By Michel Rossignol
A few decades ago, almost every street in Lowertown had a service station or an auto-repair shop. Today, many service stations and garages have disappeared without a trace, while others have left their mark on the urban landscape.
Many commuters rushing through Lowertown today would be surprised to learn that many years ago two service stations were located on Sussex Drive. In the 1930s, there was one near King Edward where the Lester B. Pearson Building stands today, and in the 1950s and 1960s there was a Shell station on the northeast corner of Sussex and St Andrew. In the 1950s, on Parent Street between St Patrick and Murray, there was an auto-repair shop as well as a service station. A block to the east, on Dalhousie Street, between the 1930s and 1950s, there was a BA (British American) station on the northeast corner of Guigues. A block away, at the northeast corner of St Andrew, now a vacant lot, a garage sold Goodrich tires as well as gasoline in the 1930s and 1940s.
On Cumberland Street, recently built buildings now stand where many service stations were located. There is no trace left of Roger’s Esso on the northwest corner of Cumberland and George, and hardly anyone remembers the station on the northwest corner of Cumberland and Rideau which sold Wonder gasoline in the 1930s. Around 1970, there was also a garage on the southeast corner of Cumberland and Murray which sold brand new Peugeots (the French cars, not the bicycles). Today, the only garage on Cumberland is Rolland Levesque and Sons at the corner of St Andrew, in business since 1965.
As for King Edward Avenue, on the west side there were service stations on both the north and south corners of St Patrick. They have been replaced by other businesses, but the corners still look somewhat like service stations. The southeast corner of King Edward at Rideau still has a busy Petro-Canada service station, but the Texaco station on the southwest corner is now just a memory.
There were only a few service stations and garages in Lowertown East. In the 1950s, at the corner of Nelson and Rideau streets there was an Esso station where the Loblaws is located. There was also a Shell station on the northwest corner next to the Nelson Theatre, now the ByTowne Cinema, and with a parking lot in front of the stores, the corner still looks a bit like a service station today. Augusta Street had a small auto-repair shop, Lower Town Service, while at Cobourg Street near Heney until the late 1960s there was a big garage, the Car Barn, that despite its name serviced streetcars and buses. In short, while thousands of vehicles pass through Lowertown every day, many service stations and garages are now just a memory.