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Capital History Ottawa

@caphistottawa.bsky.social
647 followers 252 following 209 posts

Remembering a By-gone era. Hobby account; no politics, no agenda. #Ottawa #colourized Feed by Ashley Newall; apt613 alumni; #OttHistory #CdnHistory

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Reposted by Capital History Ottawa
Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Happy #CanadianBeerDay to all who celebrate! Here's my collection of vintage O'Keefe's ads, covering the era that O'Keefe's had a plant in #Ottawa, i.e. 1940s-1960s. (Blog post also includes pics & clippings re: O'Keefe's former Ottawa operations.) www.ashleynewall.ca/2025/10/okee...
ashleynewall.ca
O'Keefe's Beer Ads, 1940s-1960s (Ottawa Era)
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Happy #CanadianBeerDay to all who celebrate! Here's my collection of vintage O'Keefe's ads, covering the era that O'Keefe's had a plant in #Ottawa, i.e. 1940s-1960s. (Blog post also includes pics & clippings re: O'Keefe's former Ottawa operations.) www.ashleynewall.ca/2025/10/okee...
ashleynewall.ca
O'Keefe's Beer Ads, 1940s-1960s (Ottawa Era)
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Reposted by Capital History Ottawa
Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In the lead-up to #Ottawa's 200th anniversary, I'm re-sharing my past stories that cover the early years. After Bytown became Ottawa in 1855, & Queen Victoria named it the capital in 1857, William Notman showed up in 1859-60 to snap the first (known) photo set of Ottawa: apt613.ca/capital-hist...
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In the lead-up to #Ottawa's 200th anniversary, I'm re-sharing my past stories that cover the early years. After Bytown became Ottawa in 1855, & Queen Victoria named it the capital in 1857, William Notman showed up in 1859-60 to snap the first (known) photo set of Ottawa: apt613.ca/capital-hist...
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Colonel John By #colourized #Ottawa200 [colourized using AI - no other changes (original posted for side-by-side comparison)]
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In the lead-up to #Ottawa's 200th anniversary, I'm re-sharing my past stories that cover the Bytown era (1826-1854). Next up, (John Sr., John Jr., & James) Rochester's Victoria Brewery (Part 1), initially est. 1829, & then re-est. 1847: www.ashleynewall.ca/2025/08/roch...
ashleynewall.ca
Rochester's Victoria Brewery (Ottawa), 1829-1900 (Part 1: 1829-65)
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
W/ this Sat. marking the 200th anniversary of #Ottawa, it seems like a good time to re-up this recent photo essay, in which I time travel through Ottawa history: www.ashleynewall.ca/2026/04/time...
ashleynewall.ca
Time-Travelling Through Ottawa History
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
In the lead-up to #Ottawa's 200th anniversary, I'm re-sharing my past stories that cover the Bytown era (1826-1854). Next up, Nicholas Sparks' house, purportedly the first stone house built in Bytown: apt613.ca/capital-hist...
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
In the lead-up to #Ottawa's 200th anniversary, I'm re-sharing my past stories that cover the Bytown era (1826-1854). First up, The Pre-History of the Chateau Lafayette (Part 1), incl. the Stony Monday Riot, which occurred #OTD in 1849: www.ashleynewall.ca/2024/04/chat...
ashleynewall.ca
Chateau Lafayette Pre-History, Part 1: 1849-1863
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The speedboat races no doubt a legacy of Ketchum's Boathouse, which closed around 1959. apt613.ca/capital-hist...
apt613.ca
Capital History: Ketchum’s/Ratté’s/Ratty’s Boathouse, 1860s–1950s – Apartment613
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
New from Archives of Ontario on Youtube: "Ottawa - Canada's Capital (1976)" m.youtube.com/watch?v=o9J_...
m.youtube.com
Ottawa - Canada's capital (1976)
YouTube video by ArchivesOfOntario
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I'm stoked for this!
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Good 'ol steamboat landing - great splash of colour. I'd have to look up the date, but it's very early / Bytown era
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
I hear ya - in Ottawa we had Premier Hats, & I wish there were still shops like that around today apt613.ca/capital-hist...
apt613.ca
Capital History: Premier Hat Shops, 1912 to 1970
As the pluralized name suggests, they were indeed a chain, with a second location at 209 Bank Street, right on the northeast corner of Nepean Street. Premier Hats was founded in 1912 by the delightful...
