The NCC is putting money into stabilizing the Wilson Carbide Mill, a heritage building on Victoria Island.
The Willson Carbide Mill appears to be a useless, abandoned building, crumbling with age and neglect, but earlier this month the federal government announced plans to give the National Capital Commission $1.5-million to restore the building.
The NCC believes this project will help preserve the region’s heritage, says Cédric Pelletier, a spokesperson for the NCC.
The Carbide Mill is a recognized heritage building on Victoria Island along the Ottawa River, just underneath the Portage Bridge. In the past it was used to create acetylcholine gas, according to the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office.
“Preserving the mill is vital because it is so important to Ottawa’s industrial heritage,” says David Jeanes, a member of the board of directors for Heritage Ottawa.
This is one of many projects the NCC is putting money into. Other construction plans in Centretown include work on the Portage Bridge and the Rideau Canal Skateway. These projects are part of the federal action plan that intends to stimulate the economy and generate jobs for Ottawa residents.
The Carbide Mill’s share of the funding will go toward continuing work the NCC has already begun. So far, the NCC has weatherproofed the stone walls and roof of the mill to keep them from deteriorating. It has also dismantled and rebuilt parts of the northwest wall. Next, the NCC says it intends to stabilize the structure, to ensure public safety, and repaint the building.
The government’s funding is expected to speed up the process, and Pelletier says everything should be finished by March 2011.
The Carbide Mill was built between 1899 and 1900 by Thomas Leopold ‘Carbide’ Willson. He was a Canadian inventor who discovered that calcium carbide reacts to create acetylcholine, a gas that emits a light brighter than anything in its time. Willson was the first to commercialize the gas in Canada, where it was used to light homes, railways, marine buoys and more, according to information provided by the American Chemical Society.
Jeanes says that Thomas Willson played a big role in starting and expanding Ottawa’s industrial wealth. He feels that preserving the mill is a demonstration of Willson’s importance to the city’s heritage.
The process of stabilizing the mill is one of many changes the NCC is planning for Victoria Island. It is also looking to turn the island into a new urban area, and would like to make the island’s historical significance more noticeable to tourists and Ottawa locals.
Mark Brandt, a local architect, has designed a master plan for the NCC that would incorporate four of the islands on the Ottawa River, including Victoria Island. He says he wants the islands, which are 18 hectares of land in total, put to better use.
Brandt calls this area a national treasure, and in his proposal he envisions cafés, boardwalks along the water, better transit connections to the islands and more public space.
Brandt’s design also includes the Thompson-Perkins mill at the Chaudière Falls. The NCC has been looking for a tenant to make use of the building, but because of its limited accessibility it has been unsuccessful so far. Brandt’s plan could potentially spark investors' interest in renovating the mill.
Although his project is still in an early stage, Brandt says he hopes the islands will become “a very exciting urban place of history and heritage.”
The federal government will also be putting $4 million into repairing the Portage Bridge. The NCC says the majority of the money will be used to fix damage to the underside of the bridge along with improvements to the concrete deck and cracks in the pier.