Village people: Take a tour of Ottawa`s LGBTTQ+ past
(WorldNews Canada)

Glenn Crawford suggests meeting in the parking lot between Staples and the Book Bazaar at the Corner of Bank Street and Gladstone Avenue. It seems like a rather mundane place to start a historical walking tour. But Crawford, the research and project leader of the Village Legacy Project, assures that this newly paved lot is a storied space. Notorious, even. In this location there was once an upscale cinema called The Rialto, which opened in 1931. But it became increasingly seedy. By the 1950s and `60s, it was known as the `Rat Hole` and was a gay cruising area. Later, the building that is now home to the Book Bazaar had a basement bar called Bottom`s Up. This spot is one of 57 stops on...