Ghost town

Anyone who works around Parliament Hill, and those who visit the capital, cannot help but notice that  our seat of federal power has  basically been turned into  a construction site.  In the process,  we're convinced that business and tourism has to be suffering.  Earlier this year, CBC Radio did an excellent series on the disaster of Sparks Street. (Click here for one part of it.) 

Meanwhile, I've been a little obsessed with the state of Wellington Street, one block in front of Sparks, which is also a disaster area. Beautiful old buildings are deserted and empty, and the cancellation of the portrait gallery is only part of it. 

So this summer, I went on a little heritage tour of two blocks on Wellington Street and wrote it up for Policy Options, courtesy of local architecture expert David Jeanes.  (I also, in the process,  got confirmation of a neat little anecdote I heard a long time ago about Brian Mulroney.)

The article appears in the newest issue, now available on line. Click here if you want to take a walk down the ghost street in front of Parliament. (It's a PDF document if that makes any difference to you.)