New sculpture at former Southway Inn to commemorate long Inuit history
For nearly six decades, the Southway Inn was a home away from home for Inuit people visiting Ottawa.
Before it closed in 2015, the inn stood at the corner of Bank Street and Hunt Club Road, its Nunavut flag welcoming weary travelers who’d just stepped off planes at the nearby Ottawa airport.
Today, a sculpture commemorating that history is being unveiled at the site of the former inn, now a retirement community.
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“There was a comfort — not just in the hotel — but also around the hotel, whether they were going shopping across the street, whether they were visiting with friends,” said John Walsh, a Carleton University professor who spearheaded the sculpture project.
“The Southway went out of its way to make people feel welcome,” Walsh told CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning. “The place, itself, over time, just became familiar. Even before people got there, they knew about the Southway.”