The Museum Of Science and Technology recently announced that their iconic rocket displayed on the grounds of the museum is slated to be destroyed after more than forty years. The museum stated “For safety reasons related to their deterioration, the Atlas rocket and the oil pumpjack that have for many years graced the lawns of Technology Park in front of the Canada Science and Technology Museum (CSTM) will be removed.” according to a recent article in the Ottawa Citizen. (read complete article here)

The museum has already been forced to close due to air quality concerns, so this recent announcement comes as a second blow for the cash-strapped facility that houses some of this country’s most historic artifacts. The rocket is on loan from the USAF who says they don’t want it back, but rather ask it be “cut down into tiny pieces so that no one could possibly figure out how to reassemble them.”

The destruction of our beloved and popular landmark will occur over the course of the next few weeks, but before that happens, let’s take a closer look at our famous rocket before it is sadly gone forever.

Our rocket is an Atlas 5A (Serial #56-6742) and it is the only surviving Atlas in the original A-series configuration. The first Atlas flown was the Atlas A in 1957–1958. Our rocket was built in 1956 used as a test and research article, later displayed  throughout the 1960s at the former location of the Air Force Museum, at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

The Atlas-class rocket was used to put Lt. Col. John Glenn in space becoming the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 and was also the first intercontinental ballistic missile. (ICBM) . Nuclear ICBM launch silos were built across the US during the cold war to facilitate nuclear armed Atlas rockets. The Atlas was retired from service in 1965.

One such missile silo exists just south east of Ottawa in Upper New York state, Here is a Google pic of the abandoned Atlas ICBM silo located just a two hour drive from Ottawa.

The rocket was loaned to the museum in Ottawa by the USAF in 1973 when it was installed on the front lawn of the museum..

After more than forty years outside  in the harsh elements, the rocket has now deteriorated to the point, that according to the article it “has not been air tight for many years, and a compressor coupled to a generator (has) been required to maintain its internal pressure to prevent it from collapsing upon itself,”

Pressure in the tanks provides the structural rigidity and an Atlas rocket would collapse under its own weight if not kept pressurized with 5 psi of nitrogen in the tank even when not fuelled. The compound WD-40 was invented in 1953 by Dr. Norm Larsen, founder of the Rocket Chemical Company and first used by Convair to protect the outer skin of the rocket, more importantly, the paper-thin balloon tanks of the Atlas missile from rust and corrosion. These stainless steel fuel tanks were so thin that, when empty, they had to be kept inflated with the nitrogen gas to prevent their collapse.

The museum sates that “As its deterioration advances and becomes more severe, practical solutions to maintain the required internal pressure to prevent it from crumpling and potentially injuring visitors to Technology Park are running out.”

A sad end to a rocket that launched the imaginations of thousands of kids over the last four decades. You’d think we’d be able to find an alternative way save this valuable piece of world history. Does anyone have the Smithsonian’s number?

UPDATE FEBRUARY 22 2015

After recently contacting the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum about the doomed rocket, they put me in touch with Discovery Park Museum in Tennessee. There is a slim chance the rocket may have a new home and avoid being cut up.

FULL update in the Ottawa Citizen here:

SOURCES

Ottawa Citizen, February 10 2015 http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/science-and-tech-museum-will-lose-rocket-pumpjack

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM-65_Atlas

http://www.atlasmissilesilo.com/556thSMS_Site11.htm

Google Maps

 

 

 

WATCH THE AMAZING DRONE FILM FOOTAGE OF THE IRON GIANT by Dan Brennan of B4CK40

A Smiths Falls landmark for over a hundred years, the giant iron bridge on the outskirts of town that once spanned across the Rideau Canal sits like a massive sentinel, forever poised at a 45 degree angle.  Built by the Canadian Northern Railway over the course of the year 1912-13, the bridge was part of the Toronto to Ottawa connection of the CNR. Designed in Chicago and built by the Dominion Bridge Company, this massive iron bridge showcased a new style of bridge engineering fairly new to North America called the bascule bridge.

