Wellington Street (Ottawa)

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Wellington Street on Canada Day. Wellington's prime location ensures its closure for many public holidays.

Wellington Street is an important street in Ottawa, Canada most notable for being the street upon which the Parliamentary Precinct is located. The street begins at the Rideau Canal; it is called Rideau Street on the east side of the canal. In the downtown it is the furthest north of the east-west running streets, being just south of the Ottawa River.

Just west of the bridge over the canal Wellington forms the northern edge of Confederation Square, south of which runs Elgin Street. West of the square is the Langevin Block, home of the Prime Minister's Office. Also on this stretch, opposite Parliament Hill, is the former American embassy and future portrait gallery and the Wellington Building housing minor MPs. At Metcalfe, directly south of the Peace Tower, is an open plaza and the tourist information office. At Wellington and Bank Street is the Wellington Building with the headquarters to the Bank of Canada on the other side of bank. Opposite the Bank on the northern side of the street is the Confederation Building.

Beyond the parliament area there are a number of other important buildings. The Supreme Court of Canada is just to the west of the Confederation building, and opposite it is St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church and the East and West Memorial Buildings. West of the Supreme Court is the National Library and Archives of Canada, with the Garden of the Provinces across the street. Between the Supreme Court and the National Library is a large open area that is today a mix of park land and large parking lots. Until the 1970s this was home to a cluster of temporary buildings that had been erected in the Second World War to provide much needed office space. In the 1970s there was a plan to build both a home for the Federal Court and the National Gallery. A design competition was even held for the National Gallery, but in the end the government cancelled both projects.

A new alignment of Wellington Street continues west past the Portage Bridge, though Lebreton Flats, past the new Canadian War Museum, where it ends at the Ottawa River Parkway.

West of the Ottawa O-Train, what is now known as West Wellington continues through Hintonburg, where it becomes Richmond Road at Island Park Drive.

Both sections of Wellington are four-lane historic urban arterial roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h (30 mph), although the flow is generally even slower than that due to high pedestrian traffic.

The street is named after the Duke of Wellington. A number of proposals have been made to name it after something more Canadian, but this has not come to pass. After the death of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau renaming it after him was raised as a possibility, but this was not undertaken.

From Bronson until it turns into Rideau Street, Wellington is also known as Ottawa Road #34. From Island Park Drive to Somerset Street, Wellington is known as Ottawa Road #36.

[edit] Map

Wellington Street from Bay Street to the Rideau Canal showing the prominent structures located along it. See Downtown Ottawa for a map of the entire area.

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