Bytown Museum

Attn: Winter Hours - Oct 15, 2013 to May 16, 2014 - Open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. Closed Mondays.  Summer Hours - May 17 to Oct 13, 2014 - Open daily from 10 am to 5 pm and open Thursdays until 8 pm.  Extended Summer Hours - Sat, June 21 to Sun, Aug 31- Open daily from 10 am to 7 pm & open Thursdays until 8 pm. The Commissariat Building Bytown Museum is a small museum in Ottawa located on the lower locks of the Rideau Canal at the Ottawa River just below Parliament Hill. The museum was opened in 1917 by the Women’s Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa (WCHSO) to house the collection of artifacts that the society had amassed since its founding in 1898. The museum's exhibits follow the early history of the city, originally known as Bytown, and the construction of the Rideau Canal. The museum is housed in a stone building designed by Thomas McKay in the Georgian style. It was commissioned by the British military in 1827 as a sturdy supply storehouse and treasury. At the time, it was one of the largest buildings in town. It remained a government storehouse until 1951 when it became the home of the Bytown Museum. The original features include a stone vault that dates from 1841. The museum was included amongst other architecturally interesting and historically significant buildings in Doors Open Ottawa, held June 2 and 3, 2012.