By Nadia Stuewer
The three new French plaques in front of the new wing of De La Salle Public High School (École secondaire publique De La Salle) at 501 Old St. Patrick Street present an important piece of Lowertown history. Unveiled in May 2023 by the school and le Centre d’Excellence artistique de l’Ontario (CEAO), they tell the story of three important Lowertown East institutions: Le Patro Saint-Vincent, La salle Saint-Anne (Ste-Anne Hall), and l’École Saint-Anne (St. Anne School). Lowertown East — the home of the parish of Sainte-Anne — used to host a much larger francophone community. About three quarters of Lowertown was francophone until the 1960s. Lowertown East was Ottawa’s first neighbourhood on the east side of King Edward Avenue and the cradle of the Franco-Ottawan community.
In 1966, Ottawa embarked on an “urban renewal” project that destroyed a significant number of the homes and structures of Lowertown East. Over 1,400 families had their homes expropriated and were forced to relocate to other parts of Ottawa and Gatineau. As the map shows, De La Salle High School was built on several streets which would have been full of homes.
Le Patro Saint-Vincent
The first plaque describes Le Patro Saint-Vincent, which used to be located beside the Convent of the Good Shepherd (le Couvent du Bon Pasteur, now the Chinese Embassy on St. Patrick Street). In fact, it was built in the nuns’ potato field. Run by the brothers of Saint Vincent de Paul, it offered much-needed recreational programs for the francophone youth of Lowertown, programs which were not provided by the City of Ottawa in this neighbourhood, although other parts of the city were given playgrounds and recreational centres. At that time, Jules Morin Park was only a school yard, not a playground. During “urban renewal”, the people of Lowertown fought to keep their Patro, and as a compromise it was relocated to its current location on Cobourg Street in partnership with the City. Ottawa’s Patro is the only Patro outside of Québec.
La Salle Sainte-Anne
The second plaque commemorates La Salle Sainte-Anne, the community hall which was a focal point for the community. First constructed in 1874 and rebuilt in 1912, this three-storey building was the site of conferences, theatre, concerts, political meetings, banquets and other important events. It also housed six bowling alleys, pool tables, a restaurant, offices of community services and, in 1912, the first Caisse populaire in Lowertown. Its original name, La Salle des Francs-Canadiens, can be translated as “the hall of free Canadians” and “the hall of French Canadians,” a strong statement reflecting the pride of this community.
École Sainte-Anne
The third plaque celebrates École Sainte-Anne, which opened in 1873 at the corner of St. Patrick and Notre Dame streets. A larger school, also called École Sainte-Anne, followed in 1899 at the corner of Chapel and Anglesea streets. The francophone community continued to grow and this school soon became too small as well.
The plaques are on the site of the very first French language primary school in this area of Lowertown , which was opened in 1868 by nuns (les Soeurs Grises de la Croix).
In the 2021-22 school year, De La Salle celebrated its 50th anniversary, and last year the CEAO, which is part of the school, celebrated 40 years of being a centre of excellence for the arts. These plaques were created to commemorate these achievements. According to Carole Myre, artistic director [A1] of the CEAO, they are meant to tell the story of where the community came from as it looks to the future, and to “give love to those who came before us.” They were inspired in part by the grandfather of one of the teachers who grew up in a house where the school now lies. He came in to tell his story to the students. The CEAO plans to put up more historical plaques around the school. They will ask their students and their parents about which story will be the next to be told.
The research for the plaques was carried out by Dr. Hélène Beauchamp, a historian who was born and raised in Lowertown and now lives in Montreal. Her family’s grocery store and five-apartment complex that opened in 1947 at the corner of St. Andrew and McGee, was destroyed in the “urban renewal.” Hélène’s father was very proud of Sainte-Anne’s parish and Lowertown East, and was devastated by its destruction. Hélène sees her contribution to this project and her name on the plaques as a tribute to her family and a form of “douce revanche” (sweet revenge) for the fate of her family’s home and community.
Maps of Sainte-Anne Parish before and after “urban renewal,” which started in 1966. (Maps: Michel Lafleur)
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