Michel Prévost, chief archivist
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The modest Bytown College in Sandy Hill, in 1856.
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Few institutions in Canada and even fewer in Ottawa have occupied the same location for 150 years. But that is exactly the case of the University of Ottawa leaving lower town to establish itself in Sandy Hill in 1856. Canada’s university will mark the occasion on September 17 as part of its Homecoming 2006 celebrations. Sandy Hill residents are invited to a Garden Party on the lawn in front of Tabaret Hall in honour of the University’s 150-year presence in Sandy Hill.
Bytown College was founded in 1848 by the first Catholic bishop of the city, Monsignor J.-B. Guigues. It was first situated in a modest building on Guigues Street. In 1852, the College was housed in a lovely stone building on Sussex Drive. The building still stands across from the National Gallery of Canada.
Although the second building was more imposing then the first, the College grew too quickly and a larger location needed to be found.
Monsignor Guigues chose the three lots that were later donated by the notary Louis-Thédore Besserer. Without taking away from Besserer’s generosity, the lots would be much more valuable in the hands of the religious order. However, it was only after his death that the Sandy Hill area would become the elite quarter of the new capital city.
Regardless, Bytown College was establishing itself on what would now be considered open field. The lots were on Wilbrod Street, what is now Séraphin-Marion. The building, ravaged by fire in 1903, was expanded several times and was located where the present-day parking lot faces Tabaret Hall.
It was impossible to predict in 1856 that the following year Queen Victoria would change the course of history by choosing Ottawa as Canada’s capital. Furthermore, who would have believed that Sandy Hill would be home to a college that 150 years later would be one of Canada’s most important universities.