Called the Schrezer Rolling Lift Bascule bridge, after the Chicago company who designed it, these bridges were designed for areas where a high rail bridge or swing bridge could not be implemented. “Bascule” is French for “see-saw”, the principle used in its design and operation. Using a massive concrete counterweight perfectly balanced, the bridge lifted up with relative ease by either manual or electric operation. The bridge first began operating by manual fashion, but in 1914 a DC electric motor was installed to raise the bridge, but in 1915, the town of Smiths Falls switched to AC electric current, making the bridge motor useless. It went back to being manually operated until 1978. The CNR line later closed, and the bridge was put in a permanent “up position” which is how it remains to this day.

 

The bridge is the oldest surviving structure of its type in Canada and is in the care of the City Of Smiths Falls who claimed ownership of the bridge in the mid-1980s. It can easily be visited by foot and every year hundreds of boats pass beneath its  ironwork as they travel under this looming iron giant on the Rideau Canal system. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1983.

SOURCES

Parks Canada http://www.pc.gc.ca/APPS/CP-NR/release_e.asp?bgid=559&andor1=bg

Canada’s Historic Places http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7867

 

 

Every city has its favourite night clubs, most of them enjoying the spotlight for a few years before something trendier comes along. Every decade has its hot spots, and in the 1960s, one of the hottest, or should I say coolest night clubs was Ottawa’s “Beachcomber Room”. Located in the Talisman Motor Inn on Carling Avenue, the Beachcomber Room boasted the latest in Tiki culture and entertainment through the vision of  Talisman designer William Teron.

Built in 1963 as Ottawa’s premier business convention centre and hotel, Teron designed the Talisman with a South Pacific theme, including a very faithful replica of a tranquil Japanese garden at the center of the motel. The Beachcomber Room was “flamboyantly decorated in a Tahitian motif” and also featured a 90-foot mural painted by Count Alex Van Svodoba, who also completed a mural at Carleton University.

 

The Polynesian theme of the Beachcomber Room was in tune with the popularity of the Tiki culture during the mid-century era, which was based primarily on “Don the Beachcomber’s” in Hollywood, California. Credited as being the first tiki restaurant that all others copied, its founder, Donn Beach, was the first to mix flavored syrups and fresh fruit juices with rum. The trend became the hot ticket for Hollywood stars and elite, making the Tiki-theme a nationwide phenomenon.  Ottawa was no exception, with The Tabu opening in the old Beacon Arms Hotel (now the Capital Hotel & Suites) in the early sixties and The Beachcomber Room opening soon afterwards in 1963, taking its name directly from the original Hollywood establishment.

Enjoying almost three decades of popularity as Ottawa’s hottest drinking and entertainment establishment, the Beachcomber Room was THE place to dance, listen to live music and enjoy the quintessential Tiki Mai Tai cocktail. However, as with most bars, its popularity wained and the Talisman name was dropped when it became a Travelodge and it was extensively renovated with a Kids Water Park and its unique Polynesian theme was lost.  Remnants of the Japanese gardens are still visible today, as are some architectural details from its illustrious past. But where was the Beachcomber Room? What is left of it? Lets comb the beach…

This past week I had the opportunity to join Glen Gower from Ottawa Start on a search for the remains of two 1950s motels lost in the woods of the NCC Greenbelt. Here is what we found…

INTRODUCTION BY GLEN GOWER, OttawaStart

A long-time Glen Cairn resident told me recently about an old swing set that he once saw in the greenbelt along the Old Quarry Trail on the south side of Robertson Road. He said he thought it was part of one of an old motel that used to be along the road, before the NCC bought the land and designated it as Greenbelt.

It turns out there was not one, but two motels. Charlie’s Motel and the Cedarview Motel are visible on a 1976 aerial map of Ottawa. Charlie’s has a distinctive striped roof. Back then Robertson Road was known as “Highway 7” or “Highway 15”. Long before the Queensway was built, it was the route to get from Ottawa to Perth and beyond. So these would have been a popular stop for travellers going to or from Ottawa.

