Imagine a new library in old Union Station
The Ottawa Citizen July 22, 2010
Re: No deal for new library, July 15.
On a recent visit to the Maritimes, I noticed once more how they are catching up to and in some ways even surpassing Ontario. One of the most notable is in the preservation of their heritage.
When the old Prince Edward Island railway was abandoned, the stations became libraries, museums and municipal offices. Ottawa's Union Station, now the Government Conference Centre, sits idle much of the time, while six blocks away the Ottawa Public Library's Main branch bulges at the seams. And the Ottawa Public Library officials report that plans to buy downtown land for a new central library have apparently failed.
Union Station is in a perfect location for the city's main library. It is near major bus lines, adjacent to ample parking in Rideau Centre, and on the proposed light-rail route. The rotunda would make a wonderful reading room. The building is huge and there is room for expansion of its southern extension.
A café could be created along the Rideau Canal, helping address the strange fact that Ottawa has hardly any restaurants with views of its wonderful waterways. A café on the second storey could be a library reading room.
The concept combines two of the ways civilizations preserve their heritage, namely with books and heritage architecture. Canadians and tourists would be impressed with a city that shows pride in its heritage. The federal government could use the new Congress Centre a block away for conferences that might have been held in the old Union Station.
I hope that our civic politicians have the imagination to pursue this idea.
Ed Whitcomb,
Ottawa
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