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Photo of the Week
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Beechwood (Today)
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One doesn’t need to look too far back in time to see or hear stories of a more vibrant Beechwood. For many, this week’s demolition of buildings at numbers 84 and 86 has brought back memories of former restaurants, a café, art gallery and bookstore – spurring some to even suggest an on-site demolition party! Stories of nearby Chummy’s, chip wagons, Chinese food and the Linden Theatre (turned MEC) remind others of former days. While Beechwood may have been a line between north and south, adjacent communities each gave the street an active vibe. So, with today’s attention on a number of derelict or under-used properties, many ask: how might we return to a thriving Beechwood? How might we re-imagine these spaces?
This Friday’s Beechwood Solstice Stroll provides one opportunity to channel this energy. From 6:00 to 9:00 PM, and from the Rideau River to Acacia, join together with artists, musicians, merchants and residents from Vanier, New Edinburgh, Lindenlea, Rockliffe and Manor Park. While you’re there, post your own hand-written ideas on the locations where you’d wish for them to come alive. And again enjoy one of our mainstreets – full of people, performances and pride.
This Friday’s Beechwood Solstice Stroll provides one opportunity to channel this energy. From 6:00 to 9:00 PM, and from the Rideau River to Acacia, join together with artists, musicians, merchants and residents from Vanier, New Edinburgh, Lindenlea, Rockliffe and Manor Park. While you’re there, post your own hand-written ideas on the locations where you’d wish for them to come alive. And again enjoy one of our mainstreets – full of people, performances and pride.
Image: Beechwood Avenue, between Ste Cecile and Marier, as seen in 1988 (Source: Heritage Canada Foundation)
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What of St. Charles Church? | Que deviendra l’église Saint-Charles?
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| (Click on images to view full set of photos) |
Sunday services were last held at Beechwood Avenue’s St. Charles Church on September 26, 2010. Parishioners joined the parish of Marie-Médiatrice-de-toutes-les-Grâces, while discussions were put in place to construct a new building on the St. Charles site to accommodate both communities. Today, those plans appear to have fallen through. Recognizing the social history of the St. Charles community, the building’s previous use as a performance space and its presence as a visual landmark on Beechwood (noted in the Beechwood Community Design Plan), residents may have ideas for the site’s future. To further discuss these ideas, all are invited to a community-led co-design consultation, co-hosted by a number of community partners, on Wednesday June 26 and Thursday, June 27. For registration and information click here: carrestcharlessquare.com
Photo-essay by Mike Steinhauer. Click here to view the full set.
Les messes du dimanche à l’église Saint-Charles ont eu lieu pour la dernière fois le 26 septembre 2010. Les paroissiens se sont joints à la paroisse Marie-Médiatrice-de-toutes-les-Grâces, en attendant que l’on construise un nouvel édifice sur le site de leur ancienne église afin de desservir les deux communautés. Aujourd’hui il semble que ce projet a bel et bien été abandonné. Très conscients de l’histoire sociale de la paroisse Saint-Charles, des manifestations publiques dont l’église a été témoin, ainsi que de sa présence dominante sur l’avenue Beechwood (telle que signalée dans le Plan de conception communautaire de Beechwood), l'on s’attendrait à ce que les gens du quartier aient quelques idées sur ce que pourrait devenir cet emplacement. Pour en discuter plus avant, tous sont invités à participer à une consultation en mode co-création qu’organise la communauté avec des partenaires du milieu, les 26 et 27 juin. Pour vous inscrire, cliquez ici: carrestcharlessquare.com
Photo-reportage de Mike Steinhauer. Cliquez ici pour voir les autres photos de la collection.
Photo-reportage de Mike Steinhauer. Cliquez ici pour voir les autres photos de la collection.
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Photo(s) of the Week: Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health
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(Photos by Mike Steinhauer, 2013)
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St. Charles Church: An Argument for Heritage Designation
by Mike Steinhauer
The future of St. Charles Church has been the focus of much discussion since the church held its last mass in September, 2010. The property, situated on Beechwood Avenue at the corner of St. Charles Street, sits on prime real estate—a large lot located along a winding main street where four neighbourhoods converge: Vanier, New Edinburgh, Lindenlea and Rockcliffe Park.
Misconceptions surround the heritage value of the property and ideas of what can be done with the property differ immensely. In the end, it is important to note that the church property (including the front lawn, building, bell tower, steeple and the interior) is not designated. As such, there are few restrictions on what can be done with the building and property—either by the current owner, the Ottawa Archdiocese, or a prospective owner, if the property is sold. The building could be demolished.
To add to the confusion, it is commonly believed that St. Charles Church has no heritage value because of the renovations performed in the 1960s. Some even believe that the church was completely rebuilt and that those elements that have landmark or historical value cannot be protected under the Ontario Heritage Act (conversely, some think that the church is already designated and thus further protection is not needed).
Over the past few weeks, I have followed community discussions surrounding the development (or redevelopment) of the site, discussed the property with local historians and conducted my own independent research. I also had the opportunity to visit the church to photograph some of the architectural elements.
To my surprise I discovered a pristine space with elegant columns and many beautiful architectural details. Even the painted Stations of the Cross, the neutral walls and the shortened chancel (alterations that angered some parishioners following the 1960s renovations) fit well and respect the overall neo-classical style of the interior. The quality of natural light permitted by the large rounded windows is soft and warm.
PLATE I: Interior of St. Charles Church, 2013: (l) church nave with elegant columns, (m) transept where altar used to stand, and (r) side aisle with Stations of the Cross (click on image to enlarge)
The views from the steeple are outstanding, as are the playful details of the 1915 bell and the imposing roofline that follows the church’s cruciform plan. Back in the sanctuary, I recognized the style of the benches, which can be seen in historical photographs from the 1950s, and discovered a large painting by G. S. Dorval that was first hung in the church in 1908.
PLATE II: (l) The roofline of St. Charles Church as seen today from steeple (facing east with Beechwood Avenue to the left, Barrette Street to the right and Beechwood Cemetery in the far background); (r) Playful details atop 1915 bell (click on image to enlarge)
In addition to these architectural details, the church holds great significance to the French-Canadian community (detailed below). “This church is much more than a brick structure,” stated Yanick Labossière during a recent presentation on the history of the church, “it represents the memory of a people that has long had to fight for its survival.”
So, why again does this church not have heritage designation?
The large church building, constructed in what was a forest outside of Ottawa’s borders, now stands in the heart of a winding main street where neighbourhoods converge. While the parish has merged with another parish, leaving the pews sitting empty, the building and church property stand as a testament to past stories of strength, pride and resilience—stories that need to be commemorated. These same walls then also offer an opportunity for a new generation. A preserved building could (once again) become the meeting place and focal point of a community—a community that, just like the first generation of parishioners, now spans both sides of Beechwood Avenue.
Following the visit to St. Charles, I contacted the City of Ottawa to enquire about the designation process. I learned that no resident or group had ever applied for heritage designation.
Until now. Prior to finalizing this post, I submitted a formal application to the City’s Heritage Planning office. I have included an abridged version of the formal application—with photographic documentation—below. I fully acknowledge that this may only be part of the story and thus encourage others to add to it.
Under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, the City of Ottawa may recognize and protect an individual property if it satisfies one or more of three criteria: 1) Design or Physical Value, 2) Historical or Associative Value, and 3) Contextual Value.
1) Design or Physical Value
St. Charles Church, designed by leading Hull (Québec) architect Charles Brodeur, manifests a strong influence of early 20th century vernacular French-Canadian church architecture. Though similar in style to various rural churches along the Ontario/Quebec border, St. Charles Church is the only one that is today surrounded by an urban core. While the church went through a series of alterations starting in the late 1960s (Léo Paquette, p. 108-109), to accommodate accessibility improvements and liturgical changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council, many of its key design and physical elements remain intact.
Prominent features of the church include a symmetrical front façade, gable roof, projecting central tower flanked by shorter corner towers, round-arched windows and a cruciform plan. These, along with other character-defining elements should be respected. They include:
- the building’s original mass, form, scale, appearance and style;
- the building’s original fenestration pattern and style;
- the building’s original classical-inspired steeple and 1915 bell;
- the building’s roofline and type of cladding;
- the original barrel-vaulted ceiling with a quadripartite vault feature and decorative roundel;
- elements of the original foundation walls; and
- the original neo-classical architectural interior elements including the columns (Corinthian order), the scrolling console brackets and the horizontal lines of the moulding.
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So, why again does this church not have heritage designation?
The large church building, constructed in what was a forest outside of Ottawa’s borders, now stands in the heart of a winding main street where neighbourhoods converge. While the parish has merged with another parish, leaving the pews sitting empty, the building and church property stand as a testament to past stories of strength, pride and resilience—stories that need to be commemorated. These same walls then also offer an opportunity for a new generation. A preserved building could (once again) become the meeting place and focal point of a community—a community that, just like the first generation of parishioners, now spans both sides of Beechwood Avenue.
Following the visit to St. Charles, I contacted the City of Ottawa to enquire about the designation process. I learned that no resident or group had ever applied for heritage designation.
Until now. Prior to finalizing this post, I submitted a formal application to the City’s Heritage Planning office. I have included an abridged version of the formal application—with photographic documentation—below. I fully acknowledge that this may only be part of the story and thus encourage others to add to it.
Under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, the City of Ottawa may recognize and protect an individual property if it satisfies one or more of three criteria: 1) Design or Physical Value, 2) Historical or Associative Value, and 3) Contextual Value.
1) Design or Physical Value
St. Charles Church, designed by leading Hull (Québec) architect Charles Brodeur, manifests a strong influence of early 20th century vernacular French-Canadian church architecture. Though similar in style to various rural churches along the Ontario/Quebec border, St. Charles Church is the only one that is today surrounded by an urban core. While the church went through a series of alterations starting in the late 1960s (Léo Paquette, p. 108-109), to accommodate accessibility improvements and liturgical changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council, many of its key design and physical elements remain intact.
Prominent features of the church include a symmetrical front façade, gable roof, projecting central tower flanked by shorter corner towers, round-arched windows and a cruciform plan. These, along with other character-defining elements should be respected. They include:
- the building’s original mass, form, scale, appearance and style;
- the building’s original fenestration pattern and style;
- the building’s original classical-inspired steeple and 1915 bell;
- the building’s roofline and type of cladding;
- the original barrel-vaulted ceiling with a quadripartite vault feature and decorative roundel;
- elements of the original foundation walls; and
- the original neo-classical architectural interior elements including the columns (Corinthian order), the scrolling console brackets and the horizontal lines of the moulding.
PLATE III: (l) St. Charles Church following the completion of the brick exterior, the rectory and the parish hall (1913) and (r) seen today along St. Charles Street near the corner of Barrette Street (click on image to enlarge)
2) Historical or Associative Value
The heritage value of St. Charles Church lies in its association with the French-Canadian community of Ottawa and its direct association with those who settled east of the Rideau River (an area known then as Clarkstown) following the completion of St. Patrick Bridge. The village, later known as Eastview (then Vanier) developed quickly and by the mid-20th century was known as Ottawa’s “French-speaking bastion” (Benali and Parent).
