Ottawa - Highlights

[geomorph]

Ottawa highlights photographed in July 2008:
Canada's capital city is in Ontario, on the Ottawa River. Across the river is the smaller city of Gatineau in Quebec, and the two act together to support the seat of government.

Views of the Ottawa River:





View of Ottawa, along the river:



View of Gatineau, with Ottawa's Supreme Court in foreground:



View of Gatineau, with Ottawa's Library of Parliament in foreground:



Views of downtown from Parliament Hill:





Parliament Hill:
The center of Canada's government is this grand complex of Gothic Revival buildings perched on a bluff above the Ottawa River and adjacent to the downtown areas. The complex includes the Centre Block which houses the Senate and Commons chambers as well as the Library of Parliament, and is fronted by the Peace Tower which features clocks and an observatory at the top. During the summer a themed light show is projected on this building's front exterior. The East and West Blocks flank the large central lawn and walkway and contain offices and meeting rooms.











































Government buildings:
Several more Gothic Revival edifices are adjacent to Parliament Hill.





Supreme Court:
This government building also perches on the bluff above the Ottawa River, near Parliament Hill.





Rideau Locks:
These locks connect the Ottawa River to the Rideau Canal which bisects the downtown areas.



Chateau Laurier:
This historic luxury hotel sits across the Rideau Locks from Parliament Hill, perched above the Ottawa River. Nearby is Confederation Square, with the National War Memorial.







Downtown areas:

















Capitol Infocentre:
This downtown visitor center for Ottawa features a model of the city.









National Gallery of Canada:
This art museum by Moshe Safdie is on the periphery of the downtown areas, perched on the bluff above the Ottawa River.















Canadian War Museum:
Also on the periphery of the downtown areas is this striking and somber museum dedicated to Canada's military history.



































Canadian Museum of Civilization:
Across the river from Ottawa in Gatineau, this excellent museum has extensive galleries devoted to the history of culture in the country.

[softee]

Fantastic job! Ottawa is a great capital city for sure.

[LAsam]

Parliament Hill... wow... that is one impressive series of buildings! Thanks again for sharing your photos!

[OhioGuy]

Looks good to me!

[Jasper and one o nin]

this same spider is in Bilbao

[Jasper and one o nin]

Bilbao

[Jasper and one o nin]

Trivia question, there are 8 other such spiders... where are they?
(not including the Bilbao Guggenheim)

[citizen j]

^ I saw one of them in the Tate Modern in London. I don't think it was made of bronze, though.
Great series of threads, geomorph. Thanks for posting them all.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Jasper and one o nin

Trivia question, there are 8 other such spiders... where are they?
(not including the Bilbao Guggenheim)

There's one at the Tate Modern in London and another at the Hermitage in St Petersburg. There is also a small Bourgeois spider in the National Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., but I don't know if that would be one of your 8. Also others in New York City and Singapore, no?

[ue]

Nice shots! But in Canada it is capital.

[Dr Nevergold]

How could I have been to Vancouver and Toronto and much of Ontario but not Ottawa? Must go there soon...

[geomorph]

Those spiders are everywhere, but how many places are they used as stretching poles?

[canadave]

Originally Posted by edmontonenthusiast

Nice shots! But in Canada it is capital.

Indeed. "Canada's capitol" looks really, really weird to me.

Anyway, great shots. I love seeing an outsider's perspective on my city.

[geomorph]

I have corrected capitol to capital.

[Steve de Ohio]

^ there's no need for a cultural sensitivity note because "capitol" is also incorrect in American English; "capitol" can only be a building. When you're talking about a city it's "capital."

For all those who don't believe me, here is a link to the Merriam-Webster entry for "capitol"; that dictionary is the closest thing to a definitive source American English has.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capitol

[geomorph]

Brandon, yes get up there soon before it gets cold!

[waterloowarrior]

Nice shots, I liked seeing the interior shots especially. We don't get too many threads showing the insides of Ottawa buildings.

[geomorph]

waterloowarrior, it seems strange that Ottawa interior shots are rare since there were quite a few delightful ones! My favorite was the Canadian Museum of Civilisation. What's yours?

[geomorph]

I was just in Kansas City, which has a very differently styled war museum from the one in Ottawa, for pictures see my recently posted thread for Kansas City. They have the US' National World War I Museum housed below a 1921 monument to the fight.

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures.