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109-714: The Bank Street Bridge , officially known as the Bank Street Canal Bridge , is a bridge in Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, that carries Bank Street over the Rideau Canal . It links the Glebe to Old Ottawa South . It also passes over the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Colonel By Drive . A wooden bridge was first constructed in this location in 1866. A few years later, a steel swing bridge

218-457: A horsecar system, overtaken in the 1890s by a vast electric streetcar system that operated until 1959. The Hull–Ottawa fire of 1900 destroyed two-thirds of Hull, including 40 percent of its residential buildings and most of the buildings of its largest employers along the waterfront. It began as a chimney fire in Hull on the north side of the river, but due to wind, spread rapidly throughout

327-476: A land claim submitted by the Algonquins of Ontario regarding the unceded status of the land on which Ottawa is situated. Negotiations have been ongoing, with an eventual goal to sign a treaty that would release Canada from claims for misuse of land under Algonquin title , affirm rights of the Algonquins, and negotiate conditions of the title transfer. Ottawa's city limits have expanded over time, including

436-544: A 16-year mandate. From 1931 to 1958, City Hall had been at the Transportation Building adjacent to Union Station (now part of the Rideau Centre ). In 1958, a new City Hall opened on Green Island near Rideau Falls, where urban renewal had recently transformed this industrial location into a green space. In 2001, Ottawa City Hall returned downtown to a 1990 building on 110 Laurier Avenue West,

545-689: A 17-storey office building to house the Federal Finance Department. In 1962, Charles Comfort , the Gallery's director, was criticized after half of the works on display at an exhibition for Walter Chrysler 's European works were exposed as forgeries by American journalists. Comfort had allowed the Gallery to host the exhibition, despite being warned about the works by the director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts . The National Museums of Canada Corporation (NMC) absorbed

654-739: A board of trustees to serve as the Gallery's governing body, with the board, through the Chair, being accountable to the Minister of Canadian Heritage , who is ultimately responsible for the Museum. The Director and CEO is charged with the day-to-day management of the Gallery. The Gallery is affiliated with several associations, including the Canadian Museums Association , the Ontario Association of Art Galleries ,

763-606: A broad Indigenous people who are closely related to the Odawa and Ojibwe peoples. This period ended with the arrival of settlers and colonization of North America by Europeans during and after the 15th century. In 1610, Étienne Brûlé became the first documented European to navigate the Ottawa River , passing what would become Ottawa on his way to the Great Lakes . Three years later, Samuel de Champlain wrote about

872-503: A crucial role in shaping the development of the city. Around the main urban area is an extensive greenbelt , administered by the NCC for conservation and leisure, and comprising mostly forest, farmland and marshland. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Ottawa had a population of 1,017,449 living in 407,252 of its 427,113 total private dwellings, a change of 8.9% from its 2016 population of 934,243 . With

981-697: A day below freezing at night every other year, conversely a day surpassing 30 °C Annual rainfall averages around 750mm per year, total precipitation 938mm spread throughout the year, with some variation. May through November are the months more likely to see significant precipitation events, with each month having an average of 3 days of over 1 cm of precipitation, with December through April seeing on average 1–2 days. May through November have, on average, over 8 cm of rainfall per month, with peaks of approximately 9 cm in June and September. December through April have less than 8 cm, with February being

1090-678: A diesel-powered light rail transit (LRT) line was introduced on an experimental basis. Known today as the Trillium Line , it was dubbed the O-Train and connected downtown Ottawa to the southern suburbs via Carleton University . The decision to extend the O-Train, and to replace it with an electric light rail system, was a major issue in the 2006 municipal elections , where Chiarelli was defeated by businessman Larry O'Brien . After O'Brien's election, transit plans were changed to establish

1199-506: A land area of 2,788.2 km (1,076.5 sq mi), it had a population density of 364.9/km (945.1/sq mi) in 2021. National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada ( French : Musée des beaux-arts du Canada ), located in the capital city of Ottawa , Ontario , is Canada's national art museum . The museum's building takes up 46,621 square metres (501,820 sq ft), with 12,400 square metres (133,000 sq ft) of space used for exhibiting art. It

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1308-516: A large and varied collection of paintings, works on paper, sculptures and photographs. The earliest works acquired by the museum were from Canadian artists, with Canadian art remaining the focus of the institution. However, its collection also includes several works from artists around the world. The Gallery's collection has been built up through purchases and donations. The Gallery organizes its own travelling exhibitions to exhibit its collection, travelling across Canada and abroad. The National Gallery

1417-822: A large collection to NGC consisting primarily of Quebecois pre-confederation silver; this bequest of more than 12,000 objects included around 16 works by Indigenous artists. In 1989 and 1992, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development bequeathed 570 works by Inuit artists. A number of Indigenous artists whose works are featured in the collection include Kenojuak Ashevak , Kiawak Ashoona , Qaqaq Ashoona , Carl Beam , Faye HeavyShield , Osuitok Ipeelee , Rita Letendre , Norval Morrisseau , Shelley Niro , David Ruben Piqtoukun , Abraham Anghik Ruben , Lucy Tasseor Tutsweetok , Jeffrey Thomas , John Tiktak , and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun . The Gallery's contemporary collection includes 1,500 works from artists since

