Heritage Ottawa’s 2006 Walking Tours

Join us for an hour-and-a-half walk highlighting some of Ottawa’s finest architecture!

Tour Prices: Heritage Ottawa members: $5.00 / Non-members: $10.00

All Tours begin at 2:00 PM unless otherwise indicated.

(Scroll down to see tours in chronologial order)

June 11: Central Experimental Farm

A two-hour introduction to the built heritage and cultural landscape of the Central Experimental Farm. During the tour the author will spin tales of the farm, its residents, and its history. (Note: bring appropriate footgear if rainy as lawns will be wet.)

Guide: Katharine Fletcher, award winning freelance writer, author, and columnist. Her books include Capital Walks, Walking Tours of Ottawa; Capital Rambles, exploring the National Capital Region; and Historical Walks, the Gatineau Park Story. (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2004)

Meeting place: Main door of Dominion Observatory, off Carling Avenue

June 18: Beaux Arts Ottawa

The architectural style of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris came to the United States and later to Ottawa. The city’s Beaux Arts buildings feature classical exteriors on modern steel frames with symmetrical plans and a progressive arrangement of space. Twelve of Ottawa’s most important Beaux-Arts buildings, designed by leading Canadian and American architects in the first half of the 20th century, plus some additional classical façades, will be seen along Sparks and Wellington Streets.

Guide: David Jeanes, railway and city historian

Meeting place: Conference Centre (formerly Union Station), Confederation Square entrance

Come for a fascinating stroll thru the first planned community in Canada -- a marvel of
social engineering that was featured on the Governor General's Christmas card! Pocket-sized Lindenlea promised returning World War I vets subsidized housing in a community designed by one of the mega-stars of European urban planning. Learn about the struggles over style, designing to suit liberated women, efforts at ecological soundness, and more than one scandal. Learn also what threats face this historic gem, today.

Guide: Jennifer Rosebrugh, former Heritage Ottawa president and Lindenlea resident

Meeting Place: Lindenlea Community Centre, beside the island on the bend in Rockcliffe Way

This tour of the Glebe neighbourhood focuses on the picturesque houses of Werner Ernest Noffke (1878-1964) in the Clemow Avenue development, the urban public schools of Edgar L. Horwood (1868-1957) and the rich collection of early 20th century churches by notable Ottawa architects. Also included is an introduction to the natural topography and public works which shaped development in the Glebe, an examination of some successful modern infill developments and a look at two remarkable exhibition buildings in Lansdowne Park. . (More tour info)

Guide: Gouhar Shemdin, conservation architect

Meeting Place: Corner of Clemow and O’Connor

August 20: Billings Bridge Community

Walk an historic tour in a pleasant neighbourhood. Many homes built in the

late 1800s and early 1900 in Alta Vista, including one of Ottawa's earliest houses, are featured along with stories of the Billings and other pioneer families. These houses and many other
historic buildings in the Billings Bridge community are described in the booklet Historic Homes and Buildings of the Billings Bridge Community: a self-guided tour, which will be available for purchase at a reduced price.

Guide: Joan Rooney, historical researcher and author of Historic Homes and Buildings of the Billings Bridge Community: a self-guided tour (The Association of Friends of the Billings Estate Museum) published in 2005.

Meeting Place: Billings Estate Museum, 1900 Cabot Street (off Pleasant Park
Road). Meet in the parking lot (free parking available).

Discover the rich architecture and historic past of the University of Ottawa, North America’s oldest and most important bilingual university, established in 1848.

Guide: Michel Prévost, Chief Archivist, University of Ottawa

Meeting Place: Tabaret Hall, 550 Cumberland Street

Named for Joseph Hinton, a shopkeeper and civic official, the village of Hintonburg was incorporated in 1893. Lying just beyond the Ottawa city limits at the time, the village extended from about present-day Bayview Road to Island Park Drive and between the two rail lines marked today by Scott Street and the Queensway. The tour will take you through the heart of this interesting, eclectic, heritage rich, and socially varied neighbourhood (copies of the recently published “Hintonburg & Mechanicsville, A Narrative History” will be available at $20.00 per copy).

Guide: Linda Hoad, Heritage Committee, Hintonburg Community Association

Meeting Place: Saint-François-d’Assise Parish Church, Wellington Street at Fairmont Avenue.

September 17: Village of Britannia

Walk through the historic Village of Britannia and discover the story of its emergence as a late-Victorian resort destination. The extension of the city’s streetcar tracks westward in 1900 brought Ottawa’s leisure seekers, ushering in the golden years before World War I. Much of Britannia retains a village flavour and many former cottages have survived, some still evoking the character of the old summer resort community.

Guide: Carolyn Quinn, historian, former president of Heritage Ottawa

Meeting Place: Parking lot at top of hill off Greenview Ave.

September 24: Sandy Hill East

The beautifully maintained mansions and townhouses of this early Ottawa residential district date from 1870 to the early 20th century. The tour will highlight the positive effect zoning changes in the mid-1970’s had on the preservation of buildings in the area.

Guide: Judy Deegan, former LACAC member and long-time resident of Sandy Hill

Meeting Place: Laurier House, 335 Laurier Ave. East at the corner of Chapel

Once a village lying outside the bounds of Bytown, New Edinburgh was established by industrialist Thomas McKay and comprises both architecturally-rich buildings and simpler stone dwellings built to house 19th century labourers. Walk through one of Ottawa’s most historic neighbourhoods.

Guide: Denise Jacques, historian.

Meeting Place: 62 John St., near Sussex Drive

October 8: Rockcliffe Park

Join us for a walk through picturesque Rockliffe Park with its mix of architectural styles from stately stone mansions and interesting contemporary designs to remaining summer cottages. Learn about the history of the village and the role the MacKay and Keefer families had in determining its layout and even the design of many of the homes. Copies of the book Rockcliffe Park: A History of the Village will be available for purchase.

Guide: Martha Edmond, historian and author. Her most recent book, Rockcliffe Park: A History of the Village (Friends of the Village of Rockcliffe Park Foundation), was published in 2005.

Meeting Place: Intersection of Lisgar Rd. and Princess Ave. (parking along Rideau Terrace)

In 1907, Nepean Township villages such as “Ottawa South” consented to annexation to the City of Ottawa. Improved city services soon followed, such as a new “high level” Bank Street Bridge over the Rideau Canal. This structure allowed the privately-owned Ottawa Electric Railway (OER) to extend streetcar services into Ottawa South, stimulating housing and development of one of Ottawa’s first “streetcar suburbs”. Tour highlights include the Precious Blood Convent (Royal College of Physicians) and a detailed discussion of W. E. Noffke’s 1921 Spanish Revival Fire Hall, named after Ottawa’s little known, but visionary Fire Chief John Graham.

Guide: Leo Doyle, Chair Development and Planning Committee of OOS

Meeting Place: Trinity Anglican Church, 1230 Bank St.

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