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The following tour is an exploration of the various styles and forms in which Mary (Jesus’s mom) has been rendered using materials intended to withstand our varied climate.

There are many other statues of Mary scattered throughout the region that aren’t part of the tour, but are identified on the map with yellow markers. Descriptions of some can be found at the bottom of this post. Most are located on the grounds of Catholic churches and institutions, for, as noted in season 2 of The Derry Girls, ‘Catholics really buzz on statues…’ to which Sister Michel responded ‘I do enjoy a good statue, it has to be said.’.

Our first stop is on the north side of St-Vincent Hospital just inside the hospital grounds. This version of Mary is placed within a grotto of uncoursed random masonry with a smaller female figurine knelt in prayer below. The scene depicts of an apparitions 14-year old  Bernadette Soubirous had in Lourdes France in 1848. Most Catholic statues of Mary are one of many Marian apparitions recognized by the church. This plaster casting of Mary is a replica of an original by Joseph-Hugues Fabisch sculpted in 1864, based on the description provided by Bernadette. During the apparition Mary instructed Bernadette to dig into the ground from which a spring of healing waters flowed. This association with healing would explain why this work was chosen for this hospital site.

Second stop is at St-Patrick’s Basilica on Kent Street. Here she stands on a dome calmly gazing down with arms outstretched perched atop a fluted column. The bright white substrate in which she is rendered stands in stark contrast to the grey stone of St-Patrick’s Gothic Revival design. This pose derives from an apparition that the Catholic nun Catherine Labouré had in Paris in 1830. Based on Catherine’s description the image was reproduced as a devotional medal by the goldsmith Adrien Vachette and became known as the Miraculous Medal or the Medal of Our Lady of Grace. Mary stands on a globe representing the earth, crushing a rather distraught snake under her feet. The snake however was not included in Catherine’s original description of the vision. The medals became extremely popular when originally struck, and continues to be so amongst Catholics. Being such a recogniseable depiction of Mary, it was translated into sculptural form and is the most repeated pose in which Mary is depicted around town, as you will notice in the examples included at the end of this post.

Our next stop is infront of the Notre Dames Cathedral where Mary can be found holding infant Jesus way atop the peak of the front facade. Installed in 1866, it was sculpted out of wood by a Spanish artist named Carbona and is covered in gold leaf. Here the proportions and detailing are less delicate than other works seen on this tour, which works well relative to the width and height of the facade and the extended distance the sculpture is away from the viewer. Mary is also wearing a crown, popular in the Middle Ages as a representation of her as queen of heaven. The same arrangement can also be found at the top of the front portal of Laon Cathedral in France from the 12th and 13th century. She strikes the same pose on the front facade of Notre-Dame de Paris. The original reference of a sculpture depicting Mary in this pose was at the time of her first ever supernatural appearance in 40AD while she was still alive. As legend goes, St James was over in Spain having a tough time spreading the gospel so Mary appeared in a vision to cheer him on. The apparition instructed James to build a shrine in Zaragosa at the site of this miraculous vision. As Mary was transported to Spain by a bunch of angels, others angels proceeded to make a sculpture of her in Spain holding the baby Jesus and sporting a crown while standing atop a pillar. This event came to be referred to as Our Lady of the Pillar.

Continuing East into Vanier I rode up Pères-Blanc Avenue onto the grounds of what was once the scholasticate of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa but is now a park and interpretive facility run by the city. In the centre of a round-about at the end of the avenue there is a painted statue of Mary atop a stone pedestal. Mounted on the front of the pedestal is a bronze plaque that reads ‘NOTRE DAME D’AFRIQUE PRIEZ POUR NOUS A.D. 1955’ with an embossed outline of the African continent. The statue serves as a remnant of when the Pères-Blancs occupied this spot of land. The crown she is wearing is more massive than the medievel style seen on the cathedral. This larger crown is similar to the one she is sporting when depicted as Our Lady of Fatima, another vision reported in 1917 by three sheperd children in Fatima, Portugal. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is also included as a pendant. Her outer garment is blue, the colour most commonly associated with Mary. The historical use of Marian Blue as it is commonly referred to, is attributed to the great cost of Lapis Lazuli, a rare mineral used in the creation of blue pigment. Lapis Lazuli was more valuable than gold due to its rarity. As such blue was only used for the most precious applications, like in painted renderings of Mary’s clothes. Thus, the association stuck.

