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Farewell, Sir John Carling
Jul. 19th, 2014 07:39 pmBright and early on Sunday, July 13, the Sir John Carling Building went KABOOM in a controlled explosion witnessed by numerous spectators.
I wasn't among those spectators, but I have fond memories of the building. I worked there in the summer of 1973. The job itself was nothing special - I was in one of those pink-collar summer-student ghettos known as a typing pool - but the people were quite nice and the setting was beautiful. It was perfect for taking lunchtime walks on the Experimental Farm and sometimes as far as the campus of Carleton University. There was shopping nearby too - Waterloo Music across the street and Westgate Shopping Centre a few blocks along Carling Avenue. In those days, we were allowed a 90-minute lunch break on paydays, every two weeks.
In those days, the Sir John Carling Building was a snazzy (relatively) new building, having been built in 1967. I'm still a little baffled as to why it took nearly 40 years to take down those ghastly, inhospitable "temporary" buildings constructed in the war years, while the Carling Building was deemed outdated and unworthy of repair or renovation after not much longer than that!
The summer of 1973 is not the only time I've been in the Sir John Carling Building. I did go there a few times for meetings and job interviews. Most recently, though still a few years ago, I was there for the annual Friends of the Farm Victorian Tea when it got rained out of the Arboretum. I don't know where the tea was held this year - the weather was not conducive to an outdoor event.
The Carling family was of course also linked to a brewery. I remember some time in the 70s getting what might be for many a "nuisance" phone-call, except it was sort of funny, really. When I answered the phone, a group of singers launched into a spirited rendition of the then quite pervasive Carling Redcap song ("We love Carling Redcap, it's our favourite brew...) I let them complete their performance and hung up without comment. They didn't call back and I've still no idea who they were.
The name Carling still isn't totally gone from the Ottawa landscape, of course. Carling Avenue is still a major thoroughfare and may eventually become part of the light rail route. But I'm going to miss the Sir John Carling Building.
I wasn't among those spectators, but I have fond memories of the building. I worked there in the summer of 1973. The job itself was nothing special - I was in one of those pink-collar summer-student ghettos known as a typing pool - but the people were quite nice and the setting was beautiful. It was perfect for taking lunchtime walks on the Experimental Farm and sometimes as far as the campus of Carleton University. There was shopping nearby too - Waterloo Music across the street and Westgate Shopping Centre a few blocks along Carling Avenue. In those days, we were allowed a 90-minute lunch break on paydays, every two weeks.
In those days, the Sir John Carling Building was a snazzy (relatively) new building, having been built in 1967. I'm still a little baffled as to why it took nearly 40 years to take down those ghastly, inhospitable "temporary" buildings constructed in the war years, while the Carling Building was deemed outdated and unworthy of repair or renovation after not much longer than that!
The summer of 1973 is not the only time I've been in the Sir John Carling Building. I did go there a few times for meetings and job interviews. Most recently, though still a few years ago, I was there for the annual Friends of the Farm Victorian Tea when it got rained out of the Arboretum. I don't know where the tea was held this year - the weather was not conducive to an outdoor event.
The Carling family was of course also linked to a brewery. I remember some time in the 70s getting what might be for many a "nuisance" phone-call, except it was sort of funny, really. When I answered the phone, a group of singers launched into a spirited rendition of the then quite pervasive Carling Redcap song ("We love Carling Redcap, it's our favourite brew...) I let them complete their performance and hung up without comment. They didn't call back and I've still no idea who they were.
The name Carling still isn't totally gone from the Ottawa landscape, of course. Carling Avenue is still a major thoroughfare and may eventually become part of the light rail route. But I'm going to miss the Sir John Carling Building.
