This month, we mark one full year since creating VanierNow and posting our first entries – hoping to bring to light Vanier’s unique and sometimes lesser-known attributes. Now, we’re excited to introduce the Vanier Blocks – presenting a playful and imaginative way to celebrate the iconic buildings and urban landscapes that make Vanier today.
The Vanier Blocks have been designed exclusively for VanierNow, handmade by Fidoodle, a small Canadian design company “making artful objects inspired by storytelling and creative play.” Each set of Vanier Blocks contains nine building blocks, featuring screenprints of some of Vanier’s landmarks, including the Wabano Centre, Place Vanier and the Sugar Bush – even an e-bike is included!
On the back of the blocks, made of maple wood off-cuts, you’ll find a puzzle of Vanier’s street grid. And (blocks being blocks), they are stackable! The Vanier Blocks can be arranged in any way desired; by connecting them in a particular order, you can even watch Vanier’s telephone wires connect. We’re excited that a limited number of sets of Vanier Blocks are now available for purchase online, in advance of a product launch on the evening of Thursday, November 29. A single set sells for $28, with $4 of that amount directed to Partage Vanier, our neighbourhood food bank. Online purchases are subject to shipping and handling charges; however, residents with a Vanier address can simply email us to arrange for an in-person purchase with free delivery. We call it the Vanier advantage.
Looking for a bit of Vanier in your home?
UPDATE (December 7, 2012): Due to high demand, the Vanier Blocks are temporarily SOLD OUT. But more are coming! To RESERVE and PRE-ORDER your set of blocks, please click here. Delivery is scheduled for end of January 2013.
Several hundred residents and merchants walked, cycled and sang their way through Vanier’s residential streets at Saturday’s parade, an event kicking off C’est Chill (SEE ALSO: Vanier Remixed). However, it was also those caught by surprise – the ones inside houses peeking out from behind curtains, or drawn to front steps and balconies by the parade’s energy, to see what was happening – that helped to define this parade. And in the process, the parade grew – this organic, community-procession that made its way from Montreal Road to St Charles Square, with residents being picked up along the way, all claiming the streets as their own. Led by Junkyard Symphony, tailed by a horse-drawn carriage carrying Santa, and joining the cyclists, the carolers and the clowns was – well, you and I. For this short time, we were drawn together, snapping photos, chatting with one another, enjoying these moments – imagining these streets in ways unimagined (by many) for years.
The parade ended at St Charles Square, the lawn adjacent to Beechwood’s St Charles Church – and just as in decades past, the square was filled (again). With a wind chill of 15 below for most of the day, staying warm added a certain pragmatic element to the French-Canadian square dancing, and made the bannock over an open fire a definite treat (though Hearty Bakery’s warm apple dumplings with butter rum sauce were also a perfect antidote…). Returning from the Beechwood mural to St Charles later in the afternoon (and after some respite from the (wind) chill), the warmth of vendors’ lights, lanterns and holiday lights, alongside the giant dreamcatcher, served to help warm the space – even a little.
While much of the crowd had dissipated before the evening performances, Bboyizm, Les Mosquitos and others still gave the small crowd that had gathered an opportunity to enjoy dynamic, energetic shows, all on a stage in front of the towering structure of St Charles.
(Photos: VanierNow 2012; click here for non-flash views)
By Kristina Sparkes Having just celebrated our 1st anniversary and with the festive time of the year upon us, VanierNow is in the party mood. We asked local event planner and girl-about-town Kristina Sparkes how she would put together a Vanier-inspired party (clearly, we`ll need to get started for our year two bash as soon as we can).
A Vanier party should evoke a 60s retro vibe with a hint of French style; it should be a showcase for an urban, cosmopolitan sensibility with laid back atmosphere and hopefully, a few fun surprises. Luckily, everything you will need to host a swingin’ cocktail party is available right here in Vanier.
First stop is Kabul Bakery (355 Montreal Road). Their fresh, baked in-store Afghan flat bread can be used as a pizza base or cut up and served with dip. It is $1.79, and at two and a half feet long, can probably serve 20 people. You can’t get much more bang for your party buck than that. The Salvation Army Store (333 Montreal Road) has a great assortment of retro glasses and serving dishes - even a few fondue pots (five on my last visit) if you really want to work the retro theme. With a bit of digging, there are party-ready treasures to be found here – like a lovely pedestal milk glass bowl for just $1.99.
Beautifully coloured Macarons can be pre-ordered from Hearty Bakery and picked up at their studio on Jeanne-Mance Street. The space is not open to the public (they sell at markets and events all over the city) so you do need to place your order (via email, phone or facebook) about two days in advance. Some of their more interesting flavours include After Eight, Earl Grey and Chocolate Ganache, Chai Tea, Ginger, Chocolate Hazelnut and Salted Caramel.
Save some time in the kitchen by picking up freshly made hors d’oeuvres from Todrics on McArthur. They are available by the dozen starting at $12.95. I like the sound of the gorgonzola and onion marmalade bundles or the prune with ricotta and prosciutto. Again, they will need a few days notice to prepare your selections so give them a call to place your order.
