Ottawa hosts “Doors Open Ottawa” every year as part of the Doors Open Ontario event. We’ve gone to Doors Open Ottawa every time we could since moving here. It can be very interesting to get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes or to see places where you normally cannot gain access.
There are over 100 buildings/sites to choose from in Ottawa. At best you might get to 4-6 per day sites if you started very first thing and stayed with it to closing time and the line ups weren’t too great. I think that would be a bit much. We usually make it to 2 or 3 locations at most in one day.
We spent a good length of time at one of the new locations this year:
Ottawa Carleton (OC) Transpo, Vintage Buses and the Maintenance Garage-Part I
From the brochure: “OC Transpo opened this maintenance garage, the first of its kind in over 30 years, in September 2010. This is one of the most modern bus garages in North America, measuring 480 ft. by 430 ft. It is the first transit garage in North America that is LEED Silver Rated Certified (Environmental) and equipped with latest technology in wireless controlled hydraulic hoist. On display: OC Transpo’s bus evolution – the oldest in our fleet to the newest articulated bus and the double-decker bus.”
Buses From Days Gone By
Walking around the vintage buses made me want to go back in time and ride them in the day. How were the people dressed? And what did they do on the bus? No iPods or cellphones or e-readers. They were likely reading newspapers and Harlequin romances and smoking cigarettes. Where were you (if you were anywhere) in 1950 and/or 1958?
Model 337 (1950) and model 5931 (1958)
Barb's True Stories 