By Nancy Miller Chenier
Waller Street Mall is an open-air pedestrian walkway that connects Rideau Street and George Street and carries the name of William Henry Waller (1835-1885). Elected mayor of Ottawa in 1877, the Irish-born Waller was described as “gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked.” After arriving in Ottawa in the 1860s, he settled initially in Lowertown. In addition to political appointments as separate school trustee, alderman and mayor, he worked as newspaper reporter, insurance agent, corn merchant and finally as Registrar for the County of Carleton.
The sheltered Waller Mallpromenade was constructed in 1985, during a Rideau Street revitalization. Soon after, the community sought to discourage loitering and anti-social activities in this public space. A recurring theme was animation through visual art, with the community proposing an artist alley similar to that in Quebec City. In the mid-1990s, Justin Wannacott was commissioned to create the granite disc titled “from a campers diary” that is in the sidewalk near Rideau Street. The George Street end has another 2003 Wannacott sidewalk image titled “compass rose.” The city-owned space continues to be promoted as an entrance from Lowertown to the Rideau arts and design sector. Most recently, it displayed self-portraits from the City of Ottawa Art Collection in a show titled “Changing Faces, Transforming Spaces.”
Waller Street Mall is an open-air pedestrian walkway that connects Rideau Street and George Street and carries the name of William Henry Waller (1835-1885). Elected mayor of Ottawa in 1877, the Irish-born Waller was described as “gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked.” After arriving in Ottawa in the 1860s, he settled initially in Lowertown. In addition to political appointments as separate school trustee, alderman and mayor, he worked as newspaper reporter, insurance agent, corn merchant and finally as Registrar for the County of Carleton.
The sheltered Waller Mallpromenade was constructed in 1985, during a Rideau Street revitalization. Soon after, the community sought to discourage loitering and anti-social activities in this public space. A recurring theme was animation through visual art, with the community proposing an artist alley similar to that in Quebec City. In the mid-1990s, Justin Wannacott was commissioned to create the granite disc titled “from a campers diary” that is in the sidewalk near Rideau Street. The George Street end has another 2003 Wannacott sidewalk image titled “compass rose.” The city-owned space continues to be promoted as an entrance from Lowertown to the Rideau arts and design sector. Most recently, it displayed self-portraits from the City of Ottawa Art Collection in a show titled “Changing Faces, Transforming Spaces.”