Change

Some of the artifacts of the old Bytown with its violent ways.

There was no shortage of pubs, brothels, and the associated troubles.  

In 1900, the Great Fire occurred. Most of Hull on the Quebec side was destroyed by the fire, which jumped the river at the islands around the Chaudiere Falls, thanks to the many lumberyards being established around the area. Those yards caught fire, and the inferno spread into Ottawa, ultimately being brought to heel in Lebreton Flats. Some of the artifacts of the fire are found here, along with photographs. 

As 1854 passed into 1855, the new year brought a new name. Bytown became Ottawa, named after the river. Which in and of itself was a spelling mistake on the part of British surveyors in the 1790s- the proper term would have been the Odawa.

This was the mayor's chair in the 1850s-60s, carved in mahogany.

Here on the third floor, there are three models of the evolution of the city. It starts in 1832, with very little presence after the Canal has been built. Only one building appears in all three models- in this one it is seen at right, fenced in. That is the early version of the church now known as Notre Dame, which was rebuilt after its first incarnation. What is now Parliament Hill was at the time Barrack Hill, still recognizable across the Canal.

By the early 1850s, the city was developing more and more. Notre Dame is more obvious, while Barrack Hill is still its pre-Parliament self.

But by 1918, everything had changed. The reservoir basin of the Canal has shrunk, Parliament Hill is obvious (with Centre Block back under construction after the 1916 fire), and Notre Dame looks much as it does today.