Lost Ottawa Facebook 2017

Yes - the building in front of the horses is the Passport Office 😏

are there still any spots (in that area) where the river freezes right across?

Are those beautiful horses Canadians?

I wonder if any other Ottawa hotel, here in 2017, can claim that all their employees are vaccinated...

My husband’s grandfather was a chef at the Russell Hotel until his untimely death in 1926

Thank GAWD it burned down. Made room for the wonderful War Memorial Plaza.

We gave my 101 year old Mother-In-Law your book for Christmas and she loved it. She had a story to add to many of the pictures/stories in the book. She was raised on a farm south of Ottawa but went to work as a housemaid/childcare-worker/cook while still a teenager for just a few dollars a week, half of which was sent home to help the family and pay the property taxes. Her Christmas basket was filled with many things but the book "Lost Ottawa" was the hit. Thank You.

I love the things I see on this site! Ottawa used to be such a wonderful place and I love getting to see all the photos you post.

I worked there during Christmas season 1983 and into 1984. Loved Ogilvys!!! Ann Dashper and a group of lovely folks there were the mainstay of Ogilvys till they closed down. Fond memories of that place!

Magical Christmas window displays at Caplan's and Freiman's....lots of little nose prints on the windows.

one of the best memories I had as a child in the 50's was going downtown and seeing all the wonderful christmas windo displays in the major department stores. Animated, action and different every year. As a kid it felt magical!!

Remember Caplans well, there were so many great stores on Sparks and Rideau Streets in the 1970s and 80s with lots of people strolling and shopping on Thursday and Fridays nights. Both streets were busy and safe until the Rideau Centre was opened and more unsavoury types started hanging around on Rideau Street, sad really.

Our family ate there a fair bit in the sixties. My parents loved their steaks, and they tolerated my little brother's antics. This was before they expanded to the back room. Does anyone remember Nancy, one of the hardest working waitresses?

This poster, or a repro of it, was at Nate's when they were on Merivale for awhile in the old Red Barn. They moved back downtown a year or two ago.

I used to Love having a jumbo with Swiss and a cold draught beer right where that sign hung!! Thanks for that great memory. I wonder who has that sign?? Freda?

Still remember when they played their first game. I was a kid. I lived about a kilometre from there and I could hear them sing the anthems. I was like "Cool, we have a baseball team now!".... and never made it to one game. oops... lol

I worked in concession stands at the stadium. Saw a few games during the years. Good baseball memories.

Went to a bunch of the games in the first couple of seasons. Saw some great players that eventually played for the Expos!

I got your cool book too. I'm thinking this is taken from major's hill, roughly where the back end of the chateau Laurier would eventually be built?

I love the period clothes. Look very elegant, glad we do not have to wear dresses in the winter anymore. Bad for the knees on day like today, I am sure!

Beautiful picture!! I bought a copy of the book for my brother in law and received one from my son! See? What goes around comes around!

One of my friends found a color picture of the original shopping center, complete with Simpsons-Sears and the original Loblaws. Here you go !

Wow, thats a blast from the past. I remember that mall before they close it in. They enlarged it 4 different times that I remember. Back in the 70's I worked at Tamblyns Drug Mart right near that restaurant.

I was real little in the 70s but used to go to Carlingwood often. My mom and older sister used to go to a woman's clothing store. It was down stairs somewhere and there were gold lights and mirrors everywhere. Very disco. Does anyone remember it and remember what store and where it was?

Actually the St. Laurent Mall opened in 1968 the following year I won a trip to Barbadoes . The Mall had a contest and 55 couples won that trip we all went to Barbadoes together what a trip that was all expenses paid .It was sponsored by the Barbadoes tourism / We got a real welcome Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister at that time and he sent them a Thank you Letter for this Canadian trip and Welcome .We were received at the Barbadoes Minister home for a tour Best holiday ever .

Rideau Centre was the first mall to open on December 26th (Boxing Day) in 1992 when the property obtained an exemption under the Retail Business Holiday’s Act as a Tourist Area. Many years later, the province removed December 26th from its list of statutory holidays requiring stores to remain closed.