Green Fresh Supermarket (29 Selkirk Street) has a huge variety of locally made dumplings in their freezer case – a bargain at $9.98 for three bags. You can steam and fry them and serve your guests these delicious pot stickers with Chinkiang black rice vinegar. You can also discover some interesting crunchy bites to put out in snack bowls like the dried peas, available in wasabi, garlic and spicy flavours. I also spotted bags of mini (ping pong ball sized!) mandarin oranges that, piled up in an attractive dish, would make cheerful, edible décor.
Naturally, make one last stop on Montreal Road at the LCBO.
Cocktails Nothing makes a guest feel more welcomed than being handed a drink as they walk though your door. Have a large batch of your “signature cocktail” premixed so you can just pour it into glasses and garnish as people arrive. Here are a few popular drinks modified for our Vanier theme.
White Father – a cosmo but with white cranberry juice instead of red Vanier Libre – Cherry cola and rum and a wedge of lime Lavergne and Shirley – (mocktail) Orange juice and pomegranate juice with a splash of SanPellegrino Limonata.
Music Download the Songza app and search for their ‘60s French Pop playlist. It is full of cool and sexy yé-yé hits like Stone’s L’antiquité and Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin’s Je T'aime… Moi Non Plus.
Décor Grotto it up! Fill your rooms with rows of glowing blue and red votive candles. Full instructions on how to make your own using empty glass jars, food colouring and white glue can be found here.
In some neighbourhoods party hosts worry about overdoing the lawn ornaments and lights. Not here. You will never be the house on the street with the most gusto for outdoor embellishment. So for goodness sake, hang another string of lights!
…and with that, I think you have the makings of an amazing party. Enjoy, have (responsible) fun and happy hosting to all you Vanier guys and gals! Please comment below if you have our own Vanier party tips and ideas to share.
Photos: (top left) Macarons from Hearty Bakery; (top right) Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin by Jeanloup Sieff (1970); (bottom) Wine glasses and serving dishes from Salvation Army Thrift Store, Montreal Road, by Kristina Sparkes (2012)
At a public meeting and formal consultation of the City’s Urban Design Review Panel (UDRP) on December 5, we learned of revisions being made by the AEFO, in response to public comments, to their plans for a four-story parking garage at 250 Montreal Road.
In late October, we highlighted the AEFO’s revised site plan application to allow for construction of the parking garage behind the mixed-use commercial / office complex. Rather than constructing a parking facility entirely underground, the AEFO pointed to the presence of shallow bedrock in seeking permission for the garage. VanierNow identified several serious concerns with the proposal – most notably the proposed entrance / exit ramp on Levis, situated across from a school bus loading zone – and also discussed its unfortunate impact on the public environment. We were pleased to see David Reevely, and other community voices, build on this attention. At the time, the City welcomed public comments on the site plan application. On Wednesday, December 5, having considered approximately 60 public comments, the proponent brought revised plans to the UDRP. The consultation (and online drawings, available in an 11 MB file) provided the Panel an opportunity to see and to comment on the revisions proposed by the AEFO. Panel members expressed both appreciation – and continued concern – for various reasons.
In the most significant change, the automobile entrance to the garage has been relocated from Levis to Begin. With a separate entrance on Begin still proposed for the building’s loading dock, Panel members suggested that a single cut-out to Begin, for both the entrance / exit and loading dock, would be preferable.
With the City having clarified that the entire development site falls within the Traditional Mainstreet Zone – a designation focused on a broad range of uses and compact, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented development – it had also become apparent that a minimum of three metres (the depth of one parking space) along Begin and Levis must be dedicated to non-parking uses. As such, the revised plans include retail spaces on the ground floor of the garage (seen below), to a depth of 6 metres. While the spaces are small, the proponent suggested possible establishments could include a barber, hair dresser, flower shop, print shop, ice cream parlor or locksmith.
Though the intention of the zoning provision would be to animate Begin and Levis with greater pedestrian activity, panel members expressed concern with the viability of such small commercial spaces and the negative implications should they remain vacant. Discussion ensued on creating a larger non-parking use on the ground level along Levis (perhaps a daycare?), while eliminating retail space along Begin – a change that would require a minor variance application.
However, of greatest interest to the Panel members was the project’s changes to the public pedestrian plaza on the south side of the office building, adjacent to Dupuis. Panel members spoke of the “devolution of clarity” in the identity of the space, having earlier celebrated how the plaza and adjacent pedestrianized end of Dupuis would create a new, single public square out of various pieces of public space. The panel drew attention to several barriers and buffers that would now separate this new plaza from this surrounding environment (identified in the landscape plan below), pointing to the plaza laying several steps lower than Dupuis, to a green barrier between the plaza and the proposed restaurant terrace, and to an accessibility ramp proposed between the office building and Dupuis. How might we ensure this space retains the potential to serve as an urban stage, with sitting areas and spaces for informal gathering? Would the plaza be anything more than a corridor through which pedestrians could access the entrance to the garage, on the plaza’s eastern edge?