Starting out from the Old Quarry Trail parking lot on Eagleson Road, we set out to see if anything was left of the motels. Our cameras froze and we had to crawl along in the snow at one point, but we found what we were looking for. Not the swings, but something even more interesting…

NO VACANCY: The Search for the Lost Motels

When Glen told me about a story of a hiker who stumbled across the remains of an old motel playground, I was interested in teaming up on an expedition to find it. Doing some preliminary research on the possibility of a lost motel in the woods of the NCC Greenbelt, I referred to a 1965 aerial image of the area to see what was there. Sure enough, not one, but TWO Motels can clearly be seen in the aerial image.

Taking those images and overlaying them on a current aerial image provided a bearing on the approximate locations. We then started some historical research…What were these places? What happened to them?

A quick search of what motels could have been in the area showed that the stretch of road they were on was once called the “Whiskey Road” in the mid 1800s. This was due to the fact there were so many taverns in the vicinity, as this was a midway point between Ottawa and Richmond while travelling on Richmond Road between the two places. Now part of what is called Bells Corners and Robertson Road, it was also once known as “Old Highway 15 & 7” during the mid-20th century. It was a stretch of road that was a continuation of both Highway 7 & and Highway 15 and was the only corridor into Ottawa from the West. Being so, a number of motels begand to spring up along this road, most notably during the 1950s when “motoring” was a popular tourist activity, and “Motor Inns” or “Motels” became a popular option for weary drivers and their passengers.

An internet search yielded results for two motels on that stretch of road known as “Old Highway 7 & 15”. It was re-named Robertson Road in 1983 after the owner of a general store and surveyor of roads in Bells Corners. The two motels were called “Charlie’s Motel” to the west and “Cedarview Motel” to the east. Locating vintage 1950s postcards of both motels as they appeared in the 1950s,  the bizarre diagonal roof striping as shown on the 1965 aerial photo of  confirm that the postcard was indeed that of Charlie’s Motel.

The Cedarview Motel gained some notoriety in 1961 when a helicopter pilot en route from Montreal landed his helicopter at the motel for dinner and an overnight stay, which made the news in the Ottawa Citizen.

With both motels now known and identities confirmed, a further search history showed that both motels were later purchased by the National Capital Commision who bought the properties, left them abandoned, which later resulted in the Cedarview burning to the ground, and Charlie’s being demolished. An Ottawa Citizen article from 1965 shows that the NCC had at that time purchased the land and was leasing it to Charlie’s Motel proprietor Howard Soucie for a three year contract.

A 1976 aerial image shows both were still in existence at that time, but a 1979 Ottawa Journal article and photo shows that the Cedarview burned down. It is not known when or how Charlie’s Motel met its fate.

THE SEARCH

Overlaying the known locations over a current map Glen and I were able to locate the vicinity of the motels and where the remains of these mid-century motels may lie. Arranging to meet nearby, we happened to pick one of the coldest days of the winter for our expedition, and needless to say, a half hour into our adventure our cameras and batteries began to freeze up. Keeping them close to our bodies for restorative warmth, we trudged through the -20 temperatures and crunching snow to discover the site of Charlie’s Motel.

Nothing much is left of Charlie’s, just an empty field with some surrounding trees. Perhaps in the summer, more of the ruins are visible, but on our trek, we decided to keep moving through the NCC Greenbelt woodlands towards whatever remained of the Cedarview Motel.

Making our way through the snow covered trees, we came across the area where the Cedarview should be, crawling underneath some fallen cedar branches to get to the site. The whole area was actually full of cedar trees, so we knew this was most likely the home of the “Cedarview Motel”. Aptly named.

Nothing was readily apparent until we spotted a cedar branch structure that indicated a man-made influence.