1526-517: A large expansion effective 1 January 2001, when the province of Ontario amalgamated all the constituent municipalities of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton into a single city. Regional Chair Bob Chiarelli was elected as the new city's first mayor in the 2000 municipal election , defeating Gloucester mayor Claudette Cain. The city's growth led to strains on the public transit system and road bridges. On 15 October 2001,

1635-534: A legislative solution to the location of the capital. The governor-general of the province had designated Kingston as the capital in 1841. However, the major population centres of Toronto and Montreal , as well as the former capital of Lower Canada, Quebec City , all had legislators dissatisfied with Kingston. Anglophone merchants in Quebec were the leading group supportive of the Kingston arrangement. In 1842,

1744-685: A mayor elected city-wide. Ottawa has the highest proportion of university-educated residents among Canadian cities and is home to several colleges and universities, research and cultural institutions, including the University of Ottawa , Carleton University , Algonquin College , Collège La Cité , the National Arts Centre , the National Gallery of Canada ; and numerous national museums , monuments, and historic sites. It

1853-495: A number of rare imprints, books, and bookplates on Canadian artists, as well as items relating to historians of Canadian art. The federal government assumed responsibility for the Gallery in 1913, with the enactment of the National Gallery of Canada Act . The Gallery became a Crown corporation on 1 July 1990 with the proclamation of the Museums Act . The Museums Act serves as the museum's governing legislation. It empowers

1962-623: A painting in the National Gallery's permanent collection. The garden attempts to mimic the taiga landscape depicted in the painting, the Canadian shield ; although limestone is substituted in place of the granite typically found at the Canadian shield. As of October 2018, the National Gallery of Canada's permanent collection holds more than 93,625 works, representing several artistic movements and eras in art history. The Gallery has

2071-540: A permanent home for the gallery. But the Gallery failed to garner support from the government of Louis St. Laurent , resulting in the Gallery having to abandon the winning bid. To provide a workable compromise for the National Gallery, St. Laurent's government offered the National Gallery the eight-storey Lorne Building for its use. The National Gallery moved into the nondescript office building on Elgin Street . The Lorne Building has since been demolished and replaced by

2180-569: A series of light rail stations from the east side of the city into downtown, and for using a tunnel through the downtown core. Jim Watson , the last mayor of Ottawa before amalgamation, was re-elected in the 2010 election . In October 2012, the City Council approved the final Lansdowne Park plan, an agreement with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group that saw a new stadium, increased green space and housing and retail added to

2289-467: A vote rejected Kingston as the capital, and study of potential candidates included the then-named Bytown, but that option proved less popular than Toronto or Montreal. In 1843, a report of the Executive Council recommended Montreal as the capital as a more fortifiable location and commercial centre; however, the governor-general refused to execute a move without a parliamentary vote. In 1844,

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2398-591: Is 26.7 °C (80 °F). The average January minimum temperature is −14.0 °C (6.8 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Ottawa was 37.8 °C (100 °F) on 4 July 1913, 1 August 1917 and 11 August 1944. Summers are generally warm and humid in Ottawa. On average, there are 11 days across the three summer months of June, July and August that have temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F). Periods of hotter weather are normally accompanied by high humidity levels Snow and ice are dominant during

2507-562: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about transport in Ontario is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a building or structure in Ontario is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a specific bridge in Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ottawa Ottawa

2616-468: Is formed out of rectangular glass and narrow steel supports. The second tier of the cupola is formed out of rectangles and equilateral triangles that are further subdivided into eight or twelve smaller equilateral triangles. All these glass pieces are joined by steel struts. The third tier of the cupola is formed with similar designs, although the triangular glass panes are isosceles triangles. The isosceles triangles converge upwards, with its apexes towards

2725-835: Is one of the largest art museums in North America by exhibition space. The institution was established in 1880 at the Second Supreme Court of Canada building , and moved to the Victoria Memorial Museum building in 1911. In 1913, the Government of Canada passed the National Gallery Act , formally outlining the institution's mandate as a national art museum. The Gallery was moved to the Lorne Building in 1960. In 1988,

2834-493: Is one of the most visited cities in Canada, with over 11 million visitors annually contributing more than $ 2.2B to the city's economy. The city name Ottawa was chosen in 1855 in reference to the Ottawa River , whose name is itself derived from the Algonquin adawe , meaning "to trade." In modern Algonquin, the city is known as Odàwàg . The Ottawa Valley became habitable around 10,000 years ago, following

2943-682: Is situated on the south bank of the Ottawa River and contains the mouths of the Rideau River and Rideau Canal . The Rideau Canal (Rideau Waterway) first opened in 1832 and is 202 km (126 mi) long. It connects the Saint Lawrence River on Lake Ontario at Kingston to the Ottawa River near Parliament Hill. It was able to bypass the unnavigable sections of the Cataraqui and Rideau rivers and various small lakes along

3052-563: Is the capital city of Canada . It is located in the southern portion of the province of Ontario , at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River . Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec , and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) and the National Capital Region (NCR). As of 2021, Ottawa had a city population of 1,017,449 and a metropolitan population of 1,488,307, making it

