When you're commuting day in and day out, it's easy to forget or ignore or simply not think about the stations to which you travel. They are often reduced to a name or a "point A" along your trip home or to work. Through this hyper-familiarity, the unique features of each of the stations get lost.
This week, I want to pause at some of the OC Transpo stations (in no particular order) and really highlight what makes them unique and interesting. Perhaps next time you're out and about, you will also slow down and enjoy these features that you may otherwise not even notice.
Walkley Station
Walkley Station, with its red tube and concrete charm, is a blip on the Transitway. There is nothing extraordinary about it.
Except the maps.
Six maps, etched out in stone and concrete, line the supports underneath Walkley Rd. They capture the history of the Ottawa region, travelling in time from the early European settlers through the Canal development, becoming the capital city, and eventually today (or, rather 1993 - which was almost 20 years ago. yikes!).
Each of the maps in A Brief History of Ottawa are a slice of time, with specific dates underneath them. 1826? That's when Canal construction began. 1855? Bytown becomes the city of Ottawa. 1993? I guess that's when suburbs took over.
To help jog everyone's memory, there are word pairs that can be found on both the northbound and southbound transit platforms. Canal : Défense. Loisir : Urban. Just a head's up, when you Google "Outaouacs", the search engine thinks you mean "Outaouais".
Artist Adrian Göllner managed to take the region's history, boil it down to the most important events, and show it off in an interesting way - in an awkward space to boot!
Did you know? If this were updated or created today, a map would probably be used to reflect the 2001 amalgamation, possibly the most important event to happen in the region in 20 years. Or would it show Ottawa's development as Silicon Valley North?
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