Preston Street is a street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, running between Wellington Street

Wellington Street (Ottawa)

Wellington 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...

 and Carling Avenue

Carling Avenue

Carling Avenue is a major east-west arterial road in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs from March Road in Kanata to Bronson Avenue in the Glebe...

. It is the main commercial district in Little Italy, home to numerous small business and Italian restaurants, and is synonymous with "Little Italy" to many Ottawa residents when referring to area businesses.

Since 1974, Preston and its side streets are closed to traffic each June for the Italian Week festival, Ottawa's celebration of Italian culture.

In 1987, alderman Mac Harb led the creation of the Preston Street Business Improvement Area, representing local businesses to the City of Ottawa. Preston Street is marked at Carling Avenue by a metal arch lit in the colours of the Italian flag

Flag of Italy

The flag of Italy is a tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical pales of green, white, and red, with the green at the hoist side...

, built in 2002 to attract tourists from the Dow's Lake

Dow's Lake

Dow's Lake in Ottawa, Canada is a small man-made lake on the Rideau Canal, situated two kilometres north of Hog's Back Falls in the middle of Ottawa. It is at the south end of Preston Street, just south of Carling Avenue, and just to the west of Bronson Avenue...

area immediately to the south.

Preston Street has been given a commemorative Italian name Corso Italia.