Be Part of CHNA History!
Volunteers launch online, local history collection of Civic Hospital Neighbourhood
The Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association is regularly organizing events to keep our parks clean or taking City Hall to task. But now they've taken on an exciting new project that honours the history and heritage of the area.
Starting last year, a group of volunteers from the CHNA History & Heritage Committee decided it was time to record and share the rich local history of a community that started out as forest and farmland.
"I think it's important to understand our local history and also share it while we still can," said Mathieu Lemay, a member of the committee who helped launch the Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Collection on Historypin.
For those who are familiar, Historypin acts something like Pinterest, where you can sift through all of the pictures or stories that interest you. It's one of the most popular online tools currently used by communities to share memories photos, videos and other archives.
The collection can be accessed from CHNA's website (www.chnaottawa.ca/history-and-heritage). From there you can view the more than 30 pins currently available.
Using Google Maps, the photos are impressively organized so that you can actually see history unfold with the click of a mouse. Homes like the Bayne-Morrison residence on Fuller Street and landmarks like the Civic Hospital Nurses Residence can be viewed in their current form or throughout the past century.
The volunteer group, which includes local history champion Andy Billingsley as Chair, have also started a virtual tour of the area. The intent is for users to either take the tour from the comfort of their homes or use it as a guide to walk through the neighbourhood.
According to Lemay though, the work is just starting. Now that the site is launched, they want residents to add photos or other memorabilia that they have tucked away at home.
“Collections are now open, meaning that anyone from the community can add content to Historypin."
For those not that technical, the team will soon be adding some helpful instructions on the CHNA website. They are also happily working with residents to scan photos and record oral histories.
"A site like this enables people to share their memories and also imagine how the neighbourhood used to be."
For many people, this is a project that can help them explore their own backyard and contribute to their neighbourhood in a new, cool way.
For the committee, it's a means of preserving a local history for future generations that might otherwise be forgotten.
If you have photos, stories or questions about the history of the Civic Hospital neighbourhood, email history [at] chnaottawa.ca.
The Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association is regularly organizing events to keep our parks clean or taking City Hall to task. But now they've taken on an exciting new project that honours the history and heritage of the area.
Starting last year, a group of volunteers from the CHNA History & Heritage Committee decided it was time to record and share the rich local history of a community that started out as forest and farmland.
"I think it's important to understand our local history and also share it while we still can," said Mathieu Lemay, a member of the committee who helped launch the Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Collection on Historypin.
For those who are familiar, Historypin acts something like Pinterest, where you can sift through all of the pictures or stories that interest you. It's one of the most popular online tools currently used by communities to share memories photos, videos and other archives.
The collection can be accessed from CHNA's website (www.chnaottawa.ca/history-and-heritage). From there you can view the more than 30 pins currently available.
Using Google Maps, the photos are impressively organized so that you can actually see history unfold with the click of a mouse. Homes like the Bayne-Morrison residence on Fuller Street and landmarks like the Civic Hospital Nurses Residence can be viewed in their current form or throughout the past century.
The volunteer group, which includes local history champion Andy Billingsley as Chair, have also started a virtual tour of the area. The intent is for users to either take the tour from the comfort of their homes or use it as a guide to walk through the neighbourhood.
According to Lemay though, the work is just starting. Now that the site is launched, they want residents to add photos or other memorabilia that they have tucked away at home.
“Collections are now open, meaning that anyone from the community can add content to Historypin."
For those not that technical, the team will soon be adding some helpful instructions on the CHNA website. They are also happily working with residents to scan photos and record oral histories.
"A site like this enables people to share their memories and also imagine how the neighbourhood used to be."
For many people, this is a project that can help them explore their own backyard and contribute to their neighbourhood in a new, cool way.
For the committee, it's a means of preserving a local history for future generations that might otherwise be forgotten.
If you have photos, stories or questions about the history of the Civic Hospital neighbourhood, email history [at] chnaottawa.ca.