St. Charles was closely associated with the establishment of the secret society of the Commandeurs de l’Ordre de Jacques-Cartier (Order of Jacques-Cartier). Working to counter the influence of Anglo-Protestant societies such as the Free Masons, the Order of Jacques-Cartier’s influence was felt in all aspects of life in French Canada until its dissolution, in Ottawa, in February 1965. At its peak in 1960, the order spread across 1140 communities with an estimated membership of 11,000 (Labossière, p. 4).
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2) Historical or Associative Value
The heritage value of St. Charles Church lies in its association with the French-Canadian community of Ottawa and its direct association with those who settled east of the Rideau River (an area known then as Clarkstown) following the completion of St. Patrick Bridge. The village, later known as Eastview (then Vanier) developed quickly and by the mid-20th century was known as Ottawa’s “French-speaking bastion” (Benali and Parent).
St. Charles was closely associated with the establishment of the secret society of the Commandeurs de l’Ordre de Jacques-Cartier (Order of Jacques-Cartier). Working to counter the influence of Anglo-Protestant societies such as the Free Masons, the Order of Jacques-Cartier’s influence was felt in all aspects of life in French Canada until its dissolution, in Ottawa, in February 1965. At its peak in 1960, the order spread across 1140 communities with an estimated membership of 11,000 (Labossière, p. 4).
PLATE IV: (l) Founding members of the Order of Jacques-Cartier (1952); (r) Excerpt from Esdras Terrien’s notes regarding the first secret meeting of the Order of Jacques-Cartier (click on image to enlarge)
Lastly, the heritage value of St. Charles Church also lies in its association with Thomas Coltrin Keefer. A prominent engineer, author and businessman, Keefer was founding president of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers (1887) and the first Canadian to become president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (1888). He administered the Thomas McKay estate and thus controlled land on both sides of Beechwood Avenue. In 1908, the year that Keefer “relinquished his role as sole trustee of the estate to his son, Charles Henry Keefer, and estate manager James D. Fraser,” (Edmond, p. 61) he donated a piece of land on which St. Charles Church was to be build.
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Lastly, the heritage value of St. Charles Church also lies in its association with Thomas Coltrin Keefer. A prominent engineer, author and businessman, Keefer was founding president of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers (1887) and the first Canadian to become president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (1888). He administered the Thomas McKay estate and thus controlled land on both sides of Beechwood Avenue. In 1908, the year that Keefer “relinquished his role as sole trustee of the estate to his son, Charles Henry Keefer, and estate manager James D. Fraser,” (Edmond, p. 61) he donated a piece of land on which St. Charles Church was to be build.
PLATE V: (l) Thomas Coltrin Keefer photographed in 1904; (r) The outlines of the MacKay Estate, encompassing the present-day communities of New Edinburgh, Lindenlea and portions of Rockcliffe Park, Vanier and Manor Park (click on image to enlarge)
3 (a) Contextual Value (Functional Link)
St. Charles Church has played (and continues to play) a feature role in establishing the overall character of Beechwood Avenue—a winding main street forming the northern border of Vanier and the southern edges of New Edinburgh, Lindenlea and Rockcliffe Park. St. Charles Church has been the cornerstone of the area since its completion in 1908. The area known as Clarkstown grew around the church and the parish served the Francophone community on both sides of Beechwood. In many ways, the square in front of St. Charles Church served as the de facto town square for the community—for parishioners and the broader community.
In addition to the regular baptisms, weddings and funerals, numerous events and celebrations were held. The first child was baptized at the church on December 6, 1908. The first wedding and first funeral was performed the following year (Léo Paquette, p. 11-12). The church held its final service on September 26, 2010.
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3 (a) Contextual Value (Functional Link)
St. Charles Church has played (and continues to play) a feature role in establishing the overall character of Beechwood Avenue—a winding main street forming the northern border of Vanier and the southern edges of New Edinburgh, Lindenlea and Rockcliffe Park. St. Charles Church has been the cornerstone of the area since its completion in 1908. The area known as Clarkstown grew around the church and the parish served the Francophone community on both sides of Beechwood. In many ways, the square in front of St. Charles Church served as the de facto town square for the community—for parishioners and the broader community.
In addition to the regular baptisms, weddings and funerals, numerous events and celebrations were held. The first child was baptized at the church on December 6, 1908. The first wedding and first funeral was performed the following year (Léo Paquette, p. 11-12). The church held its final service on September 26, 2010.
PLATE VI: (l) Parishioners photographed on church grounds in 1909; (r) Horse drawn hearse on Beechwood Avenue (1929) (click on image to enlarge)
Between the 1930s and the 1950s, St. Charles Church, under Father Barrette, established and hosted a number of community and social clubs including the St. Charles Scouts (est. in 1932), the St. Charles Cubs (est. in 1939), the St. Charles Library (est. in 1944) and the Eastview Zouaves (est. in 1955). Many of the church clubs, including the Rod & Gun Club, were active well into the 1980s.
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Between the 1930s and the 1950s, St. Charles Church, under Father Barrette, established and hosted a number of community and social clubs including the St. Charles Scouts (est. in 1932), the St. Charles Cubs (est. in 1939), the St. Charles Library (est. in 1944) and the Eastview Zouaves (est. in 1955). Many of the church clubs, including the Rod & Gun Club, were active well into the 1980s.
PLATE VII: (l) St. Charles Scouts, 1930s; (m) Members of the St. Charles tennis club (1940s); (r) The interior of St. Charles Church Library (1940s) (click on image to enlarge)
In more recent years, St. Charles Church (both church building and site) was the location of many activities that fall outside of the more traditional church-related (or church-organized) events. The Stairwell Carollers performed at the St. Charles Church for a number of years and held their 30th anniversary concert in December of 2007 (watch video here: http://bit.ly/StairwellCarollers). Music and Beyond, the National Art Centre orchestra and the Cantata Singers of Ottawa also used the church as a performance space. Two recent festivals held several of their activities on the grounds of St. Charles Church: C’EST CHILL (held in December 2012) and Beechwood Solstice Stroll (held in June 2013).
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In more recent years, St. Charles Church (both church building and site) was the location of many activities that fall outside of the more traditional church-related (or church-organized) events. The Stairwell Carollers performed at the St. Charles Church for a number of years and held their 30th anniversary concert in December of 2007 (watch video here: http://bit.ly/StairwellCarollers). Music and Beyond, the National Art Centre orchestra and the Cantata Singers of Ottawa also used the church as a performance space. Two recent festivals held several of their activities on the grounds of St. Charles Church: C’EST CHILL (held in December 2012) and Beechwood Solstice Stroll (held in June 2013).
PLATE VIII: (l) The Stairwell Carollers performing their 30th anniversary concert at St. Charles Church in December, 2007; (m) C’EST CHILL festival held on grounds of St. Charles Church in December, 2012; (l) the Beechwood Solstice Stroll (June 2013) (click on image to enlarge)
3 (b) Contextual Value (Visual Link)
The visual link between St. Charles Church and the communities of Vanier, New Edinburgh, Lindenlea and Rockcliffe Park in undeniable. The photographs presented confirm the visual presence the church building holds within these communities.
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3 (b) Contextual Value (Visual Link)
The visual link between St. Charles Church and the communities of Vanier, New Edinburgh, Lindenlea and Rockcliffe Park in undeniable. The photographs presented confirm the visual presence the church building holds within these communities.
PLATE IX: St. Charles Church seen from (top l) the corner of Barrette Street and St. Charles Street (Vanier); (top m) Barrette Street, between Loyer and St. Charles Street (Vanier); (top r) Beechwood Avenue near Acacia Avenue, facing west (between Vanier and Rockcliffe Park); (bottom l) the corner of Langevin and Beechwood Avenue (Lindenlea); (bottom m) the Champlain Tower (Lindenlea); and (bottom r) Beechwood Avenue at the corner of Springfield Road, facing east (corner of New Edinburgh, Lindenlea and Vanier) (click on image to enlarge)
The viewscapes presented below, taken from Michel Circle in Vanier and the Beechwood Cemetery, depict the elegant steeple of St. Charles Church as an important element alongside many of Ottawa’s significant landmarks.
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The viewscapes presented below, taken from Michel Circle in Vanier and the Beechwood Cemetery, depict the elegant steeple of St. Charles Church as an important element alongside many of Ottawa’s significant landmarks.
PLATE X: Views of St. Charles Church and other landmarks from (l) Michel Circle (Vanier) and (r) Beechwood Cemetery: (1) Mackenzie Tower, (2) Peace Tower, (3) Library of Parliament, (4) Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame, (5) National Gallery of Canada and (6) St. Charles Church (click on image to enlarge)
3 (c) Contextual Value (Historical Link)
A cornerstone of the area’s Francophone heritage and a dominant building on Beechwood Avenue, St-Charles Church is a living symbol of the Francophone presence in Vanier.
By the 1920’s, Eastview (later Vanier) developed the characteristics typical of a French-Canadian neighbourhood, “namely, the dominance of religion and the division of the urban area into parishes, with churches serving as centres of the French-speaking community’s social life” (Benali and Parent). St. Charles Church, along with Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, laid at the heart of one of these areas.
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3 (c) Contextual Value (Historical Link)
A cornerstone of the area’s Francophone heritage and a dominant building on Beechwood Avenue, St-Charles Church is a living symbol of the Francophone presence in Vanier.
By the 1920’s, Eastview (later Vanier) developed the characteristics typical of a French-Canadian neighbourhood, “namely, the dominance of religion and the division of the urban area into parishes, with churches serving as centres of the French-speaking community’s social life” (Benali and Parent). St. Charles Church, along with Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, laid at the heart of one of these areas.
PLATE XI: (l) Future site of St. Charles Church (1887); (m) Aerial photograph of Beechwood Avenue (1940); (r) Satellite images of Beechwood Avenue (2008) (click on image to enlarge)
By 1950, St. Charles Church was overflowing. “Reports point to a congregation of nearly 5000, with up to 10 masses on Sundays” (Bulthuis). The explosion of families and a broader housing boom led to the establishment of a new parish; Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Esprit, with its modern church building, opened on Carillon Street in 1958 (Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Esprit closed in 1995 and is now home to the Vanier Community Church).
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By 1950, St. Charles Church was overflowing. “Reports point to a congregation of nearly 5000, with up to 10 masses on Sundays” (Bulthuis). The explosion of families and a broader housing boom led to the establishment of a new parish; Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Esprit, with its modern church building, opened on Carillon Street in 1958 (Notre-Dame-du-Saint-Esprit closed in 1995 and is now home to the Vanier Community Church).
PLATE XII: (l) Ruins of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes church following fire of 1973; (m) Demolition of White Fathers Scholasticate in 1977; (r) Final service at St. Charles Church (September 26, 2010) (click on image to enlarge)
Reflecting Vanier’s broader demographic shifts, by 1960, the number of baptisms at St. Charles Church declined while the number of funerals rose. Families started to leave Vanier for newer and more comfortable homes in the suburbs and broader societal changes started to have significant impacts on church life including St. Charles Church.
St. Charles Church has been referred to as a “véritable phare de la francophonie” (Benali and Parent). Along with the original Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes church building (destroyed by fire in 1973), the prestigious boarding school and novitiate of the Filles de la Sagesse (located just east of the former Vanier border, on Montreal Road, from 1893 to 1970) and the imposing scholasticate of the Société des missionnaires d’Afrique (demolished in 1977), St. Charles is one of Vanier’s most significant remaining landmarks related to religious life.