Other design elements have also become more apparent. Sidewalks are being added on the west side of Begin, while electrical services will be buried underground. Various green elements are proposed for the garage, including a green roof above the ramp linking the various levels. An ivy-covered wall will face the condominiums at 297 Dupuis, while red-orange pre-cast concrete panels on the garage are intended to match the adjoining office complex. Open walls on upper levels of the garage will be covered with a woven stainless steel mesh, described as “lattice like screens,” limiting unwanted access and outwards light pollution while enabling ventilation.
With the formal consultation now behind them, the proponent will finalize the revised site plan application. With the input of public comments and the views of the UDRP, the City’s Planning and Growth Management Department is expected to make its decision on the application early in 2013. Panel members expressed frustration at the incremental changes they’ve seen from one iteration of the project application to another. Once approved, let’s hope the project will become the flagship development that was first introduced to, and embraced by, the community.
Image Credits: City of Ottawa Urban Design Review Panel (2012) Place Vanier Parking Garage, 250 Montreal Road, Ottawa. November 22, 2012
Amidst the suburban housing tracts and commercial offerings of Innes Road in Orléans, a cast aluminum statue of the Virgin today reaches out to passersby, mounted on the outside façade of Sainte-Marie Parish (4831 Innes Road). The statue once adorned the edifice of the modern, mid-century church building of Vanier’s Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Esprit, but was removed – and moved – after the parish closed in 1995. While the Catholic parish closed, the building has since been reclaimed and given new life by other faith communities – a story that points to Vanier’s evolution. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the francophone St Charles parish, on Beechwood Avenue, was overflowing. Reports point to a congregation of nearly 5000, with up to 10 masses on Sundays (Bell 1995). Housing construction and the explosion of families in the area south and east of the parish, and to the north of Montreal Road and east of the railway (today’s Vanier Parkway), necessitated the establishment of a new parish. In his history of Vanier, Laporte (1983) writes that St Charles’ priest, Father Barrette, charged his vicar, Father Clement Baribeau, to begin a new service in a new location. As a result, a new chapel, located on (today’s) Carillon Street, opened its doors in Fall 1950. Growth continued, and a new church building was constructed in 1957, opening in 1958. Baribeau served as the first priest, remaining until 1979.
Left: Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Esprit with statue of the Virgin (c.1983; Photo: Luc Laporte); Right: Statue of the Virgin as it is seen today on façade of Sainte-Marie Parish (2012; Photo: Google Streetview)
As noted earlier, the Virgin was installed high on the exterior wall of the church when the building opened in 1958 – amidst some controversy. The sculpture, created by Raoul Hunter, depicted the Virgin with bare feet. Laporte (1983) writes that other elements in the building also created a stir, including the stained glass window above the high altar – a (modern) depiction of Jesus, produced locally in the Ottawa Carleton Arts Studio. Side windows were ordered somewhat later, and imported from Paris.
Worship band practicing with stained glass window in background; Vanier Community Church, 2012
During these years and the decades that followed, the parish was a focal point of social and cultural life – with parishes coming together in community-wide celebrations, like the Winter Carnival or June 24 celebrations. Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Esprit became a community hub in other ways, as well. For a time, on one Sunday every month, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides would prepare breakfast for the congregants after morning mass. The building also hosted a Portuguese-Canadian Catholic Church for several years before the Portuguese Senhor Santo Cristo parish was founded in 1987 and built on Kenaston Street (Gloucester).
Soon after opening, however, and into the 1960s, Vanier saw its population shift, with many francophone families moving to Ottawa’s suburbs (suggesting that the statue of the Virgin ultimately followed…), and saw the church decline in significance in everyday life. By 1995, the church was closed. In the final sermon, Marcel Gervais, Archbishop Emeritus of Ottawa, noted in his homily, “in the beginning, there was not enough space. Now there is far too much. You have brought up your family. They’ve decided to live somewhere else.” One media report cites a long-time congregant, Simone Demers, who expresses her emotions on the day: “I just hope this church will be sold to somebody who will keep it open for all in the community, to draw people together” (Bell 1995).
“Fellow travelers” gather for a Biker’s Church service on a Thursday evening Carillon Street on a Thursday evening
To many, Demers’ hopes have become reality. While the building stood empty for several years, the City Church (now the Vanier Community Church) began operating in the building in 2000. Ottawa’s Bikers Church, founded in 2002, began meeting in the same halls in 2010. The two churches merged (while retaining distinct services) to form the Vanier Community Church in 2012, with various gatherings occurring through the week (and various events, including the bikers swap meet, happening each year). In its own hope of being open for all in the community, the church operates a monthly free store, with clothes and appliances available at no charge to neighbours in need. The church has developed spaces for youth, for musicians and artists and for community groups. An emphasis on casual, community gathering is apparent, with a coffee bar constructed at the sanctuary’s entrance.
Repurposed and retained, this piece of Vanier’s built heritage remains. Now, St. Charles…
(Mike Bulthuis)
Sources:
Bell, Pat (1995) “Church falls victim to empty pews; French Catholics forced to move to other parishes” The Ottawa Citizen November 4, 1995. pC5.
Laporte, Luc (1983) Vanier. Ottawa: Centre franco-ontarien de resources pédagogiques.
