Test your knowledge of Glebe history

By Cynthia Smith

Heritage Day was established in 1973 by the Heritage Canada Foundation to encourage the preservation and promotion of Canada’s nationally significant architectural, natural and scenic heritage. Heritage Day in Ottawa will take place on Tuesday, February 19, 2013 and will be celebrating the theme of ‘Good Neighbours: The Heritage of Homes and Neighbourhoods.’

Heritage Day is part of a nationwide, month-long celebration and a time for Canadians to explore and celebrate their personal heritage. It will be held at Ottawa City Hall (110 Laurier Avenue West) on Tuesday, February 19, 2013 beginning at 11:30 a.m. For more information, visit ottawa.ca/heritage or the Council of Heritage Organizations in Ottawa at: www.choocopo.ca.

Celebrations at City Hall will feature music, entertainment and displays by more than 40 local heritage groups, including museums, historical societies and archives. Fiddlers will perform while dozens of costumed characters circulate among the crowd. This public event is free.

Glebe Heritage Quiz

Test yourself with these questions to see how knowledgeable you are about the Glebe’s heritage.

1. In 1906, the Glebe Presbyterian Church built by J.W.H. Watts opened at the corner of First and which other street?
a. O’Connor
b. Lyon
c. Percy

2. Fifth Avenue in the Glebe was originally known by what name?
a. Dow’s Road
b. Mutchmor
c. Abbotsford

3. Lansdowne Park was used by the army as a training and marshalling area for soldiers bound overseas during what war?
a. World War I
b. World War II
c. The Korean War

4. In 1928 what theatre, built at the corner of Bank and Second, was the first to show sound films?
a. Orpheus Theatre
b. Capital Theatre
c. Avalon Theatre

5. In 1931, only 298 vacant lots were available in the Glebe, true or false?

6. The name Glebe comes from the Latin word “gleba” which means what?
a. Clod of earth
b. Property
c. Globe

7. ‘Horseless’ streetcars arrived in Ottawa in 1891 by the Ottawa Electric Railway Co. They travelled from Albert Street to what location?
a. Patterson’s Creek
b. Lansdowne Park
c. Bank and First

8. Except for the canal access route, no road was planned for the Glebe. But in 1865 a street was built. What was it called?
a. Bank Street
b. O’Connor Street
c. Monk Street

9. In 1814, this man acquired land opposite Billings Bridge, a proportion of which was swampland, later to be known as Dow’s Great Swamp. Who was that man?
a. Jeremiah Dowson
b. Abraham Dow
c. Louis Dowing

10. Bank Street was for a time called Esther Street, named after this man’s wife.
a. Alexander Mutchmor
b. Thomas Ahearn
c. Colonel By

Cynthia Smith is Heritage Cultural Planner at the Cultural and Heritage Services Branch of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department, City of Ottawa. She can be reached at 613-580-2424 ext 30540 or cynthia.smith@ottawa.ca.

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