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Alta Vista–Elmvale Acres

East

The Billings Estate, Ottawa's oldest wood-framed house, in Alta Vista.
Photo: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fast Facts

  • Population: 24,193 (City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (sum of "Billings Bridge - Alta Vista" and "Elmvale - Canterbury"))
  • Size: 10.14 km² (Computed from the combined City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study boundary polygons)
  • Distance from Parliament Hill: About 4.8 km southeast (straight-line distance)
  • Who's building: Robert Campeau (Elmvale Acres)

Overview

Alta Vista–Elmvale Acres is a largely residential area south and east of the Rideau River, built up mainly between the 1950s and 1970s after the City of Ottawa annexed the area in 1950. It combines the postwar suburb of Elmvale Acres, developed by Robert Campeau starting in 1955, with the older Alta Vista area around Billings Bridge, home to the 1827 Billings Estate — the oldest wood-framed house in Ottawa.

Boundaries

The City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study covers this informal grouping with two adjoining official boundaries — "Billings Bridge - Alta Vista" and "Elmvale - Canterbury" — combined here, running roughly from the Rideau River in the north to Smyth Road and Data Centre Road in the south, and from the Rideau Canal area west to St. Laurent Boulevard east.

Map

History

Braddish Billings, one of the area's first European settlers, built a home overlooking the Rideau River in the late 1820s; it survives today as the Billings Estate National Historic Site, the oldest remaining wood-framed house in Ottawa. Billings and other area farmers gradually sold off land for early developments such as Rideau Park, dating to 1892.

The bridge carrying Bank Street over the Rideau River became known as Billings' Bridge after his property, and Billings Bridge Shopping Centre opened on the site in October 1954 as, according to its owners, the first one-stop shopping destination to serve all of Ottawa.

Suburbanization accelerated after the City of Ottawa annexed the area in 1950. Some lots were sold to individual families, while larger parcels went to builders, including Robert Campeau, who developed Elmvale Acres starting in 1955. The Elmvale Acres Shopping Centre opened as an enclosed mall in 1961, one of the earliest of its kind in the city.

Alta Vista developed primarily between the 1950s and 1970s into the quiet, low-density residential neighbourhood it remains today, with Billings Bridge Station added to the Transitway network in the 1980s and 1990s as Ottawa's rapid transit system expanded.

Claim to Fame

Alta Vista–Elmvale Acres is best known for the Billings Estate, Ottawa's oldest wood-framed house, and for two of the city's earliest major shopping centres — Billings Bridge (1954) and Elmvale Acres (1961) — around which its postwar residential streets grew up.

Surrounding Neighbourhoods

Old Ottawa South and Old Ottawa East lie across the Rideau River and Canal to the northwest, Riverview Park and Alta Vista's other sections continue south and east, and Hunt Club lies further south.

Architecture

The neighbourhood's housing dates mainly from the 1950s through 1970s, with the low-density, generously set-back single-family homes typical of postwar Ottawa suburbs. The Billings Estate house (1827-29) is a rare survival of the area's earlier farm-era architecture, while Billings Bridge and Elmvale Acres shopping centres carry the low-rise commercial forms of their 1950s-60s construction, since expanded and renovated.

Restaurants

  • Dana's Indian Cuisine — Indian

    Indian restaurant at 1589 Bank Street offering vegetarian, vegan and traditional dishes including butter chicken and chana masala.

    Visit website

Pedestrian and Cycling

The neighbourhood's postwar streets are laid out for driving more than walking, though Billings Bridge and Elmvale Acres shopping centres anchor walkable pockets, and the Rideau River pathway runs along the neighbourhood's northwestern edge.

Schools

  • Hillcrest High School — Ottawa-Carleton District School Board

    Secondary school (grades 9-12) at 1900 Dauphin Road in Elmvale Acres, opened in 1961.

    Visit website

Amenities

Transit Options

OC Transpo bus routes run along Bank Street, Smyth Road and St. Laurent Boulevard, connecting to Billings Bridge Station. Check octranspo.com for current route numbers, since the network is periodically redesigned.

Stations

Nearby on This Site

No listings yet in this area.

Official Information

Last verified: August 27, 2026