Ottawa: Then and Now

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by drawarc

Aerial pic of downtown, mid 70s.



Source:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151893764731181&set=o.380334048732492&type=3&theater

I didn't realize there were so many big parking lots in Ottawa 40 years ago.

Glad they're gone... what your downtown may lack in height it certainly makes up in density.

[drawarc]

Another downtown pic, before Place de Ville was built:

Ottawa (date unknown) by Ross Dunn, on Flickr

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by drawarc

Another downtown pic, before Place de Ville was built:

Ottawa (date unknown) by Ross Dunn, on Flickr

Wow! Where are you getting these? This is an awesome shot of the mid-60s. I almost feel like I was there.

[S-Man]

This pic is amazing!

Temporary Buildings in what is now Confederation Park, railways leading to Union Station, steam from industry rising from Lebreton/Bayview, and sweet dick-all happening on the Quebec side.

[drawarc]

Wow! Where are you getting these? This is an awesome shot of the mid-60s. I almost feel like I was there.

A bit of a hobby, googling and bookmarking as many old pics as I can find.

The photoset is probably the largest I've found on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdb466/sets/72157629596009739/page4/

Another aerial, I think from same film:

Aerial Photo of Downtown Ottawa mid-1960's by Ross Dunn, on Flickr

[OTSkyline]

Wow what a difference... Especially in the second pic, look at the low density along Rideau...

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by S-Man

This pic is amazing!

Temporary Buildings in what is now Confederation Park, railways leading to Union Station, steam from industry rising from Lebreton/Bayview, and sweet dick-all happening on the Quebec side.

Not quite. They were where City Hall is today. You see another building just to the north, the old Roxborough Apartment building which was in Confederation Park.

My guess is that this picture was taken in the winter of 1965-66. Downtown rail service ended in 1966 and Place de Ville Phase I opened in 1967 and it looks like they are starting to excavate the NAC in this picture.

[S-Man]

Not quite. They were where City Hall is today. You see another building just to the north, the old Roxborough Apartment building which was in Confederation Park.

My guess is that this picture was taken in the winter of 1965-66. Downtown rail service ended in 1966 and Place de Ville Phase I opened in 1967 and it looks like they are starting to excavate the NAC in this picture.

True - my mistake. I recall seeing the Roxborough profiled on that Ottawa: Then and Now website. While parks are indeed nice, I sure do love apartment buildings like that.

I think you're correct about the date. These pics would represent the very last days that rail entered downtown, and truly capture a city at a turning point in its history.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by drawarc

A bit of a hobby, googling and bookmarking as many old pics as I can find.

The photoset is probably the largest I've found on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdb466/sets/72157629596009739/page4/

Another aerial, I think from same film:

Aerial Photo of Downtown Ottawa mid-1960's by Ross Dunn, on Flickr

Those were the days; the cool old Ottawa department stores, the old General Hospital downtown, the copper roofs matched..!

[J.OT13]

After a long hiatus, two new posts on Urbsite;

The first is on the Ottawa Journal Building (now part of the first 4 floors of the John Edmonds South tower), built by Robert Campeau.

Original building;


Still exists as the first 4 floors of the South tower (right);


1967 shot with Place de Ville phase I u/c;


Ottawa mid 1970s;


http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2013/11/ottawa-journal-building.html

And an alternative proposal for what became the site of World Exchange Plaza;






http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2013/11/canlands-alternative-vision.html

[lrt's friend]

Ottawa in 1941.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vegh2_B20Lo

[J.OT13]

Rideau Street 27 storey Office/Apartment/Hotel, 1969. Curtsey of Urbsite;

http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2013/11/unbuilt-rideaus-round-hotel.html

[drawarc]

Found on ebay, I'm guessing from 1970?:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/56394-A-Visitors...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20db010663

[Urbanarchit]

*

[drawarc]

Can I just say this view of Ottawa's skyline looks really nice (better than what's there now)?

It certainly was different then. This was before Place Bell, Plaza 234, and other buildings were built. Also the Carnegie library is still intact.

[J.OT13]

Nice one! 1969-70 sounds about right. The NAC was completed in 1969 and Place Bell was completed in 1971 so it definitely narrows it down.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by defishel

Can I just say this view of Ottawa's skyline looks really nice (better than what's there now)?

No

[S-Man]

The changes in Centretown, especially the west portion, between 1967 and 1974 are really quite dramatic.

Going from the first pic, the construction of the former Skyline Hotel (Delta City Centre)must have been a big shock for a city used to 10 storeys and under. Clearly, the floodgates then opened, as the Place de Villes, Marriot, et al soon followed.

The rapid change, in addition to the megabuildings across the river in Hull and infrastructure improvements, must have really been a shock to some. That said, at that time people were fleeing to the suburbs in droves and 'urban renewal' was in full force, as was surface parking lot creation.

[harls]

This gentleman has an excellent photo of a train pulling into old Union Station alongside the canal c. June 1956.

I won't post the image because a) I think you should visit his page and b) I can't.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/lightbox/

[J.OT13]

Is that the Laurier Bridge!? It looks in bad shape!