 

Our final stop is the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes also in Vanier. As the name suggests this is a direct reference to the original site in Lourdes France. Here we have Mary in a much larger grotto of stacked stone than the one at St Vincent Hospital accompanied once again by a praying Bernadette. The statue is painted to further ressemble the original in France. Attached to the walls of the grotto are mini plaques giving thanks for various cures that devotees have attributed to her. It’s quite the site. At the entrance there are placards filled with many more dedicated plaques installed throughout the years. Opposite and curling up the hill to the left of the grotto are a series of framed depictions in relief of the stations of the cross leading to a sculpture of the crucified Jesus. There are three of the stations that include Mary, easily identified dressed in blue.

Et voila!

There is a novella by the Irish writer Colm Toibin titled The Testament of Mary that I highly recommend. It gives a powerful humanised depiction of Mary told from her point of view near the end of her life. In this story she describes the events leading up to the crucifixion of her son. It provides a powerful contrast to the way Mary has come to be represented through various forms, in our instance sculptural. This novella was adapted for Broadway and was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Play.

The following are additional statues of Mary found throughout the region that aren’t part of the tour. Their locations are included on the above map and are identified as yellow markers.

Saint Charbel Parish – 245 Donald St (added Oct 2020)

Saint Charbel Parish is a Maronite Catholic church. Here she is depicted in the Miraculous Medal pose. Her cape and the globe on which she stands is painted a light Marian blue Some lovely gold trim has been added to her robe. The Immaculate Heart rests on her chest, something not described in the original pose. The land on which the church is built was purchased in 1994 so it’s relatively new. The location of the statue, immediately to the right of the entrance, seems to have been chosen from the outset, as the pedestal on which she stands is clad in the same stone facing as the building. This is striking as it breaks the strict symmetry of the churches facade.

Madonna Care Community – 1541 St. Joseph Boulevard (added Oct 2020)

This statue of the Madonna surrounded by juniper bushes is located just infront of the porte-cochère of an Orleans retirement home that opened in 2007 and it is one of a country wide chain called Sienna Senior Living. None of the other homes in this coporate chain have religious titles or symbols in their name so I’m not sure why this one does. Possibly because Orleans has a high Franco Ontarien Catholic population so the name and statue are used to appeal to this segment of population(?). Regardless, it seems to have no affiliation with a religious order. This rendering of Mary seems younger than how she is usually depicted. Photos of this statue were often shown in the news media when 30 residents died of the covid pandemic in early 2020 along with two staff workers.

Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church – 289 Spencer St (added Oct 2020)

Her name is in the title so, not surprisingly, she is prominently located right by the entrance. That said, she only appeared in this spot after this originally-Anglican-church switched and joined the Catholic faith in 2012. Biking by one Sunday I was fortunate to encounter one of the priests (past minister) who told me the statue just suddenly appeared after the denominational transition was complete. Here she is once again depicted in the popular Miraculous Medal pose. The priest put the red rosary around her neck, a replacement of a blue one I had noticed earlier in the year that someone had snatched. As it’s such an intimate little church the scale of the statue needn’t be large to be noticeable, especially right at the main entrance. It’s bright whiteness also helps it stand out against the brown stucco walls and black mailbox with sticky address numbers.

St-François-de-Sales – Pointe Gatineau (added Nov 2020)

This large church is located on the north shore at the confluence of the Gatineau and Ottawa rivers. While the church is quite grand, Mary’s statue is proportionally very small, located way off to the left at the entrance to an attached building. Here she is once again depicted in the Miraculous Medal pose draped in blue, mounted on an elevated round concrete slab with lots of room for offerings from the faithful. The concrete slab is a relatively recent addition as evidenced by it’s modern form and confirmed by the blue insulation peaking out at the base. The custom of including Miraculous Medal statues of Mary outside most Catholic churches in the region appears to be tradition that started sometime well after the older churches were built.

