Early

By James Powell Before Europeans

Traditional Territory of the Algonquin First Nation

Confluence of the Ottawa, Gatineau and Rideau Rivers, important meeting and trading ground

Chaudière Falls – A sacred site

Land on which Ottawa sits is still unceeded Algonquin territory

Algonquin First Nation, watercolour, 18th Century Arrival of Europeans

1800: Arrival of Philemon Wright from Woburn, Massachusetts, leader of a number of families to region; first person of African descent, London Oxford, member of original settlers

Settlement of Wright’s Town (later Hull) on north shore of Ottawa River

Initial plan was to farm, but quickly began to take advantage of the plentiful supply of timber in Ottawa Valley

Shipped logs to UK: wood needed for Royal Navy; usual Scandinavian supply cut off during Philemon Wright, 1809 Napoleonic wars War of 1812

US declares war on Britain, US invasion of Canada fails, war ends in 1815 in a stalemate

Highlighted vulnerability of St Lawrence River supply line between Upper Canada () and Lower Canada (Quebec) to US attack

Britain seeks a secure route between Montreal on St Lawrence and Toronto Battle of Queenston Heights, 1812, by John D. Kelly on Lake Ontario 202 kilometres long – Ottawa River to Lake Ontario

Man-made canals link rivers and lakes

45 locks at 23 stations

4 blockhouses Construction of the

Construction 1826-1832 – Lieutenant-Colonel John By of Royal Engineers and Sappers

Irish and French-Canadian labourers

More than 1,000 died in its construction

Today, Canal is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lieut.-Col. John By Still operational through its entire length

Population in 1842: ~ 2,000

Two communities: Upper Town -- English, Protestant, well-to-do -- Irish/French, Roman Catholic, poor

Rough and lawless 1847: Incorporation of Town of Bytown with John Scott as its first mayor John Scott by William Sawyer, 1848 First City Hall, former market, built in 1848, lower floor fire station Ottawa selected the Capital of Canada

1841: Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec) unite to form the Province of Canada; search for a new capital begins

1855: Bytown “rebranded” as Ottawa

1857: Queen Victoria selects Ottawa as the Capital of the Province of Canada

1860: Construction of Parliament Buildings begins

Queen Victoria, pastel, 1890, by Herbert Clark 32 designs submitted – Gothic, Classical, Norman, Tudor and Italian

Gothic design by Thomas Fuller and Chilion Jones wins

One of the failed designs Triumphal arch erected on , Visit of Prince of Wales, 1860 Lumbermen’s Arch built for the Prince of Wales’s Visit, 1860 Laying the Cornerstone of the Centre Block by Prince of Wales, , 1860 Building the West Block on Parliament Hill, 1861 Centre Block under construction, 1863 Centre Block from Sparks Street, circa 1863 Centre Block, 1876, When Completed View of Major’s Hill Park from Parliament Hill, c. 1865 Corner of Rideau and Sussex, 1867 Parliament Hill, 1 July 1867, hand-tinted Corner of Sparks and Metcalf Streets, 1867 Sappers’ and Dufferin Bridges, Old Post Office, 1878 Electric Streetcar on Wellington Street, 1900

Horse-drawn bus Sparks Street between Metcalfe and Elgin, 1877 Sleigh on Wellington Street, late 19th century Byward Market in 1895 and roughly thirty years later – the impact of the introduction of the automobile South Side of Wellington St, 1889, British- American Bank Note Company, St. Andrew’s South side of Wellington St, today Church Ottawa – A Lumber Town

Lumbermen hauling logs, 19th century E.B. Eddy Company, Lumber mill, 19th century Log raft on the Ottawa River, 19th century Victoria Island Timber Slide Ottawa – A Manufacturing Town

Electricity generated from Falls

1881: E. B. Eddy lumber yard in Hull lit by 40 arc lights

1884: Parliament had electric lights before US Capitol

1885: Ottawa first Canadian city to be fully lit with electric lights; called the “Electric City”

1896: 60,000 incandescent bulbs powered by Falls; enough for 1 for every Ottawa inhabitant Chaudière Falls, Booth Mills Ottawa the high-tech. Capital of Canada in late 19th Century; Thomas Ahearn and Warren Soper Chaudière Ring Dam—1908 and 2020

1908: Construction of Chaudière ring dam; from Today, power generation has increased greatly; now 1909 to 1920s, dam the provided Ottawa with dam produces enough clean electricity to power most of its power 58,000 homes Power Generation

No. 4 Power House, Middle Street, Victoria No. 4 Power House, Victoria Island, Today Island, early 20th century GREAT FIRE OF 1900

View from Parliament Building of the Fire Aftermath of Great Fire of 1900

LeBreton Flats Destruction, April 1900 Hull, rue Wellington, April 1900 Centre Block Fire, February 3, 1916

Before 1916 Fire, February 3, 1916 Centre Block Fire, 4 February 1916 Centre Block, 1927 Jubilee Celebrations The Development of Modern Ottawa

Wanted to make Ottawa the “Washington of the North”

1899: Ottawa Improvement Commission to beautify city

Start of scenic parkways through city

1908: Work begins on Château Laurier Hotel

Sir Wilfrid Laurier The Driveway, later Queen Elizabeth Driveway

The Driveway, just west of , 1910 The Driveway, today Dow’s Lake Causeway

Causeway from Lakeside Drive, looking Aerial Photo of Causeway, 1927 towards Experimental Farm, 1904 Chatêau Laurier Hotel and Union Station Under Construction, circa 1910 Chatêau Laurier Hotel and Union Station, 1920s The Development of Modern Ottawa

Laurier’s vision continued under Mackenzie King during 1930s-1940s

1949: Jacques Gréber, noted French city architect, releases his plan for Ottawa

Federal District Commission/National Capital Commission

PM Mackenzie King Construction of the War Memorial, 1938-1939 Gréber’s Plan -- Highlights

Greenbelt Removal of tram lines Removal of train tracks from Strict building code and height restrictions Monumental buildings Tearing down of substandard homes

Jacques Gréber talking to Parliamentarians, 1949 Ottawa the Ugly

Urban Blight, most likely LeBreton Flats Intersection of Wellington and Lyon Streets