Billings Bridge

Billings Bridge Shopping Centre is a shopping mall located in the Billings Bridge neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is a medium-sized community mall with 83 stores and services. Roughly 7.5 million people visit the mall every year and sales are about $527/sq foot. When built, it was the first strip mall in Ottawa, although it has since become an enclosed mall. It is located immediately south of the Rideau River on the corner of Bank Street and Riverside Drive. The mall's anchor stores are Walmart and Your Independent Grocer. Billings Bridge Shopping Centre opened in 1954 as "the first one-stop shopping destination to serve all of the City of Ottawa" according to its owners. At 65,750 sq ft (6,108 m2) it was Ottawa's first strip mall. The mall originally consisted of just six stores, of which only Reitmans remains to this day. CIBC and Fairweather were also very early tenants which still remain.In the years following the mall's opening, twenty stores in the mall were staying open past 6 pm on weekdays, the required time of closure by City of Ottawa by-law. As of 1956, the six units that took the municipality to court lost their appeal in court.The mall opened an expansion in November 1961, and another in March 1962, the latter bringing it to 33 stores. This made it one of Ottawa's largest shopping centres. The parking lot also expanded from 500 spots to 1400. The 1962 addition added an Ogilvy's department store, the first location in a shopping centre, Steinberg's, and a Woolworth's. A 1961 Ottawa Citizen article covering a mall expansion claimed "the new centre by its accessibility to through highways, will become not only one of the largest shopping plazas in the district but one of the finest in the country." The Ogilvy's store was rebranded as a Robinson's in 1984 after which it was replaced by discount retailer Zellers in 1996, by Target in 2013 and then by Walmart in 2016.Billings Bridge Shopping Centre was converted into an enclosed mall in 1972. A twelve-storey office tower was also added during an expansion in 1975.Billings Bridge Station opened on November 2, 1996, providing bus service via the southeast Transitway. It continues to serve as a major hub for OC Transpo bus services. In the late 1990s, a "remerchandizing program" brought in a number of new stores to replace old ones and "provide the proper tenant mix to suit this particular trade area and the shopping centre's customer base." In 1998–99, a CA$7 million renovation was carried out to add a two-storey glass atrium as a main entrance and a new food court on the second floor. In July 2006, another major renovation program was started which expanded the mall by 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m2).In 2004, Brian Card, president of Corporate Research Group said, "Billings Bridge's proximity to public transit, office buildings and growing population centres has helped it to withstand competition from big-box power centres when other shopping centres have been hard-hit." Barry Nabatian, general manager of Market Research Corporation, argued that the South Keys Shopping Centre had taken the role as 'regional mall' in the south of Ottawa, as it was larger, more popular, and had higher sales/sq foot. A 2005 article by Ottawa Business Journal said that the "lack of a major anchor department store has kept it from becoming a regional centre." Today the mall is considered a 'community' shopping centre.

Trinity Anglican Church is an Anglican church in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In 2023 the incumbent is Mark Whittall.

Billings Bridge is a station on the OC Transpo Transitway, adjacent to the Billings Bridge Plaza, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is named for, not only the plaza, but after Billings Bridge itself which is both a nearby bridge and neighbourhood (named for the early settler of the area, Braddish Billings). The transitway station itself is a major stop on the southern transitway-line due to its location near Bank Street, Ottawa's major north–south road and the mall itself. The station is located just south of the Plaza near the intersection between Bank Street and Riverside Drive. There are two levels on the station. The upper level is on the transitway itself, while the lower level serves buses coming from the nearby Data Centre Road and Bank Street. There is a pedestrian bridge that leads from the lower level to the Plaza. The station was officially opened with the southern transitway on September 3, 1995, replacing a temporary station which had existed on the site since the 1980s. Previously, the shopping centre had been served by buses which collected and discharged passengers at stops along the front of the plaza.