Concluding Note
With regards to the designation application, a property must meet “one or more criteria” of the three identified at the outset above. St. Charles Church satisfies the first criteria (design or physical value) and strongly fulfills the last two (historical or associative value, and contextual value).
Fingers crossed.
Sources
Benali, Kenza and Jean-François Parent. “Vanier : bastion francophone en Ontario.” Encyclopédie du patrimoine culturel de l'Amérique française, 2007. Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/fr/article-601/Vanier_:_bastion_francophone_en_Ontario.html.
Bourassa, Andrée, Lorraine L. Monette and Denis P. Régimbald. La petite histoire de Vanier. Vanier: O.V.U.L, 1975.
Bulthuis, Mike. “In the beginning, there was not enough space...” VanierNow, December 16, 2012. Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://vaniernow.blogspot.ca/2012/12/in-beginning-there-was-not-enough-space.html.
“Des sociétés : l’une secrète, les autre pas.” La collection des fonds d'archives du CRCCF : l'aventure du Canada français. Centre de recherche en civilisation canadienne-française, Université d'Ottawa , 2008. Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://www.crccf.uottawa.ca/exposition_virtuelle/collection_fonds_archives/.
Edmond, Martha. Rockcliffe Park, A History of the Village. Ottawa, The Friends of the Village of Rockcliffe Park Foundation, 2005.
“Gloucester Place Names Project.” Gloucester Historical Society, February 23, 2011, Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://www.gloucesterhistory.com/placenames.html.
Hill, Robert G. “Brodeur, Charles.” Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950. 2009-2013. Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/architects/view/1205.
Labossière, Yanick. “L’histoire de St-Charles.” Unpublished. Ottawa, n.d.
Labossière, Yanick. “L’église St-Charles, Symbole de notre patrimoine / St-Charles Church, A cornerstone of our heritage.” Presentation. Ottawa, June, 26, 2013.
Laporte, Luc. Vanier. Ottawa: Centre franco-ontarien de resources pédagogiques, 1983.
Le vitrail à l’église St-Charles. Pamphlet. Ottawa, Diocèse d’Ottawa, [1993].
Nelles, H. V. “Keefer, Thomas Coltrin.” Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Accessed July 17, 2013, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/keefer_thomas_coltrin_14E.html.
Paquette, Léo. Paroisse Saint-Charles, 1908-1988. Vanier: Paroisse St-Charles, 1988.
Philippe, Céline. “Le devoir en heritage.” La Relève. Vol.1, n⁰2, Novembre 2008 – Janvier 2009, p. 20 to 21.
Plan de conception communautaire Beechwood Community Design Plan. Publication: 3-16. Ottawa, City of Ottawa, 2006.
Serré, Robert. Clarkstown (Eastview/Vanier), Pioneer Families/Familles pionnières. Ottawa: Gloucester Historical Society, 2012.
Trepanier, James. “From Church Basement to National Movement: the Ordre de Jacques Cartier and Vanier’s Saint-Charles Church.” VanierNow, March 26, 2012. Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://vaniernow.blogspot.ca/2012/03/guest-post-from-church-basement-to.html.
“Saint-Charles Church.” Circuit Vanier. Muséoparc Vanier Museopark (n.d). Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://www.museoparc.ca/circuitvanier/circuit-vanier-2/beechwood-avenue/saint-charles-church/.
Shea, Philip. History of Eastview (Ottawa). Unpublished. Compiled at Carleton 1965, under the direction of Historian, N.C.C. September 10, 1964.
Image Sources
PLATE I: (author), 2013
PLATE II: (author), 2013
PLATE III: (l) Léo Paquette (Mme Thérèse Marleau), p. 151; (r) (author), 2013
PLATE IV: (l) Champlain Marcil. University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Ordre de Jacques Cartier (C3), Ph3-3-12B (r) University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Ordre de Jacques Cartier (C3), C3-1-2p1.
PLATE V: (l) Martha Edmond (John Cape), p. 64.; (r) Park and Villa Lots on the MacKay Estate at Ottawa. Drawn by Thomas Coltrin Keefer. Library and Archives Canada, NMC-43167
PLATE VI: (l) Muséoparc Vanier Museopark; (r) Léo Paquette (Éva Major-Amyot), p. 157
PLATE VII: (l) Léo Paquette (Chanoine Alfred Boyer), p. 157; (m) Léo Paquette (Keith Thebarge), p. 160; (r) Léo Paquette (City of Ottawa Archives), p. 166
PLATE VIII: (l) stairwellcarollers.blogspot.ca; (m) (author), 2012; (l) Beechwood Village Alliance / Maggie Knaus, 2013
PLATE IX: (author), 2013
PLATE X: (author), 2013
PLATE XI: (l) Source: Library and Archives Canada, National Map Collection, NMC-11413-2; (m) City of Ottawa, Planning and Growth Management Department; (r) Google Earth, © 2013 DigitalGlobe
PLATE XII: Cent ans… avec toi! 1887 – 1987. Vanier: Paroisse Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, 1987. P. 15; (m) Muséoparc Vanier Museopark; MVM.2010.P.0100.0007; (r) Kristina Brazeau/L’Express
Reflecting Vanier’s broader demographic shifts, by 1960, the number of baptisms at St. Charles Church declined while the number of funerals rose. Families started to leave Vanier for newer and more comfortable homes in the suburbs and broader societal changes started to have significant impacts on church life including St. Charles Church.
St. Charles Church has been referred to as a “véritable phare de la francophonie” (Benali and Parent). Along with the original Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes church building (destroyed by fire in 1973), the prestigious boarding school and novitiate of the Filles de la Sagesse (located just east of the former Vanier border, on Montreal Road, from 1893 to 1970) and the imposing scholasticate of the Société des missionnaires d’Afrique (demolished in 1977), St. Charles is one of Vanier’s most significant remaining landmarks related to religious life.
Concluding Note
With regards to the designation application, a property must meet “one or more criteria” of the three identified at the outset above. St. Charles Church satisfies the first criteria (design or physical value) and strongly fulfills the last two (historical or associative value, and contextual value).
Fingers crossed.
Sources
Benali, Kenza and Jean-François Parent. “Vanier : bastion francophone en Ontario.” Encyclopédie du patrimoine culturel de l'Amérique française, 2007. Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/fr/article-601/Vanier_:_bastion_francophone_en_Ontario.html.
Bourassa, Andrée, Lorraine L. Monette and Denis P. Régimbald. La petite histoire de Vanier. Vanier: O.V.U.L, 1975.
Bulthuis, Mike. “In the beginning, there was not enough space...” VanierNow, December 16, 2012. Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://vaniernow.blogspot.ca/2012/12/in-beginning-there-was-not-enough-space.html.
“Des sociétés : l’une secrète, les autre pas.” La collection des fonds d'archives du CRCCF : l'aventure du Canada français. Centre de recherche en civilisation canadienne-française, Université d'Ottawa , 2008. Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://www.crccf.uottawa.ca/exposition_virtuelle/collection_fonds_archives/.
Edmond, Martha. Rockcliffe Park, A History of the Village. Ottawa, The Friends of the Village of Rockcliffe Park Foundation, 2005.
“Gloucester Place Names Project.” Gloucester Historical Society, February 23, 2011, Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://www.gloucesterhistory.com/placenames.html.
Hill, Robert G. “Brodeur, Charles.” Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950. 2009-2013. Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/architects/view/1205.
Labossière, Yanick. “L’histoire de St-Charles.” Unpublished. Ottawa, n.d.
Labossière, Yanick. “L’église St-Charles, Symbole de notre patrimoine / St-Charles Church, A cornerstone of our heritage.” Presentation. Ottawa, June, 26, 2013.
Laporte, Luc. Vanier. Ottawa: Centre franco-ontarien de resources pédagogiques, 1983.
Le vitrail à l’église St-Charles. Pamphlet. Ottawa, Diocèse d’Ottawa, [1993].
Nelles, H. V. “Keefer, Thomas Coltrin.” Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Accessed July 17, 2013, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/keefer_thomas_coltrin_14E.html.
Paquette, Léo. Paroisse Saint-Charles, 1908-1988. Vanier: Paroisse St-Charles, 1988.
Philippe, Céline. “Le devoir en heritage.” La Relève. Vol.1, n⁰2, Novembre 2008 – Janvier 2009, p. 20 to 21.
Plan de conception communautaire Beechwood Community Design Plan. Publication: 3-16. Ottawa, City of Ottawa, 2006.
Serré, Robert. Clarkstown (Eastview/Vanier), Pioneer Families/Familles pionnières. Ottawa: Gloucester Historical Society, 2012.
Trepanier, James. “From Church Basement to National Movement: the Ordre de Jacques Cartier and Vanier’s Saint-Charles Church.” VanierNow, March 26, 2012. Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://vaniernow.blogspot.ca/2012/03/guest-post-from-church-basement-to.html.
“Saint-Charles Church.” Circuit Vanier. Muséoparc Vanier Museopark (n.d). Accessed, June 29, 2013, http://www.museoparc.ca/circuitvanier/circuit-vanier-2/beechwood-avenue/saint-charles-church/.
Shea, Philip. History of Eastview (Ottawa). Unpublished. Compiled at Carleton 1965, under the direction of Historian, N.C.C. September 10, 1964.
Image Sources
PLATE I: (author), 2013
PLATE II: (author), 2013
PLATE III: (l) Léo Paquette (Mme Thérèse Marleau), p. 151; (r) (author), 2013
PLATE IV: (l) Champlain Marcil. University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Ordre de Jacques Cartier (C3), Ph3-3-12B (r) University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Ordre de Jacques Cartier (C3), C3-1-2p1.
PLATE V: (l) Martha Edmond (John Cape), p. 64.; (r) Park and Villa Lots on the MacKay Estate at Ottawa. Drawn by Thomas Coltrin Keefer. Library and Archives Canada, NMC-43167
PLATE VI: (l) Muséoparc Vanier Museopark; (r) Léo Paquette (Éva Major-Amyot), p. 157
PLATE VII: (l) Léo Paquette (Chanoine Alfred Boyer), p. 157; (m) Léo Paquette (Keith Thebarge), p. 160; (r) Léo Paquette (City of Ottawa Archives), p. 166
PLATE VIII: (l) stairwellcarollers.blogspot.ca; (m) (author), 2012; (l) Beechwood Village Alliance / Maggie Knaus, 2013
PLATE IX: (author), 2013
PLATE X: (author), 2013
PLATE XI: (l) Source: Library and Archives Canada, National Map Collection, NMC-11413-2; (m) City of Ottawa, Planning and Growth Management Department; (r) Google Earth, © 2013 DigitalGlobe
PLATE XII: Cent ans… avec toi! 1887 – 1987. Vanier: Paroisse Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, 1987. P. 15; (m) Muséoparc Vanier Museopark; MVM.2010.P.0100.0007; (r) Kristina Brazeau/L’Express
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New life for old schools: an Innovation Complex in Vanier?