St Anthony’s Church – Corner of Gladstone and Booth St (added Dec 2020)

To the right of the stairs leading up into St Anthony’s Catholic Church you will find Mary in her role as Our Lady of Sorrows identifiable by the seven swords piercing her chest. Carved in white marble, the swords themselves were sculpted seperately from the rest of the statue and glued into place with a thick brown adhesive, four of which are broken at the handle. The white vinyl text on the polished stone base lists those individuals along with two funeral homes that donated funds to purchase this statue on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the church in 2013. The text is English and Italian as this church serves Ottawa’s Little Italy community where it is located.

St Monica Parish – 2080 Merivale Road (added Nov 2020)

What is striking about this statue is how disconnected it’s associated church in style and siting. St Monica Parish is a strict modernist design with minimal exterior embellishments, which was common to that period architectural style. In marked contrast, the statue of Mary is part of it’s own distinct landscaped installation of a much more haphazard design, located a generous distance behind and away from the church. Fronted by a semicircle of randomly cut flagstones on which two benches of different colours are placed, the statue is set amongst a pot-pourri of plantings and nick-nicks. Some are temporary, like the various flowers. Some are plantings, some are potted, and some are plastic like the one placed in Mary’s outstretched hand. Other embellishments are more permanent, such as the multicoloured stones set into a lump of concrete that forms the base of the statue. Many of these stones have words carved into each, such as ‘Prayer’, ‘Patience’, ‘Faith’, etc in a mix of fonts, most resembling Comic Sans. To the left of the statue there is an upright stone slab with fractured edges, engraved onto which are the words ‘In Memory of’ followed by a long list of names of various origins – Alfonso, Beaudoin, Connoly, Korezyn… etc. There is no space between the last name and the ground which makes it appear as if the list continues down into the soil. To the left of the statue a rosary constucted of sea shells hangs from a hanging planter frame. Someone has also placed solar powered walkway lamps in amongst the plantings. The statue itself is identical to the  Miraculous Medal  pose located outside St-Patrick’s Basilica on Kent Street. I would not be surprised if they were cast from the same mold. The whole installation has a cedar hedge and some nice big birch trees as a backdrop with the Greenbelt extending beyond.

St Bonaventure Catholic Church – 1359 Chatelain Ave (added Nov 2020)

This Miraculous Medal version of Mary is set into a freestanding niche, historically a way of placing sculptures of saints within the walls of churches and cathedrals. One may also associate this treatment, albeit in a minimalist abstract form, to the Our Lady of Lourdes apparition Bernadette Soubirous had of Mary standing in a grotto. This relatively common form of presenting Mary statues is often confused with old converted cast iron bathtubs. In this instance the flat front facing provides a smooth surface on which to mount a protective clear plexiglass. A planter holder is attached to the front in which offerings of flowers or other items can be placed. On either side are concrete plaques, the one on the right reads ‘LES PAROISSIENS(NES) DE ST. BONAVENTURE ET LEUR CURE’, and the one on the right,’ ANNEE MARIALE 1987-1988′. A Marian Year (or Année Marial) is one the Catholic church deems important that Mary be revered and celebrated. Pope John Paul II chose 1987 to be an international Marian Year so the concrete plaques seems to suggest this congregation took up his call and erected this statue.

St Joseph’s Church and St Joe’s Mission– (added December 2020)

Here we have not one but TWO identical mini-Miraculous Medal statues. The first is at the corner of St Joseph’s Church, nestled under a sign at Wilbrod and Cumberland. The second statue is just half a block south on Cumberland, set in a bit from the street. The statues and inverted concrete planters on which they stand are exactly the same, probably cast from the same molds. They also have metal cables looped around them. The one on Cumberland is locked to something sticking out of the ground but the one by the sign isn’t secured to anything. Some unexplained history going on there…..maybe a few previous Mary’s went disappearing? Who knows.

The story of St Joseph’s church dates way back to when the the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate showed up to deal with a rough & tough Bytown as Ottawa was known then. A history of the church is described by Terry Byrne, in his book Where the Spirit Lives.

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Parish 1153 Wellington Street (added December 2020)

There are two Mary’s at this location as well.

The first Mary is nestled in a niche above the entrance of what used to be called St George’s Home, once a holding house for immigrant orphaned children. There is a plaque outside that describes its history. Gilles Duceppe, past leader of the Bloc Quebecois, discovered that his grandfather, John James Rowley, was a resident of St George’s Home.

