Riverside Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Ottawa, Ontario

Waymark Code: WMT89H

The meetinghouse is across from the Central Experimental Farm.

The Riverside Ward (or congregation) is one of seven congregations in the Ottawa Stake. Stake is a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) term for a local territory, in this case greater Ottawa-Gatineau. Members of the LDS are also known as Mormons.

This congregation's chapel (or church) building dates back to the 1970s when the Ottawa Stake was created. The LDS building is easy to identify. The steeple does not include a cross. The cross is a symbol of the dying Christ. The Mormon message is one of a living Christ.

The worship service (or sacrament meeting) takes place here on Sundays at 09h30. Non-LDS visitors are welcome at the sacrament meetings. Non-LDS visitors are also welcome at the Family History Center. I am not LDS.

This building is multi-purpose. At the back of the building is the entrance to the stake's Family History Center. Family history research (or genealogy) is a necessary part of Mormon life. In Mormon teaching, all individuals living or dead should be allowed access to the spirit world as defined by LDS beliefs. Therefore, research is required to properly identify the dead individual. Back in the '90s before the LDS got so much family history material on to the web, I spent many hours every week undertaking research in this building.

The building address is 1017 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3K1.

https://www.lds.org/maps/meetinghouses/id=ward:50903

N 45° 22.76 W 075° 42.25

Smythe Road bridge - Ottawa, ON

It is known as the CN (Canadian National Railways) bridge. When it was opened in 1961 it carried CN's Beachburg subdivision and the CP's (Canadian Pacific) Prescott subdivision. Before the bridge was built, the CN and CP lines both had level-crossings over Smythe Road, less than fifty yards apart. The two rail lines were moved much closer so that the bridge could be shared. By 1966, the CP closed that portion of the Prescott subdivision, also known as the Sussex sub. This rail line had been the first railway into Ottawa way back in 1854.

In 2016, this bridge hosts traffic only for VIA Rail, seeing sixteen passenger trains daily. Maintenance on the bridge continues. Recent work on the road level wall resulted in the destruction of a 1963 benchmark.

The only safe places for viewing the bridge are from the sidewalk along either side of Smythe Road.