Old Bus in Hintonburg

Quirky: The old bus in Mechanicsville; I was able to snag a few pictures of this just after the lot it was on was sold.  I went back the next day with my camera after spotting the bus on the lot, and it was gone.  I found it a few streets over, seemingly moored to the curb.  I did briefly speak with the former owner, who's father was a mechanic and did a lot of work out of the garage on the premises.

And just down the street the lot where the bus sat for years, a park, and on the other side of that, Bayview street, the old Ottawa workshops, Keyes Supply, and others. My mother worked in the 1950's as a book-keeper for a local business called Zagermans. She mentioned how the local kids would climb the fence when a baseball went over into the yards, after-which a foot race ensued between the hapless lad and the guard dog. And, now I was speaking with a gentleman who likely was one of those kids back in the 1950s. I am not sure of the fate of the bus, but my Dad and I came by to have a look, and, he remembered taking a bus much like this one when he was in University. 1940's era to 1950's.

The particular heritage of this bus I don't know.  It was a cold day, the day or two after it had been moved away from the lot it had likely sat on for many years. 


This lot in fact, you can see the old garage workshop. The adjoining house had suffered fire and smoke damage.  What else came out of this garage before it was torn down? Some months after these pictures were taken, it was torn down and two new homes now exist on the lot. Back in the day, before Lebreton Flats (nearby) was demolished, many who lived around here would have worked in the plants and shops in the flats. They would have been very handy individuals.  This heritage is largely lost and now this is some of the most prized real estate in Ottawa, as it's close to Ottawa's O-train corridor and downtown. Once again, the City and the NCC have plans for either side of Bayview with new residential and commercial.  Let's hope that some sense of "the place where things were made" returns to the area.  How about a community "maker space".