Patterson Creek is a small body of water in the middle of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario. The creek was originally a small stream flowing east through a swampy area to the

Rideau River The Rideau River (, ) is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at the Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is . As explained in a writing by Samuel de Champl ...

. The construction of the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 Lock (water navigation), locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres (272 ...

blocked the creek causing it to become much larger in size. Prior to the construction the land housed a Cedar Lodge. The construction created a small island in the creek that then housed the Cedar Lodge, but this structure was demolished in the 1930s. The Creek originally ran from near Lyon Street all the way to the canal. The creek was named after George Patterson, an early settler who owned the lot where the creek emptied into the canal. In the 1890s work began on landscaping the area. The western portion of the creek disappeared, replaced by

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

in one of the first projects of the Ottawa Improvement Commission. Today Patterson Creek runs for two blocks from the canal to just west of O'Connor Street. The creek is located in the northern part of

the Glebe The Glebe is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located just south of Downtown Ottawa in the Capital Ward. As of 2016, the neighbourhood had a population of 13,055. The Glebe is bounded on the north by the Queensway, on the e ...

neighbourhood, just to the south of the Queensway and

Centretown Centretown is a neighbourhood in Somerset Ward, in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is defined by the city as "the area bounded on the north by Gloucester Street and Lisgar Street, on the east by the Rideau Canal, on the south by the Qu ...

. The creek, and the landscaped park that surrounds it, are surrounded by large houses which are some of the most expensive in Ottawa. First Avenue Public School also looks out upon the creek. The creek is crossed by two bridges one at O'Connor and the other at the

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

. During the winter the creek is cleared and used as a skating rink, along with the rest of the canal. It is generally used by young children and others who wish to avoid the rapid speed of the main canal.

References

* {{refend Patterson Creek Pavilion

Rivers of Ottawa Tributaries of the Rideau River Rideau Canal