The Billings Estate National Historic Site is a heritage museum in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 2100 Cabot St. in the former home of one of the region's earliest settlers. The oldest wood-framed house in Ottawa was built in 1827-9 by Massachusetts-born Braddish Billings. It became the home for the following four generations of the Billings family. It is Ottawa's oldest surviving house, though the Bytown Museum building is older. Billings had moved to the area in 1812, and was the first settler in Gloucester Township. Billings became prosperous in the timber trade and built the large home that was named Park Hill. Billings later moved into agriculture, and the house became the centre of a large and prosperous farm providing produce for Bytown, with the farm linked to the town by the Bytown and Prescott Railway. The estate remained in the Billings family until 1975. Over time the property was slowly sold off to developers, and today the estate retains only a relatively small plot of land. In 1975, the house became the Billings Estate Museum which is today operated by the City of Ottawa. The house is included amongst other architecturally interesting and historically significant buildings in Doors Open Ottawa, held each year in early June.The estate also includes a historic cemetery that contains graves dating back to 1820.

Old Ottawa South is an older urban neighbourhood in Capital Ward in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Old Ottawa South is a relatively small and compact neighbourhood, located between the Rideau Canal (to the north) and the Rideau River (to the south). The eastern boundary is Avenue Road. Bronson Avenue forms the western border of the residential neighbourhood. Carleton University is on the other (western) side of Bronson but the campus can be considered to be geographically within Old Ottawa South as the campus is also nestled between the river and the canal.According to the Canada 2016 Census, the population of the neighbourhood was 6,348 Today, Old Ottawa South is an upper middle class area. Proximity to the university has meant that the neighbourhood has been a haven for professors and students, although rising housing prices are driving out the latter. It is also one of Ottawa's more politically progressive neighbourhoods and has been a stronghold for the New Democratic Party. Many neighbourhood businesses line Bank Street, including several pubs, the Mayfair Theatre, and some Lebanese stores towards the Southern end. This section of Bank Street is also well known for its antique stores. As part of a 2004 Bank Street redesign, inlaid metal maple leaves were added to the sidewalks inscribed with the names of Canadian folk musicians. Other new features included the removal of over-head powerlines, "traffic calming" measures, and the addition of more brick to the sidewalks.

Hopewell Avenue Public School is a public elementary/middle school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It teaches grades jk-8. With a student population of about 950, it is the second largest K-8 school in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, after Broadview Public School.

House of Targ is a live music venue, arcade and pierogi restaurant in Ottawa, Canada. The venue opened April 17, 2014 with a live performance from Toronto band PUP. Owners Paul Granger, Mark McHale and Kevin Berger acquired a 10-year lease on the 1077 Bank street location. The 4,000 sq. ft. basement venue formerly housed the Bayou Blues bar, The New Bayou and The Underground. Most of the bands booked belong to the rock, indie, alternative, punk, hardcore, metal, ska, synth categories. Some bands and artists that have performed at House of TARG include Pup, The Nils, Rational Youth, The Real McKenzies, UK Subs, Neil Hamburger, Angry Samoans, Agathocles, Extreme Noise Terror, Dead Brain Cells, David Liebe Hart, B.A. Johnston, Rich Aucoin, Chixdiggit, Anciients, Hibria, Dayglo Abortions, Screaming Females, The Courtneys, C. J. Ramone, Ian Blurton, Truckfighters, Bob Log III, Re-Animator, Gorod, Mike Krol, Weaves, Hard Skin, Antidote, Blanks 77, A Wilhelm Scream, Days N' Daze, Moon King, Surfer Blood, Pop. 1280, Downtown Boys, Duotang, The Interrupters, Dave Hause, Dilly Dally, White Lung, Diemonds, Dirty Dishes, The Balconies, DZ Deathrays, Dune Rats, The Pack A.D., The Dirty Nil, The Cave Singers, Said The Whale, Library Voices, No Joy, We Are The City, The Elwins, The Zolas, and Dutchess Says among many others. The concept behind the House of Targ name comes from the popular 1980 arcade game "Targ", which was the first machine donated to the space. A monthly House of Targ Zine is put out and distributed around Ottawa. In 2014, the venue had around twelve classic arcade games and eighteen "vintage pinball games".

