ByWard Market

45.427101173915°N 75.692337506741°W / 45.427101173915; -75.692337506741

The Byward Market provides fresh produce throughout the warm months

The location of the market

Byward Market (sometimes called By Ward Market, ByWard Market or simply The Market, Marché By in French) is a community in downtownOttawa, Ontario located east of the government & business district. Named for Colonel John By, it is bordered on the west by the Rideau Canal and on the east by King Edward Avenue. To the north it stretches to the Ottawa River area while to the south it is bordered by Rideau Street. The area is named for the farmers' market at it's heart on George, York, ByWard and William Streets. The ByWard Market is located in Ottawa's Lower Town.

Traditionally, the ByWard Market area has been a focal point for Ottawa's French and Irish communities. The large Catholic community supported Notre Dame Cathedral, one of the biggest and oldest Roman Catholic churches in Ottawa. The shape of the cathedral was taken into account when the National Gallery of Canada was designed and built across Sussex Drive.

The ByWard Market has constantly been an area of fluid change, adapting to Canadian society and the increasingly cosmopolitan nature of downtown Ottawa. Recently, a multitude of restaurants and specialty food stores have sprouted around the market area, making this neighbourhood one of the liveliest in Ottawa after normal business hours. A four block area around the market provides the most dense concentration of eating places, bars and nightclubs in the National Capital Region, but the areas beyond this zone also offer boutiques and restaurants in abundance, as well as a number of buskers. With its reputation as the city's bar district, the area is thronged at night with university students and other young adults.

Over the years the city has developed a series of five small, human-scale, 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.

The neighbourhood is today markedly heterogenous, being visited by a mix of yuppie couples, many families and some homeless people. At one time, the area had a serious prostitution problem, which was remedied by a controversial rerouting of traffic through much of the residential area. Crime remains an issue, however. The area is mainly English-speaking but there exists a significant francophone population as well. The Market is close to the downtown, to the Rideau Centre shopping mall, to Parliament Hill and to a number of foreign embassies.

History and Evolution of the ByWard Market

In 1826, Lieutenant Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers was sent from England to oversee the construction of the Rideau canal system, which would connect the Ottawa River to Kingston on the St. Lawrence River. It was out of this massive project that the little community of Bytown grew into a flourishing commercial and economic centre. Colonel By prepared plans for two village sites; one on the west side of the Rideau canal which was known as Upper Town, and one to the east of the canal called Lower Town.

The land was cleared and surveyed. Both villages were laid out in a grid system and divided into building lots. The Village of Lower Town was originally bounded by the Rideau River and Sussex, Clarence, and Rideau Streets. This town plan also included an area designated as a commercial section within the block bounded by George, Sussex, York and King Streets. Lt.-Col By designed George and York Streets 132 feet wide to leave room for a proposed market building and courthouse, and to leave room for the flow of the By Wash.

Most of the Lower Town site was covered with swamp land which had to be drained off. Excess water from the canal was released through a sluice gate. This became known as the By Wash, which ran through Lower Town and emptied into the Rideau River.

From the beginning Bytown was divided, not only physically by the canal but racially, politically and economically. Upper Town was being settled by officers, tradesmen and professionals, most of whom were Protestants and Anglicans of English or Scottish descent. On the other hand, Lower Town was settled by labourers who had come to Bytown seeking employment during the building of the canal. These people were mainly Catholic Irish immigrants and French Canadians. In 1827, the two towns were connected along Rideau Street by Sappers Bridge which spanned the canal.

Also in 1827, Colonel By used 160 pounds of revenue from property rents to build a market building with a courthouse behind it on George Street. This first market building was large and constructed of timber with dovetailed corners, a veranda on each side, and a weighing machine attached to it. This building served as a centre for market activities, as well as a public hall for political and religious meetings.

In the 1830's Lower Town enjoyed a period of rapid commercial growth. Stores of every description, hotels, taverns and industries sprang up all around the market area. The first sawmill in Bytown was erected on York Street and was driven by the waters of the By Wash. Soon Lower Town became commercially dominant.

The market on George Street quickly began to do a flourishing business providing lumber camps with supplies. Farm communities shipped goods up the Ottawa River or along the Rideau waterway to merchants in the Lower Town Market. A large butchering and meat packing industry developed on the south side of George Street across from the market. This became known as the “Butcher’s Shambles”. Around 1840 a public well was opened in the market square. Lower Town had become an established commercial and residential centre.

In 1842 the market building and the courthouse in the centre of George Street were dismantled. The market area continued to operate in a haphazard way around the remains of the old market building. The mixed farming of the surrounding area was dependant on Bytown for a market and the community needed a market to sustain its growth. When Bytown was incorporated as a town on July 28, 1847 the new city council recognized the need for an organized market area, and made this one of their first priorities.

The debate for the site of the market began almost as soon as the first council was elected. Lower Town had the political advantage, since it was entitled to four councillors out of seven elected. Lower Town had several other advantages over Upper Town for the site of a market building. Lower Town was linked with the outlying farming areas that extended from Gloucester Township to Russell and Prescott Counties. Lower Town was already an established commercial centre for goods and they wanted to keep the major services there to prevent a population and economic shift to Upper Town.

After extensive discussion, a motion was passed that two markets should be built, one for each town. In Upper Town, Nicholas Sparks offered a piece of his land near Sappers Bridge for the West Ward Market. In Lower Town Mrs. James Inglis donated her property between Clarence and York Streets; consisting of four lots measuring 196 feet deep by 132 feet wide.

