Bytown Museum
1 Rideau Canal, Ottawa, ON, K1N 9J7
613-234-4570 Fax: 613-234-4856 | Website
Take a trip to yester-year and explore the origins of the national capital.
Category:
Visual Arts Location
What:
| Type | | Museum |
| Payment | | Cash |
Where:
| Neighbourhood | | Lowertown Market Sandy Hill |
| Getting There | | Between Parliament Hill and the Chateau Laurier, right next to the Ottawa Locks |
| Cross Street | | Confederation Blvd. |
When:
| Apr 1-May 16: Thurs-Mon: 10AM-2PM, by appointment Tue-Wed: May 17-Oct 22: daily 10AM-5PM; Oct 13-Nov 30: Thurs-Mon: 10AM-2PM, by appointment Tue and Wed; Dec 1 to Mar 31: by appointment only. |
Profile Last Updated: August 25, 2008
Community of Bytown
The Bytown, Ottawa’s oldest community museum, houses artifacts dating back to when Ottawa was known as Bytown, named for Lt. Colonel John By, who built the Rideau Canal and founded the city. Through the exhibits at the Bytown Museum, one can trace Ottawa's transition from a frontier lumber town to the bustling, multi-cultural capital it is today.
Exploring the Exhibits
There are over 1,500 exhibits at the museum. Explore a kitchen from 1850s Bytown, and appreciate how people lived without electricity, electronic appliances or running water. Other exhibits include a replica of a store's "Toy Department," and the Victorian Parlour, which was a fixture in every middle class home from the mid nineteenth century, right up until the First World War. One of the weirdest exhibits the museum has is the cast of D'Arcy McGee's death hand. Spooky!
Past to Present
Many of the artifacts bring to life the individual stories of the lives of Bytown/Ottawa inhabitants past. Throughout the year the museum offers tours and programs to schools, groups and the public to complement the telling of these stories. There is also a cafe and a boutique onsite to service all of your food and product needs.
Interactive Programs
On top of the artifact exhibitions, there are also interactive programs that visitors can participate in. You can have a guided tour of the museum, participate in a tea leaves reading, or try your quill pen writing skills.
The Bytown, Ottawa’s oldest community museum, houses artifacts dating back to when Ottawa was known as Bytown, named for Lt. Colonel John By, who built the Rideau Canal and founded the city. Through the exhibits at the Bytown Museum, one can trace Ottawa's transition from a frontier lumber town to the bustling, multi-cultural capital it is today.
Exploring the Exhibits
There are over 1,500 exhibits at the museum. Explore a kitchen from 1850s Bytown, and appreciate how people lived without electricity, electronic appliances or running water. Other exhibits include a replica of a store's "Toy Department," and the Victorian Parlour, which was a fixture in every middle class home from the mid nineteenth century, right up until the First World War. One of the weirdest exhibits the museum has is the cast of D'Arcy McGee's death hand. Spooky!
Past to Present
Many of the artifacts bring to life the individual stories of the lives of Bytown/Ottawa inhabitants past. Throughout the year the museum offers tours and programs to schools, groups and the public to complement the telling of these stories. There is also a cafe and a boutique onsite to service all of your food and product needs.
Interactive Programs
On top of the artifact exhibitions, there are also interactive programs that visitors can participate in. You can have a guided tour of the museum, participate in a tea leaves reading, or try your quill pen writing skills.
Details
Museum as Artifact: The museum is housed in the city's oldest stone building.
Parking: Hadicapped only
