Ottawa Archives: Giving you access to Ottawa’s historical puzzle
A liveable city means many things to many people. To us, a big part of it involves Ottawa residents feeling a sense of community and seeing themselves as important pieces that make up Ottawa’s historical puzzle. Ottawa Archives is helping us build this puzzle.
Ottawa is a diverse, vibrant and inclusive place, and that is demonstrated in the dynamic mosaic of the stories we aim to tell. The Tapestry Initiative is our collaborative approach to preserving the cultural memory and history of Ottawa’s communities, reflecting the rich tapestry that makes up our city. Through this initiative, we partner with communities and individuals to record and preserve elements of the past and present that will help guide us into the future.
Tapestry presents: Stories from Ottawa’s Chinese-Canadian Community is currently open at Gallery 112 in Ottawa until Saturday, March 16, 2024. This display features newly acquired material from Ottawa’s Chinese-Canadian community, highlighting community advocacy and promoting cross-cultural understanding. It features investigations into Chinese-Canadian media issues, community-police relations, and over 100 years of community history from early immigration to modern-day Chinatown.
We encourage you to visit this display. In order for us to continue to build Ottawa’s historical puzzle, we need to understand our history. You can learn more about The Tapestry Initiative on ottawa.ca/archives.
Other exhibits and events
Ottawa Archives is proud to host various public events and exhibits throughout the city all year long. There are many permanent displays and temporary exhibits that you can check out.
In addition to the Tapestry exhibit at Gallery 112, visitors to the Ottawa Rocks! – Reunion Tour exhibit in the Barbara Ann Scott Gallery at Ottawa City Hall will have the opportunity to learn, engage with, and reminisce about the many rock musicians who have played in our city from 1950 to 2012. Ottawa Rocks! is running until September 3, 2025.
You can learn more about our exhibits and events on ottawa.ca.
Fact sheet: Ottawa Archives and how we can help you
The key functions of the Ottawa Archives are to determine which official records have archival value and to authorize the destruction of records that do not.
We are the City’s preserver, champion and defender of the corporate records that document the rights, privileges and obligations of the City and its residents.
We also document the lives of Ottawans, the activities of businesses and other organizations and their contributions to the community, and aid Ottawa’s diverse communities in managing their own archival records.
Our non-circulating library welcomes researchers from all walks of life, from students and genealogists to City employees and anyone with a keen interest in history. We act as a hub for researchers to conduct their own innovative inquiries while striking a balance between the past and the future.
In addition to documents relating to the history of Ottawa, our collection includes over three million photographs and numerous maps and drawings. We can help you learn more about the history of a particular property or street, building or park naming.
The Central Archives are located at the James K. Bartleman Centre, but we also have a branch at the Rideau Archives in North Gower. You can visit ottawa.ca to learn how to access and review archival materials.