2008 Walking Tours

1. Central Experimental Farm

June 15, 2 :00 pm – MEET : Dominion Observatory parking lot, SE corner Carling at Irving.

During the tour of the built heritage and cultural landscape of the Central Experimental Farm, your guide will encourage participants to consider the future of this National Historic Site and ways that Ottawa residents might protect its heritage value.

(Wear appropriate footgear as lawns will be wet if it rains)

GUIDE : Julie Harris, president of Contentworks Inc, historian for the Central Experimental Farm Management Plan and for other research stations across Canada, as well as farming in the Capital.

2. Village of Hintonburg

June 22, 2:00 pm – MEET: St-François d’Assise Church, Wellington at Fairmont

Named for Joseph Hinton, a shopkeeper and civic official, the village of Hintonburg was incorporated in 1893. The tour will take you through the heart of this interesting, eclectic and socially varied neighbourhood, rich in heritage.

GUIDES: Linda Hoad and Paulette Dozois, community leaders

3. Village of Britannia

  July 13, 2:00 pm – MEET: Parking lot off Greenview, west side, near Carling

Discover the story of Britannia’s emergence as a late-Victorian resort destination. The extension of the city’s streetcar tracks westward in 1900 brought Ottawa’s leisure seekers ushering in the golden years before the First World War. Many early cottages have survived, some still evoking the character of the old summer resort community.

GUIDE: Carolyn Quinn, Director of Communications, Heritage Canada Foundation

4. Lowertown West

August 3, 10:00 am (NOTE TIME)* - MEET : Colonel By statue, Major’s Hill Park

This is the heart of old Bytown where canal workers first settled and some of Ottawa's earliest residential, commercial, and institutional structures can be found. The walk will take participants around Major’s Hill Park, up to Nepean Point, and then will look at some of the historic buildings in Lowertown and the ByWard Market.

GUIDE: Hagit Hadaya, architectural historian

5. Cathedral Hill to Nanny Goat Hill

August 10, 2:00 pm – MEET: Garden of the Provinces, Wellington at Bay

The escarpment at the west edge of Upper Town, overlooking Lebreton Flats, became a magnet for the homes of Ottawa’s elite and for religious and educational institutions. The walk includes numerous designated heritage buildings and Ottawa’s newest heritage conservation district.

GUIDE: Glenn J. Lockwood, Anglican Diocesan Archivist

6. Beaux Arts Ottawa

August 17, 2:00 pm – MEET: Conference Centre (formerly Union Station), Confederation Square entrance

Twelve of Ottawa’s most important Beaux-Arts buildings designed by leading Canadian and American architects in the first four decades of the 20th century, plus some additional classical façades, will be seen along this tour of Confederation Square, Sparks St. and Wellington St.

GUIDE: David Jeanes, amateur railway and city historian, Vice-president of Heritage Ottawa

7. University of Ottawa Campus, Historic Sector
160th Anniversary

August 24, 2:00 pm – MEET: Tabaret Hall entrance, 550 Cumberland at Laurier

Discover the rich architecture and history of the University of Ottawa, established in 1848. This institution is North America’s oldest and most important bilingual university. The tour begins with Tabaret Hall, based on Washington’s Capitol Building and one of Ottawa’s finest examples of Classical Revival architecture.

GUIDE : Michel Prévost, University of Ottawa chief archivist

8. Parliament Hill

September 14, 2:00 pm – MEET: Centennial Flame

On this tour you will see the monumental grouping of the Centre Block, Library, and East and West Blocks of the Parliament, as well as the buildings that form an integral part of the parliamentary precinct, such as the Langevin, Victoria, Wellington, Confederation and Justice Buildings.

GUIDE: Fern Mackenzie, architectural historian

9. The Glebe

September 21, 2:00 pm – MEET: Corner of Clemow and O’Connor

W.E. Noffke (1878-1964) was one of Ottawa's most influential architects in the first half of the 20th century. The walk begins with the ten diverse Noffke houses, including his own, built around Central Park/Patterson Creek, moving along to other more modest houses, historic schools and churches, and newer infill developments by notable Ottawa architects.

GUIDE: John McLeod, Glebe resident and heritage buff

10. Village of Rockcliffe Park

September 28, 2:00 pm – MEET: Lisgar Road at Princess Avenue

The mix of architectural styles in picturesque Rockcliffe Park range from stately stone mansions and interesting contemporary designs to remaining summer cottages. Learn about the history of the village and the role the MacKay and Keefer families had in determining its layout and the design of many of its homes.

GUIDE: Martha Edmond, author of Rockcliffe Park: A History of the Village

11. Old Ottawa South

October 5, 2:00 pm – MEET: Southminster United Church, Bank at Alymer

In 1907, Nepean Township villages such as Ottawa South were annexed to the City of Ottawa. Improved city services soon followed, such as a new high-level Bank Street Bridge over the canal. It allowed the privately-owned Ottawa Electric Railway to extend streetcar services, stimulating housing and development of one of Ottawa’s first streetcar suburbs.

GUIDE: Leo Doyle, Development and Planning Committee, Old Ottawa South

12. The Buildings of External Affairs

October 19, 2:00 pm – MEET: In front of the East Block of Parliament

The Department of Foreign Affairs was established 100 years ago. In the early years, its headquarters were in the East Block, but by the time the department moved into the Lester B. Pearson Building in 1973, its offices were spread over more than two dozen buildings around Ottawa and Hull. This tour will look at only a few of them as it moves from the East Block to the Pearson Building on Sussex.

GUIDE: Richard Belliveau, retired foreign service officer.