page_title: ByWard Market
section_title: Neighbourhood
hierarchical_section_title: ByWard Market / Neighbourhood
caption_attribution_description: English: ==Licensing== I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work to remix – to adapt the work Under the following conditions: attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). share alike – If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. English: Map of the est end of downtown Ottawa
context_page_description: The ByWard Market, is a retail and entertainment district in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located east of the government and business district. The Market district includes the market buildings and open-air market along George, York, ByWard, and William street.
  The district is bordered westwardly by Sussex Drive and Mackenzie Avenue, and eastwardly by Cumberland Street. It stretches northwards to Cathcart Street, while to the south it is bordered by Rideau Street. The name refers to the old 'By Ward' of the City of Ottawa. The district comprises the main commercial part of the historic Lower Town area of Ottawa. According to the Canada 2011 Census, the population of the area was 3,063.
  The market itself is regulated by a City of Ottawa municipal services corporation named Marchés d'Ottawa Markets, which also operates the smaller west-end Parkdale Market. The corporation is run by a nine-member board of directors. The market building is open year-round, and open-air stalls offering fresh produce and flowers are operated in the warmer months.
context_section_description: Traditionally, the ByWard Market area has been a focal point for Ottawa's French and Irish communities. The large Catholic community supported the construction of the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, one of the largest and oldest Roman Catholic churches in Ottawa. The shape of the cathedral was taken into account in the design of the National Gallery of Canada, which was built across Sussex Drive.
  The ByWard Market has been an area of constant change, adapting to the increasingly cosmopolitan nature of downtown Ottawa, as well as trends in Canadian society as a whole. Recently, a multitude of restaurants and specialty food stores have sprouted around the market area, making this neighbourhood one of the liveliest in Ottawa outside of normal business hours. A four-block area around the market provides the densest concentration of eating places, bars, and nightclubs in the National Capital Region. The areas beyond this zone also offer boutiques and restaurants in abundance, and are frequented by a considerable number of buskers. Having acquired a reputation as the city's premier bar district, the Byward Market is thronged (brimming) at night with university students and other young adults.
  Over the years, the city has developed five open-air courtyards immediately east of Sussex Drive, stretching from Saint Patrick Street to George Street. These cobblestone courtyards are filled with flowers, park benches, fountains, and sculptures. Several of the houses surrounding them are historic buildings. On the west side of Sussex Drive is the United States Embassy. The building's design, by noted architect David Childs, was supposedly widely criticized by surrounding residents, as one particular Ottawa Sun newspaper article reported that the bronze building-block sculpture created by Joel Shapiro and dedicated by Hillary Clinton was "glaringly and gratingly American", whereas some critics declared that the building's new design "reflected a cautious world view".
  The neighbourhood today is markedly heterogeneous; being visited by a mix of young professionals, many families, and some homeless people. At one time, the area had had a serious prostitution problem, which was remedied by a controversial rerouting of traffic through much of the residential area. The area is mainly English-speaking, but there exists a significant francophone population as well. The Market is located in close proximity to the downtown Rideau Centre shopping mall, to Parliament Hill, and to a number of foreign embassies.
caption: Map of the east-end of Downtown Ottawa
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