Development Concept for the West Sector of Montreal Road, as suggested in a 1991 City of Vanier Discussion Paper (Source below).
At a City-sponsored planning forum on April 26, 2012, Councillor Peter Hume (Chair of the City’s Planning Committee) identified the importance of updating certain neighbourhood plans, ensuring that the zoning within each is up-to-date and in line with the City’s Official Plan – in order to facilitate greater certainty and predictability vis-à-vis new development. In his remarks, Hume referred specifically to Vanier as one example.
This week, we learned that the City has initiated a process towards doing so – reviewing and updating the City’s Official Plan policies and zoning by-law, specific to Vanier, so they better align and reflect the goals of Traditional Mainstreet zones. Timelines are short. So, given the importance of the Montreal Road corridor for residents and businesses today, this is the time for the community conversation to begin. What is our vision for this area, and how might we ensure that the City’s Official Plan offers policy direction to make this a reality? We’ll learn more in the coming days, but a look to the past may be helpful to understand how we got here.
Today, policy direction for development on and around Montreal Road comes from a Vanier-specific policy statement referred to as a “Site Specific Policy,” appended to the current City of Ottawa Official Plan. The area covered by the Policy, and now subject to review, is identified in a map provided by the City. The Policy was first created when Vanier was an independent municipality, and as such, was planning for the many needs of a distinct city, outlined by the Citizen’s David Reevely. Upon amalgamation, the Policy was simply adopted by the City of Ottawa, and appended to the new City’s Official Plan – to remain, on paper, as a policy guiding development in “downtown Vanier.”
The Policy has roots that date to the 1980s when considerable attention by City of Vanier and business officials was directed to the renewal of Montreal Road (see previous post, for example). Specifically, a 1987 study commissioned by the City of Vanier recommended that the downtown (along the Montreal Road corridor) be sub-divided, for planning purposes, into three sectors – still evident in today’s Site Specific Policy.
A ‘West Sector,’ lying from the Rideau River to the Vanier Parkway, was identified as an area ripe for significant commercial (and office) use, with an emphasis on large-scale redevelopments and minimal residential property. A Discussion Paper published by the City in 1991 offers one glimpse of the visions for this sector (image above), with large developments (ranging from 15,000 to 35,000 square metres) intended to anchor this Primary Employment Centre. Still today, a map included in the Site Specific Policy continues to reflect a similar vision – even centred around a non-existent road network (for example, with Jeanne Mance crossing the Vanier Parkway).
The area from the Vanier Parkway to Lajoie / Lallemand, referred to as the Central Sector, was to be the heart of a “French Quarter,” an area designated “to express the cultural identity of the community” through its cultural and commercial offerings, attracting visitors and local residents alike. Building heights would be lower than to the west, with a focus given to ground-floor uses and even interlinking systems of courtyards and pedestrian walkways. To the east, the East Sector receives scant attention, with the exception of referencing construction of a possible gateway into the community.
Of interest, the Site Specific Policy makes use of traditional planning tools like zoning and site plan control, but also encourages the use of less traditional means, including design guidelines or design principles, particularly for the French Quarter. Separate from the Policy, guidelines were offered on streetscaping and on architectural and physical features, all to aid in creating the desired ambiance of the French Quarter. Still today, we enjoy the red brick sidewalks, black iron fencing, traditional style lampposts and buried hydro lines in the Central Sector that resulted from these ideas.
Today, nearly 25 years after the Policy was written, the review is welcome. City officials point to split zoning and out-dated terminology. Further, while Montreal Road is today designated a Traditional Mainstreet, one might point to further issues with certain restrictions in the current Policy. For example, in the West Sector, in order to emphasize commercial development, large developments were limited to residential components of 30 percent or less – an amount some may see as low for the mixed environments of today’s mainstreets.
Of course, in other ways, we may wish to retain aspects of the Policy. The strong pedestrian orientation, with emphases on linking the Rideau riverfront and inland areas with pedestrian pathways, is noteworthy. So too is a the “requirement that a pedestrian-oriented street life is to be facilitated” in the Central Sector. Further, taller buildings may be appropriate in areas designated for larger developments. At the entry to Vanier, via the Cummings Bridge, tall buildings overlooking the River, and situated near the office towers of Place Vanier, may serve a gateway into the neighbourhood. Perhaps other gateway features, similar to a monument earlier envisioned at the western gateway, may also be desired.
We are still learning how the review of the Site Specific Policy will evolve, and it is expected that residents will learn more at an Open House in late January where City officials will also seek community feedback and suggestions. Given that a revised plan is to be considered by the City’s Planning Committee by the end of May (might one imagine a number of development applications in the queue?), timelines are short.
Through the efforts of community associations and the Beechwood Village Alliance, we’ve seen a discussion grow on the future of Beechwood. What about Montreal Road?
(Mike Bulthuis)
Additional Sources:
Haigis, MacNabb, De Leuw Ltd, Planners and Landscape Architects (1987) “Montreal Road Commercial Area Revitalization Study” Volume 2, Part 1, Final Study Report: Streetscaping. September.
City of Vanier (1991) Discussion Paper on Commercial Development in the City of Vanier. Department of Planning and Development. City of Vanier. April 1991.
