![That sign. That legendary sign. It has been a presence on the corner of Carling and Holland since 1960. Photo: April 2014.](https://i0.wp.com/historynerd.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/20140423-185309-1024x1024.jpg?resize=660%2C660)
Nearly 54 years ago, one of Ottawa’s best mid-century commercial signs was affixed to a newly-constructed two story commercial building at the corner of Carling and Holland – “the crossroads of the west end”. The Civic Pharmacy officially opened on Saturday, September 17, 1960.
![A one-and-a-half-page spread in the Journal. Source: Ottawa Journal, September 16, 1960](https://i0.wp.com/historynerd.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/1960-09-16-Grand-Opening-Ad-Page-16-17-1024x962.jpg?resize=660%2C620)
The Civic Pharmacy was a venture of Wallace “Wally” Cherun, who’s father Alexander Cherun ran a grocery in the Deep Cut (now Golden Triangle) at 61 Waverley.