Downtown Ottawa

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Downtown Ottawa (French: Centre-Ville) is the central area of Ottawa, Canada. Like other downtowns it is the commercial and economic centre of the city. It is bordered by the Ottawa River to the north the Rideau Canal to the east, Somerset Street to the south and Bronson Avenue to the west. The area east of the canal but west of Nicholas Street, which includes the Rideau Centre and the Byward Market, is also normally considered downtown. The neighbourhoods around the central business district are also generally referred to as being downtown. These include Centretown to the south and Sandy Hill and Lower Town to the east. North of the Ottawa River the centre of Gatineau, Quebec can be considered an extension of Ottawa's downtown.

Downtown Ottawa is dominated by government buildings, including the Parliament of Canada, and the Supreme Court. Most of the buildings are office towers containing the various government departments. While most of Ottawa's high tech industry is based elsewhere it also has a significant presence in the downtown core. The downtown also contains a number of apartments, hotels, and condominiums as well a single family homes and townhouses along its edges. The towers of downtown Ottawa has always tended to be quite low as, until the 1970s, legally they could not be taller than the Peace Tower, so as not to overshadow the Parliament Buildings. Today, several buildings are taller than the Peace Tower, with the tallest being the 29-storey Place de Ville (Tower C) at 112m/369ft, and several hotels being slightly shorter but with 30-35 stories.

Downtown Ottawa has a grid pattern of streets with a number of the streets being one way. The eastern boundary is Elgin Street, a ceremonial route and site of many prominent buildings and landmarks. West of it is Metcalfe Street and then O'Connor Street, both of which are busy one way streets. Next is the most important north/south: Bank Street. Bank runs through the heart of downtown as is an important commercial centre. To the west is Kent Street, another road with high traffic volumes. The next three streets, Lyon, Bay and Percy, are one way local residential streets. Finally, Bronson is a major avenue that forms the western edge of downtown.

The northernmost street that crosses downtown is Wellington Street, site of the parliamentary precinct of prominent national buildings. South of Wellington is Sparks Street, most of which is a pedestrian mall closed to vehicles. The blocks to the south are dominated by office and hotel towers: Queen, Albert, Slater, Laurier and Gloucester. Albert and Slater also carry the Transitway (and possibly the proposed light rail) through downtown.

City of Ottawa zoning restricts and regulates high-rise development south of Gloucester and affords heritage designation to some areas and buildings. The succeeding streets of Nepean, Lisgar and Cooper are therefore mixed but still mainly residential, containing mostly medium and low-rise buildings west of Kent with more taller buildings east of Kent. Some blocks are still filled with 100 year old homes, others have been developed with newer townhouses and condominiums and apartment buildings.

The southernmost street downtown is Somerset which is a main road and is home to Ottawa's modest sized Chinatown and borders on Dundonald Park.

Politically, it is in the federal and provincial ridings of Ottawa Centre.

1 Demographics
2 Transitway stations
3 Downtown churches
4 Grid streets
5 Map
6 External links

[edit] Demographics

According to the Canada 2006 Census. Area defined as the part of Ottawa north of Gloucester Street, east of Bronson, south of the Ottawa River and west of the Rideau Canal.

Population: 3,718
Change (2001-2006): +2.7%
Total private dwellings: 2,875
Land area: 1.25 sq. km.
Population density: 2,977.5 per sq. km.

[edit] Transitway stations

[edit] Downtown churches

[edit] Grid streets

East-west (from north to south)

Wellington Street
Sparks Street
Queen Street
Albert Street
Slater Street
Laurier Avenue
Gloucester Street
Nepean Street
Lisgar Street
Cooper Street
Somerset Street

North-south (from west to east)

Bronson Avenue
Percy Street (runs north until Laurier)
Bay Street
Lyon Street
Kent Street
Bank Street
O'Connor Street
Metcalfe Street
Elgin Street

[edit] Map

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                     Wellington Street
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             Laurier Avenue                                         
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