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Innovatica, a Canadian Centre for Innovation (Credit: prototypeD Urban Workshops, 2013) |
by Mike Bulthuis
“There is one neighbourhood that we feel, above all, has the right mix of elements to foster an initiative as bold as the Innovation Complex. Vanier” (prototypeD, 2013: 13). Imagine design studios, a fabrication lab, exhibition space and community meeting spaces in a mixed-use building that includes rental and condominium units. Now, imagine this facility in a repurposed elementary school on Lajoie Street, here in Vanier. With an architectural vision in-hand, prototypeD Urban Workshops hopes to make this vision a reality, repurposing the former Jean Vanier Catholic (JVC) Intermediate School at 320 Lajoie.
But first, a little background on the building’s history…
Jean Vanier Catholic was closed in 2009. The building still stands today as an illustration of the social and demographic changes Vanier has seen in recent decades. Constructed in 1948-49, the school opened as École Ducharme, a French-language Catholic elementary school (after its initial location on Montreal Road burned down in 1948). Next to École Ducharme, at 330 Lajoie, Assumption School was built at the same time -- another Catholic elementary school, this one English. By the 1970s, after a number of additions, École Ducharme closed, with students directed to École Glaude, on Lévis, and Assumption School moving into 320 Lajoie. In later years, Assumption would move again, into its current premises on Lévis, filling the space left behind by École Glaude.
With Assumption having left 320 Lajoie, Jean Vanier Catholic (JVC) Intermediate School, an English-language school serving grades 7 and 8, held its official opening ceremony in the building on October 27, 1989. The school was named after Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche International, and the son of the City of Vanier’s namesake, former Governor General of Canada, Georges Vanier.
However, after a 2008-9 School Accommodation Review, the Ottawa Catholic School Board recommended that JVC close. Citing the strengthened viability of curriculum, the benefits of larger enrolments and better facilities and additional resources elsewhere, it was recommended that students be provided transition supports to attend Immaculata or Lester B. Pearson. In February 2009, the Board of Trustees concurred, voting 7-3 to close JVC in June.
Back to the proposal for the building’s future…
However, just as schools can be incubators for new ideas, prototypeD has prepared a first draft architectural vision, with corresponding narrative document, to launch a discussion on repurposing the building into Innovatica – a Canadian Centre for Innovation. Hints of the original building, such as the ground-level “existing mid-century brick façade with large and rhythmic window openings” (2013: 31) are maintained, while a modern envelope would emerge. The building would create a new focal point for the community, and alongside the Wabano Centre and proposed AEFO headquarters, create a suite of modern architecture.
The proposed complex would draw together “doers, makers, artists and entrepreneurs,” creating a facility (arguably) consisting of the elements necessary for innovation to co-exist, including design studios, meeting rooms, offices, incubation supports, public exhibition spaces and a gym-turned-fabrication-lab (accessed by sliding garage style doors).
Why Vanier, and more specifically the JVC building? The proponent cites the building’s proximity to downtown and local amenities, the area’s affordability and investment potential, its accessibility by automobile and alternative transportation, and the revitalization occurring on Montreal Road – all positive attributes for the potential complex and for any spin-offs that it may help to create. On-site staff would assist in facilitating connections and offering programs, while possible rooftop gardens and rental or condominium units would enhance the mixed-use character.
While serving as a “conceptual framework for an innovation complex, which could be discussed independently from any specific initiative that is currently underway in any one city or even country” (2013: 8), it is noteworthy that the proposal comes only months after a January provincial funding announcement of $15 million for an Ottawa innovation complex. Tentatively planned for the Bayview Yards neighbourhood, with the City making land available through the Bayview Station District Community Design Plan, the location for the City’s complex – and future home of Invest Ottawa - is not yet confirmed. An Innovation Complex Advisory Committee will be reviewing proposals in the coming months.
Best use?
Since 2009, the JVC building at 320 Lajoie has seen a variety of uses. St. Joseph’s Adult School (a Continuing Education facility of the Ottawa Catholic Board) briefly used the gym for bricklaying courses. The Board currently rents space to the Ottawa Police and other organizations for training-related exercises. During the 2000s, the school had also been used on weekends and weeknights for community purposes including basketball, volleyball, Boy Scouts, Kiwanis Club, and by groups including the local Parish, the Knights of Columbus and the Kiwanis Club. As a surplus school site, the Board today has no stated plans to sell the property and rather is willing to continue to rent to interested groups that would respect the institutional zoning and offer a “good fit” with the community.
Whether or not the Innovatica project is viable under the City’s and Province’s funding for an Innovation Complex, prototypeD argues that Vanier has the right mix to foster such a development. While renting out the JVC building for a variety of uses may fill the space, prototypeD’s proposal would see the building become a central element in Ottawa’s own redefinition of itself as an innovative and creative city. It’s a bold idea.
Sources:
Bourassa, Andrée; Lorraine L. Monette and Denis P. Régimbald (1975) La petite histoire de Vanier (Vanier: Association des citoyens de Vanier)
Laporte, Luc (1983) Vanier (Ottawa: Centre franco-ontarien de resources pédagogiques)
Perspectives Vanier (2009) “Jean Vanier Catholic Intermediate School Will Close” Vol 6 No. 3, February 2009, p 1, 3
prototypeD Urban Workshops (2013) “innovatica: Canadian Centre for Innovation / Centre canadien pour l’innovation” Prepared for the Innovation Complex Advisory Committee, Ottawa, Canada.
“There is one neighbourhood that we feel, above all, has the right mix of elements to foster an initiative as bold as the Innovation Complex. Vanier” (prototypeD, 2013: 13). Imagine design studios, a fabrication lab, exhibition space and community meeting spaces in a mixed-use building that includes rental and condominium units. Now, imagine this facility in a repurposed elementary school on Lajoie Street, here in Vanier. With an architectural vision in-hand, prototypeD Urban Workshops hopes to make this vision a reality, repurposing the former Jean Vanier Catholic (JVC) Intermediate School at 320 Lajoie.
But first, a little background on the building’s history…
Jean Vanier Catholic was closed in 2009. The building still stands today as an illustration of the social and demographic changes Vanier has seen in recent decades. Constructed in 1948-49, the school opened as École Ducharme, a French-language Catholic elementary school (after its initial location on Montreal Road burned down in 1948). Next to École Ducharme, at 330 Lajoie, Assumption School was built at the same time -- another Catholic elementary school, this one English. By the 1970s, after a number of additions, École Ducharme closed, with students directed to École Glaude, on Lévis, and Assumption School moving into 320 Lajoie. In later years, Assumption would move again, into its current premises on Lévis, filling the space left behind by École Glaude.
With Assumption having left 320 Lajoie, Jean Vanier Catholic (JVC) Intermediate School, an English-language school serving grades 7 and 8, held its official opening ceremony in the building on October 27, 1989. The school was named after Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche International, and the son of the City of Vanier’s namesake, former Governor General of Canada, Georges Vanier.
However, after a 2008-9 School Accommodation Review, the Ottawa Catholic School Board recommended that JVC close. Citing the strengthened viability of curriculum, the benefits of larger enrolments and better facilities and additional resources elsewhere, it was recommended that students be provided transition supports to attend Immaculata or Lester B. Pearson. In February 2009, the Board of Trustees concurred, voting 7-3 to close JVC in June.
Back to the proposal for the building’s future…
However, just as schools can be incubators for new ideas, prototypeD has prepared a first draft architectural vision, with corresponding narrative document, to launch a discussion on repurposing the building into Innovatica – a Canadian Centre for Innovation. Hints of the original building, such as the ground-level “existing mid-century brick façade with large and rhythmic window openings” (2013: 31) are maintained, while a modern envelope would emerge. The building would create a new focal point for the community, and alongside the Wabano Centre and proposed AEFO headquarters, create a suite of modern architecture.
The proposed complex would draw together “doers, makers, artists and entrepreneurs,” creating a facility (arguably) consisting of the elements necessary for innovation to co-exist, including design studios, meeting rooms, offices, incubation supports, public exhibition spaces and a gym-turned-fabrication-lab (accessed by sliding garage style doors).
Why Vanier, and more specifically the JVC building? The proponent cites the building’s proximity to downtown and local amenities, the area’s affordability and investment potential, its accessibility by automobile and alternative transportation, and the revitalization occurring on Montreal Road – all positive attributes for the potential complex and for any spin-offs that it may help to create. On-site staff would assist in facilitating connections and offering programs, while possible rooftop gardens and rental or condominium units would enhance the mixed-use character.
While serving as a “conceptual framework for an innovation complex, which could be discussed independently from any specific initiative that is currently underway in any one city or even country” (2013: 8), it is noteworthy that the proposal comes only months after a January provincial funding announcement of $15 million for an Ottawa innovation complex. Tentatively planned for the Bayview Yards neighbourhood, with the City making land available through the Bayview Station District Community Design Plan, the location for the City’s complex – and future home of Invest Ottawa - is not yet confirmed. An Innovation Complex Advisory Committee will be reviewing proposals in the coming months.
Best use?
Since 2009, the JVC building at 320 Lajoie has seen a variety of uses. St. Joseph’s Adult School (a Continuing Education facility of the Ottawa Catholic Board) briefly used the gym for bricklaying courses. The Board currently rents space to the Ottawa Police and other organizations for training-related exercises. During the 2000s, the school had also been used on weekends and weeknights for community purposes including basketball, volleyball, Boy Scouts, Kiwanis Club, and by groups including the local Parish, the Knights of Columbus and the Kiwanis Club. As a surplus school site, the Board today has no stated plans to sell the property and rather is willing to continue to rent to interested groups that would respect the institutional zoning and offer a “good fit” with the community.
Whether or not the Innovatica project is viable under the City’s and Province’s funding for an Innovation Complex, prototypeD argues that Vanier has the right mix to foster such a development. While renting out the JVC building for a variety of uses may fill the space, prototypeD’s proposal would see the building become a central element in Ottawa’s own redefinition of itself as an innovative and creative city. It’s a bold idea.
Sources:
Bourassa, Andrée; Lorraine L. Monette and Denis P. Régimbald (1975) La petite histoire de Vanier (Vanier: Association des citoyens de Vanier)
Laporte, Luc (1983) Vanier (Ottawa: Centre franco-ontarien de resources pédagogiques)
Perspectives Vanier (2009) “Jean Vanier Catholic Intermediate School Will Close” Vol 6 No. 3, February 2009, p 1, 3
prototypeD Urban Workshops (2013) “innovatica: Canadian Centre for Innovation / Centre canadien pour l’innovation” Prepared for the Innovation Complex Advisory Committee, Ottawa, Canada.
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Planning (and building) Vanier's mainstreets: the revised Official Plan
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| Credit: Google Earth / VanierNow (2013) (click to enlarge) |
It’s not uncommon to hear from those who live and work in Vanier about aspirations for Montreal Road. So, will a new policy guiding development on Montreal Road, McArthur and area streets – to be presented to the City’s Planning Committee on September 24– help or hinder these visions?
Since January, the City has been reviewing the Official Plan and Zoning By-law, documents that guide development in an area formerly known as “downtown Vanier” (click here for a map of the study area). The changes will impact how this neighbourhood evolves – with implications on how we get around, what our mainstreets will look like, where we gather, and yes, the size (and height – all 28 storeys) of our buildings. Curious? Read on.