3161-588: Is the largest lender of art in Canada, sending out approximately 800 works a year. The Gallery's prints and drawings collection includes 27,000 works on paper, dating from the 15th century to the present day. The prints and drawing collection includes 10,000 works on paper by Canadian artists; more than 800 of these prints and drawings being crafted by Inuit artists. The prints and drawing collection also includes 2,500 drawings and 10,000 prints by American, Asian, and European artists. The Gallery also has approximately 400 works from Asian artists, dating from 200 CE to

3270-748: The Grand Trunk Railway opened both the Château Laurier hotel and its neighbouring downtown Union Station . On 3 February 1916, the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings was destroyed by a fire . The House of Commons and Senate was temporarily relocated to the recently constructed Victoria Memorial Museum, now the Canadian Museum of Nature until the completion of the new Centre Block in 1922. The centrepiece of

3379-551: The Late Middle Ages to the present day. The collection includes 275,000 books, exhibition catalogues, and periodicals; 76,000 documentation files; and 95,000 microforms. The archives serves as the institutional archive for the Gallery. The library and archives' special collections includes over 50,000 auction catalogues, in addition to 182,000 slides and 360,000 research photographs. The Library and Archives' Exceptional Materials and Notable Subject Collections contains

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3488-605: The Queen 's acceptance of a parliamentary vote moved the capital to Montreal. In 1849, after violence in Montreal , a series of votes was held, with Kingston and Bytown again considered potential capitals. However, the successful proposal was for two cities to share capital status and the legislature to alternate sitting in each: Quebec City and Toronto, in a policy known as perambulation. Logistical difficulties made this an unpopular arrangement, and although an 1856 vote passed for

3597-483: The Regina Five . In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Canada in 2017, the Gallery undertook a C$ 7.4 million renovation to open the Canadian and Indigenous Art: From Time Immemorial to 1967 gallery. This gallery displays the progression of Canadian art and history, exhibiting Canadian and Indigenous works side by side. These works are exhibited in a manner which examines the intertwined relations between

3706-614: The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry ; and on the north by the Regional County Municipality of Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais and the City of Gatineau. The main suburban areas extend a considerable distance to the east, west and south of the inner-city. These areas also include the former cities of Cumberland, Gloucester, Kanata and Nepean. The towns of Stittsville and Richmond within

3815-462: The War of 1812 . Colonel By set up military barracks on the site of today's Parliament Hill . He also laid out the streets of the town and created two distinct neighbourhoods named "Upper Town" west of the canal and " Lower Town " east of the canal. Similar to its Upper Canada and Lower Canada namesakes, historically, "Upper Town" was predominantly English-speaking and Protestant, whereas "Lower Town"

3924-418: The ethnic enclaves of Chinatown and Little Italy . Modern Ottawa is made up of eleven historic townships, ten of which are from the former Carleton County and one from the former Russell County . Ottawa city limits are bounded on the east by the United Counties of Prescott and Russell ; by Renfrew County and Lanark County in the west; on the south by the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and

4033-522: The fourth-largest city and fourth-largest metropolitan area in Canada. Ottawa is the political centre of Canada and the headquarters of the federal government. The city houses numerous foreign embassies , key buildings, organizations, and institutions of Canada's government ; these include the Parliament of Canada , the Supreme Court , the residence of Canada's viceroy , and Office of

4142-712: The 1850s, entrepreneurs known as lumber barons began to build large sawmills, which became some of the largest mills in the world. Rail lines built in 1854 connected Ottawa to areas south and, from 1886 to the transcontinental rail network via Hull and Lachute , Quebec. By 1885 Ottawa was the only city in Canada whose downtown street-lights were powered entirely by electricity. In 1889, the Government developed and distributed 60 "water leases" (still in use) to mainly local industrialists which gave them permission to generate electricity and operate hydroelectric generators at Chaudière Falls . Public transportation began in 1870 with

4251-740: The 1990s. The collection features a number of works from Canada and its Indigenous artists. The first Indigenous Canadian contemporary artwork acquired by the National Gallery was purchased in 1987, a piece called The North American Iceberg (1985) by Ojibwe artist Carl Beam . In 2017, Bob Rennie donated a contemporary art collection to the National Gallery in honour of Canada' 150th anniversary. The collection includes 197 paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media pieces with most of it originating from Vancouver-based artists including Geoffrey Farmer , Rodney Graham , Brian Jungen , and Ian Wallace . The Rennie collection also includes some international contemporary works, including from Doris Salcedo . In 1990

4360-491: The 19th century. The Gallery's Asian collection began in the early 20th century, with a number of works originating from the collection of Nasli Heeramaneck . The Gallery also has a collection of photographs. A number of the photographs in the collection originated from the defunct Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. Until the mid-1980s, the Gallery's mandate did not include collecting art by Indigenous peoples. This has been much critiqued, and led to important changes at

