Laurier Avenue (French: Avenue Laurier) (Ottawa Road #48) is a central east west street running through Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Originally known as "Maria Street" (west of Waller) and "Theodore Street" (east of Waller), it was renamed in honour of Canadian Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

 Sir Wilfrid Laurier

Wilfrid Laurier

Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....

. Laurier House

Laurier House

Laurier House is a National Historic Site of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located at 335 Laurier Avenue East . It was formerly the residence of two Canadian Prime Ministers, Sir Wilfrid Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King. The house was built in 1878, but had significant later alterations...

, the residence of Prime Ministers Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...

, is located at the corner of Laurier Avenue East and Chapel Street.

Route

Bronson Avenue to the Rideau Canal
Laurier runs through the heart of downtown Ottawa. The south side of Laurier from Bronson east is almost all high-rises, starting with residential towers at Bronson, and commercial and government office buildings further to the east. Located on the south side of Laurier, between Bank Street and O'Connor is the main building of the Canadian Department of Finance

Department of Finance (Canada)

-Function:Department of Finance Canada operates under the Minister of Finance. Its purpose is to ensure a healthy Canadian economy by developing polices of sound economic management and providing expert advice to the government....

. The main branch of the Ottawa Public Library

Ottawa Public Library

The Ottawa Public Library is the library system of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and is the largest bilingual library in North America...

 is located at the intersection of Laurier and Metcalfe, and Ottawa City Hall

Ottawa City Hall

The current Ottawa City Hall is the city hall of Ottawa, Canada. The downtown complex consists of two connected buildings: a modern wing located on Laurier Avenue and a 19th century heritage wing located on Elgin Street...

 is on the south side of Laurier between Elgin Street

Elgin Street (Ottawa)

Elgin Street is a street in the Golden Triangle of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally named Biddy's Lane, it was later named after Lord Elgin....

 and Queen Elizabeth Driveway

Queen Elizabeth Driveway

Queen Elizabeth Driveway is a scenic parkway in Ottawa, Canada that runs along the western edge of the Rideau Canal. It runs from Laurier Avenue in the north to Dow's Lake where it turns into Prince of Wales Drive...

. Next door to Ottawa City Hall is the Armoury, from which the daily 'Changing of the Guard' procession begins. The north side of Laurier, across from City Hall, is Confederation Square

Confederation Square

Confederation Square is an urban square in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and is considered the second most important ceremonial centre in Canada's capital city, after Parliament Hill...

.

Rideau Canal to Rideau River
The street crosses the Rideau Canal

Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...

 over the Laurier Avenue Bridge

Laurier Avenue Bridge

The Laurier Avenue Bridge is a bridge in Ottawa, Canada. It carries Laurier Avenue over the Rideau Canal and also Colonel By Drive and Queen Elizabeth Driveway. The green steel arches makes the bridge one of the most recognizable in Ottawa. Many of the events of Winterlude are held around the...

 and passes the Department of National Defence Headquarters before heading through the campus of the University of Ottawa

University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...

. It then goes through the neighbourhood of Sandy Hill

Sandy Hill

Sandy Hill is a bilingual neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario located just east of downtown. The neighbourhood is bordered on the west by the Rideau Canal and on the east by the Rideau River. To the north it stretches to Rideau Street and the Byward Market area while to the south it is bordered by...

. The street finally ends at Charlotte just before it meets the Rideau River

Rideau River

thumb|Rapids on the Rideau River opposite [[Carleton University]].The Rideau River is a Southern Ontario river which flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is 146 km...

.