Ottawa the great Capital of the Dominion of Canada, this 1949 film made by the National Film Board shows the city as it was then. Not a pretty sight. The Greber Plan has been implemented, but much remains to be done. One thing that has not changed is the traffic jams in the centre at rush hour. It has only gotten worse now that the City has a population of 1.5 million.
Funny also to see people diving into Hog's Back Falls back then, now it is forbidden due to too many deaths, a very dangerous place. Cycling on the driveway nowadays is un-heard of again far too dangerous with all the crazed motorists going 100Km per hour. Ottawa is a nice place and improving but it is not as quaint as it once was. The messenger boys are gone too, with all the cut backs and decentralization in government there are a lot less people working in the bureaucracy.
Still it is a funny little film of a more naive era.
I love these films....
ReplyDeleteAnd so nice to hear "the Voice of Canada" too....or as many knew him on TV, Ben Cartwright, or for the youngins, Commander Adama.
I love films like these. It is like the ones we used to see in school. Or the loops one sees in museums. I always stop and watch them
ReplyDeleteThe city has changed for the better and the plans have been put in place to make it more attractive.
DeleteI thought it rather sweet.
ReplyDeleteIn many ways it is, such a long time ago.
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