4469-520: The 82 kilometres (50 miles) to Prescott on the Saint Lawrence River and beyond. Ottawa's small size was also thought to be less prone to politically motivated mob violence, as had happened in the previous Canadian capitals . Finally, the government already owned the land that eventually became Parliament Hill , which it thought would be an ideal location for the Parliament buildings. The original Parliament buildings, which included

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4578-586: The Centre, East and West Blocks, were constructed between 1859 and 1866 in the Gothic Revival style . At the time, this was the largest North American construction project ever attempted and Public Works Canada and its architects were not initially well prepared for the relatively shallow-lying bedrock and had to redesign architectural drawings, leading to delays. The Library of Parliament and Parliament Hill landscaping were completed in 1876. Starting in

4687-510: The Gallery also organizes and hosts a number of travelling exhibitions . The Gallery was first formed in 1880 by Canada's Governor General, John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll in conjunction with the establishment of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts . In 1882, moved into its first home on Parliament Hill , housed in the Second Supreme Court of Canada building . Eric Brown was named the first director in 1910. In 1911,

4796-400: The Gallery bought Barnett Newman 's Voice of Fire for $ 1.8 million, igniting a storm of controversy. However, since that time its value has appreciated to approximately C$ 40 million as of 2014. In 1999, the Gallery acquired a sculpture of a giant spider, Maman , by Louise Bourgeois for a cost of C$ 3.2 million. The sculpture was installed on the plaza in front of the Gallery. In 2011

4905-572: The Gallery from the 1980s onwards. Despite a major re-hang in 2003 of the Canadian galleries to include Indigenous art for the first time, the Gallery continues to work towards more equitable representation of Indigenous art, particularly in its historical galleries. The largest work in the Gallery is the entire interior of the Rideau Street Chapel , which formed part of the Convent of Our Lady Sacred Heart, The interior decorations of

5014-617: The Gallery installed Canadian sculptor Joe Fafard 's Running Horses next to the Sussex Drive entrance, and American artist Roxy Paine 's stainless steel sculpture One Hundred Foot Line at Kìwekì Point behind the gallery. Other contemporary artists whose works are featured in the National Gallery's collection include David Altmejd , Lee Bul , Janet Cardiff , Bharti Kher , Christian Marclay , Elizabeth McIntosh , Chris Ofili , Paine, Ugo Rondinone , and Joanne Tod . The European, American, and Asian collection area includes most of

5123-466: The Gallery moved to the Victoria Memorial Museum building, sharing it with the National Museum of Natural Sciences . In 1913, the first National Gallery Act was passed, outlining the Gallery's mandate and resources. During the 1920s, the building was expanded. The art gallery was given four floors, and a separate entrance was created for the art museum. In addition, a firewall was built between

5232-523: The Gallery was relocated to a new building designed for this purpose. The National Gallery of Canada is situated in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive , with a notable view of Canada's Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill . The building was designed by Israeli architect Moshe Safdie and opened in 1988. The Gallery's permanent collection includes more than 93,000 works by European, American, Asian, Canadian, and Indigenous artists. In addition to exhibiting works from its permanent collection,

5341-464: The Gallery's works by non-Canadian artists. The Gallery acquired its first European work in 1907: the painting Ignatius Sancho by Thomas Gainsborough . Conversely, the Gallery did not begin to develop its collection of American art until the 1970s. The Gallery's collection includes American and European works dating from the Renaissance through the 20th century. In addition to Western art ,

5450-622: The Henry Birks Collection of Canadian Silver. Early pre-Confederation paintings were among the first items in the Canadian collections, with the National Gallery's earliest works originating from Canadian artists at the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts . The Gallery's Canadian collection holds a large number of works by the Group of Seven . The Gallery also holds a large collection of works by Tom Thomson, with The Jack Pine added to its collection in 1918. The Gallery also holds

5559-732: The National Capital Region, to make it more aesthetically pleasing and a location more befitting for Canada's political centre. Greber's plan included the creation of the National Capital Greenbelt , the Kichi Zibi Mikan and the Queensway highway system. His plan also called for changes in institutions such as moving downtown Union Station (now the Senate of Canada Building ) to the suburbs,

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5668-546: The National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Alberta issued a joint press release announcing a three-year partnership, which saw the use of the Art Gallery of Alberta's galleries to exhibit works from the National Gallery's collection. The program was the first "satellite program" between the National Gallery of Canada, and another institution, with similar initiatives launched at other Canadian art galleries in

5777-495: The National Gallery of Canada in 1968. During the 1970s, the NMC diverted funds from the National Gallery to form regional galleries. The Gallery completed renovations to the Lorne Building in 1976. By 1980, it had become apparent that the National Gallery would need to relocate, given the poor condition of the building, historical use of asbestos there, and inadequate exhibition areas that provided only enough space for two per cent of

5886-500: The National Gallery, and the Museum of Man within five years. The director of the National Gallery, Jean Sutherland Boggs , was chosen by Trudeau to oversee construction of the National Gallery and museums. The Gallery began construction for its permanent museum building on Sussex Drive in 1985, and was opened in May 1988. The diversion of funds by the NMC to help fund regional museums

