07/11/2026
For those who are familiar with Island Park Dr it’s hard to believe the photo. Ain’t that something
Construction of Island Park Drive began 105 years ago today, on July 11, 1921.
Island Park Drive is today a scenic parkway, a tree-lined boulevard, home to historic residences, embassies and families.
Although proposed almost two decades earlier, in the 1903 report of urban planner Frederick G. Todd, construction of Island Park Drive did not finally get underway until July 11, 1921.
Todd’s report, commissioned by the Ottawa Improvement Commission, had recommended Island Park Drive as a “desirable route” which would “continue within the Experimental Farm” beyond which “unoccupied land could be taken for the entire distance, crossing near Merivale Road through beautiful woods… across the Canadian Pacific Railway… over a high elevation where the Parliament Buildings are in full view, and where a view is obtained of the distant Laurentian Mountains” (Gatineau Hills) and across Richmond Road, terminating at a proposed riverside park at the Ottawa River.
Answering the call of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, who considered Ottawa “not a handsome city” and expressed his vision that Canada’s capital be transformed into a “Washington of the North”, the Ottawa Improvement Commission had commissioned Todd to outline a comprehensive improvement plan for the national capital region.
Todd’s report ended up recommending an extensive interconnected network of parkways, parks and waterways, within Ottawa’s existing city limits and beyond, among which would be Island Park Drive (referred to early on as the “Victoria Parkway” or “West End Driveway”).
Visit the Island Park Community Association’s excellent website to learn more about the fascinating history of Island Park Drive and the IPCA’s work toward preserving the heritage of the Island Park community:
https://www.islandparkcommunityassociation.ca/ipd-history
For a deeper dive, here is a 100th anniversary presentation on the history of Island Park Drive, including the “Who’s who” of Ottawa’s past who have lived in the community, researched and prepared by Island Park resident Jennifer Gillespie:
https://www.islandparkcommunityassociation.ca/ipd-history?fbclid=IwY2xjawSaMNJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFJdlEyTDlTbzNIQWRoSWlUc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrhsYPJNiaH391tgmQzDODzedjUhlhu43Dt9bby25HYs350iofFGPYDDdunq_aem_BvQojcXBJRNNz03FrGVSrQ
Of interest as well is this article on construction of the Champlain Bridge, from Dave Allston’s Kitchissippi Museum blog:
https://kitchissippimuseum.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-1920s-champlain-bridge-construction