In the early 1900s, Montreal Road, which runs parallel to the Ottawa River, was the only road in Ontario that linked Ottawa to Montreal. Three kilometres from downtown Ottawa, Montreal Road crossed the village of Janeville, which later became part of the town of Eastview in 1909, then part of Vanier in 1969. For this reason, Montreal Road became an important economic and commercial thoroughfare. The mural, painted by David Yeatman, illustrates Montreal Road around 1950, looking west from St. Margaret’s Church. In the background is a Canadian Pacific (CPR) train on the tracks that crossed Montreal Road from north to south. The mural also shows the local bus service of the time. The people shown in the mural represent four generations of a Vanier family.

Buses in Vanier…

Bus service between Ottawa and Vanier (Eastview) began in 1923. The route stretched from the corner of Wellington and Elgin streets in Ottawa to the corner of Montreal Road and Marier Street. Service was every 15 minutes, and passengers could buy 15 tickets for a dollar. The town struck a deal with Leon Petegorsky in 1927 to launch Eastview Bus Service. Fares remained the same for eight years: five cents for adults and three cents for children less than 51 inches tall. At least two thirds of the employees had to be Eastview residents. Buses initially travelled from the Château Laurier to Montreal Road, but eventually fives new routes were added. This company was sold in 1945 to Lazarus Greenberg and Hyman Bessin, who in turn sold it to the city of Ottawa in 1953, apparently because of recurrent vandalism.