Mechanicsville, Ottawa

Last updated

Mechanicsville
Neighbourhood
Mechanicsville Ottawa 2.jpg
Newottawamap.png
Red pog.svg
Mechanicsville
Coordinates: 45°24′40″N75°44′00″W / 45.41111°N 75.73333°W / 45.41111; -75.73333
CountryCanada
Province Ontario
City Ottawa
Government
   MPs Yasir Naqvi
   MPPs Joel Harden
   Councillors Jeff Leiper
Elevation
60 m (200 ft)
Population
 (2011)
  Total2,205
  Canada 2011 Census
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)

Mechanicsville is a neighbourhood in Kitchissippi Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located to the west of downtown and bordered by the Ottawa River to the north, the O-Train Trillium Line to the east, Scott Street to the south, and Parkdale Avenue to the west. [1] East of Mechanicsville is LeBreton Flats, Tunney's Pasture is directly west, and Hintonburg is to the south. The total population of the neighbourhood as of the 2011 Census was 2,205. [2]

Contents

History

Plan of subdivision was prepared and certified by Robert Sparks, P.L.Surveyor in 1872, it being the property of Mrs T.M. Blasdel & A.H.Baldwin Esq, and certified as a true copy of plan 35A, 7 June 1976 by the Assistant Examiner of surveys. The Village of Mechanicsville being part of Lot 36 Concession A of Nepean.

The limits were (Burnside) to the north and running down to the Ottawa River at the Sluce cutting; First street on the east (Stonehurst Avenue); Road allowance and the Canada Central Railway to the south (Scott Street); Fifth Street (Parkdale Avenue) to the west.

The first modest houses were probably built about 1875. They were of wood balloon frame covered with 1x12 inch planks inside and out with wood or other siding, with the foundations projecting four inches beyond the edge of the finished frame to take a brick finish as people became able to afford this luxury.

The area was annexed to the city of Ottawa in 1911. Some sources suggest that the name Mechanicsville arose after this annexation because it became home to blue collar workers, especially those who worked in the rail yards, or lumber and paper mills who had been displaced by the Great Fire of 1900. In fact, Mechanicsville was known by that name as early as 1879 when it was shown in Belden's Historical Atlas of Carleton County in Nepean Twp., being part of Lot 36 in Concession A, Ottawa Front. Mechanicsville in 1879 was considerably smaller than the present day Ottawa neighbourhood. Its western boundary was then the present-day Parkdale Avenue.

In the 1950s and 1960s, when what is now known as the Kichi Zibi Mikan, (formerly the Macdonald Parkway) was being developed by the National Capital Commission, large sections of the neighbourhood along the river were expropriated and demolished. While this created green space, the parkway and on and off-ramps at Parkdale Avenue have also created a barrier to the waterfront.

In the 1970s and 1980s, expansion of Scott Street, and the development of the Transitway along the old rail line on Scott has served to cut off the area from the area south of Scott, which was at one time, considered part of the Mechanicsville neighbourhood.

Area character

Carruthers Avenue, 2011 Mechanicsville Ottawa.JPG
Carruthers Avenue, 2011

The area is mostly residential, of wood-frame/wood siding 1900s era homes on grid streets. Along Parkdale Avenue, there are several newer highrise apartment buildings. To the east is an older industrial area along Bayview.

The neighbourhood has good bus access and has experienced infilling of town homes in recent years. These include both low- and high-income housing. In 2007, a serious fire affected some high density social housing and the neighbourhood helped the victims of this fire. Prominent landmarks include the Protection of the Holy Virgin Memorial Church and the Embassy of Indonesia.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westboro, Ottawa</span> Neighbourhood in Ontario, Canada

Westboro is an area in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located along the Ottawa River, Island Park Drive defines Westboro's eastern border, while the Ottawa River defines its northern border. Under this definition, the population of the area is 22,725.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkdale, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Parkdale is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bounded on the west by Roncesvalles Avenue, on the north by the CP Rail line where it crosses Queen Street and Dundas Street. It is bounded on the east by Dufferin Street from Queen Street south, and on the south by Lake Ontario. The original village incorporated an area north of Queen Street, east of Roncesvalles from Fermanagh east to the main rail lines, today known as part of the Roncesvalles neighbourhood. The village area was roughly one square kilometre in area. The City of Toronto government extends the neighbourhood boundaries to the east, south of the CP Rail lines, east to Atlantic Avenue, as far south as the CN Rail lines north of Exhibition Place, the part south of King Street commonly known as the western half of Liberty Village neighbourhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Street, Toronto</span> Thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario

Queen Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original east–west avenues of Toronto's and York County's grid pattern of major roads. The western section of Queen is a centre for Canadian broadcasting, music, fashion, performance, and the visual arts. Over the past twenty-five years, Queen West has become an international arts centre and a tourist attraction in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank Street (Ottawa)</span> Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Bank Street is the major commercial north-south street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs south from Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, south through the neighbourhoods of Centretown, The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Alta Vista, Hunt Club, and then through the villages of Blossom Park, Leitrim, South Gloucester, Greely, Metcalfe, Spring Hill, and Vernon before exiting the city limits at Belmeade Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roncesvalles, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Roncesvalles is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, centred on Roncesvalles Avenue, a north–south street leading from the intersection of King and Queen Streets to the south, north to Dundas Street West, a distance of roughly 1.5 kilometres. It is located east of High Park, north of Lake Ontario, in the Parkdale–High Park provincial and federal ridings and the municipal Ward 14. Its informal boundaries are High Park to the west, Bloor Street West to the north, Lake Ontario/Queen Street West to the south and Lansdowne Avenue/rail corridor to the east. Originally known as "Howard Park", most of this area was formerly within the boundaries of Parkdale and Brockton villages and was annexed into Toronto in the 1880s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkdale—High Park</span> Federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada

