Corner of Elgin and Laurier Street East Side, 1928
To walk down Elgin Street in downtown Ottawa is to experience the true essence of the capital city — in all of its historical, cultural and metropolitan glory
Ottawa is a government town, and the north end of Elgin Street offers views of both Ottawa City Hall and the Parliament Buildings. The Lord Elgin Hotel is one of the most eye-catching buildings on the street, erected in 1941 to echo the style of the Parliament Buildings, as requested by the then prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. With a steep copper roof and limestone walls, the hotel is a city landmark. Other landmarks include the National War Memorial and Confederation Park, with its statutes and memorials as symbols of homage to the country’s past.
The law has a presence on the street, too, with the Ottawa’s main court buildings at the corner of Elgin and Laurier.
The First Baptist Church, Knox Presbyterian Church and St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church give the street a religious feel. The cultural experience is represented with the National Art Centre, a venue for opera, orchestra and theatre. Elgin boasts a lively street scene, too, with dozens of restaurants, pubs, bistros and shops lining the sidewalks.
The scale of buildings diminishes en route south towards the Queensway, where residential buildings abound. But there’s one further nod to officialdom, at the corner of Elgin and Catherine streets: the Ottawa Police headquarters.