Here Mary is gazing heavenward with hands clasped together in prayer. There are red roses strewn at her feet. She is in a pretty sad state of abandon along with the whole facade on this side of the building.

The second Mary on this site strikes the familiar Miracle Medal pose. Here she is more down to earth, framed by a sign announcing the name of the church and directing worshipers to the public entrance on Grant street. The wreaths at her feet are temporary, however she is flanked by two planted rose bushes. Roses seem to be the linking theme for these two sculptures. The side of the building facing Grant Street is in much better shape.

The abundance of Mary statues located thoughout the National Capital Region may seem bewildering, however one must take into consideration the overwhelming historical presence the Catholic church had in the lives of devotees. For example, in June 1947 Ottawa hosted a huge Marian Congress that included a parade of numerous floats winding past parliament Hill each depicting Mary in different contexts. There was also an enormous stage set built in Lansdowne Park with a colossal statue of Mary soaring above. A documentary film depicting the enormity of this celebration can be seen here.

The new O-Train welcomes passengers with bikes! This opens up lots of bike exploring opportunities. Here’s a route from Blair Station, the O-Train’s furthest easterly stop, to a great local winery Vignoble Clos Du Vully just a short detour off the Prescott-Russell Trail. The Prescott-Russell Trail is a converted rail-to-trail multi-use path that starts just off Anderson Road.

Once disembarked from the train at Blair Station take the elevator up one level and walk your bike along the covered pedestrian walkway over the Queensway.

On the other side of the Queensway there are a series of connecting paths you can follow all the way to Innes Road. The paths aren’t perfectly allinged at a few street crossings but they all follow the line of hydro towers so you can’t get lost.

Cross Innes Road at the lights. Innes is a multi-lane artery road with bike lanes and lots of speedy traffic.

For those who aren’t comfortable riding along busy Innes’ unprotected bike lanes there is an off-road alternative to get to the Prescott-Russell trail that avoids having to ride along Innes and Anderson Road. I’ve indicated this option by the purple line on the map which I describe further down in the post.

For those who are OK with riding along the Innes Road bike lane, continue to do so until you arrive at Anderson Road, then turn right onto Anderson.

Anderson doesn’t have bike lanes but it does have broad paved shoulders you can ride along.

Keep right at the round-about to stay on Anderson Road and continue a short distance to get to the Prescott-Russell Trail. At the time of my visit they were in the process of re-paving Anderson just south of the roundabout but there’s still a good shoulder to follow. Hopefully they will include a generous paved shoulder the entire length of Anderson. Stay tuned for that.

As previously mentioned, if you want to avoid riding along Innes and Anderson there is an off-road alternative to get to the Prescott-Russell Trail. (see purple line on map): Let’s go back to where the path from the train station reaches Innes Road.  Once across the lights at Innes ride through the Lowes parking lot to the front of the store, then  to the east corner of the parking lot where there is an opening in the fence leading onto a well travelled path.

Keep left along this path which will take you over an old train bridge.

The trail opens up a bit further along and joins another path that cuts along a field. turn right onto this path.

Eventually this path meets the Prescott-Russell Trail. Turn left onto the trail.

The Prescott-Russell Trail continues on the other side of Anderson Road. This is where we left off with the Innes Road route.

The Prescott-Russell trail runs straight through a combination of woods and fields with a packed stone dust surfacing that my thin Gatorskin tires had no problem handling.

Turn right off the trail onto Sarsfield Road. Sarsfield is a packed gravel country road with very little traffic.

Continue south along Sarsfield then turn right onto Magadlry Road, which is also packed gravel. A short ride along Magadlry Road brings us to our destination,  Vignoble Clos Du Vully .

Here you will be warmly welcomed by wine maker/grape grower Jan-Daniel Etter. Jan-Daniel loves his craft! On weekends he offers samplings of his wines while describing the particular characteristics of each. You can also  purchase bottles of those you like. If it’s not too busy he will also give you a short tour of his wine making facility.

A section of this bike route is along part of the Ottawa’s self-guided Rail Trail & Winnery Ride .  There’s another winery on the city’s route that we visited but it seems to cater more towards large groups versus drop in cyclists.