Vanier’s Traditional Mainstreets (with a nod to Palace)
With Montreal Road currently “designated” a Traditional Mainstreet, the update aims to encourage development to help the street “be” a traditional mainstreet. The revised plan calls for mixed-use development, with most sites on Montreal Road not to exceed 20m (or six storeys). Currently, there are huge variations in the zoning; today, the owner of the Shell gas station property (#6 on the map above) would be allowed to build up to 42m (approximately 12-13 storeys), despite the property being next to low-rise housing on Mark Avenue and areas north. The Shell site’s zoning would change to 20m with the revised plan.
There are, of course, exceptions. On larger sites, including the EconoLodge (#1) or Concorde Motel properties, heights of up to 30m (about 9 storeys) would be permitted. “Gateway” sites at either end of Montreal Road are handled separately – and are a separate discussion, below.
Rezoning would also occur on and around Palace Street (south of Montreal Road); properties on the street today are zoned as General Use or Mainstreet, even allowing buildings 42m high and restricting residential components to 30 percent or less. It is worth recalling that development patterns in this area date back as far as 1875, with Palace Street even considered in the mid 1990s as a candidate heritage district. Today’s revised plan proposes that these properties be zoned residential, and lower-density, to retain some of this streetscape character.
In thinking of traditional mainstreets, we increasingly recognize the need to prioritize pedestrians’ and cyclists’ safety and comfort. The revised plan calls for improved cycling facilities on Montreal Road, McArthur Avenue and the Vanier Parkway, along with 5.0m wide sidewalks, improved bus shelters, retention of street trees, additional benches and planters, and public art reflecting the history of the District. At major intersections, pedestrian and cyclist safety is to be prioritized with reduced crossing distances. New automobile service stations or surface parking lots would also be prohibited on Montreal Road – seen as out of place on a traditional mainstreet, and as interferences with the pedestrian environment (think of cars crossing in and out).
These are all good things.
Referring to these improvements, the proposed policy for Vanier also states that some “may only happen when properties themselves are (re)developed, Section 37 benefits are applied, or when City undertakes major capital projects.” Across Ottawa, improved pedestrian and cycling facilities frequently take shape after road reconstruction (or other capital projects), when sewers and underground infrastructure are rebuilt. Think of the sidewalks on Wellington West, Bank, Somerset or Rideau. With reports that sewers below Montreal Road are viable for the new few decades, where might we see the resources for these changes in Vanier? Will improvements be dependent on property redevelopment, or the application of Section 37 (community) benefits? This brings us back to the gateway sites.
Gateway sites
The revised policy defines gateways– here referring to the Eastview Shopping Centre site (#3) and the Belisle site (at the corner of St Laurent and Montreal Road) -- as "unique sites ... able to accommodate significant mixed-use and residential intensification. Development or redevelopment of gateway sites will be distinctively different from any other development within the Sector.” It’s hard to disagree; the Eastview site sits on the Rideau River and is a visible entry point to the community as one travels east along the Cummings Bridge.
On both of these gateway sites, the policy calls for accessible open spaces, the incorporation of public art and better ties to the street. Buildings will need to face the street, with windows and doors giving direct access to Montreal and North River Roads at Eastview (no more blank facades or loading docks, as per the Beer Store), and to Montreal Road and St. Laurent at the Belisle site. With both sites on major intersections, the sites’ developers would also be asked to support intersection improvements, focusing on pedestrian and cycling safety.
Notably, these gateway sites are also where additional height is envisioned. On the Eastview site, In addition to improved pedestrian and cycling connections to Riverain Park (#5) and the multi-use pathway, the revised policy envisions buildings up to 28 storeys (the tallest of the nearby Place Vanier towers, #4 on the map, tops out at 17 storeys). At the Belisle site, another gateway to Vanier, the Policy specifically calls for accepted heights of up to 20 storeys, with buildings stepped down towards adjacent residential and institutional uses (think of the Soeurs Filles De La Sagesse, or Notre-Dame cemetery across the street).
While the sites would not be specifically zoned for these heights, permission would need to be granted through the development application / approvals process, at which point the community could presumably negotiate Section 37 benefits arising from the zoning amendments. With the revised Official Plan clearly envisioning development of up to 28 or 20 storeys, it is difficult to imagine a developer not being granted permission to go that high.
...in closing
The revised plan reflects a number of positive directions in which to take Vanier, and there is no doubt that city (and neighbourhood) building is the work of many sectors. The tools for realizing the plan’s objectives, however, introduce a number of important questions. Would buildings of these heights be necessary to fund area streetscaping and pedestrian / cycling safety enhancements? Are intersection improvements really dependent on developers’ contributions? What of stated improvements at the intersection at Montreal Road and the Vanier Parkway, where no major redevelopment is currently expected? And, would the community be comfortable with the proposed building heights?
Mike Bulthuis
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VanierNow: The Next Chapter
For many of us, whether in school or not, the month of September marks a return to particular rhythms and routines. And at VanierNow, we’re ready for a new season of stories and snapshots from the neighbourhood we call home. But this year, we’re not alone. We’re proud to present an expanded editorial collective, in a change we like to think of as Chapter Two in the story of VanierNow.
The collective enables us to present a broader picture of Vanier, created by additional voices. As two co-founders, we’re excited to now have the opportunity to work with five others who, like us, are interested in the neighbourhood, its people and its places. Each has also chosen to make Vanier home. While we observe the neighbourhood in different ways, we share an interest in writing about our impressions, discoveries, questions and aspirations for the hood (though, after early discussions together, it’s looking like food may be one theme that holds us all together).
Each of us will bring our own voice and style to the (web)pages of VanierNow approximately once per month. Joining us is avid writer/blogger Catherine Brunelle – already introduced to readers when she and her partner poutinized themselves for the first time last Fall at the Vanier Shack Shack, our local casse-croute. With Chris Cline, we welcome our first resident craft beer connoisseur (and experienced Apt613 blogger). Jessie Duffy brings a cultural perspective of the neighbourhood through the lens of food, writing and reflecting on Vanier’s foodways (watch for her first post, recounting June’s Sentier des Saveurs, later this week). Rachel Muston, a genealogist and environmentalist, brings us (and all of Vanier) into the know on all things sustainability. And, also returning to VanierNow, having earlier documented Vanier’s bright lights and empty storefronts, Eva Russell promises new neighbourhood snapshots and profiles of the people that call this place home. You can read a little more about each member of the collective here.
At the same time, we will continue to bring our discoveries and observations as we dig through the archives, soak up the neighbourhood and scan the environment for future plans for Vanier.
So, here’s to Chapter Two, and here’s to Vanier.
Mike Bulthuis and Mike Steinhauer
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Foodways in Vanier: Sentier des Saveurs
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| Sentier des Saveurs 2013 (Photos: Sarah Watson) |
by Jessie Duffy
“Every bite of food we chew has a story” - California Food Literacy Centre
The stories found in food are vast and telling but identifying a food culture is no easy task. The omnipresent experience of food pervades every day of our lives, whether we are eating or not, and links us to a complicated web of connections too profoundly large to truly understand in its whole. In snapshots, we stand a chance. Through our experiences in the places we live, we can use food as a lens to examine our community identity and appreciate the complexity of its nature.
In an opportunity to examine food culture in Vanier, I felt I was presented with an intriguing snapshot at a recent event. The Sentier des Saveurs (Pathway of Tastes), as part of the celebrations for St Jean Baptiste, offered various delectables prepared and presented by organizations and businesses from the community. Representing the VCA, our group mustered up a menu of items for the event, sourced as locally as possible and intended to invoke linkages to Francophone cuisine. Armed with tomato tarts, rhubarb crumble and strawberry punch we began a journey into the cuisine and culture of Vanier.
The strawberry punch was the immediate and clear hit. On an abysmally grey, mist-filled day in June it was hard not to see why it was the top-seller. One woman ended up returning every five minutes or so, coyly stating that this one was for her husband, this one her daughter, and so forth. A likely story. Interestingly enough, the strawberry juice, or Strawberry Agua Fresca, is a recipe for a popular sweet drink found in the bodegas, taquenas, and amongst the foodstuffs of street vendors in Latin America and the southern States. A far cry from Francophone cuisine. Even though we had sourced the strawberries from a local farm in Quebec, if any dish was stretching a cultural designation, this was it.
We prepared our puff pastry tarts with generous smears of lemon goat cheese or chevre, a slice of tomato (also from a Quebec farm), and a few dashes of a thyme-infused honey-sherry vinegar. A more appropriate choice would have been apple cider vinegar as the use of apples made into vinegar (also brandy, known as Calvabec, a Quebec version of Calvados) would have been much more prolific. While not quite traditional we felt that the tarts were ultimately Francophone in spirit: classic ingredients and utterly delicious.
Despite our multiple attempts to explain the tarts it was obvious that the masses already knew what they really were: Pizza! In the end it was not a misrepresentation for our tartes au tomate et chevre. After all, pizza in its simplest form describes a bread, typically a flatbread, topped with tomato and cheese. The classic Neapolitan version was introduced to the Americas by Italian immigrants and gained its dominance after WWII with the advent of chain restaurants. Most people know a pizza when they see one and that day our fellow Vanier residents were not to be fooled.
On to dessert.
How could we possibly go wrong with rhubarb crumble? Golden crusts of oats, brown sugar and butter (lots of butter) layered over crisp apple and tart rhubarb caramelized in maple. An infamous recipe made with all local ingredients had to be a sure-fire bet at the Francophone festival.
Alas, it would turn out that this classic pioneer recipe of British origin was not as traditional as we might have assumed. It required just as much explanation as the tarts and seemed to elicit more confusion than anything. One fellow had himself convinced that we were serving Chinese food! And no, he was not confusing the dish for the infamous pâté chinois although one would think the two are related. Pâté chinois, or Shepherd’s Pie, stems from a19th century recipe brought home by Quebec migrants. It consisted of layered meat and potatoes, a common meal during their stints in the milling town of China, Maine.
Meanwhile Dominic, our resident chef and translator, was stealthily gathering all of the succulent items being served up on the tables around us. Tortière, creton, fèves au lard, soupe au pois, sucre à creme, tarte au sucre, all the usual suspects were there including that profound powerhouse, poutine. Distinctively Francophone, undeniably tasty. We gobbled these up with gusto (at least, the omnivores among us did; traditional fare was not overly friendly to our vegetarian confrères) and slowly came to realize maybe we had slightly missed the mark.
There was no denying the time-honoured eminence of those dishes. Our neo-traditional menu invoked some unexpected reactions and highlighted the perplexing intricacies of identifying a food culture in our unique community. If poutine and tortière are permanently embedded in Francophone cuisine, then surely there is a beloved place for pizza in the culinary landscape of Vanier.
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Meet Erika and her Wooden Heads
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| Erika Varga, sitting amidst her wooden heads (Photo: Catherine Brunelle) |
by Catherine Brunelle
Erika Varga refuses to call herself an artist. Instead, over the years she has quietly composed folk-art in her Vanier apartment, remaining virtually unknown for her skills. For Erika, being an artist isn’t a question of talent, but rather a question of finding courage because, as many of us know, it can be daunting to say aloud: I am good at this. And yet, that’s exactly what Erika did during Vanier’s first Festival of Nations this past August 24th, following a call for artists that was sent into our local community. After a lifetime of not boasting, she decided to do something for herself and took her artwork public.
