Culture and Growth

Byward Market | Plaza Bridge | Founding Families

Beginning with the turn of the century, the development of the capital became the increasing concern of the Canadian government. Two prime ministers, Sir Wilfred Laurier (1896 - 1911) and William Lyon Mackenzie King (1921 - 1930 and 1935 - 1948) were largely responsible for this undertaking.

Laurier had promised to make Ottawa "the center of intellectual life of this country and the Washington of the North." His government instituted the Ottawa Improvement Commission in 1899, and by 1902 it had cleaned up the canal banks, built the Minto Bridges over the Rideau, and engaged a Montreal landscape architect, Frederick G. Todd, to design improvements. The Driveway to Dow's Lake was opened in 1904. King Edward Avenue north of Rideau Street was turned into a boulevard, and Patterson Creek was landscaped by 1908. After 1911, under the Conservative government of Robert (later Sir Robert) L. Borden, the Commission made a causeway (now gone) across Dow's Lake. It also created Strathcona, Rockcliffe, and Nepean Point parks.

The Royal Architectural Institute Canada asked Borden for better planning of the capital; his government responded with the appointment of a Federal Plan Commission. This advisory body set forth a list of proposals called the Holt Report in 1916. However, Canada was at war by then and nothing could be done.

The Holt Report had cited the railways as "the core of Ottawa's difficulties." Among other proposals the study recommended the establishment of a federal district and creation of a Gatineau Park. Unfortunately, on the night of February 3, 1916, the House of Parliament was destroyed by fire; Parliament moved to the National Museum and did not return to the Hill until 1920. This catastrophe, especially when combined with the financial burdens of war and substantial aid to the ailing railways, brought the lofty plans for improvement of the capital to a standstill.

The city's first policewoman started work in 1914. During the last year of war, 1918, there was a coal shortage; stores were closed on Saturday and the "heatless days" were ordained. The capital's first groceteria, B.G. Crabtree's on Elgin Street, was opened. In 1919, the Ottawa Housing Commission created the model subdivision, Lindenlea.

Another cultural turning point occurred in 1921 when Anna Pavlova, the legendary dancer, visited Ottawa. Shortly thereafter Antonio Tremblay, a government translator, and his wife, Adine, started bringing the renowned Rachmaninoff. These two were the only great musicians who appeared at the couple's request. The Tremblays continued this service until 1960, but Earl Crowe carried it on in their name for another 12 years.

Expansion of the rail network continued in the new century. The Royal Alexandra (Interprovincial) Bridge from Nepean Point to Hull opened on Feb. 18, 1901. The Canadian Pacific Railway couldn't use the central depot or the new bridge; Gatineau commuters for some time had to go via that railway's Chaudiere station.

William Lyon Mackenzie King and his Liberals came to power in 1921. The development of the capital was a matter of deep concern to him. Hampered by deficits until 1924, he subsequently encouraged the work of the Ottawa Improvement Commission, which created Island Park Driveway from the Experimental Farm to the Ottawa River Islands. Mr. King also wanted to open up a view of Parliament Hill and provide a central location for a war memorial, commissioned from the English sculptor Vernon March, 1926.

The Ottawa Improvement Commission became the Federal District Commission in 1927. Its first year saw the purchase of the industrial area at the Rideau Falls. The Champlain Bridge was then built over the Ottawa from Bate Island to the Quebec shore. Improvement of the capital practically ceased after the Wall Street stock market crashed, and the King government was out of office from 1930 until 1935.

Mr. King not only took a major part in design of large public spaces in Ottawa, he also concerned himself with the appearance of government buildings. Following the Holt recommendation he favoured the Chateau style and imposed one such roof on the Supreme Court. Two large structures on Wellington Street west of Parliament Hill were also built after this fashion.

The master plan for the national capital was published in 1948. It envisioned "a greenbelt" zone limiting Ottawa's urban borers, the relocation of a railway through construction of a bypass to the south of the city, a new train station on this altered route, the establishment of industrial lands, and the replacement of the cross-town tracks by a throughway. This blueprint of urban development was to drastically transform the national capital.

Plaza Bridge

As time went on and the city's population increased the Dufferin Bridge slowly became obsolete, mostly due to the larger crowds drawn into Ottawa by Union Station and the newly constructed Chateau Laurier. The new bridge was constructed in December of 1912 and named Connaught Place, after the then Governor General Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. The once open space between the old Sapper's Bridge, which was demolished in 1912, and the Dufferin Bridge was filled and turned into a park. This space was often used for ceremonies and public events. On Armistice Day in 1918, thousands of men and women marched over the bridge celebrating the end of World War I. The Annual Labour Day Parade always winded its way onto the plaza, marking the progress the city was making . The bridge's official name,Connaught Place, is not often recognized by the citizens of Ottawa. It is most often described as the Plaza Bridge or Confederation Square.

Work proceeds on the new Confederation Square, pictured August 31, 1938. The bridge is being widened. In the centre of the area, scaffolding is being mounted for the construction of the National War Memorial. Parkland replaces the Russell Hotel and all the other buildings demolished that year along the east side of Elgin Street. Construction also begins on the new Post Office, to be located on the northwest corner of Sparks and Elgin streets beside the Langevin Block.

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