Et voila!

 

Biking to Carleton University is always a good idea for lots of reasons ( it’s healthy, economical, good for the environment, etc) but it’s an especially attractive form of transpo these days as vehicule access onto campus has been a nightmare. I hear it’s due to re-routing for Hog’s Back Bridge repairs. Whatever the reason, it’s a mess, so I’ve put together this map of bike routes to campus from various directions described in previous posts. I’ve listed links to those posts below the map. Some of the links describe routes that go through campus or are described in reverse so a bit of interpretation may be required. If anyone needs a more specific route to campus please send me a starting cross street and I’ll get on it.

LINKS:

From the north (Hintonburg) : purple bike logo – click here

From the south (Riverside Park) : red bike logo – click here

From the east (Alta Vista) : green bike logo – click here

From the west (Centrepointe/Algonquin Campus) : yellow bike logo – click here

Finally, here’s a bonus link to a route describing a loop that starts on campus, goes along the Rideau River to New Edinburgh and back to campus along the Rideau Canal.

A while back I posted a winter bike route to Champlain Park where one can check out a fascinating outdoor exhibit describing the few remaining majestic Bur oaks within the community that are descendants of an ancient Bur Oak Forest along the Ottawa River.  This month the park is host to a couple of works by Mr Shakespeare! August 9th A Company of Fools will be performing their popular production of Romeo and Juliet, while earlier in the month you could catch Bear & Co’s performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Update Fall 2019: The show’s were great!)

Here’s a summer route to Champlain Park starting from Centretown that follows bike paths pretty much the entire way.

Et voila!

Kathleen will be flying in to visit Ottawa in August. After happening upon my previously posted route to the airport from Centretown she enquired about a bike route heading in the opposite direction from the airport to the Byward Market. Here’s what I came up with.

Once off the plane you will most likely be retrieving your bike from the oversized baggage counter located behind this sculpture of Sir John A. MacDonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier. The official name of the airport is the Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport after these two gentlemen who played prominent roles in the founding of Canada as a country.

Bring a pump and any necessary tools to re-assemble your bike as they don’t have any to lend at the counter.

 

Exit the terminal on the same level through the doors opposite the oversized baggage counter and take an immediate left along the sidewalk past the line-up of parked taxis.

This sidewalk leads you to a no-cars-allowed laneway with an opening for cyclists and pedestrians. Ride along this winding laneway to where it ends at a parking lot.

Cut through the parking lot to get to Paul-Benoit Driveway.

There is a paved path on the west side (your left) of this two lane street that runs straight all the way to Hunt Club Road, apart for a short section of concrete sidewalk near Hunt Club.

Cross Hunt Club Road onto Bowesville Road. Bowesville cuts through the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. Hunting has long been terminated on the grounds of this private club so don’t worry about getting accidentally shot but keep your eyes peeled for golf carts as they still have right of way.

At the northern end of the golf club there is a black gate with an opening to the left allowing cyclists and pedestrians to continue along Bowesville Road.

Bowesville Road ends at Uplands Drive. I’m not a big fan of Uplands Drive as many drivers love to speed along this busy road that still doesn’t have bike lanes but it’s a short block to Riverside Drive where one can use the sidewalk to get there.

Along Riverside Drive there is a paved bit between the road and the sidewalk. These often exist along speedy roads throughout the capital. These strips are not maintained as a bike lane but this one is in OK shape. There is a bit of concrete sidewalk to deal with before it starts, as well as in front of a couple of bus stops.

The worst section of the asphalt strip along Riverside Drive is  just before Quesnel Drive.

 

Beyond Quesnel Drive the asphalt strip dissapears for long sections so I turn right onto quiet Quesnel Drive. There are some sweet examples of mid-century-modern and 7o’s style houses along this calm residential street.

Quesnel is a dead end but there is a short path that links it to Upper Otterson Place, another quiet street.

Upper Otterson Place also becomes a dead end but there is another short path that links it to Otterson Drive. I don’t know if these two Otterson streets were ever connected. Both were named after the Ottersons who settled here from County Tipperary in Ireland. These streets cut through their farms back in 1879.