The 1965 aerial image of the Cedarview Motel showed it once had an in-ground swimming pool, a feature filled in as shown on the 1976 image. Stumbling through the deep snow we soon came across a clearing with absolutely no vegetation growing on it. Was this the filled in swimming pool? Overgrowth had consumed the Cedarview Motel area, but for some reason, this area was devoid of any trees, which I think would be because the trees would not be able to take root within an in-ground concrete swimming pool.

An inspection of the clearing then revealed something more concrete…literally concrete…the foundation of the old Cedarview Motel.

DISCOVERY

The concrete foundation of the Cedarview is clearly lying among the overgrown forest of cedars it was aptly named after more than sixty years ago. The long, straight shape of the motel rooms illustrated on the aerial image and on the postcard were discovered buried under the snow, running through the forest of trees that reclaimed the footprint of the original motel. The outline of the motel structure lay hidden in the forest, slowly being enveloped by the cedar forest from which it was named, the only remnants of its fiery demise.

Other motel artifacts were discovered as Glen and I searched the area, including concrete forms, barrier posts, more foundations, wooden fence posts and piles of rubble. the majority of the Cedarview Motel lies hidden beneath the forest canopy of cedar trees for which it was named. A hidden reminder of its past accommodating weary motorists on their way to or from the Nation’s Capital. After photographing the area, Glen and I headed back to warm both our cameras and ourselves.

The ruins of the Cedarview and Charlie’s Motel sit silently in the woods of the Greenbelt, a by-product of the NCC’s vision of a green space for the city and its tourists to enjoy, but evidently with no vacancy on Robertson Road.

 

 

SOURCES

geoOttawa

Delcampe Postcards

The Ottawa Journal, Dec. 15 1979

Google News, The Ottawa Citizen, May 21 1965

 

 

As a kid growing up on the shores of Eastern Lake Ontario, I had always heard tales of old ships and gunboat battles that occurred in the waters in front of our house near Millhaven, On. With Kingston being a strategic military location throughout Great Lakes history, I always imagined the vessels that may have plied the waters offshore from my home. Tales of mighty gun battles between opposing sides from the 18th and 19th centuries always filled my imagination with shipwrecks, cannon fire and buried treasure. One such tale, perhaps more of a legend, was that of lost gold from a French gunboat during the Seven Years War that apparently still lies buried in the sands of Prince Edward County, about one hour west of Kingston. The gold was reportedly buried in 1758 and never recovered, fuelling local folklore since then. Now, with time I had over the Christmas holidays, and resources never before available, I finally researched this legend of lost gold and hit the sands on a quest for lost gold…

THE STORY 

The Seven Years War pitted British and French against each other on the Great Lakes in a battle to secure Upper Canada and control the area north of the the United States. Gunships from both sides sailed the waters of Lake Ontario, exchanging cannon fire in an attempt to gain lake superiority.

On such incident had a French gunboat sailing across the southern shores of the Eastern end of the lake near what we call the “Gap”, an open space between two of the larger islands on that end. Laden with military documents and a barrel of gold headed to Fort Frontenac (presently Kingston) the French ship was nearing the gap when a Bristish ship under the command of Captain Bradstreet spotted the French vessel on his way across the lake from Oswego, NY.

Bradstreet gave chase to the French ship, cutting it off before it could reach its destination of Fort Frontenac. Evading a most certain engagement and possible capture, the French ship reversed direction and sailed back west trying to escape Bradstreet’s ship. The French ship headed west along the southern edge of what is now Prince Edward County trying to outrun Bradstreet. Realizing evading the British was impossible, the French ship headed for a bay called ‘Little Sandy Bay”.

 

Not giving up, Bradstreet chased the French ship into the bay, and with their fate almost certainly sealed, the French captain beached his ship, ordered the crew to evacuate with the documents and gold, then torched his ship to the ground to avoid it being captured by the British. The captain and crew then headed inland towards their destination of Fort Frontenac on foot, and as the story goes, buried the heavy barrel of gold to return with reinforcements from the fort to retrieve it later. They arrived at Fort Frontenac only to find it had been attacked and destroyed by the British. The gold, now on British controlled land, was never recovered and apparently still lies buried where it was placed over 250 years ago.