There were still after-Christmas sales, possibly called "Boxing Day" sales, although they started on the 27th. They definitely were not the frenzy they are today. Mostly people bought leftover Christmas stuff for next year.

This laundry always did a super job on the nurse's caps for the civic hospital nursing students. They had to be stiff as a board and then folded just so.

This is now the "Third" restaurant which recently opened. They have a photo of the Hintonburgh Laundry on their wall.

The year I was born! What struck me most about the photo are the boots on the woman. My mom had some just like that. Long coats and short boots.

My grandfather, Wendell (Bill) Addy was a founder of the Cradle Hockey League in Ottawa. It was started with St. Joseph’s Orphanage. He and Ev Tremblay, A’s well as my father, Bob Mitchell, were instrumental in bringing minor hockey to Ottawa. Robert Campeau was the main financial sponsor.

It is the Tech High School rink which was located across the street from the school. It was basically on the southwest corner of Slater and Bronson or very close to it. I played on it.

grew up at slater and lyon beside googan's IGA,,who remembers bowl-rite bowling alley where i was a pin boy

In January 1959, Mayor George Nelms was actually burned a bit in the face and eyebrows during this annual Christmas tree burning. He and the fire chief Maynard Dolman were engulfed in flames when they set the torch to the 50,000+ trees.

Suggestion, there is a wildlife farm in Dunrobin that accepts real trees that they feed to the animals: deer, goats and such.

Good point. That would be a major problem trying to get rid of all of the dead trees. I wonder in fact what the usage now would be of real trees in comparison to artificial tree usage in the Ottawa, and surrounding areas. Do you know?

Domenic Cinanni, I used to teach accordion at the Bank St. store (near First Ave) also went to Carling Ave (near Broadview) beside a donut shop in strip mall, haven't picked up an accordion in like 25 years now, if anyone knows of the Cinanni''s Anselmo and Margaret were siblings I think, let me know.

I got my first guitar and took lessons at the Domenic's that used to be on Bank Street just north of Alta Vista. That store was owned by John Ricci, the guitarist from the heavy metal band Exciter.

I used to teach guitar at Domenics.

My mother was a waitress there late 50’s to mid 60’s. When we went to pick her up we would go in the back door and had a mickey mouse ice cream.

I used to go to this restaurant with my parents for special occasions. When my husband and I got married, we came here with our guests after the ceremony. I have wonderful memories of the Green Valley.

A part of our family tradition was dining there on special days after attending church. I remember the Micky Mouse ice cream fondly.

And what were those three looking at? Well ... this tree, those presents, and Santa's means of ingress.

Precious. Christmas is so exciting for children and those memories we carry with us last a lifetime.

Doh! Fixed now!

Oops! Lost Ottawa...looks like the streetcar got lost.😉

Must be that Elf on the Shelf... He hid the picture 🎄

I remember that when we mailed Christmas Cards, they needed 2 cents worth of stamps if the envelopes were unsealed, but 3 cents worth if the envelopes were sealed. And we had mail delivery to our home twice a day during the Christmas season. Back then people sent and received many cards.

My Christmas card to BC cost me $1.80 this year 🙂

Back in 'my day', first class mail (sealed envelope) cost 2 cents. Second class (not sealed) needed 1 cent postage.

got your book as a Christmas gift today. It has entertained me for the last 3 hours as it was the first thing I read! thank you.

I have warm memories of AY Jackson himself! When I was in grade 6 in 1972, he was a special guest at the Art Gallery of Ontario and our class had a field trip there. He was guiding our tour there of the works of his Group of 7 paintings. I remember walking behind him, realizing he was famous, and gently touching the back of his chunky Shetland sweater! I told my classmates that I would never wash that hand again lol. I think he was in his late 80s or early 90s.

Thank you Emily. Enjoy your Christmas time without snow! We were dumped on last night and still coming. Have Merry Christmas

This is clearly before Coca-Cola set the standard image for Santa. By about 40 years!