5995-515: The Natural Sciences Museum and the National Gallery. But, the Gallery was still in temporary space in the Victoria Memorial Museum building. Longterm plans were to move it to a new permanent location, with spaces dedicated to the viewing of art. By the 1950s, the space in the Victoria Memorial Museum building had grown inadequate for the Gallery's collections. In 1952, the Gallery launched a design contest for architects to design

6104-530: The Parliament Buildings' gothic revival architecture. Ottawa's domestic architecture contains single-family homes, but also includes smaller numbers of semi-detached houses, rowhouses , and apartment buildings . Many domestic buildings in Centretown are clad in red brick, with trim in wood, stone, or metal; variations are common, depending on the cultural heritage of the neighbourhoods and

6213-479: The Prime Minister . Founded in 1826 as Bytown , and incorporated as Ottawa in 1855, its original boundaries were expanded through numerous annexations and were ultimately replaced by a new city incorporation and amalgamation in 2001. The municipal government of Ottawa is established and governed by the City of Ottawa Act of the Government of Ontario . It has an elected city council across 24 wards and

6322-568: The Rideau Street Chapel were designed by Georges Couillon in 1887. The chapel interior was acquired by the Gallery in 1972, when the convent was slated for demolition. The 1,123-piece interior was dismantled, stored and reconstructed within the Gallery as a work of art in 1988. The Gallery's Canadian collection includes works dating from the 18th century New France , to the 1990s. The collection includes paintings from pre- Confederation ; abstract paintings and other postwar art; and

6431-410: The bustling commercial and cultural areas of Old Ottawa South, Centretown , Lower Town , and Sandy Hill , the affluent tree-lined neighbourhoods of The Glebe , Westboro , and New Edinburgh , and the historically blue-collar communities of Hintonburg , Mechanicsville , Carlington , and LeBreton Flats , with a mixture of housing types, artist lofts, and industrial uses. The old city also includes

6540-471: The canal and the rivers. Across the canal to the west lie both Centretown and Downtown Ottawa , which share a border along Gloucester Street. These core neighbourhoods contain streets such as Elgin and Bank , which fill the role of commercial main streets in the region. Centretown is next to downtown, which includes a substantial economic and architectural government presence across multiple branches of government. The legislature 's work takes place in

6649-408: The centre. The building's three-tiered cupola is positioned in a manner in which the cupola would be flanked by the Peace Tower and the Library of Parliament to the west when approaching the museum from the east. The interior entrance lobby is floored with pink-granite, and includes a straight four metres (13 ft) wide ramp which slopes upward towards the west. Safdie noted the importance of

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6758-622: The city of Gatineau , itself the result of amalgamation of the former Quebec cities of Hull and Aylmer . Although formally and administratively separate cities in two different provinces, Ottawa and Gatineau (along with several nearby municipalities) collectively constitute the National Capital Region , which is considered a single metropolitan area. One federal Crown corporation , the National Capital Commission, or NCC, has significant land holdings in both cities, including sites of historical and touristic importance. The NCC, through its responsibility for planning and development of these lands, has

6867-413: The collection also has 400 works from India, Nepal , and Tibet . The Gallery's European collection has since expanded either through acquisitions or gifts. Such works include La Tour Eiffel by Marc Chagall , acquired by the Gallery in 1956 for $ C16,000. In 2018, the Gallery planned to sell the work to fund other acquisitions, but abandoned those plans after the decision was found to be unpopular with

6976-428: The collection of art by Indigenous peoples until the 1980s. The Gallery acquired its first Inuit works in 1956, crafted by artists in Nunavik . The Gallery's acquisition of Inuit works, at a time when it was not actively collecting art by other Indigenous peoples, is related to the Government's promotion of Inuit art to create jobs in the North and to assert Canadian sovereignty there. In 1979, Henry Birks bequeathed

7085-456: The collection to be exhibited at any given time. After the Canada's Constitution was patriated in 1982, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced a shift in policy focus towards the "creation of a nation," with priority given to the arts in an effort to enrich Canadian identity . In that same year, Minister of Communications Francis Fox declared the government's commitment to erect new permanent buildings for its national museums, including

7194-449: The corporation. However, because the groundwork for the building was already completed, Mulroney chose to continue funding construction for the Gallery, albeit at a reduced total budget of C$ 162 million. The building's northern, eastern, and western exterior facade is made up of pink-granite walls, or glass-windows. The southern exterior facade features an elongated glass wall, supported by concrete pylons grouped in fours. The profile of

7303-455: The driest month at an average of 5 cm of precipitation. Ottawa experiences about 2,080 hours of average sunshine annually (45% of possible). Predominate wind direction in Ottawa is from the West , Easterly air flow is more common during periods of wet weather as well as localized river/lake-effect cells on summer afternoons. Windspeed is on average higher during the winter, with northerly winds predominating during cold waves. Ottawa

7412-442: The entire way of the ramp. However, as opposed to most Gothic cathedrals, the ceiling has several concrete columns spaced out to support the roof. The summit of the ramp leads towards the Great Hall of the building, situated in the three-storey glass cupola. The interior courtyard of the building includes the Taiga Garden. The garden was designed by Cornelia Oberlander , who modelled the painting Terre Sauvage by A. Y. Jackson ;