“…City and business officials are starting to picture a certain joie de vivre pulsing along [Montreal Road] the historic thoroughfare. They envision people strolling along a lantern-lit street, stopping to remark on the restored building facades in what may become known as the region’s French Quarter.… The project involves upgrading streets and sidewalks with brick paving stones, old-fashioned lamps, courtyards and wrought-iron furniture. Merchants and professionals will be encouraged to renovate their storefronts” (Jane Wilson, Ottawa Citizen, December 12, 1988).
As discussed last week, the City of Ottawa has launched a review of the City’s Official Plan, with attention also directed to the specific plan affecting Vanier– a plan currently dating to the late 1980s. Then, not only were zoning and site plan control tools being used, but so too were less traditional means proposed, including design guidelines or design principles. The guidelines were drafted specifically for Vanier’s Commercial Sector and Residential District, offering guidance on streetscaping, on architectural and building features and on creating a pedestrian-friendly environment. Stores were encouraged to create storefronts with francophone heritage design elements.
The guidelines were part of an effort to strengthen the image of Montreal Road (the French Quarter), to restore pride, and to celebrate the community’s identity as a cultural hub for the Franco-Ontario story. An important element, outlined in one visioning report from the Heritage Canada Foundation, was the presence of a community vision to guide development (1989, p15).
Image Design: VanierNow, 2012 (Building silhouette taken from cover of Design Guidelines for the French Quarter, Commercial Sector, City of Vanier, Planning and Development Department, c. 1989-90)
Sources:
Guy, David (1987) “Vanier activates plan to spruce up Montreal Road” Ottawa Citizen, November 18, p B3.
Heritage Canada Foundation (1989) “Rapport de l’équipe-ressource, Vanier, Ontario” Main Street Program, December.
Wilson, Jane (1988) “Montreal Road could become 'French Quarter'” Ottawa Citizen. December 12.
At Home With… is a new bi-monthly feature presenting Vanier residents within their home environment. The series begins with Gavin Lynch, a Vancouver artist, who moved with his partner and two young children to Ottawa to start a Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Ottawa. Gavin is represented by the Elissa Cristall Gallery in Vancouver, BC.
Who: Gavin Lynch, Artist Where: Bradley Avenue, Vanier (Ottawa) What: Main floor of two-storey house with artist studio in basement
VanierNow: How long have you lived in the space? Gavin Lynch: Two and a half years.
VN: Why did you move here? GL: At the time I was beginning my MFA and we had just had our daughter, Madeleine - as such we wanted a house with some character that could accommodate our growing family and my needs as a painter, on an artist’s income.
VN: What did it look like when you originally moved in? How have you made it your own? GL: The house itself was essentially the same. We’ve made it our own by hanging items from our growing art collection, which is comprised mostly of works I’ve been lucky enough to trade for over the course of time. We like to rotate the work now and then to keep things fresh.
VN: What is your favorite space/room? GL: The kitchen, which is where we spend the majority of our time as a family.
VN: What do you like best about your street or neighbourhood? GL: The new Wabano Centre on the corner of Bradley Avenue, which will no doubt be an important part of the neighborhood for many years to come. I’ve enjoyed watching the slow process of it being built over the past year.
VN: Do you see yourself still living here in five years?
GL: Likely not, given my partner’s career will likely take us elsewhere when she completes her Master’s degree.
Approximately 150 residents – from New Edinburgh, Vanier and other Beechwood adjacent neighbourhoods – packed the Memorial Hall of MacKay United Church to learn more about Minto’s proposed development for 19 Beechwood (the fire site), and to offer their own suggestions for the project’s components and design. Details on the project are available on the City’s website, with descriptions and artist renderings of the design available here. (Photo: VanierNow, 2013)
Olmstead Street, near Montreal Road (source below)
City Council is about to consider a recommendation that Rothwell Height’s mid-century, modernist Briarcliffe sub-division be designated a Heritage Conservation District. The area would join districts in Sandy Hill, New Edinburgh, Rockcliffe, Lowertown and elsewhere already recognized for their cultural heritage value. In 2011, students from Carleton’s School of Canadian Studies Heritage Conservation stream authored a Preliminary District Study, laying the foundation for the current recommendation, and building on a history of student contributions towards heritage conservation in Ottawa. In 1996, students from the same program submitted a preliminary study to City of Vanier officials, drafting a “heritage character statement for the designation of Janeville (an older portion of Vanier) as a Heritage Conservation District” (Grudniewicz et al, 1996). So, a Heritage Conservation District in Vanier?
The 1996 Janeville Heritage Study reflected broader discussions on how to recognize Vanier’s built heritage. In January 1995, City of Vanier staff, led by (then) Senior Planner Donald Morse, presented a number of options to City Council regarding the protection of heritage buildings in Vanier. Among these options was consideration of naming heritage districts. As noted earlier, three streets – Palace, Emond and Barrette – were deemed to have the most potential, where “the primary building stock was created between 1875 and 1925… [and where] all three main streets appear to retain at least in part, their original flavour.”