The two sites were approved by council on June 26, 1848. In order to oversee the construction of the two markets a Market Committee was set up. Charles Sparrow, a councillor for Lower Town, became the Chairman of the Committee.

The Lower Town Market Building officially opened on Saturday, November 6, 1848. The ceremony was marked with a flag raising, a band playing "Rule Britannia" and other scores, and several speeches. This new market building was constructed of wood with room for market stalls on the ground floor and a well-lit upper floor to be used for public meetings. The Upper Town market was converted into a town hall and remained this way until 1878, when it was demolished to make way for a new city hall.

In September of 1849, the market area was the scene of the "Stony Monday Riot". The conflict was sparked because of political and religious disputes between Catholic Reformers in Lower Town and Protestant Tories in Upper Town. The controversy came to a head during a non political reception for the visiting Lord Elgin. During the meeting in the Lower Town market building on September 17, the crowd became agitated. Reformers and Conservatives separated into two groups and a stone throwing battle began which lasted about 15 minutes. The group of Conservatives drove the Reformers off of the market square, west along York Street and up Clarence Street where they took refuge behind the fence of L'Esperance's Hotel. Soon after a gun battle began in the market square between the two parties. When the riot was over one man was killed, 30 were wounded and 15 men (all Reformers) were arrested.

The Lower Town market continued successfully into the 1850's. Due to overcrowding, it was decided that the market should be expanded. In 1853, four adjoining lots on York and Clarence Streets were purchased for the expansion plan. A bell was purchased and installed by the council in order to regulate the market hours.

While the expansion study was underway, the market building was destroyed by fire on January 21, 1862. During the 1860's and early 1870's several other fires hindered the growth of the market area. Fortunately, throughout this time the market continued to function, and the council persevered in its efforts to erect a new market building. In 1864, construction of a new building, designed by architect Sydney B. Fripp, began between Clarence and York Streets. This market building was open in 1865. Although it offered better indoor facilities for vendors, it did not improve the overcrowding outside of the building.

From 1840 to 1870, the economic base of Ottawa changed with the removal of the British military, the end of the fur trade, and the expansion of the lumber trade. With the opening of the canal and the incorporation of the city in 1855, Ottawa was forced to expand its trade in agricultural products and services. All of this agricultural and commercial activity was directed through the ByWard market area. As a result, the market area was expanded and York, Byward and William Streets became a hub of commercial activity. Many industries converged in this area: bakeries, bottling works, a soap and candle factory, a broom manufacturer, as well as carriage and furniture manufacturers. Other businesses operating in the marketplace include retail outlets for agricultural machinery, flour and feed merchants, grocery provisioners, hardware suppliers and similar import/export merchants.

Many service industries also developed such as saddlers, tailors, carpenters, metal and tin workers, and hostlers. In addition butchers, fishmongers, and fresh fruit and vegetable merchants lined the streets facing the market building.

The market building itself was divided into sections for farmers, gardeners, slaughterers, florists, hucksters, livestock dealers, etc. These sections were subdivided into stalls, which were leased annually by the vendors. The vendors were also charged a fee for keeping the market clean. A Market Inspector was appointed to oversee the market area and the public weigh scales. A meat inspector also had an office in the market building.

During this time most merchants resided above their stores, or contained their businesses in sheds to the side or rear of their home. Hotels, taverns and boarding houses also became common on the streets around the market.

Because of constant overcrowding and filth, council proposed an expansion of the market in 1871. Once again Upper and Lower Town were in competition for a market house. It was again decided to construct two buildings; one in Wellington Ward for Upper Town and one between George and York, directly to the south of the existing building in ByWard. On April 14, 1876 the building designed by James Mather was officially opened in the ByWard market. A beautiful building in the French style, it stood two storeys high with a mansard roof and an iron cresting finish. The two towers over the arched gateway at the south end were 60 feet high, and the building was of white brick with limestone dressings. Concurrently, the filthy and stagnant By Wash at the southern end of the building was covered over and turned into a proper sewer.

The ByWard market continued to flourish into the twentieth century. By now French Canadian and Jewish merchants and vendors were becoming the two dominant ethnic cultures in the market area. The market also had to change in order to meet the new demands that technologies such as refrigeration and the automobile brought with them. The focus of the market was shifting as Rideau Street became an important commercial business area, and department stores were developing and becoming popular.

In 1926, James Mather's market building was completely destroyed by fire. It was replaced by the building which exists today between George and York Streets. The other stone market building between York and Clarence Streets survived several fires and renovations, but was demolished in 1949. By this time parking for automobiles was badly needed, and this block was turned into a parking lot. In 1975 a parking garage was constructed during major renovations of the market area.

Towards the end of the twentieth century the market area still retains much of the flavour of its past. Many of the industries and services have given way to boutiques and restaurants. Ottawa residents and tourists gather in the market area to purchase vegetables and groceries, and to enjoy the colourful vendors and street entertainment. Since the 1840's the ByWard Market has been one of the principal centres of activity, commerce and entertainment in Ottawa. Although changes have occurred over the years, the atmosphere remains essentially the same.

See also

• List of Ottawa neighbourhoods
• West Ward Market Building (Ottawa)

External links

• Byward Market Businesses
• Lowertown West Community Association
• Byward Market Square landmark building