Bytown Bicentennial Bytes
To help celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bytown in 1826 and the beginning of the construction of the Rideau Canal, we have created a series of BICENTENNIAL BYTES about some of the key places — buildings, structures and landscapes — that help capture some of our shared history.
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21. Billings Estate
Idyllically situated on a forested hill overlooking the Rideau River, the Billings Estate, originally known as Park Hill, includes a gracious Georgian style house constructed in 1828-29 with matching front and rear…
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22. The Story of Abbotsford
In his preface to the 1864 Ottawa Directory, Dr. S.C. Sewell wrote: "12 years ago, the number of stone houses did not exceed 25. All except two or three of the coarsest rubble work. Now they may be counted by hundreds.…
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23. Parliament Hill (Part 1)
The Parliament Hill complex is arguably the most recognizable assemblage of buildings in Canada. Its soaring Peace Tower is a powerful national symbol.
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24. Parliament Hill (Part 2)
Having decided quickly that the Parliament buildings for the Province of Canada should be built on Barrack Hill, the Department of Public Works’ design competition resulted in the complex of three separate buildings in…
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25. The Poulin Building
The elegant, three-story brick commercial building located at 156-158 Sparks Street in Ottawa is best known historically as the Poulin Building, home to Poulin’s Department store from 1889 to 1929. An Ottawa landmark,…
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26. Fleet Street Pumping Station
When Ottawa became Canada’s capital in 1857, the city had no reliable water supply. Barrels were filled with water from the Ottawa River and delivered around town by horse-drawn carts. To supply the new parliament…
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27. Pooley’s Bridge
Tucked beneath the escarpment at the eastern edge of LeBreton Flats, the Ottawa Water Works Complex is made up of heritage structures — still in operation today — that tell the extraordinary story of intensive 19th-…
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28. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
Located at the corner of Kent and Wellington streets, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church was the first church established in Upper Bytown. Thomas Mackay, contractor for the Rideau Canal, and three associates purchased the…
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29. Saint Patrick’s Basilica
As early as 1828, Irish Catholic residents of Upper Town organized to raise funds to build a church at 240 Kent Street (at Nepean St) to serve their needs. Among those who led the drive was Daniel O'Connor (1801-1853)…