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Reposted by Capital History Ottawa
Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
My “Sens Arenas of Yesteryear” blog post (2023) has just been updated w/ all new colourizations. (Prev. colourizations upgraded, + some new ones added.) www.ashleynewall.ca/2023/11/sens...
ashleynewall.ca
Sens Arenas of Yesteryear [Updated]
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
I spy Bowles Lunch on the SE corner www.ashleynewall.ca/2026/03/bowl...
ashleynewall.ca
Bowles Lunch Toronto – Queen St. at Bay St., 1915-1957
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Got me thinking I thought I had a high school teacher of same name, & it appears not, however looking it up I see the Sens historian Paul Kitchen actually graduated from my prep school, St. Andrew's College (in Aurora, ON)
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Cc @puckstruck.bsky.social
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
I did not, alas, however I see his book's up on Internet Archive, & so now checking that out presently
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
My “Sens Arenas of Yesteryear” blog post (2023) has just been updated w/ all new colourizations. (Prev. colourizations upgraded, + some new ones added.) www.ashleynewall.ca/2023/11/sens...
ashleynewall.ca
Sens Arenas of Yesteryear [Updated]
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
A great new colourization from the Glebe, 1938. From my latest, on my blog: www.ashleynewall.ca/2026/04/time...
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Pic 1) Streetcar turning right from Dalhousie onto Rideau St., 1958. Pic 2) Streetcar on Sparks St. at O'Connor, presumably viewing east, undated (but appears 1950s). Pics via Halton County Radial Railway
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
New on my blog: "Time-Travelling Through Ottawa History," a journey through Bytown & Ottawa's past, re-imagined w/ AI. www.ashleynewall.ca/2026/04/time...
ashleynewall.ca
Time-Travelling Through Ottawa History
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Reposted by Capital History Ottawa
Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
New on my blog: www.ashleynewall.ca/2026/04/time...
ashleynewall.ca
Time-Travelling Through Ottawa History
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
(It's a lightly narrated mini photo essay.)
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
New on my blog: www.ashleynewall.ca/2026/04/time...
ashleynewall.ca
Time-Travelling Through Ottawa History
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Reposted by Capital History Ottawa
Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
APRIL FOOLS! Alas, 1 of my grandfathers was a bus driver, & the other a reluctant lawyer, & both lived in the GTA. (The train/tunnel pic is AI, but pretty much how I presume the scene looked.) You can read my recent article on the Brading beer train & tunnel here: www.ashleynewall.ca/2025/09/brad...
ashleynewall.ca
Brading's Brewery (Ottawa), Part 3: 20th Century & Beer Train Tunnel
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
APRIL FOOLS! Alas, 1 of my grandfathers was a bus driver, & the other a reluctant lawyer, & both lived in the GTA. (The train/tunnel pic is AI, but pretty much how I presume the scene looked.) You can read my recent article on the Brading beer train & tunnel here: www.ashleynewall.ca/2025/09/brad...
ashleynewall.ca
Brading's Brewery (Ottawa), Part 3: 20th Century & Beer Train Tunnel
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Here's a pic of the Brading's plant & giant warehouse from approx. late '40s / early '50s (train tunnel was under the warehouse)
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
My Grandad driving the famous Brading beer train in the tunnel under Lebreton Flats (sometime in the 1950s)
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Sounds awesome!
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Reposted by Capital History Ottawa
Canadian Geographic @cangeo.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Before Ottawa, there was Bytown — a gritty canal town built on an OG expression of “elbows up.” Look back at the birth of Bytown: bit.ly/3NiiLAE 📸: Archives of Ontario
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
New episode, on Col. John By
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
so it 'tis!
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
1) Poem transcribed from a Jan. 31, 1925 Ottawa Citizen article. 2) Photo of Parliament & the (by then) former "Brewery Hill" (on "Brewery Bay") – by Notman & Sandham, dated btwn 1878-80.
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Thanks to Michael Burke's early brewery on "Brewery Hill" (at the formerly extended north end of Bank St.), St. Patty's Day in Bytown in 1828 was a rousing success! From my recent article on the Rochester familly's Victoria Brewery: www.ashleynewall.ca/2025/08/roch...
