Subscribe to get the latest issue of The Echo straight to your inbox. Sign up today!
By Nancy Miller Chenier Viewing these sculptural pieces may give you a slight kink in the neck but looking up in Lowertown is worth the effort. Our quartier has a proliferation of outdoor public art featuring winged creatures. Some are representations of our feathered bird friends while others have human forms. All seem content to…
By Nancy Miller Chenier Though few in numbers, the Italian community in Lowertown made a noticeable contribution to the performing arts. A census of Lowertown residents identified Italian families as early as 1851 and by 1900, an estimated 700 Italians had settled here. This article focuses on members of three families. Rocco Graziadei played music,…
By Nadia Stuewer This article is based on a presentation by John Diener, Vice-President of the Ottawa Jewish Historical Society, entitled “The ByWard Market: The History of Jewish Life and Business”. When people think of the history of the people of Lowertown, they usually think of the French and the Irish settlers. But did you…
By Allen Brown The City of Ottawa’s Built Heritage Committee (BHC) recommended demolition of three heritage buildings on St. Patrick Street at their meeting on September 10, 2024. It was a sad and frustrating decision for community advocates. Curiously, on the advice of city legal counsel, a week earlier city council waived the demolition permit…
By Allen Brown On May 14, the City of Ottawa’s Built Heritage Committee approved a motion to erect a monument to commemorate the Irish Famine of 1847-52 at a former cemetery where Irish Famine victims were buried, in what is now Macdonald Gardens Park. The monument is one of several being erected in Canada this…