By Dave Allston – On the road to Lemieux Island, just off the SJAM Parkway, lies the mysterious ruins of a structure which has sat untouched and decaying for nearly thirty years. A popular spot for urban explorers and bored youths alike, this unmarked derelict site has an […]
By Dave Allston – Sporting clubs were the centre of social life in the first half of the twentieth century. Recently, I was told about a sporting club that existed for only a few years during the Great Depression. It’s one of the most surprising, unique and intriguing […]
By Dave Allston – In my previous column, I wrote about the Thomsons, an important pioneer family in the history of Kitchissippi. I focused on the Thomson era from their arrival in 1818 to the unfortunate loss of their farm, including the Maplelawn stone house, sixty years later. […]
By Dave Allston – For a column titled “Early Days,” what better subject than to go back in time and take a look at Kitchissippi’s very earliest days and its first residents, the Thomson family. Nearly 200 years after their arrival, they are still recognized as builders and […]
By Dave Allston – The old stone building on Wellington Street West known as “Magee House” has been in the news since its owner announced plans to pursue the construction of luxury apartments around this grand old structure. This heritage property dates back 140 years but is now […]
By Dave Allston – The building we know as Nepean High School will be celebrating a major milestone in seven years (2023) for its 100th anniversary. KT readers may be surprised to learn that this month, September 2016, Nepean High School – the institution – actually turns 100 […]
By Dave Allston – A planned excavation of an old railway site has begun to yield some exciting results. The archaeology firm working next to the City Centre building by Bayview Station set off on a dig not knowing what to expect from their efforts. However, they have […]
By Dave Allston – The Canadian Bank Note Company on Richmond Road at Kirkwood is a familiar building to most in Ottawa. A holdover from the industrial days of this section of Richmond Road (which also once included R. L. Crain printers, a Pepsi plant, and General Electric), […]
By Dave Allston – It has now been nearly ten years since a group of concerned citizens and heritage advocates spoke out about the proposed demolition of an important piece of Westboro history. Their work ultimately saved La Maison Jeanne D’Arc at the corner of Kenwood and Edison. […]
By Dave Allston – One of Westboro’s most impressive structures is located at 330 Churchill Avenue, just south of Scott Street. It’s one of the neighbourhood’s most noticeable buildings, an obvious landmark to the earliest days of Westboro. In fact, it even predates Westboro, when the area was […]
By Dave Allston – As time passes, history begins to fade. The lives and events, the people and places of years gone by begin to disappear in the fabric of time. What can be left behind are an artifact or two, a photograph, or even a structure, a […]
By Dave Allston – For decades during the earliest days of Kitchissippi, there was a small but significant geographic feature that created constant problems for residents. It slowed development, caused major political headaches, ruined new infrastructure, and even led to severe illness and death. Cave Creek was the […]
By Dave Allston – This year marks the 100th anniversary of prohibition in Ontario, a significant era in the perennial saga of liquor and its control. Prohibition did not happen suddenly; it was the result of a long-running temperance movement culminating with evolving social and economic factors of […]
By Dave Allston – To present-day residents of Kitchissippi, Byron Linear Park is a much-appreciated strip of greenspace approximately three kilometres in length where we walk, run or cycle, shop at a farmer’s market, or play at the “School Bus Park” near Mayfair Avenue. However, for previous generations, […]
By Dave Allston – This is the second of two columns about Laroche Park. The first one can be found right here. In 1925, Alderman Gerald Sims pushed hard for the Board of Control to grade and improve Stonehurst Dump, to open an urgently needed playground on the […]
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