Elgin Street is a
streetA street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
in the Golden Triangle of
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
,
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Originally named
Biddy's Lane, it was later named after
Lord ElginSir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
.
The north/south running street begins at
Wellington StreetWellington Street is an important street in Ottawa, Canada most notable for being one of the first two streets laid out in Bytown in 1826 Wellington Street (French: Rue Wellington) is an important street in Ottawa, Canada most notable for being one of the first two streets laid out in Bytown in...
in
Confederation SquareConfederation Square is an urban square in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and is considered the second most important ceremonial centre in Canada's capital city, after Parliament Hill...
, just east of the Parliament buildings and just west of the bridge over the
Rideau CanalThe Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
. In the centre of Elgin Street for the first two blocks is
Confederation SquareConfederation Square is an urban square in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and is considered the second most important ceremonial centre in Canada's capital city, after Parliament Hill...
, home of Canada's
National War MemorialThe National War Memorial , is a tall granite cenotaph with acreted bronze sculptures, that stands in Confederation Square, Ottawa, and serves as the federal war memorial for Canada....
. To the south of this on the east of Elgin is the
National Arts CentreThe National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
; to the west is the
British High CommissionThe British High Commission in Ottawa is the main diplomatic mission of the United Kingdom in Canada. It is located at 80 Elgin Street in downtown Ottawa, across the street from the National Arts Centre and not far from Parliament Hill.- History :...
. Continuing south, Elgin is fronted by
Confederation ParkConfederation Park is a park in downtown Ottawa and a National Historic Site of Canada. It is bordered on the south by Laurier Avenue and Ottawa City Hall; on the east by the Rideau Canal; on the north by the Mackenzie King Bridge, the Rideau Centre and the National Arts Centre; and, to the west,...
to the east and the
Lord Elgin HotelThe Lord Elgin Hotel is a prominent hotel in downtown Ottawa, Canada with 355 guest rooms, located at 100 Elgin Street at Laurier Avenue, across from Confederation Park...
to the west. South of the park, just past
Laurier AvenueLaurier Avenue is a central east west street running through Ottawa, Canada. Originally known as "Maria Street" and "Theodore Street" , it was renamed in honour of Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier...
, is the Ottawa Court House, across from the
First Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist Church is a prominent Baptist church in downtown Ottawa, Canada. It is part of the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. It was designed by James Mather.The church was first founded in 1857, the first Baptist congregation in Ottawa...
and Grant house (1875 mansion), followed by
City HallThe current Ottawa City Hall is the city hall of Ottawa, Canada. The downtown complex consists of two connected buildings: a modern wing located on Laurier Avenue and a 19th century heritage wing located on Elgin Street...
(former
Regional Municipality of Ottawa-CarletonThe Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton was a regional government area and census division in Ontario, Canada which existed from 1969 until 2001...
Headquarters) and
Knox Presbyterian ChurchKnox Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is named after John Knox, a founder of Presbyterianism in Scotland.It was founded as a result of the split within the congregation of St...
.
South of this, the street becomes mainly a business area, home to a number of stores, restaurants, and bars. Progressing south, the street steadily becomes more residential, home to low rise apartment buildings. Elgin ends at the
QueenswayThe Queensway is a major controlled-access freeway running through Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from Kanata in the west to Orleans in the east. It is the primary east-west transportation artery in the Ottawa-Gatineau area....
, where it turns into
Hawthorne AvenueHawthorne Avenue is a short street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Although short, the western half of the street serves as a major connector for residents of Old Ottawa East and Old Ottawa South with the downtown core, as Hawthorne becomes the Pretoria Bridge in the west which crosses over the Rideau...
before turning east and going over the Rideau Canal at the
Pretoria BridgeThe Pretoria Bridge is a lift bridge in Ottawa, Canada. It crosses the Rideau Canal linking the Glebe and Centretown to Old Ottawa East. The bridge was built in 1915, replacing an earlier wooden swing bridge on Argyle Street just to the north...
. At the southern end of Elgin is the headquarters of the
Ottawa Police ServiceThe Ottawa Police Service serves the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.-History:The OPS roots come from the formation of the "Bytown Association" in 1847. In 1855 Roderick Ross was the first Chief Constable for the newly formed City of Ottawa...
.
The street is now nicknamed "Sens Mile", similar to the
Red MileThe Red Mile is the name given to a several-block stretch of 17th Avenue S.W. in Calgary, Alberta, Canada during the Calgary Flames 2004 Stanley Cup playoff run...
in
CalgaryCalgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
and the Blue Mile in
EdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
- a street for
Ottawa SenatorsThe Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
celebrations in the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The plan originated as a grassroots campaign upon realization that the home of the Ottawa Senators,
Scotiabank PlaceScotiabank Place is a multi-purpose arena, located in Kanata, a suburban district of Ottawa, Ontario. It is home to the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. It has also hosted the Canadian University Men's Basketball Championship...
is located far out of the city's downtown core in the suburb of
KanataKanata is an aboriginal word meaning "village" or "settlement."- Name of Canada :Until the mid-20th century, the Mohawk word "kanata" was thought to have been the origin of Canada's name...
.
On January 1, 2010, The Elgin Street Community launched an online portal that represents both its residential and business sectors. See the external links below.
As of November 2011, the former National Art Gallery at 90 Elgin is beign torn down to be replaced with a new 17 storey (8 floors on Elgin) office building that will house the Federal Finance Departement. Furthermore, behind Grant House and First Baptist Church at 150 Elgin, there was a 23 Floor (300ft)office building called "Preformance Court" under construction.
External links