The Dufferin Estate (Clandeboye) is in my hometown of Bangor, County Down

Very evocative of a bygone time before television consumed our creativity

That would have been my first Christmas in Ottawa, aged 12, and attending Connaught public school on Gladstone Ave. I saw the Parliament Buildings that year, too, for the first time.

To me, this depicts Christmas as I remember it, wonderful peaceful times.

...or going for a skate on the canal on Christmas Eve, then to midnight Mass at St. Patrick's Basilica, then walking home to the very west end..

My dad was a city cop and used to speak of a street car that was frozen down during this storm on Confederation Square. The conductor was obliged to stay in it for days. Luckily, it had a little coal stove in it. More luckily, people took his place periodically so that he could go use a bathroom.

Love the shadow front and centre - reminds me of an Orson Welles movie but I can't remember the name.

Wonder if this picture is from early in the storm. I ask this because if the ice was 1-2" thick, I'm sure the wires would be down. Less ice than that in the big storm of '98 brought down hydro towers.

The robes (blankets) were probably buffalo (bison) skins. When I was young (1950s) that's what you brought along for a sleigh ride.

My mother in law was born at government house her dad was the head coach man . She told us so many wonderful stories about her life there. She did t move too far away when she left there to queen victoria street with her mom and dad. It would be the home she lived in till she passed away.

When living in Ashton Mr. Lewis would take our family for a sleigh rides wrapped in big blankets at Christmas.

I believe we just called it the hill at the'farm'. Yes, we went in the very early 50's. Dad took us on Sunday after Sunday School. The fear of running into a tree seems to stick in my head and a great 'run' ended up on the frozen canal. The hill was really fast and Dad sat at the back steering the toboggan with the kids screaming most of the way down.

Broke my tibia and fibula with a spiral fracture in hole 1 at the larrimac golf course in Chelsea. Was on a gt sno racer at 31 years old. Worst most painful night of my life. Orthopedic surgeon worked for four hours on my leg no anaesthesia because if the booze. He wouldn't come near me on his rounds the next day, must have threatened him. To top it if my buddies son, owner of the sno racer, comes to my bedside in the hospital and says; "you should have turned in the headlight."

I still have the wooden toboggan from the 50’s and it is still splintered. Used to wax it with paste wax to go faster. Walked on the canal from Bank St to the arboretum.

Christmas morning at the kitchen table - turning through each page and listening to my father and mother-in-law talk about each photo and their memories. Conversation not stopping. Awesome.

Bought a copy in Chapters, met the author David McGee, signed book took time to chat. very personable writer. Took the book home, what a ride, the memories! Wonderful collection.

Really good book..I bought it this wk and I can barely put it down..👍

I lived on a rural road near North Gower and the snow was so deep at times in the 50s it took a few days for the plow to get through. Our neighbour took us to school on a horse driven sleigh then!

Trim Road... from Navan to Queen Street was one lane for a bit during the winter of '78,,,,, if you met an oncoming car... someone had to back up

I remember my sister and I walking down Walkley Road to go to school. The snow banks were 5 feet and taller. I remember a large piece of equipment blowing the snow into the fields.

We lived at 61 Second Avenue. Our next door neighbours, The Willoughbys, moved in to their home in 1926. Mr. Willoughby used to tell me stories about the Glebe when I was a little girl (in the sixties). I remember him telling me about the tall Bell building at Bank & First being an exciting addition to the growing neighbourhood.

Those are my Barnhart cousins. The only on remaining is Shirley . Some of my happiest memories are visiting with their mom on Second Ave. They had an attic that was a treasure house forcexploring

I grew up on Fourth Av. between Chrysler and Percy between 1953 to There were always huge snow banks that we walked on to school.

If you click on the photo and enlarge, the look in the skier's eyes is quite comical. Either fear or determination to beat the hill, I'm not sure which!

This is likely at Suicide Hill. The ski jump had been blown over in May 1915 and was replaced with a tobaggon run for the duration of the war.

