Tuesday, August 11, 2020

The William Saunders Building on the Experimental Farm is vacant.

Other buildings in the vicinity have already been demolished or they are facing extinction:   The Sir John Carling building and cafeteria annex. The DARA Tennis Club, recently evicted. The RCN Curling Club near Dow's Lake. The North Azimuth was removed when Carling Avenue was widened. The South Azimuth will be flattened when Maple Lane is widened, to accomodate the increase in traffic when condominiums and a medical centre are constructed.

 Dominion Observatory - Astronomer Arthur Covington wrote a letter to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1973 asking the PM to save the landmark. Google:" RASC 2019 GA - National Heritage of the Dominion Observatory" YouTube. My schoolmates and I visited the Observatory in 1965 and we looked through the telescope.

The federal government donated 50 acres of our land to a hospital corporation. The City of Ottawa zoned the property as Institutional. Twelve acres were then rezoned as Mixed-Use. Changes are on the horizon for Prince of Wales Drive, Birch Drive and Maple Lane. Thousands of trees are endangered including Isabella Preston's crabapple trees and the Old Hedge collection. 

To see drone footage of the area Google: "The Sir John Carling site - Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital" The video is 25 seconds.


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