Rockcliffe Park, Ontario - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Rockcliffe Park is one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in 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...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, and is one of the most prosperous enclaves

Enclave and exclave

In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory.An exclave, on the other hand, is a territory legally or politically attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous.These are two...

in 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...

. From 1926 until 2001 it was an independent village, but was amalgamated with the rest of the city January 1, 2001. , it had a population of 1,927.

Geography

As it was long a separate village not under the jurisdiction of Ottawa's municipal government, Rockcliffe Park differs from the rest of the city. It has very few sidewalks, and is also relatively inaccessible to through traffic. Much of Rockcliffe is still wooded and the houses are set far apart on wide lots.

The area is northeast of downtown, on the southern banks of the Ottawa River

Ottawa River

The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

. It encompasses the small McKay Lake (a Meromictic lake) Sand Pits Lake, and the Rockeries, a rock garden

Rock Garden

The Rock Garden or Rock Garden of Chandigarh is a Sculpture garden in Chandigarh, India, also known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden after its founder Nek Chand, a government official who started the garden secretly in his spare time in 1957. Today it is spread over an area of forty-acres , it is...

and playing field maintained by the National Capital Commission

National Capital Commission

The National Capital Commission , is a Canadian Crown corporation that administers the federally owned lands and buildings in Canada's National Capital Region, including Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec.The NCC was created in 1959, replacing the Federal District Commission , which had been...

(NCC). The largely francophone

Francophone

The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....

neighbourhood Vanier area lies to the south.

On the cliffs of the Ottawa River

Ottawa River

The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

is a public greenspace called Rockcliffe Park. It is transversed by a branch of the Rockcliffe Parkway

Rockcliffe Parkway

The Rockcliffe Parkway is a parkway in Ottawa, Canada.The parkway begins at the end of Sussex Drive and follows the Ottawa River, through Rockcliffe Park and past the Canada Aviation Museum. About 200 m after passing Lower Duck Island, it turns towards the south, passing over Regional Road 174. It...

. The parkway has several small parking lots along its length that enable visitors to enjoy the lawns, wooded areas, parks, and lookouts. It also contains a large gazebo

Gazebo

A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...

and public restrooms which are maintained by the NCC.

Notable residents

Rockcliffe Park is home to many Ottawa notables. Stornoway

Stornoway (residence)

Stornoway is the name of the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition in Canada, and has been used as such since 1950. It is provided in recognition of the opposition leader's position...

, the residence of the leader of the Canadian Official Opposition

Official Opposition (Canada)

In Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...

is located there. Many ambassadors to Canada also live in Rockcliffe, including the ambassadors of Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Malaysia, the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. The neighbourhood attracts many of Ottawa's corporate leaders, notably Michael Cowpland

Michael Cowpland

Michael Cowpland is a British-born entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder and one-time president, chairman and CEO of Corel, a Canadian software company.-Early life:...

, former CEO

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

of Corel Corporation, who owns a large, gold coloured residence in a contemporary neo-classic

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

design.

Community

The area is home to one public school, Rockcliffe Park Public School

Rockcliffe Park Public School

Rockcliffe Park Public School is a public elementary school in the Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1922. Located in the centre of Ottawa's wealthiest neighbourhood, it has long educated the children of politicians and ambassadors...

(RPPS), and two private school

Private school

Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...

s, Elmwood School

Elmwood School (Ottawa)

Elmwood School is an independent day school for girls located in Rockcliffe Park in the city of Ottawa, Canada. It was founded in 1915 and is an International Baccalaureate World School...

and Ashbury College

Ashbury College

Ashbury College is an independent day and boarding school located in Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, Canada. It was founded in 1891 and moved to its current venue in 1910. Previously, it occupied what now houses Canadian Senate offices. It is an International Baccalaureate World School, a member of the...

.

Also located in Rockcliffe is a community hall

Community centre

Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...

/library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

complex. The library was originally funded, built and staffed through the efforts of Rockcliffe residents, but it is now a 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...

, with computer access, a children's area, and a young adult section. The library houses a special collection of art-related books called the Margaret A. Bailey collection. The elementary is located beside the library and community hall.

The sale of the Canadian Forces Base CFB Rockcliffe

CFB Rockcliffe

Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe is a former Canadian Forces Base located in the eastern part of Ottawa, Ontario, now used for Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum....

, has brought forth plans by local developers to make an entirely new neighbourhood on these grounds, with stores and houses, as an example of a community built on "sustainable" principles.

Census data

According to the Canada 2006 Census

Canada 2006 Census

The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...

Population: 1,927
% Change (2001-1996): -5.0
Dwellings: 773
Area (km².): 1.76
Density (persons per km².): 1096.1

Average salary

Salary

A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....

in Rockcliffe Park is $119,377, whereas the average salary in Ottawa

Ottawa

is $53,250.

Reeves and Mayors

The leading politician of Rockcliffe Park was known as the Reeve until the 1980s when that position was redesignated as Mayor.

1926-1928: David L. McKeand
1928-1932: R. E. Wodehouse
1933-1938: C. P. Edwards
1938-1954: D. P. Cruikshank
1954-1956: James Hyndman
1956-1965: Denis Coolican
Denis Coolican
Denis M. Coolican was a Canadian businessman and regional politician.Born in Ottawa, Coolican graduated from the University of Ottawa and McGill University in Montreal. His educational background was in science and engineering. He joined the Canadian Bank Note Company eventually becoming its...
1965-1974: Alan O. Gibbons
1974-1978: Ronald Clark
1978-1985: Beryl Plumptre
1985-2000: Patrick Murray

Geography

Notable residents

Community

Census data

Reeves and Mayors

See also