The Janeville Heritage Study investigated another area -- covering Montreal Road from the Vanier Parkway to Olmstead, and the residential areas north and south, bounded by Deschamps and Jeanne Mance. Following the study’s completion, Vanier Heritage Committee President Thérèse Frère suggested to Vanier City Council that among her Committee’s activities, that they “follow-up on the Janeville Heritage Study … pursuing some of the conclusions.” The Committee had a particular interest in Janeville and Clarkston properties, citing these as “among the first suburban villages serving metropolitan Ottawa and recommending study of their unique character.”
You may still be asking, is there cultural heritage value here? The study cites a number of character-defining elements and unique attributes that give the area a “village character.” Attention is drawn to the common two or three-storey commercial buildings on Montreal Road, with their flat roofs and rectangular-shaped facades. On residential streets, the study points to narrow streets, “two lanes wide with an enclosed look (church, store at the corner). Lots are narrow and deep. Mature trees are scattered throughout the established neighbourhood. Convenience stores are located inside the residential area usually on street corners. The low continuous building mass creates a low scale environment” (3).
Particular emphasis, though, is given to interviews with Raymond Cyr, of 293/295 Cyr Avenue. Raymond, one of eight children, aged 72 at the time, was given the home by his father and was then living there with two children and a granddaughter (as the house had been converted into units). In their discussions, Raymond recounts growing up on Cyr, running to Montreal Road to find friends lounging on the steps of the fire station on the southwest corner or playing in and around the stables behind the Eastview Hotel on the southeast corner. Alternatively, he could always find someone he knew at the Durocher general store (today’s Vanier Grill). In Raymond’s reflections, we see a strong relationship between the residential area and Montreal Road, the mainstreet.
With the Official Plan and Zoning By-law for this area currently being updated, the authors’ observations highlight the way a development pattern and a street’s offerings might support a village feeling, just as they supported the informal village relations of Raymond’s experiences. How might we make Montreal Road again responsive to the residents who make up this community?
In the end, the paper may have been less a call to preservation of a particular built heritage, and more the preservation of the village character. With that, we turn to the students for one last passage – and a few more ideas to keep in mind as we continue planning for the future:
“When streetscaping attempts are made to improve the aesthetics of the streetscape, this still does not address the question of why people would want to go there. A park bench on a sidewalk, while very pretty to look at, does not provide a destination point…. For an urban settlement to be successful, people have to feel like they are part of a community. Because Vanier is part of a larger metropolitan area, there is always a danger that regional development, e.g., big malls might dominate. This does not reflect the history of Vanier and creates an anonymous living experience. Some of this type of development has already taken over Montreal Road and has become something that divides and destroys the old village. The key question then is how to balance and preserve the atmosphere of a very busy village? One has to balance regional efficiency with the existing heritage character, and manage the pattern of movement along Montreal Road in a way that is sympathetic with the village character” (5).
(Mike Bulthuis)
Sources:
Grudniewicz, Dorota; Hossack, Andrea; Sloan, Trina; and Taillon, Jacques (1996). Janeville Heritage Study, Canadian Studies Program, Carleton University, Ottawa.
Vanier Heritage Committee (1996). Memo from President Thérèse Frère to the Mayor and Members of Council, August 14.
Image: Olmstead near Montreal Road; Image Credits: Google Street View, April 2012 (background); 123RF Stock Photo (foreground)
Images, clockwise from top left: the former Barrette Confectionery Grocery, Mitla’s draft floorplan, “Opening Soon,” the white pine boards of Marier (credits: Mitla/Ana Collins, 2012)
Walking into Mitla, the new Oaxacan take-away restaurant at the corner of Barrette and Loyer, you really need to look down, at the floors. The 100 year old white pine boards represent a community’s sweat equity. Ana Collins came across the boards in 2012, finding them in a house on Marier while it was being demolished, just as she was planning to open Mitla. As she explains, “I had this image in my head of hardwood floors, but you know how much they are… These were free. People helped pull nails, sandpaper, lay them down. This began with community.” The story is an apt snapshot for Mitla, representing the entrepreneurial and innovative approach that is bringing back life to this once busy corner confectionery. Collins had her eyes on the vacant storefront for some time, in her words “pestering” the owner for a few years before he rented her the space. Since opening in December, residents from across the city have been drawn to Mitla’s unique Oaxacan offerings. Moreover, passersby are popping in for take-away. Of course, this walk-by traffic (along with bike-by and drive-by traffic) was always in the plan. Before opening, Ana and her son would chalk the numbers of passersby between 4:00 and 6:00 pm, counting those on foot, on their bikes or in cars as they passed.
There’s little doubt the neighbourhood was keen to see this long vacant storefront assume new life, demonstrating a form of community ownership over the building’s new lease. After commenting positively on Collins’ exterior paint job of the building’s first level, an enthusiastic neighbour returned from the local paint store with enough of the same colour to do the building’s second level. Soon, another neighbour was on a ladder getting the job done.
