Westboro (often referred to as Westboro Village) is an area in the west end of

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 ...

, Ontario, Canada. Located along 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 ...

Island Park Drive Island Park Drive is an important and scenic north-south thoroughfare in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with a length of about 4 km. It is one of several parkways in Ottawa administered by the National Capital Commission providing scenic routes throughout ...

defines Westboro's eastern border, while the Ottawa River defines its northern border. Under this definition, the population of the area is 22,725 (2016 Census). Its community association boundaries are the

Transitway Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

to the north, Tweedsmuir Avenue to the east,

Carling Avenue Carling Avenue is a major east–west arterial road in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs from March Road in Kanata to Bronson Avenue in the Glebe. The road is named for John Carling, founder of Carling Brewery and Conservative M ...

to the south and Denbury Avenue to the west. This area excludes the neighbourhood of Westboro Beach, whose community association borders include the area immediately north of Westboro, west of

History

The neighbourhood got its start in the late nineteenth century, when published flyers proclaimed 'Move to Westboro,' and offered prospective residents 'views of the

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains ( French: ''Laurentides'') are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of at Mont Raoul Blanchard, northeast of Quebec City in the Laurentid ...

.' This slightly creative name for the distant geological formation along the Eardley escarpment is now better known as the

Gatineau Hills The Gatineau Hills (french: Collines de la Gatineau) are a geological formation in Canada that makes up part of the southern tip of the Canadian Shield, and acts as the northern shoulder of the Ottawa Valley. They are also the foothills of th ...

, which are visible across the Ottawa River. Nineteenth-century descriptions of the neighbourhood refer to its location along the

Macadam Macadam is a type of road construction, pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam around 1820, in which crushed stone is placed in shallow, convex layers and compacted thoroughly. A binding layer of stone dust (crushed stone from the o ...

Road to

Bells Corners Bells Corners is a suburban neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Richmond Road west of downtown, within Ottawa's western Greenbelt, in College Ward. As of the Canada 2016 Census, the community had a population of 9,2 ...

. That road is now known as Richmond Road, and where it slices through Westboro it is the commercial heart of the village-like neighbourhood, once the centre of the old

Nepean Township Nepean Township is a former incorporated and now geographic township in Eastern Ontario, Canada, now part of the City of Ottawa. Originally known as Township D, it was established in 1792. In 1800, it became part of Carleton County and was incorpo ...

. The old Town Hall on Richmond Road once housed the bell that later became the symbol of the former city of

Nepean Nepean may refer to: Places Australia *Nepean Bay, a bay in South Australia, **Nepean Bay Conservation Park, a protected area in South Australia, **Nepean Bay, South Australia, a locality *Nepean Highway, Victoria *Nepean Island (Norfolk Island) ...

, now a part of the city of

, Ontario. The

Maplelawn Garden Maplelawn is an historic house and former estate located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The house was built between 1831 and 1834 as the centre of a farming estate by the Thomson family. In 1877 the Cole family bought the estate and lived there unt ...

, boasting the second oldest building in Ottawa (built in 1831) and designated a National Historic Site, is located at the western edge of the village. The other prominent street in Westboro Village is Churchill Avenue, which was known as Main Street, but was renamed in honour of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. A few blocks to the west, another street was originally named River Road since it bisected the neighbourhood and led down to the beach on the Ottawa River. That street was renamed

Roosevelt Avenue Roosevelt Avenue and Greenpoint Avenue are main thoroughfares in the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Roosevelt Avenue begins at 48th Street and Queens Boulevard in the neighborhood of Sunnyside. West of Queens Boulevard, the roa ...

for similar reasons post WW II. Westboro's integration into Ottawa, which already had streets named River Road and Main Street, also prompted the street renaming. Westboro existed as a

police village A police village was a form of municipal government that was used in the province of Ontario, Canada in the early 19th century if the finances or the population of an area did not permit the creation of a village. Formation In the early 19th Centu ...

from 1903 until 1949, when Ottawa annexed it. An Ottawa streetcar line ran along what is now a narrow grass park along Byron Avenue, bringing Ottawa residents to an area once considered cottage country. Many cottage-like residences still exist today, especially by the Ottawa River north of Scott Street. The Westboro War Memorial Association erected a memorial cenotaph that same park between Richmond Road and Byron Avenue. Unveiled on June 8, 1985, the cenotaph is dedicated to the memory of the fallen members of Westboro and surrounding area who made the supreme sacrifice in The Great War, The Second World War, and the Korea War.

