Centretown Heritage Conservation District - Ottawa, Ontario - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

Inscription on the plaque:

This area east of Kent Street and bordered by Gloucester Street, Elgin Street and the Queensway can be described as one of Ottawa's early suburbs. Complicated land holdings concentrated residential development in Upper Town and the market area during Ottawa's initial settlement by the 1870's, however, the sub division and sale of the northern part of Centretown, the By Estate, allowed intense residential development to proceed.

In the early 19th century the forested area that became Centretown was divided into farm lots while a strip of land along the canal was owned by British Ordnance. The eastern region was the site of Corkstown, home to Irish squatters who worked as labourers during the construction of the canal. Corkstown was a rough and ready place, known for its pubs and brawls. The lot directly to the south became Catherine Stewart's estate, Appin Place, and later the site of the Victoria Memorial Museum.

Centretown is the surviving residential community most closely associated with parliament and the public service. Inhabited by Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, civil servants and diplomats, Centretown has also been home to many notable Canadians. Other residents include an early and longstanding concentration of single female government employees who required secure and respectable accommodations. As the residential quarter of official Ottawa, Centretown is a sensitive mirror of national politics.

Though development occurred initially in the form of single family dwellings interspersed with duplexes and row houses, by the first decade of the 20th century, apartment buildings became an important component of the neighbourhood. Centretown is a closely knit community, strongly committed to its rich architectural heritage. In recognition of this, the City of Ottawa designated Centretown as a heritage conservation district in 1997.

Jim Watson Mayor

Elizabeth Arnold
Councillor
Somerset

Group that erected the marker: The City of Ottawa, Ontario URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Corner of McLeod and Metcalfe Streets Ottawa, Ontario Canada

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