While the neighbourhood may be here for Mitla, so too is Mitla here for the neighbourhood. “I want to be part of the neighbourhood: Vanier needs something a little bit funky” Collins told Laura Robin earlier this year. Local art hangs on the wall. Sidewalk tables may draw you in as spring beckons (and it will). And soon, inspired by her social activist roots and the cultural salons of European cafes – or more locally by the popular Science Cafés held at Wild Oat – Collins is planning to give one evening per week over to dialogue, with residents presenting on ideas of interest. Whether wanting to share your experience on the Camino de Santiago, screen your latest film project, knit in the company of others or promote the idea of windfarms, the stage may be for you (and those interested to listen over a beverage and bite to eat).
In these ways, Collins hopes Mitla becomes more than just a take-away restaurant or caterer. The “old way of thinking is to do just one thing,” she explains. “You need to provide all sorts of services to people, a little here, a little there.” This helps to explain why Collins, a self-identified avid cyclist, imagines giving over part of her space to a bike mechanic, even becoming a place to pick up an innertube, break pads or other missing bike part. Ideas like this mean the space “becomes much more holistic -- an organic space, rather than thus just a purely economic space.” Collins’ entrepreneurial, outside the box thinking stands as one example of the renewal of vacant space – an inspiring story when considering other unused or underused spaces in our hood.
Starting a business is no small feat. Collins is still having fun, joking that reality may still be sinking in – while acknowledging that “intellectually knowing something, and then emotionally and physically going through it, is something different.” All the more reason to celebrate. Plans are being finalized for Mitla’s Grand Opening Party this Saturday, February 2, from 12-4, complete with hors d’oeuvres of an Oaxacan flavour, party games, tricks and old-fashioned foolery – and of course, Mitla’s signature food.
With this photograph, we are launching a new series, in collaboration with Vanier’s Muséoparc, sharing one image each month from the museum’s extensive photo collection and archives. Special thanks to the museum’s researcher, Yanick Labossière, and museum’s curator, Janik Aubin-Robert, for making this possible.
50 years ago this month, in January 1963, local officials were proud to see their “Town of Eastview” formally incorporated as the “City of Eastview,” an acknowledgement of the community’s prominence. Six years later, the City would become known as Vanier, all the while retaining the same boundaries from the time the Village of Eastview was created in 1909, to the City`s amalgamation with Ottawa in 2001.
Image: Cité d’ – City of Eastview (1963): Standing, from left to right: Roger Crête (Councillor, and later Mayor), unknown, Hector Hotte (Councillor) and Oscar Perrier (Mayor of Eastview); Credit: Muséoparc Vanier (view full image here)
Before the e-bike became the familiar sight that it is today on Vanier’s streets (at least, during the appropriate season), one would find 20-year old Maurice Glaude on his Lambretta 150cc scooter, riding in style from his home on Enfield to another shift as a general duty clerk at the Vanier LCBO, located at 230 Montreal Road. The store that opened October 19, 1966, still stands at the same location today – arguably the envy of neighbouring hoods.
Glaude worked at the LCBO from May 1968 to August 1970. The building, he recalls, was similar then to what it looks like today – at least on the outside, perhaps minus the murals. A number of area landmarks were already there, too, with the store located across from the Bell Canada building, near the Caisse Populaire, and down the street from Assumption Church and its surrounding houses. Inside, however, the store operated differently. The front was an open space, with store products listed by categories on boards mounted on tables. Behind a U-shaped counter that ran the width of the store, bottles of liquor and wine (there was “no beer back then”) were stored on shelves, called bins.
Customers would fill out orders on a form, noting each product number, then sign the form and bring to a cashier behind the counter, where, as Glaude explains, “one of the most efficient clerks (that was me, in case you didn’t guess) would pick up the form and the accompanying sheets of paper and proceed to walk around the back of the store – the area where the bins were – picking up the items listed on the form and leaving the appropriate sheet of paper in the bin for inventory control.” Recording what went in and what went out was key; each day ended with clerks carrying out a reconciliation of every bin, “number of bottles in / number of bottles out.”
Today, perhaps large-format LCBOs hold some appeal, but one can’t replace the smaller, arguably classic LCBO storefront. In fact, the continuing appeal of the neighbourhood liquor store is evident in common hopes espoused by Beechwood area residents (just a few short blocks north), for an LCBO to open in a new development (perhaps an idea second in popularity only to a hardware store). For now, the Montreal Road store attracts clientele from area neighbourhoods – including New Edinburgh, Rockcliffe, Overbrook and others – enabling residents not only to purchase wine, but also perhaps fresh flowers from a sidewalk vendor, or even a pair of slippers from the Slipper Man, whose story was so warmly told recently by Maria Cook.
When Glaude worked at the store, however, the Vanier location was even more of a destination, serving as an “all brand store” – the only one in Ottawa – carrying all products found in the LCBO inventory and offering the services of two wine consultants. Glaude recalls even Mario Bernardi, the founding conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1968, coming to purchase his wine. With its licensee section, restaurants and bars would also purchase their wine and spirits.
Glaude has fond memories of his time as a clerk. He remembers the 1968 SAQ strike and the many Gatineau residents who “would flock in droves to buy De Kuyper gin - it would literally fly off the shelf - and French wine. One young man, a university student, would come in once a week and purchase a few hundred dollars worth of wine that he would load into his Volkswagen Beetle – he had taken out all the seats but the driver’s – and then head on out to the Laurentians to deliver to the many restaurants in that area.”
