A campaign has been launched for a mural to commemorate planner John Leaning, the founder of the Centretown Plan which helped keep the neighbourhood liveable.
Campaign launched for mural to commemorate Centretown saviour
Category: Heritage
Heritage Skyline: The snows of yesteryear
Robert Smythe highlights three images of snowy Centretown winters from more than a century ago.
Skyline: Can a compatible new housing development outweigh “heritage” preservation?
Does the introduction of a liveable not-too-tall high rise justify the loss of two heritage-protected houses that offer affordable housing?
Winter reading: Concrete Concept examines the good side of brutalism
Brutalist architecture doesn’t deserve all of its bad reputation, our reviewer concludes after seeing this collection of 100 examples of brutalism from around the world.
John Leaning (1926-2022): his Centretown legacy
John Leaning, a visionary urban planner and architect, died on September 22, 2022 at the age of 95. A pioneer in the protection of older residential neighbourhoods, the restoration of historic streetscapes, and the development of a citizen-driven community-based process for city planning, he held a special significance for Centretown.
Letter: Heritage protection needed
Letter supporting heritage protection for the former Ottawa School Board headquarters building on Gilmour.
The many reasons why the former school board admin building deserves heritage protection
Later this month, Robert Smythe and Erwin Dreessen will be presenting an application to the city for heritage protection of the former administrative buildings of the Ottawa Public School Board at Gilmour and O’Connor Streets.
Heritage Skyline: Secrets of Dundonald Park
The name and much of the appearance of Dundonald Park are due to political infighting 115 years ago.
Bytown Museum reopens
The Bytown Museum recently reopened after a two-year closure because of the pandemic. We show several paintings from a new special exhibit.
First a school, then offices, now affordable housing
First a school and then an office building, the art deco heritage building at 44 Eccles Street will soon become an assisted living facility for women.
Skyline: St. Luke’s Park explained
St. Luke’s Park is only a snippet of a park. It’s just a sliver of land between Frank Street and Gladstone Avenue but its history is connected to some important milestones in Ottawa’s municipal past.
Centretown walking tours explore its history
This summer, people can spend some time learning about the history of Centretown, its residents and the worthies for whom streets are named in walking tours. They will originate at the Elgin Street Farmers Market Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
Block 2 redevelopment to bring more people to Sparks?
Kevin McHale of the Sparks Street BIA is looking forward to the Block 2 redevelopment, as much as anyone can look forward to a major construction project on their street.
Somerset Ward: Time to take action on Somerset House
Ottawa City Council has finally given up on getting the owner of Somerset House to undertake required repairs. Councillor Catherine McKenney explains the history behind the decision in their column.
Skyline: Home for printers, bookbinders, loose leaf, and card index systems
An unremarkable five-storey building on Nepean, just east of Bank, is actually a rare surviving remnant of Centretown’s industrial past.
Block 2 redesign features People’s Square
On May 16, the federal government announced the winner of its architectural competition for “Block 2”: Zeidler Architecture in association with David Chipperfield Architects. Their design was notable for its “People’s Square” which extended the walk from Parliament Hill safely across Wellington into a public square in Block 2.
Wellington, Sparks block to be remade
Alayne McGregor Six competing designs for the downtown block opposite Parliament Hill were unveiled April 11. Whichever is chosen, it will mean a radical change in the streetscape of Wellington and Sparks Street. Known as “Block 2,” the block extends…