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
With St. Patty's Day just around the corner, a reminder that the Chateau Lafayette was *originally* founded (ie. in 1849) by an Irishman! (Shocking, I know.) Full story: www.ashleynewall.ca/2024/04/chat...
ashleynewall.ca
Chateau Lafayette Pre-History, Part 1: 1849-1863
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
"The next two floors are devoted to billiard rooms, with panels of leather and painted fabric, the stripping and cap moulds in walnut." The Ottawa Sparks St. Bowles Lunch location also had a 'Bowles Billiard Academy' (ie. a billiard room, on the 2nd floor)
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Bowles Lunch maintained consistent interior & exterior design styling / branding across all their outlets. 1915 photos (+ descrip.) here of Toronto King St. location similar to Ottawa locations, esp. Sparks St. outlet. New photo essay on Toronto Queen St. outlet: www.ashleynewall.ca/2026/03/bowl...
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
@torontoarchives.cityof.toronto.ca A new photo essay here (feat. a bunch of Toronto Archives photos) that you folks might enjoy: www.ashleynewall.ca/2026/03/bowl...
ashleynewall.ca
Bowles Lunch Toronto – Queen St. at Bay St., 1915-1957
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
When I was booking Lunenburg Pub, I insisted drummers use rocket sticks
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
One of the new photos raised my eyebrows - did any of us know that Scott's Chicken Villa was originally a restaurant AND TAVERN?! [Pic on Sparks St. Mall (@ former Bowles location), 1967 - colourized]
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
My Bowles Lunch mini photo essay acoutrement blog post has just been updated w/ a few more photos: www.ashleynewall.ca/2021/05/capi...
ashleynewall.ca
Capital History Ottawa (#colourized): Bowles Lunch
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
#OttMusic www.ottawalife.com/article/insi...
ottawalife.com
Inside the Surge: How OMIC Is Rebuilding Ottawa’s Music Scene From the Ground Up - Ottawa Life Magazine
By Melanie Brulée The Ottawa Music Industry Coalition has become the hub for Ottawa’s music community. Today, we represent more than 500 members across the sector, from artists and managers to venue o...
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Reposted by Capital History Ottawa
Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
New on Historical Society of Ottawa website, for 2026 Bytown200 Bicentennial Storytelling Collection series: www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/resources/by...
historicalsocietyottawa.ca
Ashley Newall – Nicholas Sparks’ House - The Historical Society of Ottawa
Imagine spending £95 sterling to purchase 200 acres of what would one day constitute the heart of downtown Ottawa – a swath extending from Wellington Street to present-day Laurier Avenue, from Bronson...
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
While no Ottawa Blacks served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion, Paul Barber Jr. (of mixed race) served in another labour unit in WWI, the Canadian Army Service Corps. Full story: apt613.ca/capital-blac...
apt613.ca
Capital Black History: Newsie, motorcycle enthusiast, and WW1 veteran Paul J. Barber
Ottawa newsie Paul J. Barber (1893–1958) was everybody's favourite kind of person—a character.
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
While no Ottawa Blacks served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion, Paul Barber Jr. (of mixed race) served in another labour unit in WWI, the Canadian Army Service Corps. Full story: apt613.ca/capital-blac...
apt613.ca
Capital Black History: Newsie, motorcycle enthusiast, and WW1 veteran Paul J. Barber
Ottawa newsie Paul J. Barber (1893–1958) was everybody's favourite kind of person—a character.
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Makes sense, & jibes w/ the bl & wh version I've got on file. I grabbed the image off FB - can't remember where, nor if noted that was colourized.
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Pic 1: same scene in 1960 In boathouse zone, NCC is currently building a "multi-level wooden platform" called "East Wharf". In 19th century, zone was home to at least 2-3 breweries, incl (OG) Dominion, & possibly Rochester Sr.'s (later Victoria). Pic 2: artist's rendering of upcoming "East Wharf"
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Capital History Ottawa @caphistottawa.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
This pic intersects w/ many articles I've written, however of most interest to me is mysterious boathouse & docks, which seem to have developed shortly after Ketchum's Boathouse (formerly behind Royal Canadian Mint) disappeared. My 2022 story on Ketchum's/Ratty's Boathouse: apt613.ca/capital-hist...
apt613.ca
Capital History: Ketchum's/Ratté's/Ratty's Boathouse, 1860s–1950s
Ashley Newall makes a case for a new marina on the Ottawa River—just like back in the late 1800s.
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