The Central Chambers Building

Central Chambers Building c. 1893 Library and Archives Canada PA-027288

This is the corner of Elgin and Queen Streets.  The Central Chambers building was built in 1890-91.  It is built in the Queen Anne Revival style.  The architect was John James Browne,  and originally housed the offices of the Canadian Atlantic Railway and the Ottawa and Gatineau Valley Railway.  The roads at this time were still dirt.  The building across the street was taken down to create Confederation Square where the War Memorial now stands.

Here is the same view of the Chambers Building in 2010.  It is amazing to see the difference in the construction in the city in the last 117 years.  It was designated a National Historic Site in 1984 and now houses the NCC headquarters. 

Metcalfe and Sparks Streets

Photo from the National Archives website - James Topley collection PA-008765 c. 1889 (copyright has expired). 

It is a view of Metcalfe street looking north towards Parliament Hill.  Notice the old Parliament building - this was the original building before the fire of 1916 which destroyed all of the Centre block.  The Library of Parliament (the only part of the Centre Block to survive the fire) is right behind The Victoria Tower.   The horse and carriage is located approximately where the Sparks Street Mall now intersects Metcalfe Street.  Originally Sparks street was a street open to traffic and only made a pedestiran mall in the 20th century.

This is the same intersection in October 2010.  Notice how the Peace Tower is easily the centre of this photograph (you can see the Library of Parliament just behind it).  It clearly shows the changes in the Parliamentary scene from the original photograph. 

The Four Corners gift shop is located at the corner of Metcalfe and Sparks Streets and is the original building from the older photo above.  Likewise, the building next to it, 14 Metcalfe Street, houses the NCC Info Centre  however the building that was at the corner of Metcalfe and Wellington Streets (as seen in the first photo) was taken down at some point as it is now a vacant lot leading up to the Info Centre.  The Blackburn building is located across the street on the North East corner of Metcalfe Street.

The Rideau Canal Locks at the Ottawa River

This photo was taken c. 1901.  It faces north towards Hull, Quebec.  It shows the Royal Alexandra Inter Provincial Bridge in the distance.  The train (I believe) belonged to E.B. Eddy and was used for his company's use.  The rail lines ended at Union Station downtown across the street from  the Chateau Laurier on Wellington Street.  The building on the left belonged to the Royal Engineers during the construction of the Rideau Canal in the 1820's and still stands today.

I took this photo in October 2010 and much has changed, and much is still the same as it was over 100 years ago.  The locks are still there as picturesque as ever, the stone building on the left still stands (currently owned/operated by the NCC as part of the Bytown Museum) and you can see the Royal Alexandra bridge in the distance.

What's new?  Well, Parliament Hill's East Block is visible on the left, the Chateau Laurier expanded and used the land which was previously used for the rail line heading North of Union Station, Nepean Point is visible with the statue of Samuel de Champlain at the forefront, the city of Gatineau (Wrightsville then called Hull, now known as Gatineau) has exploded in the distance and some of the general scenery has changed as well.

The Langevin Block

This photo was taken c. 1890 from the site where the East Block of Parliament Hill now stands.  It is located on Wellington Street opposite 'The Hill'.  It was originally built between 1884 and 1889 and was the first federal government office built outside of the Parliamentary Precinct.  The building was originally known as the Southwest Departmental building and was later named after one of Canada's Fathers of Confederation, Sir Hector-Louis Langevin.  The construction of this building was one of his flagship projects.  The architect was Thomas Fuller and was built using a variation of the Second Empire style.

For further information on its history and architecture see http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=dyk-svq&doc=archive/langevin/dyk-svq-eng.htm

This is my photo taken October 2010.  As the East Block of Parliament Hill was not there when the original photo was taken, the vantage point is slightly closer (my back was right against the doorway of the East Block).  You can still see all of the magnificent details of the original building.  It has truly stood the test of time.

The Royal Alexandra Inter Provincial Bridge

This photograph was taken c. 1900 and shows the construction of the 'Inter Provincial Bridge' between Ontario and Quebec.  It is taken from the Ontario side of the Ottawa River right behind Parliament Hill.

This is The Royal Alexandra Inter Provincial Bridge taken by me in 2010.  The vantage point is slightly different than the original.  I tried to get it as close as possible, however I believe the original may have been taken from Lover's Walk - which was located on the hillside behind Parliament Hill since the late 1800's.  It has been closed for some time now (more than likely for security reasons, both structurally and to prevent access to Parliament Hill).

In this photograph, you can see that there has not been much change in the general scenery from the original, with the exception of the MacDonald-Cartier bridge in the background.

If you are interested in more information on The Royal Alexandra Bridge, here is a link for more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Bridge

Grand Trunk Central Station

This photo was saved from the National Archives PA-012923 (the copyright has expired).  It was originally taken in c. 1912 by the Topley Studio in Ottawa, Ontario.  The building was known as the Grand Trunk Central Station and was located across the street from the Chateau Laurier with a tunnel between the two buildings just like Union Station and The Royal York Hotel in Toronto.  Currently, this building is known as the Conference Centre and is used by the Government.

I took this photograph in 2010 to show the changes in the city since the original photo.  Notice the 2 buildings beside the Conference Centre were taken down and now in their place is the Colonel By Driveway which follows the Rideau Canal to Hog's Back Falls and Mooney's Bay in the Ottawa's south end.