On July 1, 1950, Mackenzie King Bridge was named in honour of Canada’s 10th prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, who is credited with championing the planning and development of Ottawa as Canada’s national capital.
Mackenzie King Bridge
Originally, King had told the town planner at the time, Jacques Greber, that the area in and around the bridge be built to consider social, cultural, economic, environmental and transportation conditions.
The bridge’s primary purpose at the time of construction was to reduce traffic. Today, it is viewed as a bus connection that also helps ease congestion in the downtown core. Many buses and commuters use the bridge as a point of interest to commute between the bars, their offices, and the Rideau Centre shopping mall.
Located between the Rideau Centre and the Department of National Defence, the bridge provides views of the city’s downtown core, Confederation Park, the National Arts Centre, city hall, and picturesque scenes of the Rideau Canal and the Parliament buildings.
In 1926, King was adamant that Confederation Park should be an iconic greenspace that would be symbolic of Canada’s capital, with the Rideau Canal flowing beside it.
In 1998, that iconic image of Ottawa was restored when the government agreed to rehabilitate the bridge that had been weakened by years of heavy bus traffic.
In 2011, the bridge was also set to the newly constructed Ottawa Convention Centre. The centre is designed to be a large space that hosts international conventions and promote the tourism industry in Ottawa.
Architecturally, the staircases remain the bridge’s standout feature. With giant circular staircases on the north and south sides, pedestrians use them to connect to Colonel By or Queen Elizabeth Drive, to the top portion in a matter of moments.