I have the second of two posts today at my writer's blog about the Canadian Firefighters Memorial Ceremony that was held here a week ago yesterday.
Main Street in Ottawa is not the main street. It's a busy enough street, particularly during weekdays, but it's not the lifeblood of a city like Bank, Elgin, Wellington, Somerset, or Bronson might be deemed. It's the legacy of a time when the area of Ottawa East was its own separate municipality, on the east side of the Rideau Canal as it ventures towards the downtown core. The street is still called Main Street, a century after Ottawa East was absorbed into the larger city, running between the area of the 417 and south to where it crosses the Rideau River and ends up becoming Smyth Road. The campus for Saint Paul University can be found here.
I walked down this road one summer day and paused to take some photographs, including a park with a different kind of entrance and lovely flowerbeds. Bees were busy among the flowers.
These huge snowball blossoms are a fixture in many gardens through the city during summer; these were at a house along the street.
These gates for the neighbourhood to the east serve a second purpose, with engraved plaques in English and French that date back to the aftermath of the Second World War. They are a local war memorial.
Down the street, near to where a bridge crosses the Rideau River, stands this building. It is the embassy for Cuba.
It looks like a very interesting place to walk. That's a very different sort of park. And those snowball blossoms make me think I'm missing something in my garden.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful and prestigious, William!
ReplyDelete...I like the funky multicolored fence and the cobblestone columns.
ReplyDeleteMagnificas fotografias.
ReplyDeleteUm abraço e boa semana.
Andarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
O prazer dos livros
Lovely garden images. Very different looking memorials.
ReplyDeleteSuch lovely gardens. And, I loved learning about not-so-Main Street!
ReplyDeleteJanis
GDP
Hello, love the pretty gardens and the memorials. Happy Monday, enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteLooks like very beautiful and peaceful place to stroll around. I love the snowball blossoms. How pretty they are! Love the memorial, too.
ReplyDelete@Kay: it is a good walk.
ReplyDelete@Linda: it's a pretty area.
@Tom: me too.
@Francisco: thank you.
@Nancy: one doesn't usually see them in such a spot.
@Janis: it's curious to imagine amalgamation before the really big amalgamation we had at the beginning of this century.
@Eileen: thank you!
@Tamago: I have always liked those blossoms.
Summer looks good in Ottawa William. It made me smile that the Cuban Embassy is cube shaped ☺
ReplyDeleteThe gardens look pretty amazing to me.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a pretty place. I love that multi-colored fence in the first shot.
ReplyDeleteA great place for a peaceful walk.
ReplyDeleteAnd so by political change history is shaped and influenced.
ReplyDelete@Grace: I think all the fencing gives it a stand-offish sort of feel, but I caught it on a good day. On cloudy days, the embassy looks downright oppressive.
ReplyDelete@Carolann: that park garden is well looked after.
@Sharon: I do as well.
@Norma: it was a good day.
@Red: definitely!
So pretty! I like that fence in the first photo.
ReplyDeleteA lovely garden indeed!
ReplyDeleteWhat a surprise to find this rural looking garden in the midst of Main Street! Very pretty & the war memorial is very impressive
ReplyDeleteThose flowers show the best of Summer!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a nice part of town!
ReplyDeleteRiver rocks?
ReplyDeleteLovely flora and I think that colored fence is great. I am also a great fan of rocks so I appreciate anything made out of rocks!
ReplyDeleteThe colored fence is my favorite, very pretty.
ReplyDelete@Lois: I think that fence has been there a long while.
ReplyDelete@Lady Fi: whoever tends to it does a great job.
@Christine: it's a pleasant part of town.
@Marleen: and summer is now at its end.
@RedPat: it is!
@Revrunner: or field rocks. We've got a lot of them all over this part of the continent, a nice legacy of the ice age.
@Lowell: thanks!
@Bill: it's a good one.
I haven't seen snowball flowers since I left Iowa. For somme reason they were not popular in the area of Washington where I lived. A snowball bush in full bloom is always a memorable sight.
ReplyDeleteOttawa seems like such a great city, that respects its history.
ReplyDeleteLooks a delightful place to explore. Love the stonework on teh pillars and those blooms are sweet.
ReplyDeleteI love the stone work! I don't recall being there. Well done!
ReplyDeleteSnowblow blossoms are amazing!
ReplyDelete@Mari: it might require the right climate to grow.
ReplyDelete@Catalyst: I enjoy living here.
@Denise: thank you!
@Jennifer: for you, if you were around the General Hospital, it would require a drive west on Smyth and over the Rideau River to come up on Main Street.
@Klara: they certainly are.