7521-406: The federally defined National Capital Region but outside the city of Ottawa municipal boundaries; these include communities of Almonte , Carleton Place , Embrun , Kemptville , Rockland , and Russell . Influenced by government structures, much of the city's architecture tends to be formal and functional ; the city is also marked by Romantic and Picturesque styles of architecture such as

7630-486: The first city clerk, serving from 1844 to 1891, guiding Ottawa through 36 years of development, leading the hiring of key municipal roles, founding civic organizations, and proposing a set of by-laws for the city. The selection of Ottawa as the capital of Canada predates the Confederation of Canada. The choice was contentious and not straightforward, with the parliament of the United Province of Canada holding more than 200 votes over several decades to attempt to settle on

7739-502: The first session of Parliament held in the new buildings in 1866. The buildings were generally well received by legislators. Ottawa was chosen as the capital for two primary reasons. First, Ottawa's isolated location, surrounded by dense forest far from the Canada–US border and situated on a cliff face, would make it more defensible from attack. Second, Ottawa was approximately midway between Toronto and Kingston (in Canada West ) and Montreal and Quebec City (in Canada East ), making

7848-457: The following years. Marc Mayer was named the Gallery's director, succeeding Pierre Théberge, on 19 January 2009. On 19 April 2019, he was succeeded by Alexandra Suda , who was appointed the 11th Director and chief executive officer of the National Gallery of Canada. Under Sasha Suda, the Gallery underwent a major re-branding, dubbed Ankosé, to be more inclusive and work towards reconciliation. After only three years, Suda resigned. Angela Cassie

7957-622: The former Goulbourn Township are to the southwest. Nepean as a suburb also includes Barrhaven . The communities of Manotick and Riverside South are on the other side of the Rideau River, and Greely , southeast of Riverside South. A number of rural communities (villages and hamlets ) are administratively part of the Ottawa municipality. Some of these communities are Burritts Rapids ; Ashton ; Fallowfield ; Kars ; Fitzroy Harbour ; Munster ; Carp ; North Gower ; Metcalfe ; Constance Bay and Osgoode . Several towns are within

8066-487: The former city of Vanier , a densely populated, historically francophone, working class enclave, and the former village of Rockcliffe Park , a wealthy residential neighbourhood adjacent to the Prime Minister's official residence at 24 Sussex and the Governor General's residence. The old city includes the downtown core and older neighbourhoods to the east, west, and south. These vibrant neighbourhoods include

8175-494: The home of the now-defunct Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton . This new location was close to Ottawa's first (1849–1877) and second (1877–1931) City Halls. This new city hall complex also contained an adjacent 19th-century restored heritage building formerly known as the Ottawa Normal School . From the 1960s to the 1980s, there was a large increase in construction in the National Capital Region, which

8284-514: The largest collection of works by Alex Colville . Other artists featured in the collection include William Berczy , Jack Bush , Paul-Émile Borduas , Emily Carr , Robert Field , Vera Frenkel , Theophile Hamel , Joseph Légaré , Cornelius Krieghoff , Fernand Leduc , Alexandra Luke , Ken Lum , James Wilson Morrice , John O'Brien , Antoine Plamondon , William Raphael , Jean-Paul Riopelle , William Ronald , Michael Snow , Lisa Steele , Jeff Wall , Joyce Wieland , Paul Wong , and members of

8393-604: The last millennium. The National Gallery of Canada is housed in a building on Sussex Drive , adjacent to the ByWard Market district. The building is the fourth edifice to house the art museum. An independent Crown corporation, the Canadian Museums Construction Corporation was established to build the Gallery, with a budget of C$ 185 million. Following the 1984 Canadian federal election , Prime Minister Brian Mulroney dissolved

8502-477: The lower house of parliament to relocate permanently to Quebec City, the upper house refused to approve funding. The funding impasse led to the ending of the legislature's role in determining the seat of government. The legislature requested the Queen determine the seat of government. The Queen then acted on the advice of her governor general Edmund Head , who, after reviewing proposals from various cities, selected

8611-453: The museum's European collection includes Alejo Fernández , Vilhelm Hammershøi , Gustav Klimt , Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun , Henri Matisse , Charles Meynier , Claude Monet , Rembrandt , and Vincent van Gogh . The library and archives of the National Gallery of Canada hold an extensive collection of literature on Canadian art. The library and archives was established alongside the Gallery in 1880, and contains documents on western art from

8720-508: The natural draining of the Champlain Sea . Archaeological findings of arrowheads, tools and pottery indicate that Indigenous populations first settled in the area about 6,500 years ago. These findings suggest that these Algonquin people were engaged in foraging, hunting and fishing, but also trade and travel. Three major rivers meet within Ottawa, making it an important trade and travel area for thousands of years. The Algonquins are

8829-570: The new Parliament Buildings is a dominant Gothic Revival-styled structure known as the Peace Tower . The location of what is now Confederation Square was a former commercial district centrally located in a triangular area downtown surrounded by historically significant heritage buildings, including the Parliament buildings. It was redeveloped as a ceremonial centre in 1938 as part of the City Beautiful Movement . It became

