'Rideau Street' ('
Ottawa Road #34') is a major street in downtown
Ottawa,
Ontario,
Canada. It is one of Ottawa's most famous streets. It serves as the major east-west Street for Ottawa's
Lower Town. The street used to be Highway 17B before that was discontinued in
1998. It runs from the
Rideau Canal in the west (where it turns into
Wellington Street) to the
Rideau River in the east, where it turns into
Montreal Road, in
Vanier. Rideau Street is also home to the
Chateau Laurier and the
Government Conference Centre (Ottawa's former central train station).
For many years, Rideau Street was one of Ottawa's primary retail thoroughfares, containing department stores such as
Freimans,
Ogilvy's,
Woolworth,
Caplan's and Metropolitan. Although the local department stores are gone, Rideau Street still features
The Bay department store, the
Rideau Centre shopping mall, and the street is adjacent to shops of the
Byward Market.
To the north of Rideau is the traditional
Lower Town district of Ottawa. To the west of King Edward is the commercial
Market area. To the east is a predominantly residential area, formerly
Francophone that is now home to a variety of immigrant groups, notably many Francophone Africans and
Somalians.
To the south of Rideau Street is the
Sandy Hill neighborhood, with its mix of
embassies, older houses, low- and high-rise apartment buildings, and student housing.
See also
★
Rideau Street Chapel
★
Sussex Drive
★
Wellington Street (Ottawa)