 

LEGEND OR TRUTH?

Over the years, the story of the lost gold has evolved through many incarnations, some more fanciful than others, but they all tell of how the gold remains buried and is waiting to be discovered. Always ready to solve a “history mystery”, I thought it would be fun to re-visit the story in more detail and use some new resources that we may not have previously been able to use. One such resource was a book I came across from 1892 that outlines the story in exacting detail…a story I have never seen written down before, which adds some credibility to the story. Next, we can use old maps and overlay them with current satellite imagery to pinpoint exact areas that are mentioned in the 1892 story. Regardless of what we find, it is a fun and interesting exercise with some fascinating results that I will share with you below…

 

THE QUEST

Using the text from the book “Picturesque Prince Edward County” from 1892 that outlines the story, I studies the details mentioned in the account.

Carefully noting details in the story, I was able to create a list of landmarks mentioned, and using a map of the same time period in the 1870s, mark them on the map.

“Little Sandy Bay” is shown on the map as well as a bridge and cabin, mentioned in the story where the tale tells us the gold was buried “half-way between the bridge and the bay”…

 

Now using a current Google satellite map we can overlay it on the old map:

 

This gives us an approximate location which we can zero in on to explore for more clues…mostly being the location of the “Old Bridge” which no longer exists since new roads have been built since 1878.

So with some rough ideas of where the bridge and the half-way point could be, I went off with a neighbour in search of some real evidence to help confirm their existence.

So now that we have confirmed the location of the old bridge, we can now mark the “halfway” point where the gold was buried near a “cofferdam”, which is a small dam that would have built from stones.

Heading to the halfway point and where the cofferdam should be, there are some collapsed stones….

…but they are now replaced with a modern bridge.

Could this new bridge have been built upon the old cofferdam location which was the half-way point where the gold is supposedly buried? I decided to explore the rest of the area and see if anything else unusal could be found that may give us some further clues. If not, then at least it would be fun to re-trace the supposed steps of the French captain back to the bay where he burned his ship in 1758.

 

Further along the river, I came across what looked to be a man-made mound in the forest on the banks of the river. Some cut logs were supporting it, but the date of this structure is unknown.

Reaching the end point of the quest, which was actually the start point for the French captain in 1758, no gold was recovered nor were there any further clues to investigate. The empty land is part of Sandbanks Provincial Park, and remains as a beautiful place to walk and fuels the imagination as to what may have happened all those years ago according to the recorded tale below from 1892:

Having successfully re-traced the reported path of the French captain from 1758, the gold could very well still be buried under the shifting sands of the area, and perhaps it will remain as it has for the past 250 years….a LEGEND OF LOST GOLD.

SOURCES

“Picturesque Prince Edward County”, 1892, by Helen Merrill

Google Maps

Hastings and Prince Edward County Historical Atlas, 1878

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bradstreet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years’_War

 

 

IT’S A WONDERFUL TOWN

No matter how many times I watch it, I never tire of the holiday classic “It’s A Wonderful Life”. Year after year, Frank Capra’s 1946 film stirs up the Christmas spirit in me more than any other holiday film. Its timeless message of the how the good of mankind ultimately prevails through the hardships of life brings an annual tear to my eye, and for me, captures the true essence of the holiday season.

The film was released in 1946 produced/directed by Frank Capra based on the short story “The Greatest Gift” and features the fictional town of “Bedford Falls” where the life of George Bailey played by actor Jimmy Stewart takes place. Bedford Falls does not really exist, but it bears a remarkable resemblance to a real-life town called “Seneca Falls” in upper New York state. Capra apparently visited Seneca Falls in the 1940’s so perhaps this influenced his screenplay for the film and provided the backdrop for this classic film.

There are numerous references in the film to various places in New York state, including Rochester, Albany and Syracuse, all towns that are in close proximity to the real life Seneca Falls. So let’s visit Seneca Falls through the use of technology and Google Streetview maps to see what other similarities may exist in this wonderful town….