Bayview Yards

Bayview Yards is Ottawa’s one-stop business acceleration shop bringing together innovators, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, investors, and community members. 

Constructed from 1941 to 1947 for the City of Ottawa, City Works Building #4 was established as part of a broader building complex on Bayview Road. During this era, this municipal works building housed key operational and storage capabilities for the City, including machinery storage and repair shops, stables, offices and stock rooms. Although City Works yards featured many buildings during this period, most of these facilities have been demolished.

City Works Building #4 is a reinforced concrete construction building with brick panels that embodies modern industrial style architecture. Popular in Canada from the 1940s to the 1970s, this architecture is characterized by modular square or rectangular forms, plain unadorned surfaces, and large windows that sit within reinforced concrete or a steel frame. The former City Works Building exemplifies this style with masonry panels, flat roof and large windows.

This building is comprised of a one-storey central pavilion with flanking two-storey wings. The east wing of the facility is clad in red brick with large multi-pane, single glazed windows in steel frames. The east elevation of the building is defined by four large service bays with hinged wooden tongue and groove doors. The south and east elevations feature loading docks adorned with wooden garage doors that feature rows of windows. The south elevation also dons the landmark name ‘City of Ottawa Workshops’ on the concrete band that runs along the top of the building.