But he also remembers the camaraderie among the “great bunch of guys to work with” – a camaraderie that is evident in the story of Glaude’s departure. While having been back in Vanier since 2000, Glaude left in 1970 to assume a teaching position at École sécondaire Confederation in Welland, Ontario. Staff ordered him a bottle of 1964 Château Haut-Mazeris, a wine from Bordeau’s Cano-Fronsac region. “It was the last bottle of that vintage year.” It was so special, he held on to it. As Marguerite Beaulieu, Glaude’s wife explains, “Maurice still has that bottle. It was never opened. We talked about opening it when Martin was born, but, for whatever reason, did not. Now, it’s probably turned to vinegar, so it will stay corked.”
But it retains its place of pride, and sits as a sign of happy memories, in the liquor cabinet of Maurice and Marguerite.
The jukeboxes may have been removed from Fontenelle years ago, but this Saturday (February 16), 1960s French pop is back. From the well-known to the obscure, Vanier-born DJ Mimi la Twisteuse is bringing her vinyl collection of French yé yé to Après-Snow at Fontenelle, an evening component of Vanier’s Winter Carnival. Having hosted the always packed monthly Franco-dance party Zoï Zoï in the mid 2000s at The Boat in Toronto, and now the co-host of Montreal’s weekly radio show MondoPQ, dedicated to French pop, rock and soul of the 1960s and 70s, Mimi is excited to DJ in her hometown – and for the first time ever in the Ottawa / Outaouais region. Born in Vanier, and having grown up in Papineauville, Mimi grew up with music – crediting her father for having the latest sound system and gadgets, at home and in the car (attention dads out there!). Then, through the owner of Le Pick Up, the record store where she worked, Mimi discovered the likes of Jacques Dutronc and the vast repertoire of 60s French pop. By 1994, she made her radio debut with the CISM program "Dans le garage," and by 1999 made Volume 10 in the series of cult compilations, “Girls in the Garage.”
We asked Mimi to think back to one of her best nights as a DJ. She recalls living in Toronto in 2005, hosting Zoï Zoï at a club in Kensington Market with DJ Soju. The Francodelic nights were such a huge success that the Toronto Star deemed the parties in the “Top 20 Toronto cultural events.” Amazed at the interest others showed towards Quebec artists like Renée Claude, Michel Pagliaro or Les Sultans, Mimi reflects, “We had television crews come in, line ups at the door, a write up in the Toronto Star, celebrities attending, radio and TV interviews… Those are great memories for me.”
Her favourite records today? Mimi notes a soft spot for a couple, including the Baroque inspired pop songs of a 19-year old French girl, Clothilde, on a 1967 EP. In particular, she points to Fallait pas écraser la queue du chat – and to the near pop perfection produced by Germinal Tenas. She also points to a Brit rock influenced 1968 single, Helga Selzer by little known French artist Bernard Chabert. So taken by his work, she blogged about his music, only to receive a response from him – now working as a well-known reporter in France.
For what is “quite possibly one of my favourite songs ever,” Mimi suggests Patrick Coutin’s 1982 J’aime regarder les filles– pointing to the “outstanding guitar build-up and growing intensity that make this song a classic.” Best of all? “Someone finally posted it on YouTube!”
“I see myself as someone who’s here to say ‘listen to this!’ and to pay tribute to these artists.” And this weekend, the music is on at Fontenelle. With the diner – one of Vanier’s oldest, open in 1949 – open for breakfast and lunch, the doors will be open from 7-10 pm exclusively to host the evening cocktail party, with drinks and small bites on hand from local restaurants including SushiME, Todric’s, Mitla and Hearty Bakery. And, of course, Mimi promises a “lounge, laid-back set, with a good dose of French, American, British and international pop… I go with the flow, depending on the crowd’s reception. If people suddenly feel like dancing, I’ll be ready for them!”
Until about 10, that is. After all, it won’t be long before the early morning crowd arrives for Fontenelle breakfast, served from 4am, 7 days / week.
PS: Special thanks to Montreal artist, Mathieu Trudel, who first introduced readers to Mimi la Twisteuse through a comment on this post in December. Trudel himself produced a fun little promotional video for MondoPQ, Mimi’s current radio show co-hosted with Sébastien Desrosiers.
(Photo Credits: DJ Mimi la Twisteuse; Steepletone Record player: steepletonerecordplayer.com; Bernard Chabert by Landi/EMI)
After launching the Vanier Blocks in late November, you spoke. And within a week, the Vanier Blocks were gone. We’re excited to report that a second shipment has arrived from the makers at Fidoodle! Mark our word, though: this is your last chance.
We shared the story of the Blocks when they were first released, and we’re pleased to again sell each set in this second edition for $28, with $4 of the amount being directed to Partage Vanier, our neighbourhood food bank. And, as before, while online purchases (order information here) will be subject to shipping and handling charges, residents with a Vanier address can email us to arrange for an in-person purchase with free delivery. The Vanier advantage continues.