Otterson Drive ends at Walkley Road and continues across the intersection as Springland Drive. This intersection has traffic lights. I then turned left onto Mooney’s Bay Place which took me to another set of traffic lights leading across Riverside into Mooney’s Bay Park.

There is a bike path that cuts through Mooney’s Bay Park. If it’s a hot day you could stop at the beach for a quick swim.

The last bit of the path through the park is a packed dirt road before arriving at Hog’s Back Road. Turn left along the path over the bridge along Hog’s Back Road.

Don’t cross the second bridge over the canal, instead follow the path that curls under the bridge and becomes the Rideau Canal Eastern Pathway. This pathway normally continues all the way dowtown beside the canal and ending just a few blocks outside the Byward Market however a section of the path closer to downtown is closed for major repairs to the canal wall. There is an official signed detour if you choose to stay on the eastern side of the canal but this detour is horrendous with dangerous inadequate crossing lights across speeding Colonel By Drive with cars flying on and off at Main Street. Instead, before reaching the official detour, cross the new Flora bike/pedestrian bridge over to the Rideau Canal Western Pathway.

Continue north along the bike path and cross back to the Rideau Canal Eastern Pathway over the bike/pedestrian bridge at Somerset Street.

 

Continue along the Rideau Canal Eastern Pathway to where it pretty much ends at the intersection of Colonel By Drive and Daly Avenue. Cross Colonel By at the lights.

The Byward Market is just a couple of blocks further north along Colonel By Drive which turns into Sussex Drive but there is no safe bike infrastructure to get you to the Market from the intersection. Accessing the Byward Market safely by bike is a problem. There is a sidewalk one can push your bike along from the Daly & Colonel By intersection for the few blocks if you want to avoid riding in tight traffic.

Et voila – have a great visit!

 

 

Many Ottawa cyclists will have noticed this beautiful old house located at the western end of the Laurier Bike Path overlooking Nanny Goat Hill. A recent real estate posting for the house claimed it was designed by architect John W.H. Watts , one of the most successful architects in Ottawa at the turn of the last century. Watts was born in Teignmouth, England in 1850 and died on August 26, 1917. He came to Canada in 1873.

The following 13km bike tour visits a number of buildings designed by Watts, starting with the grand old house at Laurier and Bronson.

 This map indicates our starting point as a green house icon. The purple line is our bike route. The one-block section of the route shown in orange is where I recommend walking your bike along the sidewalk for reasons explained below when we get there.

The next two houses are located along Wilbrod Street in Sandy Hill. To get there, bike east along the plowed Laurier Bike Lane as far as City Hall. Just beyond City Hall take the exit off Laurier towards the Queen Elizabeth Driveway.

Cross the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and ride along the Rideau Canal Western Pathway which is cleared in the winter. Head up and over the Corkstown pedestrian/bike bridge, then cut through the Ottawa University Campus to get to Wilbrod Street. 

Head east along Wilbrod, which is a one way street with a bike lane. The bike lane wasn’t entirely cleared of snow when I last rode this route, but it’s still a relatively quiet residential street. 

The first of Watts’ designs we come to along Wilbrod is Australia House. Built in 1910, it became the residence of the Australian High Commissioner in 1940 after its previous occupant, the Consul General of Germany, was expelled from the country after the declaration of war in 1939.

Continue along Wilbrod to its eastern end where you will discover the magnificent Fleck- Paterson House. Completed in 1903, this house was built by lumber baron J.R. Booth  for his daughter Gertrude and her husband Andrew Fleck. It presently houses the Embassy of Algeria.

Our next stop is the former Adath Jeshurun Syngogue on King Edward Avenue in Lowertown. Completed in 1904 it was home to Ottawa’s first Jewish congregation.

To get there from The Fleck Paterson House ride one block north along Charlotte Street and turn onto Stewart Street. It’s a one way heading west- bike lane included! Cut north along Chapel Street which crosses Rideau Street into Lowertown. Circle along Beausoleil Drive to York Street and continue west for a couple of blocks to King Edward Avenue.

The section of the route along King Edward on the above map is drawn in orange. That’s to distinguish it as a short portion of the tour I recommend disembarking and walking your bike along the sidewalk for half a block to view the old synagogue. I do not recommend riding along King Edward Avenue as it is a brutal thoroughfare with speeding vehicules of all sizes including transport trucks heading to and from Gatineau across the MacDonald-Cartier Bridge.

