O’Connor Street Bridge
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
Patterson's Creek originally stretched west from the Rideau Canal to Lyon Street. In the 1890s, as the Glebe was developing quickly, the marshy and wooded area was landscaped and shortened to end near O'Connor Street. In 1907, the O'Connor Street Bridge was added; it was one of Ontario's first reinforced concrete-arch, single-span bridges. A landscaped Central Park soon replaced the creek westerly to Lyon Street.
The bridge was one of many projects the Ottawa Improvement Commission undertook at the beginning of the 20th century to develop scenic vistas and driveways to make Ottawa “the Washington of the North,” in Prime Minister Laurier's words. Laurier's newfound vision was certainly an improvement on his initial feelings about the city: “I do not wish to say anything disparaging of the capital, but it is hard to say anything good of it.”
Have you ever participated in “Art in the Park” or other events in Central Park? Tell us about it!
Neighbourhood
Like the rest of Ottawa, the area that would become known as the Glebe was originally a hunting territory for Anishnabe (Algonquin) tribes, principally the Odawa, whose name is commemorated ... read more
