Ugly Ottawa

Harley613 · #1 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 5:37 PM**

I just made this post in the 'Ugly Canada' thread. I thought it would be fun to start an 'Ugly Ottawa' thread here. I omitted City Centre...too obvious :p What did I miss?

Here are some of Ottawa's 'Greatest Hits'

Septic Waste indeed....

Typical Vanier storefronts

I don't even...

BRAND NEW apartments. They want to build four of these. They didn't even try...

Scotiabank Place covered walkway to get hockey fans to the arena in STYLE

Perfect building for an adult video store

Rideau Street

More Rideau Street

The Rideau Street finale

This is on a major arterial. Tens of thousands of people drive by it every day. Still there...

That mural is just funny....

This has been falling apart since it was built

The pharmacy across the street sells a lot of anti-depressants

Classic Ottawa federal architecture. You see this all over the city. The coloured panels make it 'upbeat'.....

We have an entire neighbourhood of these nasty little post WW2 econo-boxes

People eat here?

Some kind of school

Little hole of a strip club

Ironically the best sandwich in Ottawa...maybe even the world...

I'm not sure what's going on here....but I don't like it....

Mmmmm. Baby puke green.

The Booth Street complex. Some talk about making it a sort of 'Distillery-style entertainment district' They had better act fast, it's crumbling to the ground.

No this is not in former Soviet Union. These are CONDOS. People BUY these.

These are finally getting a reface but the reface looks almost as ugly

Trailer park...right in the middle of the city. I'm not even joking

Beedok · #2 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 5:47 PM**

This thread is going to get real big, real fast (if my experience with Ottawa is anything to go by).

c_speed3108 · #3 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 6:35 PM**

A few updates.

The buildings on Rideau Street like the Cajan Attic etc have been torn down.

The Bingo hall on Montreal Rd has had some work done on it (a new fence and stuff out by the street). The building itself well....

A number of the other store fronts along there have improved to various degrees although the one your picture points at is still as is...

I personally like the apartment building on North River. It is perhaps a tad plain, but it is well constructed out of durable materials. That can not be said for much of what gets constructed these days.

I personally have a soft spot for those post-war A-frame homes. We have many neighbourhoods of them and they are both a piece of our history and culture. Many have now been modified creating neighbourhoods with tons of character that are not cookie-cutter.

Most of the rest I agree with.

McC · #4 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 6:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

I personally like the apartment building on North River...

which one's that?

Harley613 · #5 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 6:45 PM**

The nasty new one in Kanata.

I didn't realize those Rideau buildings are gone now! That's fantastic! I heard there are condos going here but they sat vacant until the watermain was improved because the old one didn't have enough capacity.

Dado · #6 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 6:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harley613

We have an entire neighbourhood of these nasty little post WW2 econo-boxes

Well they did serve a purpose at the time... and the small sizes are a useful reminder of just how oversized a lot of later housing became.

Quote:

People eat here?

Well the food is pretty decent, though I tend to go for take-out rather than eat-in.

As it happens, that location *could* have been the point at which a western LRT line would leave the old CPR RoW and transition to the old Britannia tramway RoW, thus largely avoiding the McKellar Park NIMBY brigade - had we had the foresight to plan for it 10-15 years ago.

Southpaw78 · #7 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 7:05 PM**

Despite the look of the Kanata apartments, I have actually been inside the units and they are quite nice and modern. In fact most, if not all, of the units have been rented. The adjoining new clubhouse and pool for residents isn't bad either. Too bad though they couldn't match the outside with the inside....

Harley613 · #8 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 7:06 PM**

We lost a couple of the great ones recently. Vox & Hooters.

We still have these treasures though!

King Edward St.

Murray St.

Church of God on Carling

Harley613 · #9 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 7:18 PM**

Can't forget these either....

kwoldtimer · #10 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 8:50 PM**

As others have already noted, the wartime or veterans houses really don't belong on an "ugly thread". When properly cared for and updated, they remain attractive (see below) and are historically significant. Kitchener has even turned its wartime housing neighbourhood into a designated historic district and it is charming. I find it interesting to think of families with several children (and one bathroom!) living good lives in houses like this.

Capital Shaun · #11 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 8:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harley613

The pharmacy across the street sells a lot of anti-depressants

No this is not in former Soviet Union. These are CONDOS. People BUY these.

We've got lots of ugly plain concrete appartment buildings like these all over town.

I used to be a tennant in a poorly maintenained building like this on Prince Of Wales drive a decade ago. The interiors are just as depressing. The only good thing was the heated pool in the penthouse.

Capital Shaun · #12 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 8:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

As others have already noted, the wartime or veterans houses really don't belong on an "ugly thread". When properly cared for and updated, they remain attractive (see below) and are historically significant. Kitchener has even turned its wartime housing neighbourhood into a designated historic district and it is charming. I find it interesting to think of families with several children (and one bathroom!) living good lives in houses like this.

What kind of restrictions does it add to homeowners by declaring their house as historic? Do they have a bunch of extra red tape to go through to do upgrades/additions or does it mostly prevent them from knocking the building down?

Harley613 · #13 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 9:01 PM**

How the hell did I forget Cowpland's 'house'?

Harley613 · #14 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 9:10 PM**

This abandoned garage on bank is pretty bad too

Also: The SAADE EMPIRE on Bank St. South

Harley613 · #15 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 9:14 PM**

Stay classy, Brittania.

drawarc · #16 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 9:39 PM**

Friel Towers:

http://goo.gl/maps/KOcdB

http://goo.gl/maps/enT5S

Harley613 · #17 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 9:54 PM**

Ooooh good one!
For convenience:

Harley613 · #18 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 9:56 PM**

497 Cumberland is a doozy

Harley613 · #19 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 9:59 PM**

I'm sure they have lot's of 'Opposition Parties' at this house at Range & Mann :p

Dado · #20 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 11:00 PM**

Other than maybe the blue door and letterbox that don't really match anything else on the house, what exactly is ugly here? The style is unusual and wood cladding has become atypical but it's definitely not in the league of the typical suburban house as far as ugliness goes. There's also nothing wrong with the landscaping. Or is it the collection of flags, posters, signs and symbols littering the place?