May 19, 2012




April 26, 1900 was a day of horror. A fire started in Hull and, carried by the wind, soon destroyed a large segment of the city, flamed across the Chaudière Falls and burned a swath through Ottawa as far as Dows Lake, making thousands homeless.Canada had not celebrated its first half century when tragedy struck once again. On February 3, 1916, near 9 p.m., a small fire started in the Parliamentary Reading Room in the Centre Block.Fed by stacks of newspapers and varnished woodwork, it was soon a raging blaze that claimed seven lives and reduced all but the northwest wing and the Library to a charred shell. Despite the almost complete redirection of resources to fighting the First World War, construction began almost immediately on rebuilding Canada's Parliament. The new structure, which preserved the Gothic Revival style of the original, was designed by John Pearson and Jean Omer Marchand and completed by 1922.

The Gréber Plan: Modern Ottawa Arises
In 1936, while visiting the site for the World Exhibition of 1937 in Paris, Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King became acquainted with Jacques Gréber, chief architect for the exhibition and reputed for his work in Philadelphia on the Fairmont Parkway. King invited Gréber to come to Ottawa to advise on the plans for Confederation Square and to undertake a number of studies of the National Capital area. The Prime Minister envisioned large parks, scenic driveways and broad thoroughfares for Ottawa and Hull as well as the preservation of a natural park - his beloved Gatineau Hills.

Before his departure Gréber submitted a report in which he recommended the creation of a master plan for the Capital's development. While the outbreak of the Second World War delayed the completion of this plan until 1949, it would serve as the city's planning guide well into the 1970's. The creation and conservation of green space was an important element of the master plan. The Canadian Government purchased property along the banks of the Rideau Canal and of the Ottawa, Rideau and Gatineau Rivers and restored it to its natural beauty to allow public enjoyment of these waterways. Today, large tracts of land around Federal Government buildings are beautifully maintained as are the flower beds in the parks and along the driveways. Exceptionally broad park corridors containing driveways and pathways further enhance the open space concept.

In 1958 the Government established a "greenbelt" around Ottawa to avoid uncontrolled urban sprawl as well as provide future parks and public open space. The Greenbelt, which Gréber called "the Capital's emerald necklace", forms a semi-circular belt of about 17,600 hectares running in a continuous 44.8 kilometres arc on the outer edge of the urban area. Presently, some of the land is leased, some is in public use, some is used for research and development activities, and large tracts have been set aside for the conservation of the water table and the preservation of animal and plant life.

Ottawa in the 1980s
This decade saw the Capital assume its role as the cultural showcase for the nation. New festivals such as Winterlude, the Canadian Tulip Festival and the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival were launched; the National Arts Centre Orchestra developed into one of the world's pre-eminent orchestras; and new museums and galleries rose throughout the city.

Two new buildings, in particular, captured people's imaginations. The National Gallery of Canada, inaugurated in 1988, now houses the most comprehensive collection in the world of Canadian art as well as masterpieces from Europe, Asia and the Americas. The Canadian Museum of Civilization, opened the following year, traces Canada's intriguing history from prehistoric times to the present. Visitors come face-to-face with longhouses and totem poles, life-size reconstructions of historic Canadian scenes and larger-than-life movies in the museums OMNIMAX and IMAX theatre.

 
 
© Jeff Greenberg 2012