ByWard Market–Lowertown

Central

The ByWard Market square in Ottawa, viewed from York Street. — Photo: Trappy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fast Facts

Population: 11,299 (Ottawa Neighbourhood Study population estimate, City of Ottawa open data)
Size: 4.14 km² (computed from Ottawa Neighbourhood Study boundary geometry)
Distance from Parliament Hill: Less than 1 km east
Who's building: Claridge Homes

Overview

ByWard Market–Lowertown is one of Ottawa's oldest neighbourhoods, built up around the market Lieutenant Colonel John By established in 1827 for workers building the Rideau Canal. Two heritage conservation districts (ByWard Market and Lowertown West) protect its 19th- and early-20th-century streetscape, and the market square on York, George, ByWard, and William streets still hosts outdoor vendors selling produce, flowers, and crafts. It is a mixed-use neighbourhood: a lively restaurant, bar, and nightlife district around the market itself, with quieter residential streets stretching north and east.

Boundaries

The Ottawa Neighbourhood Study defines this area as two adjacent neighbourhoods — Byward Market (also called Lowertown West) and Lowertown (Lowertown East) — which this site treats as one combined area. Together they are bounded by the Ottawa River to the north and west (excluding Green Island), the Rideau River to the east, and Rideau Street to the south; King Edward Avenue, the internal boundary between the two ONS neighbourhoods, runs roughly through the middle. This is a research/health-study boundary, not an official City of Ottawa ward or Official Plan line.

Map

History

French and Irish labourers began settling this area in 1826, while Lieutenant Colonel John By was building the Rideau Canal. By founded Bytown the following year and built the first ByWard Market building on George Street, a timber structure with a weighing machine, market space, and public meeting hall. A waterway called the By-wash, running along today's York and George streets, gave merchants an easy way to bring goods in by boat once the canal was finished, and the market quickly became the commercial heart of Bytown.

Civic institutions followed through the 1840s: the city's first hospital in 1845, Notre-Dame Basilica in 1846 (built on the site of an earlier 1832 church and now the oldest church in the capital), and what would become the University of Ottawa in 1848. The neighbourhood's working-class, largely Catholic population — French and Irish, with a growing Jewish community and Ottawa's first Italian community — increasingly stood apart from the wealthier, Protestant residents of Upper Town (today's Centretown). That divide erupted into violence during the Stony Monday Riot of September 17, 1849, when a Reform party meeting in the North Ward Market turned into a clash between the two sides that left about 30 people wounded and one man dead.

The By-wash was filled in in 1874, and the neighbourhood kept growing through the turn of the century, adding landmarks such as St. Brigid's Church (1890, now St. Brigid's Centre for the Arts), the Adath Jeshurun Synagogue (1904), and the Champagne Bath (1924), a public bathhouse. The current ByWard Market Building — the fifth market building on the site — opened in 1927–1928, designed by architects Richards and Abra.

The mid-20th century brought disruptive change: King Edward Avenue was redeveloped as a truck route in the 1960s, and the National Capital Commission expropriated and redeveloped a significant number of Lowertown properties around the same period. Beginning in the 1980s, the City altered traffic patterns in parts of the neighbourhood to address prostitution and drug dealing. Today the area holds nearly every type of housing side by side — inexpensive apartments and co-op townhouses, luxury condos, and large heritage homes — alongside its long-standing role as Ottawa's liveliest market district.

Claim to Fame

The ByWard Market Building itself — taking up the block bounded by ByWard Market Square and George, William, and York streets — is the neighbourhood's best-known landmark. It is the fifth market building on this site since Colonel By commissioned the first one; the current building opened in 1928, was saved from demolition by heritage activists and the National Capital Commission in the early 1970s, and has since been renovated twice. Vendors still sell food, crafts, and produce inside the building and from stalls on the surrounding streets.

Notable People

Samuel Bingham — Mayor of Ottawa from 1897 to 1898, born in Bytown's Lower Town to Irish Catholic parents — Bingham Park on Cathcart Street is named for the family.
Paul Barber — Born into slavery in Kentucky, Barber became one of Ottawa's earliest Black permanent residents and a renowned horse trainer, founding a family with a lasting presence in the capital.

Surrounding Neighbourhoods

Sandy Hill lies to the south and east across the Rideau Canal and Rideau River corridor, Centretown and Downtown are immediately southwest across the canal, and Vanier and New Edinburgh sit across the Rideau River to the east and north. The Ottawa River forms the neighbourhood's entire northern edge.

New Developments

Claridge Royale — Claridge Homes — A 26-storey condominium at 180 George Street on the eastern edge of the ByWard Market, with ground-floor shops, groceries, and locally-owned restaurants; units were reaching final closings in 2025. Visit website

Architecture

Lowertown holds some of Ottawa's oldest surviving buildings, from the 1826 Bytown Museum (Colonel By's original canal-construction storehouse, beside the locks) to Notre-Dame Basilica's Gothic Revival twin towers, built between 1841 and 1865. The residential streets mix modest 19th-century workers' row houses with larger Victorian and early-20th-century homes closer to the Rideau River and Sandy Hill border, many now converted into embassies or rental units as part of the eastern end of Ottawa's "Embassy Row." The ByWard Market Building's own 1927–1928 design, by architects Richards and Abra, and St. Brigid's Church's 1890 Romanesque Revival design by James R. Bowes are among the neighbourhood's most architecturally significant heritage buildings.

