By Nancy Miller Chenier
Hidden in the greenery between the bridges of St Patrick Street and Island Lodge Road is the oldest intact bridge in Lowertown and probably all of Ottawa. Built in 1894, this distinctive iron bridge was needed to provide access to the isolation hospitals on Porter’s Island. It was constructed by Dominion Bridge inLachine Quebec, probably the first Ottawa contract for this company that went on to build the Alexandra Bridge in 1898 and the Minto Bridge in 1900.
from the water
Under the ownership of the City of Ottawa, the wooden planking has been left to rot and the metal structure to acquire rust but the stone piers continue to stand solidly in the Rideau River. Having allowed this historic bridge fall into disrepair, the City would now like to demolish it. This option is being considered despite the fact that the bridge is recognized on the Ontario Heritage Bridge List as having cultural-heritage value and being worthy of conservation efforts. The bridge is also listed internationally on a historic bridges inventory based in the United States, HistoricBridges.org.
The Porter’s Island Bridge has endured more than a century of traffic. It provided pedestrian and cycle access from 1894 to 1996. John and Charlotte Brady’s family, who functioned as caretakers at the early isolation cottages, were regular pedestrians on the bridge. Provincial and municipal officials visited to report on conditions at the smallpox hospitals. And journalists and other curiosity seekers crossed the unguarded bridge to converse with patients. By 1950, pedestrian traffic included the more than 800 lacrosse fans in attendance when the new permanent lacrosse box opened on theIsland.
The bridge also supported decades of vehicle traffic with a mixture of horse-drawn carts, motor cars, ambulances, army jeeps and motorcycles as well as city trucks passing over it daily. The early isolation cottages were serviced by horses and carts delivering patients as well as groceries and firewood. A few years after the Hopewell Hospital opened in 1913, the City’s Board of Health discussed the need for a motor ambulance for the hospital.
When Canada entered the Second World War in 1939, the transportation role of the bridge changed. Ottawa’s Board of Control approved the federal government takeover of the isolation hospital for use by the military. From then until the end of the war, military vehicles traversed the bridge daily. Affectionately dubbed “Little Alcatraz”, the Porter’s Island Military Hospital had the capacity to house 106 patients, including a separate ward for contagious cases. Later an H-shaped structure was added to the facilities. After National Defence closed this hospital in late 1944, the Canadian Provost Corps (military police) occupied the island until the end of the war.
Buildings left on the island after the war reverted back to the City. When many veterans were unable to find housing for their families, the post-war facilities became shelter for those in need of a home. Some families continued to live on the island until the mid-1950s, when a number of residences for seniors were built over the next fifty years.
Today the official pedestrian entrances at both ends of the bridge are closed, but occasional intrepid individuals still find a way to gingerly traverse the two spans for various purposes.
This heritage bridge that contributed so much to Ottawa’s social and military history deserves to be granted a fresh life as a positive space for people to enjoy. Sheltered from busy traffic, this unique historic structure could offer new uses for all ages, watching migratory and other birds, viewing art from local schools, or simply getting pleasure from the slow-flowing river. A game of Pooh sticks anyone?