Ugly Ottawa

[UrbOttawa]

I might be in the minority here, but I kinda like the Friel towers. They have character and the scale is far less intrusive than other buildings from this era in the city such as these:

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4125512,...woGffgbnDbormkd55Jlbw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.3883893,...p9pcRLc_Eff-6Mr5A_Fnw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[905er]

Every time I'm in Ottawa, I never get the sense that it is an Ugly city, quite the contrary... but then I see these pictures and I'm forced to reconsider. What I will say is that Ottawa doesn't possess a certain grandeur one would come to expect for a national capital. Ugly, however no.

[AuxTown]

In Ottawa, there is no building uglier than this one in terms of disgusting use of materials, height, and prominent location.
#sidescraper
Images from Google Streetview

[Harley613]

Over in Gatineau, this is just THE WORST
Screenshot 2021-05-03 091521 by harley613, on Flickr

[le calmar]

Originally Posted by Harley613

The ugliest of ugly in Ottawa?
RPhoto_6553806_DJI_206_jpg_4815758_0_2021429163158_photo_original by harley613, on Flickr

Holy cow. I had no idea those existed.

[Harley613]

I think this belongs here as well:
Photo_6553860_DJI_260_jpg_4301388_0_202154153344_photo_original by harley613, on Flickr

[ponyboycurtis]

I see everything here... and I gotta come back with this.



I know this used to be a hotel of some sort. And.. was't there a yuk yuks in there as well?

I know a couple years ago they slapped a coat of black paint on everything. Even the balcony doors look like off the shelf home depot with a coat of black paint on them save the window frames. All the windows are super dust and have no coverings. I saw some random lights on but I had the feel the building is unoccupied? The ground floor exterior entrance area ceiling was also unfinished with some type of wires dangling. This was as close as I wanted to get to this hideous beast.

[J.OT13]

Looked better when it was the Capital Hill Hotel. The grittiness brought a little bit on interest to the street. Now it's just another generic box.

Maybe it still is the Capital Hill.


https://www.tripadvisor.ca/LocationPhoto...al_Hill_Hotel_Suites-Ottawa_Ontario.html

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

I see everything here... and I gotta come back with this.



I know this used to be a hotel of some sort. And.. was't there a yuk yuks in there as well?

I know a couple years ago they slapped a coat of black paint on everything. Even the balcony doors look like off the shelf home depot with a coat of black paint on them save the window frames. All the windows are super dust and have no coverings. I saw some random lights on but I had the feel the building is unoccupied? The ground floor exterior entrance area ceiling was also unfinished with some type of wires dangling. This was as close as I wanted to get to this hideous beast.

The old Beacon Arms Hotel. It is a 1950s construction and there was a serious fire in the 1960s. The building was light to medium brown brick originally. It was a hotel chain in more recent years, I don't remember which brand. And yes, there was a Yuk Yuks in this hotel.

[OTSkyline]

Not great but obviously a step-up or a refresh from what it was when it was Capital Hill Hotel. I wonder if it will be connected or same project as the tower that is being built right behind.

Nonetheless once there's an active ground floor or retail and lights/signage, it might be a bit better. As it stands the ground floor looks dark and unwelcoming.

[ponyboycurtis]

I think it's going back to summer 2020 now when I saw the building was painted black, I couldn't say when that actually happened. Slow project with little fanfare for sure.

I was thinking last night... Reminds me of when I was a teenager and was going to takeover my dad's 1988 Corolla wagon which was a metallic light blue. My entire thought process on the car was to sand it down and paint it flat black. I thought it would be amazing.

Thankfully that never happened.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

i see everything here... And i gotta come back with this.



i know this used to be a hotel of some sort. And.. Was't there a yuk yuks in there as well?

I know a couple years ago they slapped a coat of black paint on everything. Even the balcony doors look like off the shelf home depot with a coat of black paint on them save the window frames. All the windows are super dust and have no coverings. I saw some random lights on but i had the feel the building is unoccupied? The ground floor exterior entrance area ceiling was also unfinished with some type of wires dangling. This was as close as i wanted to get to this hideous beast.

everything must be shades of gray in ottawa henceforth

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by feckless

At one point wasnt this a Howard Johnson's? Like late 70's early 80's...off to the archives we go...

Edit...nope...that was 140 Slater St
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4205642,...itch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

Let's just hope they never paint the Arc Hotel charcoal.

[ponyboycurtis]

Looking back at the old photo there was nothing wrong with the building other than those hideous balcony doors. I guess they wanted to color match the rest of the building.

Waste of time and materials. No imagination.

I would have swapped those god awful doors and spent the rest of the money on some type of LED accent lighting.

[Harley613]

Montreal Stroad

[Truenorth00]

Gatineau does street furniture and fixtures really well. I wish Ottawa would learn. But also, stroads and overhead power lines are inherently ugly.

[ponyboycurtis]

The F-stop or whatever its called makes this photo extra greasy. Cranes good.. blank wall bad.

It's odd that you would need directional arrows for a road that isn't that complicated. I lived in this area for 15 years. That mcdonalds coffee and beer store was my lifeblood. Maybe some people shouldn't issued DL at all.

Turning left out of the shoppers and left out of the beer store entrance was about the only tricky spot. I did see a head on collision by a pair of turning cars once.

[rocketphish]

That's some wicked telephoto compression right there. I guess you were standing on the median just west of Aviation Pkwy? Nicely done.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

The F-stop or whatever its called makes this photo extra greasy. Cranes good.. blank wall bad.

It's odd that you would need directional arrows for a road that isn't that complicated. I lived in this area for 15 years. That mcdonalds coffee and beer store was my lifeblood. Maybe some people shouldn't issued DL at all.

Turning left out of the shoppers and left out of the beer store entrance was about the only tricky spot. I did see a head on collision by a pair of turning cars once.

Those East facing Envie blank walls are like opposite bookends of the 🞵🞵🞵🞵-end walls of Claridge Moon facing West on the other side of The Great Clump. 27-29 floor bookends of 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵.

[Harley613]

Just saw this on r/architecture and it made me laugh. I imagine this is how every out-of-town architect feels about this city.