Is that in the early years of the Ottawa Ski Club?

must ask my son, as I tried looking them up online. but from what I have seen so far they look like it was for wheat and where is the missing piece of info

My curiosity was peaked so I did some research and found something similar. goo.gl/images/RRysFv I googled "Canadian Ration Stamps" after not finding anything similar through a "German Ration Stamps search. Check out the link...this is what I found. Very similar to your stamps in terms of the style & theme of the graphics.

Can the OP please update when the mystery is solved? Thanks

My father had one, he was a letter carrier for a time. It was heavy but warm, don't know what happened to it.

What's wrong with real fur? It's a natural material, recyclable and biodegradable, and if we're just moderately careful, supplies will be available for ever. Or we could use some kind of oil-based materials ....

I always like the fur part. The fur trade is what opened this country to the Europeans.

The future site of the Ottawa Police station used to be Myers Chev-Olds-Cadillac, where it remained until the late '60s or early 70s.

The low, flat warehouse building in the centre of the photo was a car dealership -- Patterson Motors -- they used to sell Plymouth and Dodge cars. The long building at the upper left of the photo on Catherine Street was the former Ottawa Auditorium, now the site of the YM-YWCA.

I still remember walking down Catherine Street past the Auditorium one night. I stopped at the traffic light and three elephants went across in front of me. ?????? The Aud was hosting a circus and the elephants were going back to the circus train, which was in the rail yard just across the street.

WOW, what a great pic. Gives you a good idea of how things were done before all the equipment used today.

Love the guys holding on to the guys on the roof of the truck! Or are they holding on to the truck? lol

A lot more people died or were injured in workplace accidents back then than today.

Here's the original caption from the photo story, which was about Canada's Xmas tree industry: The tradition of hiking into the woods a few days before Christmas to select the Yule tree is becoming more and more a memory nostalgically recalled by old-timers. Today most Canadians content themselves with making their selection at the local super-market, but Canada's vigorously growing Christmas tree industry assures that they may make their choice from a selection that is large, varied and handsome.

I remember back in the 70s when some Carleton university residents crossed the canal at Christmas to the Arboretum and cut themselves a Christmas tree. Only problem was they took only the top 6 feet of a 30+ foot Siberian spruce that was a one of a kind gift to Canada. They dragged it back to the residence through the snow not thinking about getting caught. They got caught.

Was that shared by Cindy Lu Who, of Whoville?

A sign from the Kaufman shop shared by Chris via Michel Perron, along with this comment: Hand lettered in 1963. One of the first signs Harry painted for the "New" shop. Purchased for 12,600 bucks the day after Kennedy got shot in November 1963 and sold for well over a million last year. Back in 2003, I asked him where I should be putting my money. He looked at me and said, "Let's get you some downtown property " best advice ever. Miss you Herschell. You'll always be my Zady. Oy-vay!

Harry remains one of my favorite people of all Time, I've been in the print industry in Ottawa for more than 25 years now and Harry is certainly one of my best memories, He scared the pants off me when I first met him ,within a few months he was making me laugh on every visit, what a great Pic. thanks for sharing

I remember Harry (and his cigar)! I would go and visit him at his shop on Nepean whenever I came back to Ottawa. Has the building come down?

Norlite is in the next block west; that's the Victoria Building

The Bank of Canada originally had it's offices in the Victoria Building from 1935 until it's own building was completed in 1938 further west down Wellington between Bank St. and Kent St.

Curtis is correct that is the Victoria Bldg which once housed some CBC radio studios and then CKPM radio where I began working in late 1964. The Norlite still sits on the west side of the old B of M and if you moved down the block to near the corner of Metcalfe you would have passed the old Rideau Club.

Where and why did they all go?

I agree - around 1957, no earlier. And before 1959 as there is a streetcar in the pic. The stretch Airport limo was a 1957 Chrysler, and could be seen regularly in front of the Chateau for about another 5-6 years. It looks brand new in this pic.

Didn't realize there were so many buildings across from the Chateau and the Daly building. I thought there was only the train station. Looks very different now.