Parkdale—High Park is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. It was created during the 1976 electoral boundaries redistribution from parts of Parkdale, High Park—Humber Valley, Davenport and Spadina districts. As of the October 19, 2015, Canadian general election, the current Member of Parliament (MP) is Liberal member Arif Virani. According to the 2016 Census, Parkdale—High Park has the lowest percentage of visible minorities (26.2%) among all City of Toronto ridings; it also has the highest percentage of people of Irish (20.0%), German (9.8%), and French (8.9%) ethnic origin of all City of Toronto ridings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transitway (Ottawa)</span> Bus rapid transit system in Ottawa, Canada

The Transitway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) network operated by OC Transpo in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It comprises a series of bus-only roadways and reserved lanes on city streets and highways. The dedicated busways ensure that buses and emergency vehicles on the Transitway rarely intersect directly with the regular traffic, and make it possible for them to continue at full speed even during rush hour. OC Transpo operates a network of rapid routes which use the Transitway to connect communities with the O-Train light rail system. Additional bus routes also use segments of the Transitway.

Ottawa West was a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1997 and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1908 to 1926 and from 1955 to 1999. It covered the western part of the Ottawa area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Avenue</span> Thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario

Lawrence Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into east and west portions by Yonge Street, the dividing line of east-west streets in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carleton (Ontario federal electoral district)</span> Federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada

Carleton is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968 and since 2015. It was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1821 to 1840 and in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1841 until 1866.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hintonburg</span> Neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Hintonburg is a neighbourhood in Kitchissippi Ward in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located west of the Downtown core. It is a historically working-class, predominantly residential neighbourhood, with a commercial strip located along Wellington Street West. It is home to the Parkdale Farmer's Market, located along Parkdale Avenue, just north of Wellington. It is considered to be one of Ottawa's most "hipster" neighbourhoods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kichi Zibi Mikan</span> Four-lane parkway in Ottawa, Canada

The Kichi Zībī Mīkan,, formerly the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, and previously the Ottawa River Parkway, is a four-lane scenic parkway along the Ottawa River in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs from Carling Avenue near Connaught Avenue, to Booth Street at the Canadian War Museum and National Holocaust Monument. It is maintained by the National Capital Commission. The speed limit is 60 km/h (37 mph). Bicycles are allowed on the road and on a parallel recreational path along the parkway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunney's Pasture</span> Government campus in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Tunney's Pasture is a 49-hectare (121-acre) campus in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, that is exclusively developed for federal government buildings. It is bordered by Scott Street to the south, Parkdale Avenue to the east, the Kichi Zibi Mikan to the north, and the Champlain Park neighbourhood to the west. While strictly speaking it is confined to this area, people living in the vicinity of it will often call the wider neighbourhood Tunney's Pasture.

Windsor, Ontario, has a very diverse population, and this diversity is shown in its many neighbourhoods. Windsor has twenty in all, ranging from rural farmland to densely built-up areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkdale Avenue (Ottawa)</span> Street in Ottawa, Canada

Parkdale Avenue is an arterial road located west of downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs in a north-south direction between the Kichi Zibi Mikan and Carling Avenue in the Hintonburg and Civic Hospital neighbourhoods. It is an extremely busy road providing access to Tunney's Pasture, the Parkdale Market, the Ottawa Civic Hospital, and the Central Experimental Farm. Furthermore, it has direct connections to other major east-west arteries such as Scott Street, Wellington Street West, Gladstone Avenue, and Highway 417.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkdale—High Park (provincial electoral district)</span> Canadian provincial electoral district in the city of Toronto, Ontario

Parkdale—High Park is a provincial electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, created in 1996 and represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1999. It is located in the Toronto's west-end, bordering on the lakefront to the south, the Humber River to the west, and the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks essentially defining its northern and eastern borders. There are 107,035 residents in the district. Federally the electoral district is held by Member of Parliament (MP) Arif Virani, provincially by Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Bhutila Karpoche and municipally by city councillor Gord Perks.

Ottawa was the name of a provincial electoral district that elected one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada from 1867 to 1894 and two members from 1894 to 1908.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belltown, Ottawa</span> Neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Belltown is a neighbourhood in the Britannia area of Bay Ward, in the west end of Ottawa. It is bounded on the east by Britannia Park, on the north by the Ottawa River, on the west by Andrew Haydon Park and the south by Carling Avenue. Prior to Ottawa's amalgamation in 2001, the neighbourhood spanned the Ottawa-Nepean municipal boundary. The neighbourhood's population is 2089, with 294 people living in the Nepean portion.

References

  1. "Community Associations |". Ourkitchissippi.ca. 2015-06-17. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  2. Population calculated by combining Dissemination Areas 35060389, 35060388, 35060387, 35060385 and 35060386