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Originally Posted by OttawaSteve
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What an outstanding set of photographs, and all in colour. Wow!
I am old enough to remember some of this. The temporary mall on Sparks Street that was in use in the summer months only. I suspect that 1961 was the first year for this. Sparks Street was much, much more prosperous in those days. My mother loved Murphy Gambles. I remember the manual elevators with operators who would tell you what departments were on each floor. What a loss when that store closed and was replaced with a Scotiabank office.
Notice the grime on the Chateau Laurier. This was from the steam trains and widespread burning of coal for heat in those days.
I also remember the driveway coming directly to Confederation Square. That changed when the NAC was built.
Ottawa really lost quite a bit of its natural beauty when the elm trees died in the 1960s. Those trees were so majestic and architectural and cast wonderful high shade. They were in all the best locations in the city. Even these photos don't fully capture how important those trees were to landscape of Ottawa. No other tree has been able to replace the elms with the same impact.
The picture of the railway going from the Interprovincial bridge towards the Chateau Laurier in the distance gives you a glimpse of where the Hull Electric streetcars used to run. Just look at the little bridge to the right of main rail bed. Obviously the railbed was wide enough to handle the streetcar tracks as well.
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The second photo is from 1972. There are trees along Wellington today, they just have not grown as large as those elms in the 50s. West of Bank Street, it's back to being 
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