By Michel Rossignol
For more than a century, from 1888 to 2010, the Central Canada Exhibition at Landsdowne Park was one of the most popular summer events for residents of Lowertown. For the young, the Exhibition, usually held at the end of August, was the final celebration of summer before going back to school in September, while for adults it was a welcome change from the daily routine at home and work.
Photo: Clifford M. Johnston, LAC, PA-056264.
The Exhibition was a big agricultural fair which also featured commercial displays, circus acts, rides and other forms of entertainment. Although they lived in a bustling city, many residents of Lowertown, especially before 1950, came from farming communities in Ontario, Quebec or other parts of the world. Thus, many still had some interest in agriculture and enjoyed watching the livestock judging and demonstrations of farm machinery.
Another reason for the Exhibition’s popularity was the ease with which Lowertown residents could travel to Landsdowne Park. While some brave souls tried to find a space to park their car, most people took public transit to get there. Up until 1959 when they were replaced by buses, the streetcars which passed on St. Patrick, Dalhousie or Rideau streets were the best way to go down Bank Street to the Exhibition. In 1958, an American visitor to the Exhibition took many colour photographs of streetcars in various parts of Ottawa, including Lowertown (later published in a booklet with the title Ottawa Trolleys), which are now precious souvenirs of old Ottawa.
While most people went to the Exhibition to have fun, many Lowertown residents welcomed the chance to find work for a few days to earn extra pocket money. Many worked in restaurants serving delicious hot dogs or in booths selling candies while others set up displays sponsored by various organizations and local stores, including many from the ByWard Market. When my father was a teenager in the 1930s, he worked for a few summers in a booth at the Exhibition selling cotton candy and other treats. While working there, he met some of the people involved with the circus acts who asked him to help them find a place where they could store some of their material until their next visit to Ottawa. Much to my grandmother’s dismay, as she told me years later, the circus material ended up in Lowertown, in the shed behind her house on Bruyère Street.
Whether they went there for fun or work, people enjoyed the excitement of the Exhibition. After a nice day at the Exhibition, people returned to Lowertown with samples from the Pure Food Building, plush toys they had won at bingo games, or, if nothing else, smiles on their faces.