Olmstead Street, near Montreal Road (source below)
City Council is about to consider a recommendation that Rothwell Height’s mid-century, modernist Briarcliffe sub-division be designated a Heritage Conservation District. The area would join districts in Sandy Hill, New Edinburgh, Rockcliffe, Lowertown and elsewhere already recognized for their cultural heritage value. In 2011, students from Carleton’s School of Canadian Studies Heritage Conservation stream authored a Preliminary District Study, laying the foundation for the current recommendation, and building on a history of student contributions towards heritage conservation in Ottawa. In 1996, students from the same program submitted a preliminary study to City of Vanier officials, drafting a “heritage character statement for the designation of Janeville (an older portion of Vanier) as a Heritage Conservation District” (Grudniewicz et al, 1996). So, a Heritage Conservation District in Vanier?
The 1996 Janeville Heritage Study reflected broader discussions on how to recognize Vanier’s built heritage. In January 1995, City of Vanier staff, led by (then) Senior Planner Donald Morse, presented a number of options to City Council regarding the protection of heritage buildings in Vanier. Among these options was consideration of naming heritage districts. As noted earlier, three streets – Palace, Emond and Barrette – were deemed to have the most potential, where “the primary building stock was created between 1875 and 1925… [and where] all three main streets appear to retain at least in part, their original flavour.”
The Janeville Heritage Study investigated another area -- covering Montreal Road from the Vanier Parkway to Olmstead, and the residential areas north and south, bounded by Deschamps and Jeanne Mance. Following the study’s completion, Vanier Heritage Committee President Thérèse Frère suggested to Vanier City Council that among her Committee’s activities, that they “follow-up on the Janeville Heritage Study … pursuing some of the conclusions.” The Committee had a particular interest in Janeville and Clarkston properties, citing these as “among the first suburban villages serving metropolitan Ottawa and recommending study of their unique character.”
You may still be asking, is there cultural heritage value here? The study cites a number of character-defining elements and unique attributes that give the area a “village character.” Attention is drawn to the common two or three-storey commercial buildings on Montreal Road, with their flat roofs and rectangular-shaped facades. On residential streets, the study points to narrow streets, “two lanes wide with an enclosed look (church, store at the corner). Lots are narrow and deep. Mature trees are scattered throughout the established neighbourhood. Convenience stores are located inside the residential area usually on street corners. The low continuous building mass creates a low scale environment” (3).
Particular emphasis, though, is given to interviews with Raymond Cyr, of 293/295 Cyr Avenue. Raymond, one of eight children, aged 72 at the time, was given the home by his father and was then living there with two children and a granddaughter (as the house had been converted into units). In their discussions, Raymond recounts growing up on Cyr, running to Montreal Road to find friends lounging on the steps of the fire station on the southwest corner or playing in and around the stables behind the Eastview Hotel on the southeast corner. Alternatively, he could always find someone he knew at the Durocher general store (today’s Vanier Grill). In Raymond’s reflections, we see a strong relationship between the residential area and Montreal Road, the mainstreet.
With the Official Plan and Zoning By-law for this area currently being updated, the authors’ observations highlight the way a development pattern and a street’s offerings might support a village feeling, just as they supported the informal village relations of Raymond’s experiences. How might we make Montreal Road again responsive to the residents who make up this community?
In the end, the paper may have been less a call to preservation of a particular built heritage, and more the preservation of the village character. With that, we turn to the students for one last passage – and a few more ideas to keep in mind as we continue planning for the future:
“When streetscaping attempts are made to improve the aesthetics of the streetscape, this still does not address the question of why people would want to go there. A park bench on a sidewalk, while very pretty to look at, does not provide a destination point…. For an urban settlement to be successful, people have to feel like they are part of a community. Because Vanier is part of a larger metropolitan area, there is always a danger that regional development, e.g., big malls might dominate. This does not reflect the history of Vanier and creates an anonymous living experience. Some of this type of development has already taken over Montreal Road and has become something that divides and destroys the old village. The key question then is how to balance and preserve the atmosphere of a very busy village? One has to balance regional efficiency with the existing heritage character, and manage the pattern of movement along Montreal Road in a way that is sympathetic with the village character” (5).
(Mike Bulthuis)
Sources:
Grudniewicz, Dorota; Hossack, Andrea; Sloan, Trina; and Taillon, Jacques (1996). Janeville Heritage Study, Canadian Studies Program, Carleton University, Ottawa.
Vanier Heritage Committee (1996). Memo from President Thérèse Frère to the Mayor and Members of Council, August 14.
Image: Olmstead near Montreal Road; Image Credits: Google Street View, April 2012 (background); 123RF Stock Photo (foreground)