After five years downtown, we’ve moved to the Glebe – Ottawa’s first suburb, annexed by the city in 1889. About a 20 minute walk from our old place, and much closer to the university, it’s no longer considered a suburb but early photos and maps nonetheless lend a certain romantic quality to the place.
The area is strongly defined by natural and artificial water boundaries, leading to a semi-isolated, island-like atmosphere and we live in the middle of the triangle formed by Patterson’s Creek, the Rideau Canal and Brown’s Inlet.
Other prominent boundary features include the Queensway (formally the railroad) to the north, and Lansdowne Park to the south.
Originally church land, then market and exhibition grounds, it eventually became home to mostly anglophone, Protestant civil servants who could afford to take the streetcar to work on the Hill and had the leisure time for strolls and canoeing.
The area underwent significant gentrification in the 70s, including a successful anti-traffic movement supported by Canada’s first woman mayor, and Glebe resident, Charlotte Whitton. It continues to have a distinct sense of solidarity and community involvement, including a strong tradition in public education and events like the annual Great Glebe Garage Sale, which attracts thousands of visitors to the neighbourhood, and allows residents to donate part of their proceeds to the Ottawa Food Bank.
Although the Glebe has many grand homes, many streets – including ours – look like the one above. In any case, our house appears to be one of the first homes on the 1898 map and I like to imagine that I would have walked one way down our street to trot my horse in the park, and down the other way to put my canoe in the canal.
Over the years, the neighbourhood became a mixture of architectural styles, like these rowhouses from the 1910s with a highrise from the 1970s looming in the background.
In Part II, I’ll take a closer look at everyday life in the area today.
(All photos taken from John Leaning’s informative article, The Story of the Glebe.)
6 Comments
Miss Whitton ruined the city of Ottawa. Her approval of plans to build the Queensway were outdated when she approved it. Today, the Queensway is a source of much frustration and traffic.
You mention the big garage sale, this is a perfect example of a flawed neighbourhood in regards to traffic.
Oh I omitted one more thing about Miss Whitton, she was a man-hating lesbian.
Erratum: possibly John Leamingnot Leaning?
It is John Leaning- see his book (the mentioned source) at the following link: http://ottawahistory.ncf.ca/
I think it’s fascinating to see the changes in urban development over time – the good and the bad – since this is where we can learn from history about the society and cultural values that engendered the said changes.
Thank you for this survey of the Glebe. One addition from Wikipedia:
CHARLOTTE WHITTON was the first female mayor of a major city in Canada, serving from 1951 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1964. (Whitton is sometimes mistakenly credited as the first woman ever to serve as a mayor in Canada, but this distinction is in fact held by Barbara Hanley, who became mayor of the small town of Webbwood in 1936.)
My grandfather, Michael Miskell, built the house at 97 Third Avenue. I believe the house is still there. Thought you might find this of interest.