A Capital Plan

This short documentary features a portrait of Ottawa in the mid-20th century, as the nascent Canadian capital grew with force but without direction. Street congestion, air pollution, and rail traffic were all the negative results of a city that had grown without being properly planned. French architect and urban designer Jacques Gréber stepped in to create a far-sighted plan for the future development of Ottawa. With tracks moved, factories relocated, and neighbourhoods redesigned as separate communities, Ottawa became the capital city of true beauty and dignity we know today.

Directed by Bernard Devlin - 1949 | 11 min

[NeilFraser]

Gut-wrenching to see all the things we threw away. The downtown train station. Street cars. Swimming at Hogs Back Falls.

[haydenparkhurst]

It is cool to see old films like this. Nothing like it.

[lovehandr]

70 years later, the Greber Plan had mixed results. Perhaps the industrial railways should have been removed to the periphery but Union Station would have tremendous value had it been retained. The removal of industry from the centre of the city was simply the loss of industry entirely.

[justinjeeps]

It warms my heart to see Ottawa was 10-15 years behind, even in the past!

[PatrickRKay]

Removing the train station out of downtown was the worse plan ever

[FriedRiceINC]

Ottawa, sadly, has ruined a lot of the potential it had in this video. Moving the train station out of downtown, ripping out the streetcars, and carving up the city with highways and stroads has been a disaster. It's known as "Autowa" now. I'd give anything to live in a city designed around people. Such a shame that Ottawa missed that opportunity.

[projectmalus]

A Canada Carries On presentation, the beaver at work.

[kaius]

【2:38】Hogs Back Falls ?? I've never heard this place before near Ottawa, Canada. 😲
🌷☺🌷It's interesting place. 👍

[gogogo]

Lorne Greene is putting on a semi-British accent, a popular (and artificial) way of speaking in films at that time.

[glennledrew]

A fascinating little time capsule. I moved here in '92.

I note several complaints among the comments about the negative aspects of the changes implemented. Are there examples of formerly roughly similar cities which modernized to much better effect?

[JIMIIXTLAN]

Strathcona Park 9:50 I swam in that pool

[Djbandit]

Imagine landing here as a refugee on a boat and then living by parliament hill 20 years later

[donmc]

Unfortunately the Greber plan was never completed and the 2 bridges planned for the East and West end were never started. That is why we still have Truck traffic downtown.

[TCSGaming-qjsw]

Highways should be build around cities, not through cities.

[chadparsons]

Maybe if politicians could see more industry from their perch they'd know that the value of money doesn't come from paper or digital.

[nordique]

When adults ran the country and people were normal. Long gone!