Terry's Travel: Ottawa Canada

#Ottawa_Capital_Canada

Chosen as the capital by Queen Victoria in 1857
The city has the largest population of bilingualism for French and English in Canada
They have made both as the official languages here

Green Roots
In 1885 Ottawa was the only place in Canada with all its downtown streetlights run by electricity,
using steam engines that utilized the waterpower from the nearby Chaudiere Falls
This replaced the older coal oil lamps, putting Ottawa ahead
of any American city at this time
With modern times, the country of Canada is at 80% for its electricity generation from clean sources
like hydropower, wind and solar

The parliament building roofs are of this color for several reasons
A) Energy Savings; the added insulation provided by the soil and plants significantly reduces energy costs for both heating plus cooling
B) Stormwater Management; acting like a sponge it absorbs the rainwater which helps control the amount of water entering the drainage system
C) Air Quality; the plants absorb carbon dioxide plus other pollutants
D) Habitat Creation; its a living landscape for various forms of wildlife

Recreation Areas
Over 1300 parks (the city operates) with a wide range of amenities that includes 2000 play structure stations, trails and sport courts
Also Ottawa has 800kms (500 miles) of bike routes that include multiuse pathways, rural trails
and some off road options

Name Origins
From the Algonquin word "adawe" meaning to trade

Initially the area was known for its fur industry, but that declined with the Hudson Bay and North West Companies moving their operations further north

Original Trans-Canada Highway
The Ottawa River plus its canal system moved massive quantities of lumber for the British and American markets
Then in the late 1880s the railway network within the country expanded which opened up the industrial growth for the area

Parliament Buildings
Originally constructed between 1859-1876 with the Centre Block being redone after the 1916 fire
The iconic Peace Tower (92 meters- 302 feet high) is certainly the focal point of the structure and was built to commemorate the contributions to the First World War

Fun Fact
There is an observation deck at the Carillon with its 53 bells, which is played by a "carillonneur" and those performances were broadcast live from the tower

The wall is made up of multiple materials, highlighting the stone which came from quarries in Europe,
United States and Canada
The rock posts and wrought iron fencing were used in keeping with the theme of the Gothic Style
that was chosen for the entire complex

Hidden Features
A) Secret Passageways; the office of Opposition Leader has a hidden door that is blended into the wood paneling leading to another room
B) Apartment; the Speaker of the House of Commons has a three-room retreat that includes a living room, bathroom and bed
C) Unfinished Elements: after the 1916 fire and its rebuild, the architect intentionally left around two hundred building features (such as blanks walls, windows) unadorned
saying that the Parliament is a "living, changing institution"
D) Hidden Pub; when the original House of Commons was built the bar was located in the basement, which is now closed
E) The Clock; during the fall time change in Canada (the mechanism
cannot be turned backwards) so it is stopped for an hour to get the correct setting

Found my Emblem for Nova Scotia in which each Province and Territory is
represented here in stone

Did You Know
A) Nova Scotia; its coat of arms was granted in 1625 which makes it the oldest
B) Continuous Carving; it has hired Dominion Sculptors for over one hundred years to carry on this work, as it is a ongoing project
C) Themes; with each Provincial or Territorial plaque it always includes flora and fauna, for example maple leaves for British Columbia or wheat for the Manitoba
D) Indigenous; starting in 1978 it has added the cultural and historical perspectives to the carving program of the buildings

Gothic Style
The many figures i found here was common during this architectural style which was aimed to evoke the grandeur of medieval cathedrals and also to the grotesque
To teach about the Good and Evil

Also at this location, some of the carvings where of a hybrid design
that was inspired by the prehistoric fossils found on the site during the construction phase

Another was of the fish-tailed dragon
which was in the theme of the structures nautical vibe they were trying to create

The city is home to fourteen museums
Which as a Canadian is you want your capital to be; displaying our cultures, history,
heritage and achievements

My Top Three
A) Canadian War Museum; on November 11th the sun shines through the glass purposely to illuminate the headstone for the "Canadas Unknown Soldier" in the Memorial Hall
Also look on the north part of the building for the Morse Code Windows
which are designed to spell out "Lest We Forget"

B) Museum of History; with over 4 million artifacts including a large collection of First Nations Art plus totem poles, a water gallery featuring a 19 meter (62 feet) long blue whale skeleton
It has something for everyone

Diefenbunker

It was built during the Cold War as a top-secret central Emergency Government Headquarters that was a four-storey underground facility

A) John Diefenbaker; nicknamed after this Prime Minister who commissioned it, but actually never visited the completed site
Pierre Trudeau was the only one who was here during its operational period
B) Gold & Beer; the lowest level was built to hold the gold of the country incase of a nuclear attack, plus the personal storage of "on site" beer 😀
C) Survival Time; the facility was designed to house 535 government
and military personal up to 30 days
The tunnel was purposely designed to be 378 feet long to divert any explosions on that end

Nova Scotia
We had our own Diefenbunker in the northern part of my Province that was built in 1964 for the same reasons as stated above
Now its being repurposed as boutique hotel

Sparks Street
It became the first outdoor pedestrian street in North America,
after its conversion in 1967

"Full Circle"
The original owner Nicholas Sparks (who was a settler and farmer)
after he purchased the land in 1821,
created a path so he could walk through his property

Famous Five
The statues honor the women (Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Henrietta Muir Edwards) who successfully campaigned to have women
declared "persons" under Canadian Law
Which opened the door for females to be appointed to the Senate

Rideau Canal
It was built as a secure military supply route between Montreal and Kingston after the War of 1812
This was an inland alternative to the St Lawrence River
which was vulnerable to American attacks

Fun Facts
A) Manual Operations; most of the 45 locks are still worked by hand, as it was when the canal first opened in 1832

B) Engineering Marvel; used a "slackwater" system which was building dams to raise the water levels of the existing rivers and lakes, instead of digging new channels around the rapids

C) Bytown; with this new construction settlement plus all its workers, it brought prosperity to the area
and it eventually was renamed Ottawa
Unfortunately around 1000 workers died (mostly from malaria) as the area was at this time full of swamps with its mosquitoes

D) Rideau Namesake; French for "curtain" as Samuel de Champlain seen the rivers twin waterfalls which gave him this thought

E) Beaver Tails; the iconic pastry got its start in 1981 with a kiosk selling during
the winter skateway on the canal

Climate
The Capital is the seventh coldest in the world, so in Canada you embrace your surroundings
Thus the canal is the planets longest naturally frozen skating rink, which would be the equivalent
(in area) to 90 Olympic sized hockey rinks

Chateau Laurier Hotel
The rumor is the building is haunted after its builder Charles Melville Hays died on the Titanic days before its opening

He was a prominent American railroad executive who moved to Canada in the early 1900s with a vision to build a second transcontinental line across the country
Building the hotels along this route was his plan to elevate tourism plus his Grand Trunk Rail Company
but he never got to see his dream fulfilled

Hearsay
That the furniture for the hotel was on the doomed vessel, which has not been verified as the ships cargo manifest had it not listed
But for sure the Belgian sculptor Paul Chevre survived and ironically his work of Sir Wilfrid Laurier bust is in the hotel lobby