Restaurants

India Cafe — Indian
Family-owned Indian restaurant and grocery in ByWard Market Square, serving the area since 2005.
Visit website
Shafali Bazaar — Indian
Indian restaurant inside the historic ByWard Market building, known for its chicken tikka wrap.
Photo: Ross Dunn, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Visit website
India Curry and Kebab House — Indian
North and South Indian cuisine in a modern setting, established 2016.
Visit website
Kochin Kitchen — Indian (Kerala/South Indian)
South Indian and Kerala cuisine on Dalhousie Street, known for its lunch buffet.
El Camino — Mexican
Taqueria and mezcaleria on Clarence Street — one of the most-reviewed restaurants in the Market, with 2,300+ Google reviews.
Visit website
Social Restaurant + Lounge — Contemporary Canadian
French-influenced bistro and lounge on Sussex Drive with one of the Market's most popular patios.
Visit website
Zak's Diner — Diner
All-day breakfast, burgers, and milkshakes at ByWard Market Square, serving the area since 1986.
Visit website
The Grand Pizzeria & Bar — Italian (pizza)
Wood-fired Neapolitan pizza on George Street, in a building that once housed the 1882 Grand Hotel.
Photo: Jeangagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Visit website

Bars

Chateau Lafayette (The Laff) — Tavern
Ottawa's oldest bar, established in 1849 at the corner of York Street and the Market.
Visit website
Copper Spirits + Sights — Rooftop lounge
Rooftop cocktail lounge atop the Andaz hotel with skyline views.
Visit website
Aulde Dubliner & Pour House — Irish pub
Two-storey Irish pub on William Street, built in Ireland and shipped over in pieces.
Photo: Jeangagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Grocery Stores

Metro Rideau — Supermarket
A 32,000 sq. ft. full-service supermarket at 255 Rideau Street, opened in 2024 with fresh produce, a butcher, and a full floral section.
Visit website
Farm Boy — Supermarket
Farm-fresh produce, butcher-quality meats, and artisan cheese inside CF Rideau Centre, 50 Rideau Street.
Visit website
Loblaws — Supermarket
Full-service grocery store at 363 Rideau Street with produce, meat, bakery, deli, and frozen foods.
India Cafe — Indian grocery
The India Cafe restaurant in ByWard Market Square also operates as an Indian grocery, carrying spices and packaged goods.
Visit website

Pedestrian and Cycling

The ByWard Market's cobblestone core is fully pedestrianized on the market streets themselves, and the neighbourhood is one of the most walkable in Ottawa, with the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River pathways forming its western and northern edges for cycling into downtown or along the river.

Schools

York Street Public School — Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (English public)
A heritage school built in 1921, nicknamed "The Castle" for its regal appearance, offering JK–8 English programs with core French instruction, ESL, and Special Education support.
Photo: SimonP, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Visit website
École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Anne — Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (French Catholic)
A francophone Catholic elementary school (kindergarten to grade 6) at 235 Beausoleil Avenue, founded in 1955 to serve downtown's francophone Catholic community.
Visit website
École secondaire publique De La Salle — Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario (French public)
A francophone public school for grades 7–12, home to the Centre d'Excellence Artistique de l'Ontario arts program and a full gifted-education stream.
Photo: JeanPaulGRingault, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Visit website

Businesses

CF Rideau Centre — Shopping centre
Downtown Ottawa's largest mall, with over 180 retailers across four floors.
Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Visit website

Amenities

Bingham Park — Park
A Cathcart Street park with a playground, baseball diamond, and wading pool.
MacDonald Gardens Park — Park
Popular with dog walkers.
Major's Hill Park — Park
Overlooks the Rideau Canal's entrance to the Ottawa River, next to the National Gallery.
Photo: SimonP, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
National Gallery of Canada — Art gallery
Canada's national art museum, home to nearly 100,000 works.
Photo: Michel Rathwell, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Visit website
ByTowne Cinema — Independent cinema
Ottawa's independent repertory cinema, screening curated films since 1988.
Photo: Tealtea21, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Visit website
St. Brigid's Centre for the Arts — Arts centre
A former 1890 Catholic church converted into an Irish-Canadian heritage and arts centre.
Photo: JFVoll, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Services

Notre-Dame Basilica — Church
Gothic Revival cathedral built 1841–1865, the oldest church in the capital.
Photo: Michel Rathwell, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market — Hotel
Boutique hotel by Hyatt in the heart of the Market.
Visit website
Upward Dog Yoga Centre — Yoga studio
Yoga, Pilates, and Barre classes in the ByWard Market.

Transit Options

Multiple OC Transpo bus routes connect ByWard Market–Lowertown to Centretown and other central areas, and several STO (Gatineau) routes also pass through the neighbourhood. Nicholas Street and the Vanier Parkway/Riverside interchange are the main Queensway connections; Sussex Drive (becoming the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway) links to the east end, and the Alexandra and Macdonald-Cartier bridges connect directly to Gatineau. Check octranspo.com for current route numbers, since the network is periodically redesigned.