8938-493: The parliamentary precinct, which includes buildings on Parliament Hill and others downtown, such as the Senate of Canada Building . Important buildings in the executive branch include the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council as well as many civil service buildings. The Supreme Court of Canada building can also be found in this area. Across the Ottawa River, which forms the border between Ontario and Quebec , lies

9047-592: The public. In 2005, the Gallery acquired a painting by Italian Renaissance painter Francesco Salviati for $ 4.5 million. In 2018, the Gallery acquired The Partie Carée by James Tissot from the collection of David R. Graham, putting it on display in December 2018. It is the third work by Tissot to be acquired by the museum since 1921. Other works from the collection include The Death of General Wolfe by Anglo-American artist Benjamin West . Other artists featured in

9156-479: The ramp in his design, stating that one should "go through some kind of procession to make your way into something as important as the National Gallery," and that it gave the visitor the feeling of making an ascent to a ritual, a ceremony. The walls of the entrance lobby are lined with rectangular cut pink granite, excluding the southern wall, which is part of the glass-walled exterior facade. A glass and steel ceiling reminiscent of Gothic cathedral architecture, extends

9265-469: The recently renamed Ottawa. The Queen sent a letter to colonial authorities selecting Ottawa as the capital, effective 31 December 1857. George Brown , briefly a co-premier of the Province of Canada, attempted to reverse this decision but was unsuccessful. The Parliament ratified the Queen's choice in 1859, with Quebec serving as interim capital from 1859 to 1865. The relocation process began in 1865, with

9374-629: The removal of the street car system, the decentralization of selected government offices, the relocation of industries and removal of substandard housing from the downtown. The plan also recommended the creation of the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River pathways. In 1958, the National Capital Commission was established as a Crown Corporation through the National Capital Act. The commission's original mission

9483-702: The renovation of the Senate Building . Most of the federal land in the region is managed by the National Capital Commission; its control of much undeveloped land and appropriations powers gives the NCC a great deal of influence over the city's development. Ottawa has a warm-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfb ) with four distinct seasons and is between Zones 5a and 5b on the Canadian Plant Hardiness Scale. The average July maximum temperature

9592-531: The selection an important political compromise. Other minor considerations included that despite Ottawa's regional isolation, there was water transportation access from spring to fall, both to Montreal via the Ottawa River, and to Kingston via the Rideau Waterway . Additionally, by 1854 it also had a modern all-season railway (the Bytown and Prescott Railway ) that carried passengers, lumber and supplies

9701-739: The site of the National War Memorial in 1939 and was designated a National Historic Site in 1984. A new Central Post Office (now the Privy Council of Canada ) was constructed in 1939 beside the War Memorial because the original post office building on the proposed Confederation Square grounds had to be demolished. Ottawa's former industrial appearance was vastly altered by the 1950 Greber Plan . Prime Minister Mackenzie King hired French architect-planner Jacques Greber to design an urban plan for managing development in

9810-510: The site. In December 2012, City Council voted unanimously to move forward with the Confederation Line , a 12.5 km (7.8 mi) light rail transit line, which was opened on 14 September 2019. The present-day city of Ottawa consists of the historic main urban area , as well as other urban, suburban and rural areas within the city's post-amalgamation limits. Old Ottawa refers to the former pre-amalgamation city, as well as

9919-414: The southern facade was designed to mimic a cathedral , with the concrete pylons being used similarly to the flying buttresses found on Gothic cathedrals. The eastern portion of the building's southern facade transitions into a low-levelled crystalline glass cupola, which holds the museum's main entrance; and its western portion, which features a three-tiered glass cupola. The three-tiered glass cupola

10028-679: The time they were built. The skyline has been controlled by building height restrictions originally implemented to keep Parliament Hill and the Peace Tower at 92.2 m (302 ft) visible from most parts of the city. Today, several buildings are slightly taller than the Peace Tower, with the tallest being the Claridge Icon at 143 metres (469 ft). Many federal buildings in the National Capital Region are managed by Public Works Canada , which leads to heritage conservation in its renovations and management of buildings, such as

10137-470: The town was named after British military engineer Colonel John By who was responsible for the entire Rideau Waterway construction project. The Rideau canal provided a secure route between Montreal and Kingston on Lake Ontario. It bypassed a vulnerable stretch of the St. Lawrence River bordering the state of New York that had left re-supply ships bound for southwestern Ontario easily exposed to enemy fire during

10246-484: The two groups of people. The Indigenous collection includes works by Indigenous artists around the world, although it has an emphasis on works by the Indigenous peoples of Canada . The Gallery collection acquired its first works by First Nations and Metis artists in the early 20th century. However, the makers of these works were often not acknowledged as Indigenous, because the Gallery's mandate did not include

10355-538: The waterfalls in the area and about his encounters with the Algonquin people. The first non-Indigenous settlement in the area was created by Philemon Wright , a New Englander . Wright founded a lumber town in the area on 7 March 1800 on the north side of the river, across from the present-day city of Ottawa in Hull . He, with five other families and twenty-five labourers , also created an agricultural community, which

