TopNational Historic Site · 1842–1898Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Basilica375 Sussex DrivePhoto: Daryl Mitchell from Saskatoon, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons file
Royal Canadian Mint · Photo: Suwannee.payne · CC BY-SA 3.015historic places on the registers
History of Lowertown West · Canada’s heritage registers
Lowertown West: 15 historic places, 10 with the highest designation
The list takes in 3 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings and 2 provincial or municipal listings. Few towns have as much for their size as Lowertown West: 25 for every 10,000 residents, more than 99% of Canadian towns. Go back to 1832 and you reach Rochon Residence, the oldest of them. There are also 6 listings on provincial or municipal registers with no open description, so no pages.
Historic places
15
25 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
10
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Other federal designations
3
Recognized buildings, railway stations, lighthouses
Provincial and local listings
2
provincial and municipal listings with an encyclopedia article
Oldest building
1832
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
25%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
See Lowertown West today and before 1950: 15 photos, 4 old pictures
Photos show every place Lowertown West’s registers name. Old pictures of 4 places in Lowertown West fill their own pages. Among them: Royal Canadian Mint and Former Archives Building.
Former Archives Building
Government Conference Centre
National Research Council Canada Laboratories
Château Laurier
Connaught Building+10See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Through time
Lowertown West between 1870 and 1923
Here in time order: the oldest views of 4 of its historic places. Each dot on the line is a picture; tap one to open it full screen.
c. 1870
1913
1913
c. 1923Public domain or CC0, made before 1950, from Wikimedia Commons; old views of places can be drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit opens the image’s page.
The map
Where Lowertown West’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designationsOther federal designationsProvincial and local listings400 m from Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Basilica
4 of 10within 400 m of Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Basilica, the heart of the town’s history
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 15, by tier
10 Highest designations3 Other federal designations2 Provincial and local listings
Most entries are federal, from Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations; local listings outside Québec are known only through Wikidata items with an article.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
10 places in Lowertown West with the highest designation
Designations came from 1955 to 2013. Here that means 7 National Historic Sites and 3 Classified Federal Heritage Buildings. National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
TopNational Historic Site · 1855–1858Earnscliffe140 Sussex DrivePhoto: SimonP · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
TopNational Historic Site · 1863–1918Former Geological Survey of Canada Building541 Sussex DrivePhoto: Skeezix1000 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
TopNational Historic Site · 1904–1907Former Archives Building330 Sussex DrivePhoto: Citing · CC BY 3.0 · Commons file
TopNational Historic Site · 1905–1909Royal Canadian Mint320 Sussex DrivePhoto: Suwannee.payne · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
TopNational Historic Site · 1908–1913Château Laurier1 Rideau StreetPhoto: D. Gordon E. Robertson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
TopNational Historic Site · 1913–1917Connaught Building559 Mackenzie AvenuePhoto: SimonP · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
TopClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1909–1913Government Conference Centre2 Rideau StreetPhoto: D. Gordon E. Robertson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
TopClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1930–1933National Research Council Canada Laboratories100 Sussex DrivePhoto: JustSomePics · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
TopClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1970–1974Lester B. Pearson Building125 Sussex DrivePhoto: Óðinn · CC BY-SA 2.5 ca · Commons file
Other federal designations
Federal heritage in Lowertown West: 3 more places
The first was designated in 1983, the latest in 1989. Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Their dates run from 1832, with Rochon Residence, to 1865. Each one opens its own page.
FedRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1832–1833Rochon Residence138 St. Patrick StreetPhoto: Suwannee.payne · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
FedRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1832–1833Valade Residence142-44 St. Patrick StreetPhoto: Matti Blume · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
FedRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1865–1876419-423 Sussex Drive419-23 Sussex DrivePhoto: Jeangagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
What’s designated
In Lowertown West, public buildings lead the list (33%)
Leading by designation: Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Basilica and Earnscliffe. The runner-up group is houses, 3 in all. By kind, the list runs to 5 groups.
