Green Island (Rideau River)

To the west of the island is the National Research Council, and Global Affairs Canada (formerly Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada); to the east is 24 Sussex Drive and the embassy of France.

Down the Rideau river are the ruins of a rail bridge that once led to Ottawa's Union Station.

Princess Margaret officially opened the stone and glass building, which featured a marble spiral staircase leading to the second floor, on August 2, 1958.

This building remained Ottawa’s City Hall until municipal amalgamation came into effect on January 1, 2001.

The building of an expensive addition to the city hall (designed by Moshe Safdie), the architect of the National Gallery of Canada shortly before the building was decommissioned was a source of controversy in the city.