Continue walking your bike across Rideau Street, then along Rideau Street a short distance to Nelson Street. Mount your bike and head right back up into Sandy Hill along Nelson to rejoin Stewart Street. Cut through the Ottawa University campus and back across the Rideau Canal over the Corkstown bridge. Cross Queen Elizabeth Driveway into the Golden Triangle neighbourhood to MacLaren Street.

Head west along MacLaren to Metcalfe Street where you will discover the majestic house Watts designed for lumber baron John Rudolphus Booth. It was completed in 1909. More about this house can be found here.

Our final building on this tour is the Glebe-Saint James United Church on Lyon Street. To get there continue west along MacLaren to O’Connor Street. Hop onto the bike lane along O’Connor and head south under the Queensway into the Glebe neighbourhood. O’Connor suddenly loses its bike lane just south of the Queensway, however continue to follow it as far as First Avenue. Turn right onto First and ride all the way to Lyon where you will see the beautiful old Glebe-Saint James United Church.

To complete the loop back to our starting point, continue west along First to Percy Street. Ride north along Percy where a bike lane starts just as you head back under the Queensway. Continue along the Percy bike lane to Flora, then turn right onto Flora for a block to Bay Street which has a bike lane heading north. Ride along Bay all the way to where it meets up with Laurier, two blocks east of the house at Laurier and Bronson.

Et voila!

I’d like to thank Hans for putting me onto the story of the big old house perched up on Nanny Goat Hill that is up for sale (UPDATE: Fall 2019- sold). Hopefully it will be preserved by future owners. I’d also like to thank David Jeanes of Heritage Ottawa who provided me with information on John W.H. Watts and the other fine buildings he designed within Ottawa.

If you are interested in checking out the interiors of some these buildings I suggest keeping an eye out for the annual Doors Open event when many exceptional local buildings are opened to the public.

Slack Bridges is an Ottawa based neo-soul, funk, r&b band who will be performing at the NAC 4th Stage on December 7th! Last winter they put out a full length record called Joy of Joys. They also recorded a video from one of the tracks ‘In the Drought’ with their lead singer Matt Gilmour filmed in various wintry locations throughout the city while his bandmates waited for him in the warmth and comfort of Union613 on Somerset St, sipping on cider and playing board games. This bike tour visits those locations, but first – here’s the video:

 

We begin at the bottom of the Nanny Goat Hill stairs at Primrose Avenue. That’s where you’ll find Matt seated and singing 34 seconds into the video.

Next stop is a couple of blocks west where Matt can be seen hanging out in the Elm Street basketball court, first with his back to the net at 24 seconds, and then cross court at 1min40.

 

Our next stop doesn’t exist anymore! This is the pedestrian bridge over the Queensway at Harmer. It was torn down this summer and is the process of being replaced, which won’t be for another two years! Matt can first be seen strolling along this sorely missed walkway at 35 sec’s.

There is a bike lane detour under the Queensway along Holland Avenue that requires cutting through the Fisher Park School parking lot.

Next Matt can be seen strolling along the National Capital Commission Scenic Driveway at 34 seconds into the video, which was pretty gutsy of him since there is no cleared shoulder and drivers tend to really gun it along this straightaway. There is a multi-use pathway adjacent to the Driveway that goes from Carling all the way to Prince of Wales Drive, but this important link is not cleared in the winter.

Fortunately Matt didn’t have to walk all the way to Prince of Wales as the next spot he was filmed is just off the Driveway aong the much quieter Ash Lane in the middle of the Experimental Farm. He is first seen there a mere 5 seconds into the vid.

Next I headed through the farm, then down along the Rideau Canal before cutting through the Glebe, then Centretown along the O’Connor Street segregated bike lane that starts just south of the Queensway. Union613 is located on the north side of Somerset, just off O’Connor where Matt meets up with his band near the end of the song. The sidewalk sign seen in the video is missing in my photo as it was in the process of being replaced at the time. They also have hanging bike racks on the edge of the sidewalk, as seen in the photo.

Et voila!