HULL, Québec | Downtown

[flar]

Hull, Québec

Hull is directly across the river from downtown Ottawa. Downtown Hull has been destroyed twice. The first was by a great fire that destroyed 2/3 of the city in 1900. Thus, despite being the oldest settlement in the Ottawa area, there is almost nothing from before 1900. The second was in the 1960s and 70s when over 4000 residents were displaced and much of the core demolished to build a series of government office complexes. The result is the series of contrasts seen below:


promenade du Portage

Place du Portage

Vieux-Hull

rue Eddy

Les Terrasses de la Chaudière

rue Laurier

Canadian Parliament across the river in Ottawa

 

[MisterF]

Great pics! Place du Portage is a baffling complex, totally inward-looking. I did manage to figure it out after four months of working there though. I spent a lot of time at Le Bop that fall - free pizza every Wednesday. It didn't matter that it tasted like cardboard, we were students.

 

[JasonParis]

Place du Portage is my favourite Gatineau building to look at from the Ottawa side of the river.

Great pics Flar!

 

[DavidJamesTO]

Place du Portage isn't the prettiest thing around, but it's certainly a lot better than most of its contemporaries.

Good photo series.

 

[SP!RE]

Stunning photos of a not-very-well-seen city!!! Good to see Hull!

Place du Portage is amazing... what a complex!

And this building... so similar to the Toronto Reference Library:

 

[unimaginative2]

It sure is a shame that they tore down most of downtown to build those complexes.

 

[Anth]

It sure is a shame that they tore down most of downtown to build those complexes.

Agreed, but even in its current state it's a much more interesting place than it usually gets credit for (if it gets any at all, that is).

Thanks, Flar!

 

[Long Island Mike]

Hull,Quebec-An interesting place...

Flar: Good pics of Hull,Quebec-I figured that it would be just a matter of time before you got over there...

I remember Hull from my 1985 visit because it seemed that all the hopping bars and clubs were over there and opening hours were much longer then Ontario allowed. The drinking age was lower also I recall. I also remember little or no language barrier-is it the same today?

I will comment on these pics:
#5-Hull buses-what is the name of the transit agency in Hull-jog my memory!
#17-Good pic of Downtown Hull
#27-Divided Highway-what is it?
#51-Epicarie Carillion-nice building!
#54,55(and 66) Run down building with graffiti reminding me of NYC in ways-A red light district perhaps...?
#57-Interesting building with steel porches...
Thanks to you in advance-LI MIKE

 

[flar]

Many people automatically look for faults with Place du Portage, but I find it to be quite a nice place to work. Portage and les Terrasses de la Chaudière add about 20,000 well paid government workers to downtown Hull, which is why there are so many good dining options. That does make downtown Hull a bit dull outside 9-5.

There is nightlife in Hull, but by all accounts it's just not what it used to be. The drinking age in Quebec is lower than Ontario (18 vs 19) and I think the city cracked down on young Ontarians crossing over.

French is the first language of Hull, but there are many bilingual people (just like in Ottawa), so there is no language barrier.

Hull's transit agency is Société de transport de l'Outaouais, or STO for short. Pretty good fare and route interoperability with OCTranspo, it's easy to move between Ottawa and Gatineau (the larger municipality that Hull is part of).

The big highway is Boulevard Maisonneuve. It's dug out and cuts under the Place du Portage/Place du Centre complex before connecting to the Portage Bridge to Ottawa. It connects to the Cartier Bridge to Ottawa and autoroute du la Gatineau in the north. It's seamless when you're inside Place du Portage/Place du Centre, but cuts the city like a knife when you're outdoors. Easily the worst design aspect of Hull's redevelopment.