Preston Street ( Ottawa Road #73) is a street in

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 Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, running between Scott Street in the north and Prince of Wales Drive and Queen Elizabeth Driveway in the south. It is the main commercial artery in Ottawa's

Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...

, home to numerous small business and Italian restaurants, and is synonymous with "Little Italy" to many Ottawa residents when referring to area businesses. Preston Street is marked at Carling Avenue by a metal arch lit in the colours of the Italian flag, built in 2002 to attract tourists from the

Dow's Lake Dow's Lake in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is a small man-made lake on the Rideau Canal, situated two kilometres north of Hog's Back Falls in the middle of Ottawa. It is at the southern end of Preston Street, just south of Carling Avenue, and just ...

area immediately to the south. At the same intersection is the tallest building in Ottawa, the residential condominium tower Claridge Icon. Since 1974, Preston and its side streets are closed to traffic each June for the Italian Week festival, Ottawa's celebration of Italian culture. Preston Street has been given a commemorative Italian name ''Corso Italia''. In 1986, the Preston Street Business Improvement Area was formed, representing local businesses to the City of Ottawa. In 2015, Preston was temporarily extended north from Albert Street to Kichi Zibi Mikan (then the Macdonald Parkway) in order to serve as the main arterial to

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

while Booth Street was being closed due to the Confederation Line construction. Preston is either named for former city treasurer

John Honey Preston John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

or alderman George Honey Preston.

References

External links

*
Preston Street Business Improvement Association
Roads in Ottawa {{Ontario-road-stub