10464-434: The waterway due to flooding techniques and the construction of 47 water transport locks. Ottawa is situated in a lowland on top of Paleozoic carbonate and shale and is surrounded by more craggy Precambrian igneous and metamorphic formations. Ottawa has had fluvial deposition of till and sands, leading to the widespread formation of eskers . There are limited distinct features arising from glacial deposits, but Ottawa

10573-577: The widespread wooden buildings. In Ottawa, it destroyed about one-fifth of the buildings from the Lebreton Flats south to Booth Street and down to Dow's Lake . The fire had a disproportionate effect on west-end lower-income neighbourhoods. It had also spread among many lumber yards, a major part of Ottawa's economy. The fire destroyed approximately 3200 buildings and caused an estimated $ 300 million in damage (in 2020 Canadian dollars). An estimated 14% of Ottawans were left homeless. On 1 June 1912,

10682-498: The winter season. On average, almost every day of January, February and March has more than 5 cm of snowpack (29, 28, and 22 days, respectively), and on average, approximately 12 days a year see 5 cm or more of snowfall, with 4 of those having over 10 cm. An average of 17 days of the year experience temperatures below −20 °C (−4 °F). Spring and fall are variable, prone to extreme changes in temperature and conditions. The month of May, for example, on average gets

10791-517: The world's largest skating rink, thereby providing both a recreational venue and a 7.8 km (4.8 mi) transportation path to downtown for ice skaters (from Carleton University and Dow's Lake to the Rideau Centre and National Arts Centre ). On 29 June 2007, the Rideau Canal was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The older part of the city (including what remains of Bytown) is known as Lower Town , and occupies an area between

10900-535: Was plunder stolen by the Nazis during the Second World War. The Gallery posted images of works suspected of being stolen art online, permitting its last legal owners to examine and possibly lay claim to the works. In 2006, the Gallery returned a painting by Édouard Vuillard that had been looted by the Nazis from Alfred Lindon in 1942, The Salon of Madame Aron , to Lindon's heirs. In December 2009,

11009-612: Was affected by the Late Wisconsian advance . Before the draining of the Champlain Sea, the area had high salinity. After the draining of the sea, the area had pine-dominated forests. Ottawa is located within the Western Quebec Seismic Zone , and while relatively inactive, the city does occasionally experience earthquakes. During part of the winter season the Ottawa section of the canal forms

11118-524: Was an affiliated institution of the National Gallery, and was established in 1985. In 1988, the CMCP's administration was amalgamated with that of the National Gallery's. The CMCP later moved to its new location at 1 Rideau Canal, and continued to operate there until its closure in 2006. Its collection was later absorbed into the National Gallery's in 2009. In December 2000, the National Gallery announced it suspected approximately 100 works from its collection

11227-417: Was built to better allow boats to pass through. The current structure was built in 1912, and was designed to be high enough to not have to open. By the 1970s, the bridge was falling apart, and trucks were banned in 1981. After some debate about whether to replace or restore the heritage structure, the bridge was fully restored in 1993. This article relating to Ottawa and to Canada's National Capital Region

11336-631: Was ended in 1982, and the National Museums of Canada formally dissolved in 1987. As a result of this dissolution, the National Gallery reacquired its institutional independence, along with the mandate and powers outlined in its formative legislative act prior to 1968. The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP), formerly the Stills Photography Division of the National Film Board of Canada ,

11445-616: Was followed by large growth in the high-tech industry during the 1990s and 2000s. Ottawa became one of Canada's largest high-tech cities and was nicknamed Silicon Valley North. By the 1980s, Bell Northern Research (later Nortel ) employed thousands, and large federally assisted research facilities such as the National Research Council contributed to an eventual technology boom. The early companies led to newer firms such as Newbridge Networks , Mitel and Corel . In 1991, provincial and federal governments responded to

11554-455: Was mostly French, Irish and Catholic. Bytown's population grew to 1,000 as the Rideau Canal was completed in 1832. Bytown's early pioneer period saw Irish labour unrest during the Shiners' War from 1835 to 1845 and political dissension that was evident in the 1849 Stony Monday Riot . In 1855, Bytown was renamed Ottawa and incorporated as a city. William Pittman Lett was installed as

11663-581: Was named Wright's Town . Wright pioneered the Ottawa Valley timber trade (soon to be the area's most significant economic activity) by transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to Quebec City . In 1826, news of the British military's impending construction of the Rideau Canal led to land speculators founding a community on the south side of the Ottawa River. The following year,

11772-571: Was then appointed interim Director and CEO in July 2022. The Gallery's present building was designed by Moshe Safdie & Associates, with construction beginning in 1985, and the building opening in 1988. The building has a total floor area of 46,621 square metres (501,820 sq ft). In 2000, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada chose the National Gallery as one of the top 500 buildings produced in Canada during

11881-700: Was to implement the Greber Plan recommendations conducted during the 1960s and 1970s. This marked the creation of a permanent political infrastructure for managing the capital region . Prior attempts to do so in the previous 50 years had been temporary. These included plans from the 1899 Ottawa Improvement Commission (OIC), the Todd Plan in 1903, the Holt Report in 1915 and the Federal District Commission (FDC) established in 1927 with

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