Today I'm starting a series of posts from the New Edinburgh area. A neighbourhood to the northeast of the downtown core, it was founded as a village by stonemason and businessman Thomas McKay (places named after him have been known to spell it as as MacKay, hence the United Church in this neighbourhood that I showed you some days ago). He bought the land at the east stretch of the Rideau River where it meets the Ottawa River in 1829, and was involved in the building of the Rideau Canal. The village took its name for Edinburgh in Scotland, where he had come from. His family residence later became Rideau Hall, and the streets in this affluent neighbourhood bear the names of he and his relations. The homes here are lovely to stroll around.
New Edinburgh is home to several embassies and ambassador residences. This is the Mongolian embassy.
When I saw this at a distance coming from the north, the tower made me think of an old fire hall- which its older section might well have been at some point- but this is a retirement residence. I took this shot from the south side of the structure.
I kept walking, on my way towards Rideau Hall, photographing some of the homes as I went.
These two houses are neighbours on a short street, Rideau Gate, which happens to be one of the most distinctive addresses in the city. To the left of me is Rideau Hall. To my right across Sussex Drive is 24 Sussex, residence of the Prime Minister, currently under extended renovation (the PM and his family are residing at a house on the grounds of Rideau Hall). The first house is 7 Rideau Gate, an official guest residence owned by the Canadian Government.
Its neighbour to the right is another embassy. South Africa has its High Commission here.
Rideau Gate joins Sussex Drive in a rarity here in Ottawa: a traffic circle. Walking across that gives us a view through the trees of the Ottawa River, still frozen over. The river here is wide, and the wooded area you see in the background is Rockcliffe Park, which is the next neighbourhood east from New Edinburgh. Tomorrow we'll take a look at Rideau Hall.
The houses look nice but you still have snow !!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely area!
ReplyDeleteIt looks to be a lovely area - the buildings in Edinburgh, Scotland are all built out of granite so the South African High Commission is the one that resembles them the most.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteLike where I live (Lisbon) does not snow, I love to see photos of places with snow.
Gorgeous shots.
Have a nice weekend
Maria de
Divagar Sobre Tudo um Pouco
...some fancy addresses in this neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteSuch peacefulness in the sunlight of the first one.
ReplyDeleteThe PM, do you mean Justin Trudeau?
Gostei destes olhares.
ReplyDeleteUm abraço e Boa Páscoa.
Andarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
Livros-Autografados
love all the different styles. very cool. ( ;
ReplyDeleteSeems to be a quiet and friendly neighbourhood with a great variety of houses and other buildings.
ReplyDelete@Gattina: well these shots were taken a month ago, but we still have snow.
ReplyDelete@Lady Fi: it certainly is.
@Rosemary: from the looks of it, that building has been there from early on, only not always in a diplomatic capacity.
@Maria: our winters are snowy.
@Tom: the area is pretty established.
@Sandi: yes, that's him.
@Francisco: thank you.
@Beth: it's a great area.
@Jan: it is.
That is quite a neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteNot your average neighborhood. It's limited to the wealthy.
ReplyDeleteA lovely neighborhood with great history. Is Edinburgh, Scotland a Sister City?
ReplyDeleteJanis
GDP
Wow, there are some gorgeous homes in this neighborhood. I'm reminded of my home town in Illinois.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a neighborhood William! Beautiful homes, expensive homes ☺
ReplyDeleteNow's when I wish I was rich, even though I know one of those gorgeous homes won't solve my problems, it would be nice to work on my problems from one of a stone palace such as the one in #2 picture!
ReplyDeleteA lovely area.
ReplyDeleteSome very impressive homes in that neighborhood. Very nice indeed!
ReplyDeleteI like the new header photo!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a lovely neighbourhood.
@RedPat: it certainly is.
ReplyDelete@Red: I would imagine so.
@Janis: not that I know of, but McKay, born in Perth, Scotland, immigrated as a young man in 1817 to Canada. At some point he must have seen the Scottish Edinburgh and it stayed with him. We have a small town not far from here called Perth, too.
@Sharon: it's a lovely neighbourhood, always worth visiting.
@Grace: yes, but well worth it!
@Lowell: I wouldn't mind living here.
@Mildred: it certainly is.
@Bill: definitely nice!
@Jennifer: I enjoy coming over here from time to time. I'll be back sometime in spring, I think.
Litlle did McKay know how much that real estate is worth today!
ReplyDeleteElegant places and lovely homes ~ wonderful photos ~ intriguing
ReplyDeleteHappy Days to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
What a great place for a stroll. It looks like a very nice area and will probably be glorious if you go back in spring.
ReplyDeleteLooks like great place. I bet quite a few people has cleats they put on there foot ware, so they won't fall.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is o
I am interested to learn more about this area ... and look forward to more stunning pictures! We took some snowbird neighbors from your area for a boat ride the other day and I was able to ask them some half way intelligent questions based on what I've learned from you here. (Starting with the fact that I knew a bit about the canals -- and how different they are from the one we live on.) Thank you for making me feel smarter and better traveled than I actually am or will ever be! Also your header shot is absolutely stunning.
ReplyDeleteYou still have snow?
ReplyDeleteI love seeing neighborhoods -- this is a lovely one. But then, if the PM is living there, you'd expect nothing less!
ReplyDeleteNice to see the variety of houses.
ReplyDeleteHope your snow soon goes!
All the best Jan
You do such a good job visiting interesting spots.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful architecture of the buildings.
ReplyDelete@Marie: he left behind quite a legacy.
ReplyDelete@Carol: thank you!
@Kay: it is in spring.
@Dora: that happens.
@Sallie: you're welcome.
@Norma: and we still have snow this year.
ReplyDelete@Jeanie: quite true!
@Jan: it's still around this year too.
@Jennifer: thank you.
@Klara: I agree.