Housing

Most houses in Westboro were built between 1900 and 1960. 71% of the houses are detached.

Today

First United Church in Westboro Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Westboro is a thriving community with a lively street scene. Several condominium projects are encouraging densification and promising to bring more people to the neighbourhood. The village features murals a local artist painted. The neighbourhood also boasts a concentration of outdoors and sport stores including

Mountain Equipment Co-op Mountain Equipment Co-op (now called 1077 Holdings Co-Operative) is a Canadian co-op that started the MEC outdoor gear retail brand. The MEC brand name, assets and store leases were purchased by the American private investment firm Kingswood C ...

, Vancouver-based

Lululemon Athletica lululemon athletica inc. (; styled in all lowercase) is a Canadian multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in British Columbia and incorporated in Delaware, United States. It was founded in 1998 as a retailer of yoga pants and othe ...

, Bushtukah, and The Expedition Shoppe and is close to cycling trails and whitewater rapids in the

. The influx of these outdoor and sports stores, along with a number of boutiques, restaurants and coffee shops on Richmond Road are a significant contributor to the gentrification that Westboro underwent in the 2000s. Two

OC Transpo OC Transpo, officially the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Transit Commission, is the public transit agency for the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It operates an integrated hub-and-spoke system including light metro, bus rapid transit, conventional ...

stations serve Westboro:

Westboro Westboro may refer to: Places Canada *Westboro, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood ** Westboro Station (OC Transpo), an OC Transpo Transitway Station United States * Westboro (Topeka), Kansas, a residential neighborhood *Westboro, Missouri * Westbor ...

and

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

. Routes 11 and 16 provide frequent local bus service along Richmond Road.

Westfest Westfest is a free arts festival in Ottawa, Ontario, taking place the second weekend of June, at Tom Brown Arena and Park, in the Hintonburg area of Ottawa. The festival brings in over 300 artists, 150 volunteers and 40 staff over the weekend and ...

, a free Canadian arts and music festival, was held in Westboro from 2004 to 2015 during the second weekend in June, and featured a variety of local and national performers. It has now been moved to Laroche Park in Ottawa's Mechanicsville area. In August, one weekend is dedicated to the Fuse Street Festival, which is located on Richmond Road. Fuse Street Festival celebrates Westboro's unique dining experience with added fun of music and festivities.

Neighbouring-neighbourhoods

Westboro is located in the western part of Ottawa, and borders many other neighbourhoods. Apart from the core Westboro village located north of Richmond Road, the following neighbourhoods are located nearby : *

Carlingwood Carlingwood is a neighbourhood in Bay Ward in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The neighbourhood is roughly bounded on the north by Richmond Road, on the east by Sherbourne Road, on the south by Carling Avenue and on the west by Woodroff ...

* Hampton Park * Highland Park *

Hintonburg Hintonburg is a neighbourhood in Kitchissippi Ward in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located west of the Downtown core. It is a historically working-class, predominantly residential neighbourhood, with a commercial strip located along Wellington Street ...

* Island Park * Laurentian View *

McKellar Park McKellar Park (also known as just McKellar) is a neighbourhood located in Kitchissippi Ward in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is sometimes considered to be part of the greater Westboro Westboro may refer to: Places Canada *Westbor ...

McKellar Heights McKellar Heights is a small neighbourhood located in Kitchissippi Ward, in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The neighbourhood is generally triangular in shape, and is generally bounded on the north by Westboro (Carling Avenue), on the wes ...

* Mechanicsville *

Westboro Beach Westboro may refer to: Places Canada *Westboro, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood **Westboro Station (OC Transpo), an OC Transpo Transitway Station United States *Westboro (Topeka), Kansas, a residential neighborhood *Westboro, Missouri *Westboro, ...

Woodroffe North Woodroffe North (also known as just Woodroffe) is a neighbourhood in Bay Ward in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the south by Richmond Road on the west by the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, on the north by the Ottawa Ri ...

* Wellington West

Notable residents

Eddie MacCabe Edward William Joseph MacCabe (January 15, 1927May 22, 1998) was a Canadian sports journalist and writer. He began in journalism with the ''Ottawa Journal'' in 1946, briefly wrote for the ''Montreal Star'' from 1951 and 1952, then returned to t ...

, sports journalist and writer;

References

External links

Woodroffe North Community Association (WNCA)Westboro Community Association (WCA)Flickr Photos from Westboro
{{authority control Neighbourhoods in Ottawa Former municipalities now in Ottawa Streetcar suburbs Gentrification in Canada