prep
-Victoria street building near the Portage complex non existant

And that is the list of visible differences, I won’t get into buildings in the Market like the new condos forming the Sussex Drive courtyards and the Photography museum (sorry, committee rooms).

Hotel "Le Castore" on Sussex Drive.

http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2012/10/hotel-du-castor.html

Mackenzie King Bridge

Pics form the Bridge before it's construction towards downtown, note city's east skyline and the jail's courtyard.

http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2012/10/m...ge-part-1.html

that is awesome! welcome to SSP!

Great set, Alexlaq!
It's hard to look at some of those old photos. Ottawa was gutted and what's left is a trace. The NCC should be doing everything it can to rebuild what it can of the past (and what it, in many cases, is responsible for destroying). Instead, we have Claridge's condos in Lebreton Flats, and empty lots along Wellington.

Ottawa - Past and Present
 

I have set up a site with quite a bit Now and Then photos of Ottawa.

Ottawa - Past & Present.

I update it regularly, so check often.

The French version is also available.

Wonderful thread! Enjoyed seeing old Ottawa very much, thank you :)

Thanks for sharing. Love seeing pictures of old Ottawa. It is hard to believe that Wellington and Sparks once merged together but that intersection was there until the early or mid 1960s and was replaced by the Garden of the Provinces. Part of the Lebreton Flats urban renewal. I always wondered where Bradings Brewery was and there it is. I thought it had been the same site as the O'Keefe's Brewery but no, O'Keefe's was further west on Wellington, which I remember well by appearance and smell.

"Postcard Scenes of the Glebe ca. 1910 (from Toronto Public Library)"
http://glebeheritageblog.wordpress.c...ublic-library/

It's almost all "Then", but lots of great old photos on the site.

Very cool.

I think we've seen most if not all of these photos and sketches before, but all in once place, this Midcentury Modernist post still makes a nice scroll through:

http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2013/02/t...of-ottawa.html

I also hadn't heard of the Vintage Ottawa facebook page, which was a nice tip, too: https://www.facebook.com/VintageOttawa

Confederation Square, 1957: http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2013/02/a...n-in-june.html