Public buildings5
Houses3
Mills, shops and works2
Churches and religious buildings2
Other places3
Kinds read from each place’s name and the functions its register gives; a building keeps the kind it was built as.
Provincial and local listings
2 more places Lowertown West or its province protects
Provincial and municipal listings that Wikidata records and an encyclopedia describes. They include Ottawa Jail Hostel and Saint Brigid's Church. Each one opens its own page.
LocalDesignated heritage property (part IV)Ottawa Jail HostelPhoto: SimonP at en · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
LocalHow old
Lowertown West’s dated places lean to the years before Confederation
Each place by the first construction date on its record.
British North America 1760–18666
After Confederation 1867–19135
Wars and Depression 1914–19451
Since 1946 1946 on1
6 of the 13 dated places are older than Confederation.
When designated
Lowertown West’s list has grown since 1955
The places by the year of their designation.
19401960198020002020
The earliest designation is Former Geological Survey of Canada Building’s, from 1955. In 1989 alone, 3 were designated. Since 2011, one more has joined the list.
Homes by age
New homes are rare in Lowertown West: 1.4% from 2016–21, against a usual 4.1%
Homes from before 1961 make up 25% of Lowertown West’s housing; the typical town has 18%. More of Lowertown West’s homes were built from 2001 to 2015 than in any other period: 26%. Half of the homes standing in Lowertown West today were built before 2001.
25%
Before 1961
22%
1961–80
24%
1981–2000
26%
2001–15
1.4%
2016–21
Lowertown WestTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Towns its size
Lowertown West has the most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 5,900 to 6,000 residents, by places on the registers.
Lowertown West15
The typical town its size has 0. 14 of them have nothing on the registers.
Neighbours
Lowertown West and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowertown West | 5,947 | 15 | 10 | 1832 |
| Lowertown East | 6,996 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sandy Hill | 13,830 | 2 | 1 | 1877 |
| New Edinburgh | 5,728 | 6 | 3 | 1837 |
| Centretown | 32,035 | 34 | 20 | 1827 |
| Centre-Ville | 12,981 | 16 | 3 | 1832 |
| Old Ottawa East | 8,308 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Lowertown West in brief
In Lowertown West, 25% of homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. The lists come to 15 historic places, 10 with the highest designation. Among the 16 towns nearest its size, none has more historic places. Its places of the highest designation cluster together: 4 of them stand within 400 m of Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Basilica.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- The tiers. Three tiers: the top for National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements, a second for the other federal designations, a third for provincial and municipal listings.
- Map points. Where a federal place sits on the map is Wikidata’s placing; the directory itself has no coordinates.
- People and events. Persons of national historic significance come with no location; a town gets one only by birthplace (name and both life years agreeing) or by one of its own places that bears the name and whose record tells the story. Events, which can’t be tied, are left out.
- The federal register. Federal places come from Parks Canada’s directory, which counts National Historic Sites, federal heritage buildings, stations and lighthouses; their statements are the register’s own.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Outside Québec, provinces’ and municipalities’ heritage registers aren’t open data; their places are known only through Wikidata items with a register number, and only those with an encyclopedia article get a page.
- Protection. A National Historic Site designation recognises significance; it doesn’t by itself protect a building the federal government doesn’t own. Legal protection comes from provincial and municipal designations, whose own registers aren’t open data outside Québec.
Questions about Lowertown West’s history
Which places in Lowertown West have the highest designation?
They are Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Basilica, Earnscliffe, Former Geological Survey of Canada Building, Former Archives Building, Royal Canadian Mint and Château Laurier, and 4 more.
What is the oldest building in Lowertown West?
By its record, Rochon Residence, from 1832 (Recognized Federal Heritage Building).
How old are the homes in Lowertown West?
The 2021 Census dates 25% of its homes before 1961 (18% in the typical town).
Why might a heritage building in Lowertown West be missing here?
Its province’s and council’s own lists can’t be reused here; 6 further listings in Lowertown West show up only as Wikidata numbers.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).