And what was her artwork to share with the world?
Giant wooden faces that you can hang your coat on.
!!
No, I’m not joking – and yes, they were awesome. Erika’s stall was entirely unexpected, filled with large wooded cuttings of the Queen of England, Sitting Bull, Audrey Hepburn, Geronimo, Gordon Ramsey, and Archie and Edith Bunker. (All with coat hanging hooks attached.)
And so, startled by something so unique, I was compelled to get Erika’s story. (Poor her, I basically assaulted Erika with questions. If she hadn’t had to guard the stall, I think she would have run away!)
Erika’s mother was a freedom fighter in Hungary back in 1956. After the communists put an end to the revolution, she immigrated to Canada and settled in Ottawa, were Erika then grew up. As a girl, Erika can remember being quite poor and getting picked on, having to fight off the bullies. However, she also remembers the pleasure of her art classes. For Erika, there was always a sense of joy and comfort in creating with her hands. Yet amazingly while in high school, Erika was told by a teacher that while she may have had a talent, she would never be an artist. That is why, even today, Erika refuses to go near the title. Instead, she is a self-described “creative person.”
So how does this lead up to her first-ever artistic debut at the Vanier Festival of Nations?
Erika shared with me two sources that inspired her artwork for the festival. First, there was her love of faces, and her tendency to find the beauty with every individual.
“I like faces. I like looking at people. I find every face has something really beautiful or not so beautiful – but there’s always something about faces.”
And then there was the loneliness. Growing up, Erika was a shy woman, and then with the loss of her mother and sister, a deep loneliness developed that lasted for many years. Now, having come out of that depression, she can relate to how others might feel when returning to an empty apartment. “It’s the loneliness. That’s part of why I created these . . . I just thought, wouldn’t it be nice to come home and get into your hall and see your favourite face smiling? It’s a nice way to come home.”
Working toward a showcase like the Festival of Nations has been a very new experience for Erika. “I was nervous, because I don’t take myself that seriously.”
But when she reached her goal of carving, painting and completing these characters/coat-hangers, Erika was “giggling like a little school girl. I just felt proud and happy. I was laughing, like, ‘oh my God, I’m here! I can’t believe I did this. I actually did something! I finished it!”
Now that Erika has had a taste of success with the Vanier festival, she’s hoping to continue showcasing her art within the community and selling to (or being commissioned to paint/create for) anyone interested.
Her aspirations? To keep using wood as her medium along with her Rockwell blade saw, and perhaps to buy more tools to incorporate carving elements. Also, she has hopes of raising money with her art for the Ottawa Humane Society, and one day travelling back to Hungary to visit family and spread her mother’s ashes.
There’s a whole lot of heart within Erika Varga, and the care behind her work embodies that consideration for others. If you would like to get in touch with her about buying one of the heads or commissioning a portrait (she also paints furniture and does excellent sketches), you can reach Erika, our local ‘creative person’ by phone at 613-321-6363.
To me, Erika’s story is inspiring. She was able to overcome her inhibitions and show her talent publically. The results are fantastic, and I’d like to acknowledge her for mustering all that courage a person needs in saying to the world: I am good at this.
Congratulations, Erika. It was a pleasure to meet with you and learn about your art.
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Then and Now: Corner of Ste. Anne Avenue and St. Denis Street
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| click to enlarge |
Images: (earlier) Muséoparc, undated (est. 1960) and Mike Steinhauer (2013).
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The Back Door Lunch Counter
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| Panini Xpress, known today as Gourmet Xpress, at 270 Marier (Photo: Author) |
By Mike Bulthuis
While staffing and equipment issues may have kept the single new food truck destined for Vanier from setting up shop over the past summer, a lunch counter across the street offers one alternative for hungry passers-by. Granted, you need to know where to look – with the Gourmet Xpress counter located under the Panini Xpress sign, inside the back door of 270 Marier (the Centre Francophone). When you find it, you’ll be rewarded not only with the chance to buy lunch, but with the opportunity to help a neighbour find a new job.
Many of us may acknowledge that Vanier’s mainstreet offerings could be a little more, well, vibrant. And, some residents may be more than pleased if there were a few more job prospects.
It may be less clear how you and I can help to turn these hopes into realities. Earlier this year, I cited BALLE (the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) in encouraging us to be “localists,” subscribing to a “Local First” approach - encouraging support of locally-owned businesses when possible and recycling money back into the local economy. Intuitively, we understand that our neighbourhood’s well-being is tied to our local economy; long-time community organizer Jim Capraro notes simply that local businesses fare better when customers have jobs, and when those businesses do better, they are able to grow and provide more local jobs.
Support for our community’s social enterprises, like the Gourmet Xpress lunch counter, offer one snapshot of how we might support a local business, while at the same time growing our neighbours’ economic prospects through job training. The counter is open weekdays, from about 11 to 1:30, with specials changing from day to day – ranging from soups to salads, from sandwiches to lasagna. Walk-in traffic is welcome. Items are made fresh-on site, in a kitchen under the management of Philippe Dupuy. You may recognize the name.
Until July, 2012, Chef Dupuy was the owner of Le Saint-Ô, the upscale French restaurant offering fine dining at the corner of St. Laurent and Hemlock. This was a place enjoyed by former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and is said to be the place where Paul Martin decided to run for Prime Minister. After 12 years at the helm of Le Saint-Ô (and nearly 30 years in the restaurant business), Dupuy sold the restaurant, planning to take a year off. One month prior to closing, he was asked to take on management of the kitchen at Panini Xpress (now known as Gourmet Xpress). He hasn’t looked back.
As noted, Gourmet Xpress operates as a social enterprise. A what? Enterprising Non-Profits, or enp for short, defines social enterprises as businesses run by non-profits, aiming to generate income while creating social, environmental or cultural value. Gourmet Xpress generates income when you purchase your lunch – or when you place an order for a wide array of catering options (think appetizers, canapés, cheese cake and dessert platters, breakfast combinations or even a full Brasserie Menu), all prepared under the supervision of the experienced Chef Dupuy and sous-chef Larby.
At the same time, added value comes in supporting an innovative food services and employment skills training program. Participants, about eight at a time, and working under Chef Dupuy, are offered 12 weeks of practical work experience in a commercial kitchen – learning food preparation, kitchen help, customer service training, and general experience in the food industry. Participants bring different stories. Some may be newcomers, looking for Canadian experience. Others may be starting fresh. Each is referred to the program through the Employment Services team at the Vanier Community Services Centre. After the 12-week “apprenticeship,” Dupuy and the VCSC job developers offer their assistance in helping to match participants with restaurants, cafeterias, catering services or other positions (across the region) in their new field.
It’s a change from Le Saint-Ô. But, seeing the tangible ways in which he can impact the lives of participants, the “family” of participants that fills the kitchen, Chef Dupuy is more than energized. “Working here is worth a million dollars.” He has big ideas for the future, knowing that if more of us knew about Gourmet Xpress, the enterprise could one day be financially self-sustaining.
So, at Gourmet Xpress, simply stopping for lunch or having your event catered may offer ways to support community. If enough of us do, demand will rise. Maybe we’ll see the catering options grow, or a storefront open up, with meals to go. And hopefully we’ll see a few more neighbours find new jobs.
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AGIT POV: Inspiring change by cycling our streets
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| ...I couldn’t get the smile off my face (AGIT POV on Beechwood, September 15, 2013) |
By Rachel Muston
During the 2012 Quebec student movement, students and faculty collaborated on ways to creatively protest while continuing to learn during the drawn out strike. They looked to the propaganda tactics of the Agitprop, and to Ladyada’s SpokePOV project, for inspiration. With the bicycle at the centre, AGIT POV was born. As Alexandre Castonguay, professor at L’École des arts visuels et médiatiques at the University of Quebec explains, “bicycles are vehicles that carry our poetic and creative voices and agitate the city.”
On September 14-15, after gathering at the Vanier Sugar Shack for a two-day AGIT POV workshop, we took our poetic and creative voices and rode through Vanier.
The AGIT POV workshop was the final event of the ‘We make the city/We are the city’ Electric Fields festival. I heard about the workshop from Vanier à vélo/Vanier Cycles (get on their mailing list if you aren’t already!). Not knowing anything about POV or the AGIT POV movement, but with the promise of learning how to solder and hang out with fellow cyclists, I signed up.
So, what is AGIT POV? In a nutshell, AGIT POV is the displaying of thought provoking LED messages on bicycle wheels. The messages are only visible when the wheel is spinning, relying on a concept called Persistence of Vision (POV).
Seeing the positive effect the messages had on the cyclists, and on those they were riding by, the AGIT POV team recognized the idea’s momentum after the strike was over; they have since given AGIT POV workshops in Sackville, Montreal, and as far away as Columbia and Tunisia.
Assembling the device is a bit tricky and required us to solder tiny components onto a circuit board. Luckily, Alexandre, Henri and Anthony from Lumenartists, and Thomas (who programmed the microcontroller) were there to help us. With our heads down for almost 6 solid hours of soldering, there wasn’t a lot of talking other than the occasional “how can I figure out if the problem is with a resistor or an LED?”, “why is that one LED not lighting up?” and “OMG, why won’t this soldering iron work!” It’s possible that was all me (Ahem).
Once everything was soldered on, we tested the devices, attached the battery and programmed the devices with our word or phrase. I think we each came to the session with an idea of the words we wanted to use. However, a quick brainstorming session on words representing ‘How to change the city’ changed my mind and I think a few others. The AGIT POV crew feel strongly that AGIT POV devices should only be used for their original intent - to inspire thought and to bring us together. This means the AGIT POV is not a tool for advertising. To preserve this intent, the only way to get an AGIT POV device is to attend a workshop and build one yourself. You can’t buy these babies in stores.
The words used by our group included: Circulate, Peace-Paix, Dance and Breathe.
Day two of the workshop culminated in a forest party at the Sugar Shack for everyone who participated in the ‘We are the city/We make the city’ festival where we ate, talked and tested out our bikes. Finally at 7pm, a group of us who participated in the workshop went for a ride through Vanier to show off our work.
As we rode together down Beechwood, ringing our bells and enjoying the bike-mobile beats from Ghetto Blast Sound System, I couldn’t get the smile off my face. I understood what Alexandre meant when he said that the simple act of riding together with our messages bonds us together.
Now I just need to figure out how to get my AGIT POV to run on renewable energy and I’ll be all set.
Click here to see more photos from the event, and check out the AGIT POV facebook page to learn more about AGIT POV.
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A Heritage Overlay for St. Margaret's
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| St. Margaret's Church, 206 Montreal Road (Photo: Mike Steinhauer) |
In the same year that the St. Margaret’s Anglican Church celebrates its 125th anniversary (having opened in spring 1888), preservation of the small limestone church building may be encouraged with a new zoning provision for the building, to be enacted this Fall.
At their meeting on Tuesday, September 24, the City of Ottawa’s Planning Committee will review, for referral to Council, the adoption of the Montreal Road District Secondary Plan. The Plan is the outcome of the review of Vanier’s former site specific policy; the new plan can be found in its entirety in the report to the Planning Committee, as item 10.
