Prominent Buildings
Downtown Ottawa is dominated by government buildings, including Parliament Hill and the Supreme Court. Most prominent buildings are situated along Wellington, Sparks and Elgin streets. Most of the buildings are office towers containing the various government departments. While most of Ottawa's high tech industry is based elsewhere it also has a significant presence in the downtown core. The downtown also contains a number of apartments, hotels, and condominiums as well as the older single family homes and townhouses along its edges.
From Wellington to Laurier, Elgin Street is the site of several landmarks, the Chateau Laurier, the National Arts Centre, Lord Elgin Hotel, Bell Canada Place, the Ottawa Courthouse, and Ottawa City Hall. Other prominent buildings include World Exchange Plaza with the 'clock ball' on top, Place de Ville, and the heritage buildings along Sparks Street.
The towers of downtown Ottawa are not as tall as those in other cities, as legislation prevented buildings being built taller than the Peace Tower until the 1970s, so as not to overshadow the Parliament Buildings (similar to Washington, D.C.'s Heights of Buildings Act). Today, several buildings are taller than the Peace Tower, with the tallest being the 29-storey Place de Ville (Tower C) at 112 metres (367 ft), which was built above the height limit, and several hotels being slightly shorter but with 30-35 stories.
Read more about this topic: Downtown Ottawa
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