right|300px|thumb|Large sidewalks in Sparks Street

right|300px|thumb|Sparks Street near Kent Street

Sparks Street () is a pedestrian mall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was a main street in Ottawa that was converted into an outdoor pedestrian street in 1967, making it the earliest such street or mall in Canada.

Sparks runs from Elgin Street in the east to Bronson Avenue in the west. The Sparks Street Mall, which contains a number of outdoor restaurants and several works of art and fountains, only runs from Elgin to Bank Street. The pedestrian-only portion continues for another two blocks westward. The final two blocks, west of Lyon Street, consist of a regular road, merging into Bronson Avenue heading south.

The mall and most of the buildings on the south side are owned and operated by the National Capital Commission. Buildings on the north side of the mall were expropriated by the Government of Canada in 1973, and are currently operated by Public Works and Government Services Canada.

History

left|thumb|Sparks Street in 1909

Located one block south of Wellington Street (the home of the Parliament of Canada), Sparks Street is one of Ottawa's more historical streets and features a number of heritage buildings. The street is named after Nicholas Sparks, a farmer who, early in the mid-nineteenth century, cut a path through the woods on his holding, which would eventually become this street.

right|thumb|Sparks Street in 1901

When Ottawa was selected as Canada's capital, this area became even more important, as the street became home to a number of government offices and homes for parliamentarians. One of these was Thomas D'Arcy McGee who, in 1868, was assassinated outside his home at the corner of Sparks and Metcalfe. The street also became Ottawa's commercial hub in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was home to a number of the city's banks and the lumber companies of the Ottawa Valley, as well as "the best shops, hotels, dining rooms, and theatres.". It once contained the Murphy-Gamble (later Simpson's), Morgan's, C. Ross, and Bryson-Graham's department stores.

The peak of the street was in the early twentieth century, when a number of Beaux-Arts buildings that still stand were erected. At the time, the eastern end of Sparks Street continued across the Rideau Canal on Sappers Bridge. Where the War Memorial and Confederation Square stands today, was the Russell House hotel, and Ottawa's old Post Office. The square was built in the 1930s.

As the city expanded, the downtown area became less centralized and commerce spread to neighbouring streets. Government ministries, requiring larger offices, also went elsewhere. In 1959, the street's streetcar line (Bank Street to Rideau Canal) was closed.

Pedestrian mall

thumb|Sparks Street near Elgin Street in 1952

thumb|Sparks Street near Metcalfe Street in 2025

Starting in 1960, the street was closed to vehicular traffic in the summers in an attempt to improve commerce. This plan was modelled on Toledo, Ohio, which along with Kalamazoo were the first North American cities to close downtown streets in an attempt to recapture customers.

Latin Sparks Festival made its debut in 2012 as a small group of 40 friends gathered weekly on Sparks Street to dance outdoors in the summertime. Sparks Street is home to Latin Sparks Festival since 2012, featuring music, dancing and food.

Landmarks

thumb|'Joy' copper sculpture at Sparks Street. [[Bruce Garner, 1970.]]

Sparks contains some of Ottawa's most important structures. Just past the eastern end of Sparks at Elgin Street is the National War Memorial and across Elgin from Sparks is the National Arts Centre.

The eastern section of the street has a number of the city's older buildings, including Ottawa's post office from 1939; the Ottawa Electric Building, built in 1926 by the founders of the Ottawa Electric Railway, Ottawa's streetcar system; Ottawa's first high-rise:

Transit access

On September 14, 2019, the O-Train's Confederation Line was opened, under Queen Street and one block south of Sparks. Both Lyon and Parliament (Parlement in French) stations serves the area.

References

  • Official site of the Sparks Street Mall
  • Site critical of the National Capital Commission and its management of the Sparks Street Mall
  • Latin Sparks Festival