A notable addition to the Secondary Plan comes in the recognition of St. Margaret’s Anglican Church. The Plan suggests that the church “would benefit from having the Heritage Overlay included in the zoning on the property,” noting that “the church is one of the oldest buildings in the former City of Vanier.” Applying the Heritage Overlay is a positive step. The Heritage Overlay, a provision through the City of Ottawa Zoning By-law, will effectively add another layer of zoning regulations ‘over’ the property, with the goal of retaining (or reusing, if vacant) the existing building. For example, any new development on the site would be limited to current height and dimensions (and character), and any additions would be limited in size and location so as to preserve the heritage character of the original building. Certain parking requirements are also waived. Significantly, the overlay takes precedence over the underlying zoning for the site.
St. Margaret's Anglican Church was built in 1887-1888 to serve the Janeville community; its’ cornerstone was laid by Lady MacDonald, wife of Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald. Today, the church is still active, with weekly services in English and Inuktitut. The proposed application of the Heritage Overlay is a worthy recognition of another component of Vanier’s rich built and cultural heritage.
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Bikes and Green Onions: Your neighbourhood repairman
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| Liu (all photos: author / click to enlarge) |
by Eva Russell
If you have ever driven down Ste Anne Avenue, you will have likely passed the white two-storey house on the corner of Shakespeare, with the collection of bikes for sale and repair. Like mine, your bike may have needed a last minute repair when no other bike shop was open. Earlier this summer, before departing for a scheduled Sunday night bike ride, I found my brakes were out of commission. After contemplating riding with no breaks (bad idea!), I remembered the man at the corner.
I desperately cruised over with the hopes that he could perform a bike miracle and get me on the road in time. Liu (pronounced Lee-oh) came through; he fixed my bike and I was on my way!
Earlier this month, I visited the Vanier bike man again. I wanted to see his collection but I also wanted to know more about his story.
Liu has been a Vanier resident for seven years; he first came to Canada from China in 1999. An avid urban gardener, he proudly showed off his Chinese onions, tomatoes, green chili peppers, Chinese celery and large Chinese melons hanging from the vines around the tree in front of his house. Those Chinese onions that line the street have been there for four years; fortunately for me, Liu proceeded to pull a few bunches for me to take home – they were a delicious addition to my dinner time salad. As we chatted, he also fixed the holes in the ground where passersby had taken some of the onion plants; he gestures that if anyone would have asked, he would have given them away. There’s no need to steal from this man.
We took a look at the bikes for sale – road bikes, a few mountain bikes, some small bikes for kids and a brown cruiser that I have my eye on. Liu is quietly donating bikes to community groups, repairing bikes for people on his free time and offering free bikes for anyone who may not otherwise afford one. I ask where the bikes have come from and he proudly shows a catalogued binder with the name of everyone who has ever dropped one off with the corresponding make/model description. And, he shows me the cut bike lock, explaining that sometimes bikes and wheels go missing at night. Without being angry about the missing bikes, he hopes they’ve have helped someone who couldn’t otherwise afford one.
Liu is an extremely hard worker; after a full days work, he returns home to repair the many bikes that are dropped off (some anonymously). He wants to stay busy and active, to live a long and healthy life. He also wants to help people and give back to his community. Indeed, speaking with this man brightened my day, leaving me inspired.
Now, with summer almost behind us, the large collection of bikes and rows of Chinese onions will soon be covered with tarps for the winter. But spring will come again, and my favorite Vanier bike repairman will be back to restore the old bikes and tend to his array of vegetables. So next time you need a tune up on that vintage Schwinn cruiser or Bianchi road bike, go see Liu.
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Plans for the Eastview Shopping Centre site revealed
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| Site Plan, bbb architects / VanierNow (September 2013) |
Rumours about redevelopment on the Eastview Shopping Centre site have circulated for a few years; last week, we learned that a (ambitious) development application for the site has been formally submitted to the City of Ottawa by Osgoode Properties. If built, the current one-storey strip mall (and its vast surface parking) will be demolished to make space for a new retail, office and residential development totaling 92,000 square metres.
Most will likely agree: the proposal will bring renewal to Montreal Road, arguably transforming this portion into a truer representation of a dynamic mainstreet. The Eastview Shopping Centre appears to have been developed when prosperity meant parking (!), and one can imagine that during a different time, the strip-mall had been more complementary to a vibrant street environment. In the early 1960s, when Montreal Road bustled, the plaza held (among other stores) a Steinberg, Woolworth, Laura Secord Candy Shop and Reitmans. Into the 1970s and 1980s, new stores met neighbourhood needs, including Le Paradis De Livre, Katie’s Bakery, Spic & Span Cleaners and the Plouffe Barber Shop. While the plaza today still includes valuable retail and eating options, the single storey structure and vast surface parking lot serve as poor demonstrations of urban development.
Osgoode’s development application is limited in detail; without architectural renderings, we are left with several studies and preliminary site plans. Clearly, the proposal reflects direction for urban intensification. At the southern edge of the property, along Selkirk (site of today’s strip mall), we would see construction of two towers (Buildings 2 and 3, above), at 24 and 27 storeys, creating over 600 condominium units on five-storey podiums. A new cross-street would bisect the property connecting North River Road and Montgomery. The area today mostly covered by surface parking would become a separate, mixed-use building, with groundfloor retail, and variations in height ranging from 2-5 storeys (Building 1, above). A smaller, 11-storey section (shaded in light blue, above) would line a portion of Montgomery, including either offices or condominiums. Parking would be provided in two or three underground levels, with some along the new cross street.
There are exciting elements. With groundfloor retail along Montreal, Montgomery, North River and (even) Selkirk (where live/work units could be constructed), one imagines more animated streetscapes and a stronger pedestrian appeal. The 11-storey portion on Montgomery addresses the angled street more directly than many current buildings, and, with the Sonia development near McArthur, may contribute to stronger feelings of enclosure on Montgomery.
The timing of the application is interesting; today, direction for the site’s development stems from the Site Specific Policy for “Downtown Vanier” written in the late 1980s. Within weeks, a new Secondary Plan for the Montreal Road District is expected to be passed by City Council (with Planning Committee having given the Plan its approval on September 24). Assuming that the Plan is approved, the development will be subject to the new Secondary Plan. With that in mind, and noting that the Plan’s goals are to “be achieved through the [project] development application process [and] the provision of funds collected under Section 37 of the Planning Act in accordance with the City’s guidelines,” it may be beneficial to consider a few aspects of the present application:
- Gateway development: In the application, Osgoode suggests that “the architectural language for this important gateway site should be decidedly Modern” (Zoning Rationale, p7); details, however, are scarce. Undoubtedly, the site holds visual impact from the Cummings Bridge (see how the angled intersection allowed for the old Steinberg and Woolworth to be visible from the bridge). Will the gateway be more than retail or commercial facades? Could the 2nd floor rooftop garden (proposed over elements of Building 1) extend to the corner of Montreal and North River? How else might we encourage a new landmark, or bold entrance to Vanier?
- Intersection repair: The revised Secondary Plan stipulates that a Master Concept Plan for the entire site be developed as part of the development application process, and that a plan for improving the intersection of Montreal and North River Roads, prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists, be included to minimize pedestrian crossing distances (Section 1.2). This is not yet evident.
- Public art and gathering areas: Section 1.3.1 of the Secondary Plan also states that “the design of the site will include public art reflecting the history of the District and a publicly accessible gathering area for public functions.” This could be an exciting discussion. One idea might be to incorporate the vaulted roof line, or sculptural elements along Montgomery, of the former Steinberg (today’s Emerald Buffet). Discussion on other ideas would be welcome. While the proposal emphasizes that the “expansion of the river parkway landscape” is a priority, what does this mean? Will the small City parkette, at the corner of Montreal Road and North River, be enhanced? Might we envision a contemporary monument to commemorate the lives of former Governor-General Georges Vanier, Charles Cummings, or others?
- Cycling, Sidewalks and Transit: The Secondary Plan calls for 5.0 metre-wide sidewalks on Montreal and North River Roads, and for improvements in cycling facilities; development at this site creates numerous opportunities to leverage investments towards these ends and towards enhanced links across North River Road to the NCC recreational pathways. Transit enhancements will also need to be leveraged to carry extra demand (transit riders will know that the #12 westbound during rush hour is often full already before even reaching the Eastview Shopping Centre).
- Vehicular access: In order to distribute the added traffic the development would bring, the transportation study (page 3) notes that “full movement garage access is proposed via connections to Montgomery Street and to the ‘new’ on-site road, and a right-in/right-out connection is proposed to North River Road.” Would the cross-street, exiting to North River, be permitted under the new Secondary Plan, where North River Road is designated a traditional mainstreet, and where new vehicular accesses are prohibited? It is noteworthy, as well, that loading docks are not identified on the current site plan.
- Height (foremost on the minds of many): A zoning by-law amendment would be required for 27 storeys (90m) as the site is currently zoned to allow buildings up to 42m (approximately 12 storeys). However, a 28-storey height limit is already included in the new Secondary Plan. Recognizing this fact, the location of the 24- and 27-storey towers – across from the two 18-storey Place Vanier towers - may be optimal, with their thin, slender form (likely with balconies) softening the Place Vanier towers and creating a small cluster. Situated at the southern edge of the site, shadowing on residential areas north of Montreal Road would also be minimized. In exchange for approving the additional height, the City may still be able to require, through Section 37 of the Planning Act, that the developer provide certain community benefits (though as this is a Gateway site, the process is not entirely clear).
- Phasing: Details of the phasing of the development are also required in the new Secondary Plan (Section 1.3.1). The proposed development is ambitious; should all elements (Buildings 1-3) not be developed at the same time, how will development be phased? What arrangements / site conditions may result in the interim? Will two, or even three, levels of underground parking be developed at the outset? It is important to note that the revised Secondary Plan prohibits new surface parking lots (and surely discourages parking garages).
- The ESSO site: The development site is separated from Montreal Road by a vacant site – a former ESSO station. Including this site in the proposed development makes sense, given that site remediation may be significant, and only feasible in the context of a larger development. While the Zoning Rationale confirms that Osgoode Properties has first right of refusal on the parcel, it is unclear where negotiations stand.
- Existing businesses: Understanding that existing businesses have been informed of the future redevelopment, will efforts be made to retain existing businesses? As one side note, it is interesting to see Recovery Ottawa currently establishing a location in the plaza; have leases been given end-dates?
Redevelopment of the Eastview Shopping Centre site has long been anticipated, and, if done appropriately, will improve the urban environment and support economic renewal. Let’s get it right. All members of the public are welcome to comment to the City on the proposal; details on doing so can be found here.
The views expressed represent only those of the authors; discussion is encouraged.
The views expressed represent only those of the authors; discussion is encouraged.
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In memoriam: Amy Paul
We lost a member of our community recently.
I did not know Amy Paul but, like many of us, I am feeling deeply affected by her loss. Her slight, somewhat slanted figure, darting through the streets of my neighbourhood around Beechwood and Marier was a near daily sight. Sometimes I would see her late in the morning while walking my dog. She would often be dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans, her light brown hair whipping around her face. Sometimes, on the quiet flipside of the day, on my way home from my job at the restaurant, I would catch sight of her, a painted version of herself, waiting for an opportunity to make her living.
