The North West Quadrant
I just moved in to the Glasgow condos at the corner of Powell Avenue and Bronson. I thought that I was now living in 'the Glebe', but my neighbor says that we are technically not in 'the Glebe'. What's the story here?
This very question almost brought a meeting of Glebe Historical Society (GHS) to fisticuffs one time. The Queensway clearly demarcates the northern boundary of the Glebe, and the Rideau Canal marks the eastern and southern boundaries. But how about the west?
Some people mentally included that area west of Bronson to Lebreton, between Carling and the Queensway, as part of 'the Glebe'. However, others differed vociferously. In the heated GHS debate, the disputed territory became known as 'the north-west quadrant' (NWQ). Let me present both sides as objectively as possible, and you can decide for yourself.
The 'nay' side claimed, accurately, that the NWQ has an older history than the Glebe. It was settled in the 1870's as part of Rochesterville, a working class suburb that grew up between the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Railroad tracks and Bronson (then Concession Road), after the hands of the Chaudiere mills had already filled the housing on LeBreton Flats.
They further claimed that the NWQ is not part of the City of Ottawa's Capital Ward, as is the rest of the Glebe. Also, the NWQ wasn't part of the original glebe land grant to St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. The original housing and lot sizes in the NWQ indicate different development patterns than most of the rest of the Glebe. The Glebe Community Association does not solicit memberships in this area, and the Glebe Report is not delivered in the NWQ.
The 'yea' side argued that the NWQ might technically belong to Somerset Ward, but is an orphan community, effectively cut off by the Queensway. The NWQ is also severed from the 'Little Italy' area to the west by the monolithic Natural Resources Canada complex. The NWQ, they say, forms a greater 'community of interest' with the Glebe than with any other residential area. Indeed, in the Ward Boundary Review, there was a recommendation that this area become part of Capital Ward. Students from the NWQ are in the catchment area for Glebe schools such as Mutchmor, Corpus Christi and Glebe Collegiate.
The Yeas also note, accurately, that large sections of the Glebe were not in the original 1837 Clergy Reserve grant to St. Andrew's. The area north of Glebe Avenue to the Queensway, or south of Fifth Avenue to the Rideau Canal were not part of the original glebe lands defined in the grant.
Residents of the Dow's Lake area consider themselves part of the Glebe. They have representation on the Glebe Community Association (GCA), and carry dual membership in their own resident's association and the GCA. So, if big, bold, broad Bronson Avenue doesn't take Dow's Lake households out of the Glebe, why should it take out those homes north of Carling to the Queensway?
So it's up to you, Alice. If you're feeling collegial, quote from the yeas: if you're feeling feisty and independent, quote from the nays.