HERITAGE OTTAWA
In a move that is not sitting well with all residents, over 20 streets in Ottawa's Kitchissippi Ward are currently targeted for renaming.
Since amalgamation in 2001, the City of Ottawa has been working to resolve duplicate street names and to revise names of divided streets for clarification and safety reasons, in what bureaucrats admit has been "a painful process" according to Robyn Bresnahan of CBC Ottawa Morning.
Breshahan spoke on-air today with Heritage Ottawa's David Jeanes, blogger Dave Alston of Kitchissippi Museum and Alex Graham, a resident of Hintonburg's Manchester Avenue which is slated for a name change, to solicit their views.
Street names often convey a historical connection to our collective past, which many don't want to see lost.
David Manchester, for whom Manchester Avenue is named, operated a successful tailoring business on Wellington Street and was instrumental in Hintonburg's early development. Noted for his generosity, he acquired a large parcel of land from the Armstrong family during the 1870s and 1880s, subdivided it into small lots, and sold them to local mill and railway workers at affordable prices with favourable terms, enabling them to build their own homes. The area was known as "Manchesterville" in the 1880's and 1890's before becoming part of Hintonburg.
After 140 years, many feel that the name change threatens Manchester's legacy.
Also slated for a name change ( due to its division in two parts) is Cole Avenue in Westboro, named for arguably the most influential family in area's early development.
David Jeanes noted that Ottawa has witnessed a number of battles to preserve its historic street names, including a major battle over the proposed renaming of Wellington Street after Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Ultimately, the Duke of Wellington's historical importance in creation of the nearby Rideau Canal won the day, and Wellington Street retained its original name.
More information about the re-naming of Kitchissippi streets can be found at Councillor Jeff Leiper's website. Residents are invited to submit proposed street names to the Councillor by the end of April.
Listen to the radio interview here on CBC Ottawa Morning.
Heritage Ottawa's free lecture in June 2017 examines important family names in Ottawa's early development including that of the Cole family: What's in a Name?