The Mayfair Theatre is a cinema located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is Ottawa's oldest active movie theatre, operating since 1932. It operates as an independent repertory cinema. The theatre's programming includes independent, second-run and classic films. It is noted for its double features and for frequent screenings of cult films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Room.

The RA Centre is a recreation and activity centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the Recreation Association of the Public Service of Canada (more commonly known as the RA). Having been in business for over 75 years, and with a membership that exceeds 22,000, the RA is one of the largest community sport, recreation and fitness not-for-profits in the National Capital Region. The RA operates out of the RA Centre and fourteen corporate fitness centres in the region. The RA is governed by a volunteer board, and operated by a combination of paid staff and volunteers. Over fifty programs are offered, including squash, badminton, hockey, soccer and archery. The RA Centre offers a restaurant and conference rooms which can be booked for meetings or weddings.The Centre is located on Riverside Drive near the corner of Bank Street, next to Billings Bridge Plaza. It is built on the site of the brickyards of the Ottawa Brick and Terra Cotta Co. Ltd, which was bought by the Federal government in 1954 and closed in 1958.

Pleasant Park station is a bus stop on Ottawa's Transitway served by OC Transpo buses. It is located in the southeastern transitway section at Pleasant Park Road (a collector road through Alta Vista) near Riverside Drive. The station is mostly used by people who take the 49 bus to or from Alta Vista, or by local residents in the nearby residential areas. The station has two levels: one connecting to Pleasant Park Road, the other to the transitway. It is one of the more lightly used stations due to the lack of any other trip generators or transfer connections.

Brewer Park Pond is an artificial pond located in Brewer Park in the neighbourhood of Old Ottawa South in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is connected to the Rideau River via a culvert. The pond was constructed in the early 1960s as a "swimming hole" from an area that had previously been a wetland of three small islands, known as the Bathing Islands, with channels between them in the Rideau River. The pond, which was completely separated from the river, was used for swimming until the pond was infected by bacteria and the spread of algae. The provincial health department ordered the pond's swimming facilities closed in 1971. During the 1970s, the pond was used for model yacht regattas.In the 1990s there was a large-scale community project to naturalize the area. The project, under the leadership of ECOS (the Environment Committee of the Ottawa South Community Association) saw the planting of thousands of trees and shrubs by local residents, the transformation of the hard-pack parking lot into a meadow, the construction of the pedestrian bridge between the park and Carleton University, and numerous other projects. For a number of years the pond area served as the location of Earth Day Ottawa activities. The naturalization project culminated in 2000 with a major federal government Millennium Grant to dredge a fish nursery on the river's edge, develop interpretive materials, and other undertakings.Following funding from developers Richcraft and Minto, the pond was restored in 2014 by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, when it was re-connected to the river via a culvert. The funding came as a result of compensation for the loss of a habitat in a new development project in Orleans. The restoration project included creating a wetland with shoreline plantings, and habitats for breeding birds, amphibians, turtle nesting beds and basking logs. The culvert allowed fish from the Rideau River to use the pond. The bottom of the pond is made of clay and organic content, and it is surrounded by a large amount of water lily tubers and grasses.Fish in the pond include yellow perch, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, banded killifish, northern redbelly dace and bluntnose minnow. Plants in or around the pond include white water lily, water celery, pond weed, yellow water lily, bulrush, sedges, willow and silver maples. Animals include the calico pennant dragonfly, snapping turtle, wood duck, beaver, green frog, bullfrog, great blue heron, painted turtle, mudpuppy, muskrat and the red-winged blackbird.

The Bank Street Bridge, officially known as the Bank Street Canal Bridge, is a bridge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that carries Bank Street over the Rideau Canal. It links the Glebe to Old Ottawa South. It also passes over the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Colonel By Drive. A wooden bridge was first constructed in this location in 1866. A few years later, a steel swing bridge was built to better allow boats to pass through. The current structure was built in 1912, and was designed to be high enough to not have to open. By the 1970s, the bridge was falling apart, and trucks were banned in 1981. After some debate about whether to replace or restore the heritage structure, the bridge was fully restored in 1993.