Bytown Museum
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The Bytown Museum (French: Musée Bytown) is a museum in
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
located in the
Colonel By Valley The Colonel By Valley, also known as Entrance Valley is a valley located at the confluence of the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River, in the heart of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The valley is flanked on the west by Parliament Hill and on the east by t ...
at the Ottawa Locks of the
Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...
at the
Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...
, just below
Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...
. Housed in the Commissariat Building, Ottawa's oldest remaining stone building, the museum provides a comprehensive overview of the origins of
Bytown Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a Grou ...
and its development and growth into the present city of Ottawa. Founded in 1917 by the Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa (WCHSO), the Bytown Museum was originally located in the former City Registry Office at 70 Nicholas across from the Carleton County Gaol. The museum moved to its current location in 1951 and has operated from the Commissariat since, with the exception of a brief period from 1982 to 1985, when
Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...
, the building's landlord, conducted renovations.


History

The museum first opened as the 'Bytown Historical Museum' in 1917 in the former City Registry Office at 70 Nicholas Street, Ottawa. The Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa (WCHSO), a group of some 30 women whose objective it was to advance the study of Canadian history and literature, had amassed a collection of artefacts and were in need of a more permanent home. Founded in 1898, the WCHSO had presented and prepared papers on the history of Ottawa and organized two exhibitions entitled ''Loan Exhibition''. The first exhibit, held in 1899 at 116 Sparks Street, included a tint stone lithograph ''City of Ottawa, Canada West'' (c. 1859) by Stent and Laver Architects and three photo-based engravings (1862) by Elihu Spencer depicting the construction of the Parliament and the Departmental Buildings. The second exhibition, held in 1906 at the National Art Gallery (today the
National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...
) located on the second floor of the Victoria Hall on O'Connor Street, exhibited what was then believed to have been
Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...
's very own astrolabe (today in the collection of the
Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...
). Mayor Harold Fisher declared the building to be officially open at four o'clock on October 25, 1917. The building was used for meetings and as "a museum for relics and souvenirs." Many Ottawa figures contributed to the refurbishing of the space for the WCHSO:
Thomas Ahearn Thomas Ahearn, PC (June 24, 1855 – June 28, 1938) was a Canadian inventor and businessman. Ahearn, a native of Ottawa, Ontario, was instrumental in the success of a vast streetcar system that was once in Ottawa, the Ottawa Electric Railw ...
provided appliances, J.R. Booth redid the floors, and the governor of the gaol sent inmates across the street to paint and decorate the interior. The museum was housed in the Registry Building from 1917 to 1954. In 1951, the women secured the lease to the Commissariat and began the long process of preparing the building for the collection and the move itself. By 1954, the move was complete. When the Commissariat was closed from 1982 to 1985 by Parks Canada for restoration work, the museum was temporarily relocated to Wellington St. The Historical Society of Ottawa (HSO) was responsible for the management of the museum until 2003, when a Board of Directors was established and the museum was registered as a not-for-profit charitable organization.


Permanent Exhibition

The museum's permanent exhibition, ''Where Ottawa Begins'', is spread over the second and third floors of the Commissariat Building. The second floor of the museum explores the history of the National Capital Region from the origins of European settlement in the area to the incorporation of Ottawa in 1855. The third floor continues the narrative by examining the development of the city of Ottawa, the social and cultural life of Victorian times, the assassination of Thomas D'Arcy McGee and the burning of the Parliament Buildings, as well as Canada's involvement in international conflicts. The Temporary Gallery and Community Gallery are located on the second floor. The third floor houses 'A Day in My Life', the museum's children's area.


Gallery

First Eight Locks of the Rideau Canal, the North entrance from the Ottawa River, 1834.jpg, Commissariat building, shown in an 1834 painting, serves as the Bytown Museum Rideau Canal.jpg, View of Rideau Canal & Bytown Museum Last lock on Rideau Canal w some ice.jpg, View of Rideau Canal & Bytown Museum Loan Exhibition (cover of catalogue).jpg, 1906 Loan Exhibition held at the National Art Gallery, Ottawa (Cover of exhibit catalogue; published in 1907)


See also

*
History of Ottawa The history of Ottawa, capital of Canada, was shaped by events such as the construction of the Rideau Canal, the lumber industry, the choice of Ottawa as the location of Canada's capital, as well as American and European influences and interaction ...


References

;Bibliography * * *


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Museums in Ottawa History museums in Ontario Local museums in Ontario Canal museums