Today, neighborhood identities of Ottawa include Auburn-Delaware, Bancroft Hills, Kenwood-Sheridan, Indian Hills, and BUMA, as well as Old Orchard and Westmoreland.

Old Orchard, the furthest west of these neighborhoods, is located just north of The University of Toledo. Adjacent to the Village of Ottawa Hills, Old Orchard is a collection of Tudor, Neo-Colonial, and Spanish style homes. The neighborhood is mostly single family housing set on a rectangular grid street system.

Indian Hills, just south of Old Orchard, is nestled between the Village of Ottawa Hills and The University of Toledo. With architectural styles reflecting their Old Orchard neighbors, Indian Hills is a small community with two curvilinear streets and two cul-de-sacs. Many people who live here work at the nearby university.

Bancroft Hills, just east of The University of Toledo, is a neighborhood featuring curvilinear streets mixed in with some north-south running streets. Architectural styles include Tudor, Neo-Colonial, and Arts and Crafts designs. Most of these are single family homes, though there is a large number of duplexes in the area.

Westmoreland is south of Bancroft Street and east of Parkside Avenue. This neighborhood was created to house Toledo’s upper class as they moved away from the Old West End. Colonial, English, Italian, French, and Spanish mansions are found lining Westmoreland’s curvilinear streets. The neighborhood’s gently rolling hills, a natural feature reminiscent of the Virginia countryside, inspired the names of its major streets. Westmoreland is on the National Register of Historic Places as an Historic District.

BUMA, the Bancroft-Upton-Monroe area, is named after the area’s community development corporation, the Bancroft-Upton-Monroe Association. This is one of the older areas of Ottawa, with homes constructed in Arts and Crafts styles. Monroe Street, once a commercial corridor in BUMA, is currently undergoing reinvestment to find a new role for the neighborhood.

Auburn-Delaware, to the north of BUMA across Monroe Street, is a small neighborhood surrounded by Jermain Park and the Interstate 75-475 interchange. This is a neighborhood of smaller, one to two story homes with Cape Cod, Neo-Colonial, and Arts and Crafts designs.

Kenwood-Sheridan, just north of Ottawa Park, is a neighborhood of two story homes in Arts and Crafts, Neo-Colonial, and Prairie architectural styles. The Monroe-Central intersection, once the site of the Colony Shopping Center, is now the site of medical facilities related to the Toledo Hospital. This neighborhood is also home for some of Toledo’s moderately priced apartments.

Ottawa is in a unique situation; it is relatively close to downtown Toledo, yet it is also the edge of the city. Because of The University of Toledo there is a high student population in the neighborhood, and housing is rarely vacant.

Residents of Ottawa quite arguably have the best recreation and leisure options in the city. In Ottawa Park, Toledo’s largest, residents have access to baseball diamonds, picnic grounds, trails for walking and jogging, tennis courts, a golf course, a nature area, an amphitheater, and even an ice rink. Jermain Park, adjacent to Ottawa Park across Monroe Street, has a boccie ball court, fishing area, picnic grounds, a nature area, tennis courts, paths for walking and jogging, and a soccer field.

The University of Toledo, a unique aspect of Ottawa, has much for both students and residents to enjoy. Savage Hall is the site for many Toledo concerts and sporting events. The Glass Bowl Stadium is host for many high school football games and the home of the Toledo Rocket Football Team. The Ritter Observatory and Planetarium holds weekly shows at a nominal fee. The University of Toledo Department of Theater, Film, and Dance has quarterly shows and productions, and movies are shown weekly in Doermann Theater. The University of Toledo is host to many educational guest lecturers, and many world famous celebrities, from political figureheads to movie stars, visit the campus.

Ottawa is close to many of Toledo’s major commercial areas. The Westgate Shopping Center is located at the corner of Secor Road and Central Avenue. The Franklin Park Mall is a short drive away on Monroe Street.

With many of Toledo’s major streets; Monroe Street, Bancroft Street, Central Avenue, Secor Road, Douglas road, Upton Avenue, and Dorr Street, transportation is a cinch. Interstate 75 is reached through a one mile drive north on Secor Road.

Homes in Ottawa vary in price, according to 1990 census data, by neighborhood. Old Orchard’s homes are some of the highest valued in the city, with an average cost around $100,000. Westmoreland and Indian Hills have an average value of about $90,000. Kenwood-Sheridan’s homes are about $60,000 in average value. Bancroft Hills homes are valued at $55,000, on average, and BUMA and Auburn-Delaware have an average price around $40,000. Almost 45,000 people live in Ottawa, and their average annual household incomes, based on 1990 census data, range from $15,000 in some areas to $60,000 in others.