Memorial Wall - Building the Wall

From Grass to Granite

The site of the Memorial Wall at King Edward and Sussex Drive in Ottawa was one of five sites that were offered by the National Capitol Commission (NCC) to the Wall Committee in 2007 when they accepted the project. The Committee chose this site for obvious reasons -
location (mid way between the Parliament buildings and the Prime Ministers residence),
access (on main streets as opposed to long walks to the site),
and size (it was dedicated to only one structure as opposed to other larger areas which could have more than one).

After the project was accepted by the NCC they wanted the design changed to be more innovative and outstanding to suit the prestigious site that we selected. The Wall design was changed by James Lennox of Ottawa at the direction of the NCC. Jim is a Landscape Architect who has given us immeasurable service, patience, advice, etc for the 2 years since the acceptance of this project at our Convention in 2007, at Calgary AB. 

DST in Ottawa did the geotechnical work in order to determine the foundation for the structure.
Rick Cunliffe was the Ottawa structural engineer who designed the foundation for the wall and gave the sage advice when there was soil issues. 
M-L Contractors - did the excavation for the foundation. 
Colonial Granite did the large HK medallions that are on the long walls.
Fabrication of the granite and engraving for the wall was done by Polycor Inc in Quebec.

(click on any image to see a larger view)

	In the Beginning... Photo, taken in June 2009 by Mike Babin shows the area before any construction started.
	Getting Started The photo to the left was taken by Mike Babin in early August just as the core of the wall was being put in place. The next photo is taken looking in the opposite direction.
	Meanwhile... Back at the Factory... Polycor fabricates the "mountains" from granite. There will be four of them. (Photos submitted by Carol Hadley)
	The white panels being worked on are the mats that cover the granite for the sandblasting and then you see the finished panels, below.
	Bringing It All Together Back on the site, we can now see that the panels are attached to the granite core.
	One mountain added. (Rachel Bériault photo)
	End view. (Rachel Bériault photo)
	Meeting the Deadline Ready for unveiling (Dennis Bell photo)
	Unveiled, but without the other three mountains across the top (Dennis Bell photo)
	Dedication Ceremony The wall, unveiled, with the vets standing in front. (Murray Doull photo)
	Completed Structure end September 2009 - Wall structure is complete.
	Landscaping and Site Development Photos at the left taken in late June 2010 show construction of site facilities and preparation for landscaping. The top photo shows the forms in place for the seating wall. The bottom photo shows the positioning on the large boulders which will form part of the site. The one being measured will be the base for the plaque. (Randy Wing photos)
	The Wall in Oct 2016

Corrections and Replacements

After the Wall was completed, families and others brought several errors to the Committee's attention. These were corrected, and new panels installed in 2014.

Take a look at the Completed Wall Photos (updated as of October 2016)