Just below the Queensway, almost identical brick houses line the quiet Young Street.
This short, mostly residential area off of Preston Street is also home to St. Mary’s Eucharistic Adoration Chapel, Lixtar I.T. Inc., and Young Street Garage.
Divided into two by the O-train, Young Street meets Reid Avenue on one end and Preston Street on the other.
The street was previously called Poplar Street, but in 1908 a city bylaw changed the name to Young.
Serge Barbe, a community archivist at the City of Ottawa Archives, says he isn’t quite sure why the city changed the name. He says he guesses the street was called Poplar before because the other streets around the neighbourhood were also named after trees.
Walking down the street, the most prominent feature is the chapel. The church was originally called Our Lady of Good Counsel when it was built in 1891.
In 1949, the church burned and was later re-built in 1951 as the St. Mary’s which stands tall today.
Kurt Hillebrand, one of the owners of Young Street Garage Ltd., says his family-owned business has been in the area since 1976.
He says while he was growing up he spent a lot of time at the garage working and over the years he has watched the area “clean-up”.
Shelley Fraser, in charge of marketing and communications at Lixar I.T. Inc. called the street “our little oasis.”
She says the business came to the area in 2006 and that she has enjoyed the business’ location because it is conveniently next to the O-train and the restaurants along Preston Street.
“Young Street is the edge of the picture frame; It frames the community,” she says.