Amy was a sex worker.
It will never be wholly known nor understood what led to the tragic end of Amy’s life. Details may emerge but it is such a deeply rooted and complex issue that speaks to many of the challenges that exist in our community. While I am encouraged by the vitality of Vanier and its residents, I am saddened by the underlying social and economic vulnerabilities that continue to afflict many of our neighbours. It is a difficult issue and one that deserves our attention. At this time I simply want to say goodbye to Amy Paul. With her departure, I feel a pall over the streets of Vanier that I travel every day and call home. Repose en paix, Amy.
Photo: Jessie Duffy
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Update on St. Charles
This past summer, VanierNow ran two stories on St. Charles. The first, ‘What of St. Charles Church’, presented a photographic essay of both the interior and the exterior of the church and encouraged residents of Vanier (and the broader community) to participate in a community-led consultation to discuss the future of the site. The second piece pointed to the heritage value of the building and outlined an argument for heritage designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. The article coincided with my July 21 submission to the City of a formal application for heritage designation.
The application for designation delayed the sale (and possible demolition?) of the church; after a closed-door meeting on August 8, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese announced that it would delay an announcement regarding its intentions for the site until the City’s decision on the designation application.
The conversation on what to do with the church (or the site) began as early as the 1960s when the parish first considered the demolition of the church in order to construct a new building that would better serve the needs of their community. High construction costs at the time—due to increased demand arising from the massive Expo 67 construction site in nearby Montreal—may have then prevented demolition.
Several decades later, the church site was identified as an important node in the Beechwood Community Design Plan and the building itself was recognized as a significant landmark for the area. Internal discussions on the future of the site were launched in 2010 after the final mass was held at St Charles in September. More recently (as already alluded to above), community partners, including the Vanier Community Association and Muséoparc Vanier, led a two-day co-design consultation welcoming the community to envision possible futures for the site.
The application for heritage designation further fueled the discussion and received attention in both English and French media. On July 30, the Ottawa Citizen ran an article on the application with the (somewhat unfortunate) title: ‘One man fights to save 105-year-old church’. Le Droit published several articles and letters in support of heritage designation. Quietly, a small group of residents, led by Ginette Gratton, Claude Gagné, Mike Bulthuis and myself, met to discuss ways of encouraging wide support for the application. Momentum quickly grew.
The application for designation delayed the sale (and possible demolition?) of the church; after a closed-door meeting on August 8, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese announced that it would delay an announcement regarding its intentions for the site until the City’s decision on the designation application.
The conversation on what to do with the church (or the site) began as early as the 1960s when the parish first considered the demolition of the church in order to construct a new building that would better serve the needs of their community. High construction costs at the time—due to increased demand arising from the massive Expo 67 construction site in nearby Montreal—may have then prevented demolition.
Several decades later, the church site was identified as an important node in the Beechwood Community Design Plan and the building itself was recognized as a significant landmark for the area. Internal discussions on the future of the site were launched in 2010 after the final mass was held at St Charles in September. More recently (as already alluded to above), community partners, including the Vanier Community Association and Muséoparc Vanier, led a two-day co-design consultation welcoming the community to envision possible futures for the site.
The application for heritage designation further fueled the discussion and received attention in both English and French media. On July 30, the Ottawa Citizen ran an article on the application with the (somewhat unfortunate) title: ‘One man fights to save 105-year-old church’. Le Droit published several articles and letters in support of heritage designation. Quietly, a small group of residents, led by Ginette Gratton, Claude Gagné, Mike Bulthuis and myself, met to discuss ways of encouraging wide support for the application. Momentum quickly grew.
Support for the application has come from archivist Michel Prévost, professor Caroline Andrew, journalist Denis Gratton, Ms. Trèva Cousineau, the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario, Heritage Ottawa and all four (!) community associations that surround the St. Charles Church site: the Vanier Community Association, the New Edinburgh Community Alliance, the Lindenlea Community Association and the Rockcliffe Park Residents Association.
This past week, City staff completed their own assessment of the site, agreeing with the application and the views of many in our community that St. Charles Church meets provincial criteria for determining cultural heritage. Staff submitted a report to the Built-Heritage Sub-Committee, recommending designation, to be decided at the October 10 meeting (details on he meeting can be found here).
It is difficult to imagine the Sub-Committee not agreeing with staff’s assessment; indeed, I trust that City Council (following approval by the Planning Committee) will issue a notice of intention to designate St. Charles Church. And, recognizing the breadth of community support, I am hopeful that the Archdiocese will accept the City’s decision, and together with the broader communities, will welcome this opportunity to help envision a new use for this landmark building.
I would further encourage the Ottawa Citizen to run a follow-up story, with a somewhat revised headline: ‘A community mobilizes and saves 105-year-old church!’
(photo: Mike Steinhauer)
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Jacobsons and Rock 'n' Root Explore a Different Model
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| Photos: Kristina Sparkes and VanierNow |
by Chris Cline
With summer 2013 officially a wrap, local farmers' markets are looking forward to the end of the harvest season and the conclusion of the selling year. This summer was a notable one for farmers' markets in Vanier, but not in a positive way. For the first time in five years, the neighbourhood went without a market due to an unexpected cancellation by the Quartier Vanier Merchants Association in July.
It's hard to deny the disappointment felt by many in the neighbourhood in the wake of the cancellation. The story received ample coveragein the media, and many of the farmers and vendors who were suddenly left without a dependable market in Vanier complained about the loss of revenue. But instead of resting on their laurels or abandoning the neighbourhood altogether, many found different ways to bring their wares to Vanier residents.
I recently had a chat with Rick Karayanis, a farmer at Rock 'n' Root Farm and a long-time vendor at the Vanier farmers' market. He and his colleagues at Rock 'n' Root were among the most vocal upon the cancellation of the market this year, and their media visibility managed to land them an opportunity to keep selling in the east-end over the summer. They received a call from Susan Jacobson with an offer to set up shop outside her specialty food store, Jacobsons, at the corner of Beechwood and Acacia. Karayanis and his colleagues jumped at the idea, and were soon found selling their produce outside the shop on Saturdays.
Karayanis says that, at first, sales were slow going. There's a certain amount of public education needed to bring the neighbourhood's attention to a produce stall, and walk-by-traffic is key. Fortunately, things picked up quickly.
Before long, Karayanis says, Rock 'n' Root was selling more produce and making more money than they had at the Vanier farmers' market in previous years. It turns out that Jacobsons was a great fit. Customers shopping for ingredients at the shop could walk outside and buy fresh, local produce to complete their meal. By the end of the summer, Karayanis' stall was a welcome feature for neighbourhood dwellers.
Rock n' Root wasn't the only vendor to try this model in the wake of the farmers' market's cancellation. A number of vendors who were displaced by the cancellation of the Vanier market landed outside of Maison Baguettes Etc. on Montreal Road.
That a farmer could be successful simply by setting up a stall by the side of the road shouldn't come as a shock. Farmers have done this for years in rural areas. Take a drive on any of Ottawa's surrounding concession lines during the growing season and you'll be hard pressed not to find several fruit and produce vendors plying their wares as you pass by. But for this to happen in an urban setting is much rarer. The prevailing theory is that farmers' markets are needed in cities to draw customers to a centralized location. But the Rock 'n' Root/Jacobsons model is challenging this idea.
Karayanis says he is unsure if they'll ever return to a farmers' market in Vanier. It would need to provide high visibility and have a chance of drawing in more revenue than their current setup next to Jacobsons. So for now, with no farmers' market announcements on the immediate horizon for 2014, Rock 'n' Root is likely to stay put.
Note: For 2013, you can catch Rock ‘n’ Root one last time, on Saturday, October 12.
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A Modern-Day, Dumpster Diving Treasure
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| Photo: Catherine Brunelle |
The word “Treasure” sprang to my mind as the book was shown to us and passed around the group during our VanierNow meeting.
It’s a modern-day dumpster-diving treasure: Tall and thick, with scratches on the faux-marble cover and a binding that barely holds the pages. This 63 year-old scrapbook has a story behind it that’s fascinating, and a story within it that is precious. Cuttings of newspaper articles in both French and English from 1950-1960, which feature Vanier then, are carefully pasted and labelled inside the pages, chronicling a decade.
Pulled from the trash, the scrapbook was dropped off at the Vanier Snack Snack. It was brought in by a client who had asked Serge (owner of the Snack Shack) to make him a salad before the shop closed up for the night. As Serge made the meal, this fellow laid the book on the counter and asked Serge to take care of it – to do something with it.
It’s destined for Muséoparc Vanier, but first has made a pit stop to VanierNow creators Mike Bulthuis and Mike Steinhauer for some intensive scanning. And now the book is on my bed, resting on a towel (‘cause you know, it was once in the trash), and I’ve just spent the last hour enjoying its stories.
Back in the 1950s, Vanier was called Eastview and was a city of promising development, huge local pride, and a mayor named Gordon Lavergne who dominates the book’s clippings with his opinions, campaign runs, and scandals. The City of Eastview was independent from Ottawa, and in their opinion, a much better place to live. Here’s just one story about when Queen Elizabeth was set to visit the city.
Eastview Ashamed of Untidy Ottawa
Eastview is determined that Queen Elizabeth II will have no opportunity to confuse it with any untidy neighbours.
Ottawa has been named.
The root of the problem (or the problem of the route) is a 14-foot section of broken cement railing on Cummings Bridge.
[...] As Councillor Victor Belair pointed out, “when she sees that big hole in the side of the bridge, she’s going to wonder just what kind of place it is. And how is she going to know that it’s part of Ottawa and not Eastview?”
There was a heavy moment of silence before Mayor Gordon Laverne came up with the answer.
“We’ll put up a sign,” he said, “in English and in French saying ‘You are Now Leaving Eastview.’ It will be right at the start of the bridge.”
(Excerpt from Blush From the Queen, September 5th 1957, p.137)And so the day was saved by the cunning of their mayor.
Along with clippings that resemble Stephen Leacock moments of small town charm such as rivalries, an ever-present mayor, notices of haircuts going up to $1 (p.133), the banning of pinball machines, shopping mall proposals (p. 30), and boasts of the city’s strength and size (p.36)– there are also reports of huge fires that destroy local factories, debates over flooding, garbage dump problems, voting scandals, and the eventual discovery of huge debt in Eastview, largely blamed on the mayor and his council (there’s also some entertaining propaganda to put the mayor back into favour with the people of Eastview on p. 146).
Essentially, this scrap book is a rich history of our neighbourhood with its highs and lows recorded, pasted to the page. I’d love to share each of these articles with you, but there’s only so much room in a blog post.
On the back cover of this scrapbook, written in red pen, it reads “No 2 book, Continue in No 1 book page 93,” suggesting that somewhere out there, hopefully not in a landfill, is the other volume of this collection.
What should you take away from today’s post? There are treasure in the basements and attics and old boxes of Vanier. If you find a piece of history, instead of putting by the side of the road, bring it up to the Muséoparc and drop it there for safekeeping. Thank goodness for that fellow who ordered the salad, and his thinking to save the scrapbook from the trash.
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