tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78649095426234210112024-03-15T18:10:36.291-07:00UrbsiteMidcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.comBlogger408125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-72054891630937346672023-06-05T06:58:00.001-07:002023-06-05T07:07:13.940-07:00THE BRENNAN BUILDINGS' MANY LIVES: BEFORE AND AFTER BANK STREET'S EPIC INFERNOS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_XtKlxn4Cr6V_myZNvcY_NNf4xdz9iKrxN_Viejq2jgNl_zwE8fzEcBfQpmFOJKsY9Enf4NfZOnS3cgAk4ytXahlCskD7ye9s_9zCy1TlpdzLGP4NI3bNvlT_PQFoYv4l68CJn763RBmTJvx0HjrtUEjQdTciqK2vsu_Y2P1r2tKweesrWHyE9yEf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1644" data-original-width="2244" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_XtKlxn4Cr6V_myZNvcY_NNf4xdz9iKrxN_Viejq2jgNl_zwE8fzEcBfQpmFOJKsY9Enf4NfZOnS3cgAk4ytXahlCskD7ye9s_9zCy1TlpdzLGP4NI3bNvlT_PQFoYv4l68CJn763RBmTJvx0HjrtUEjQdTciqK2vsu_Y2P1r2tKweesrWHyE9yEf=w640-h468" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Although I've been familiar with this fairly anodyne building for over five decades, it took some time to become aware of the fact that this 1950s red brick box was known as the Brennan Building, and not only that - this was the second Brennan Building to be located at Bank and James Street. It replaced Brennan No. 1 after a disastrous mid-century blaze that involved one of Canada's most iconic businesses. The story's rudimentary strands were recently fleshed out by one of the excellent Ottawa Street by Street's tweets which has provoked more digging into the Brennans' eventful past.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNEIE99Babok0VeXh8EPoc40Eu4dLSOeBHU2of1ad0mrPLid-OEXl46PS3in8I9NzrgqJgTloR0l8qazH8BL22BvtT2jS8Guz_4haTd3Zn22EnGxy_BkkfAahicd_VVHI2MHa9UYLxy9wRKz5391aJrsKszIdFTB4MCrZWfNcHTRVk7JiFQoidzW2D" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2189" data-original-width="3141" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNEIE99Babok0VeXh8EPoc40Eu4dLSOeBHU2of1ad0mrPLid-OEXl46PS3in8I9NzrgqJgTloR0l8qazH8BL22BvtT2jS8Guz_4haTd3Zn22EnGxy_BkkfAahicd_VVHI2MHa9UYLxy9wRKz5391aJrsKszIdFTB4MCrZWfNcHTRVk7JiFQoidzW2D=w640-h446" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The upper two floors of the 70+ year-old Brennan No. 2 might be said to be aging gracefully. Its once operable multi-paned windows still separated by minimally rusticated brick piers reading like speed lines have been retrofitted with large fixed replacements, giving two-thirds of the Cecil Burgess-designed facade a cleaner Modernist zing. The ground floor? A chaotic mix of signs and storefronts, evidence that commercially this section of Bank Street is still relatively healthy, if not the sanitized yuppie playground that some would lie to see.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRtUAtO9Tivy8CbwLz62Bt1RAa8S0quRXBsZPc_QsYchiuBZZzU9ihR9X8clJPPtYPBPuEKxMa_KhEG4YwA4IHhgm0jV9hhC6y0bUZP_mcm_CNRye9cSms0lVNnUjrOLgkxby5JEIVksrLhPC7VVsfkFALBtRbeFrpEX2kLJoQU2PqTPFTycZY5vYs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3261" data-original-width="4850" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRtUAtO9Tivy8CbwLz62Bt1RAa8S0quRXBsZPc_QsYchiuBZZzU9ihR9X8clJPPtYPBPuEKxMa_KhEG4YwA4IHhgm0jV9hhC6y0bUZP_mcm_CNRye9cSms0lVNnUjrOLgkxby5JEIVksrLhPC7VVsfkFALBtRbeFrpEX2kLJoQU2PqTPFTycZY5vYs=w640-h430" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When Brennan No. 2 was inaugurated in the Spring of 1951, just 14 months after the destruction of Brennan No. 1, a representative of the owners mused about the origins of their property. 'Veteran Ottawa realtor H.C. Brennan recalls when the property was first acquired by his family in 1890, "There were cows grazing on it the first time I saw it," he says. There wasn't much south of Somerset Street on Bank in those days. It's changed a little now."' Up until 1900 this section of Bank was still the preserve of wood-planing and lathing mills, and lumber yards geared at servicing the new housing being built in early Centretown. And many, many vacant lots. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 14, 1951)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2y6rfKLzoYOaNibQKzt3ZA8NRCqqrK5TNWSATGVRfhftTIJce_mOaEwm9yDCPSweTIFc9oBbin7o888zgZkDInWKHRDT_um1CYDN8YXe3DX7fuZLT_3xKFPpaVF3tzr1Z57uAHM1yf3ApcWD3gjGNC2sYELWUhTWZNy8OPv2qyYsBSoSgi5gJwod1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="538" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2y6rfKLzoYOaNibQKzt3ZA8NRCqqrK5TNWSATGVRfhftTIJce_mOaEwm9yDCPSweTIFc9oBbin7o888zgZkDInWKHRDT_um1CYDN8YXe3DX7fuZLT_3xKFPpaVF3tzr1Z57uAHM1yf3ApcWD3gjGNC2sYELWUhTWZNy8OPv2qyYsBSoSgi5gJwod1=w400-h240" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">But the Brennan family didn't actually develop their property until 1902, when they erected a three-story mixed-use building with apartments, a public hall and stores. I have never seen a photo or drawing or any newspaper account of this building, so we are left with a handful of very dark indistinct images taken at night while the building burned. They opened H.H. Brennan and Son, Grocers in the James Street corner around 1904-05. This business only lasted until 1907 after which the store became Blyth and Holloway Plumbers. This was more typical of the area's more working class character when this block also included another plumbing business, two printing offices, and a biscuit warehouse. </span><i>(LAC: Fire Insurance Plate 56, 1912)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguVbOhb5J_4-x4hwV4FravZUeSe4quNSSMWPnaCEHziQngpCVCqLndVW6fRoQYmlREb40R4iZ2-bvFenQeorn3kw2O9WRTJf5V3RfMtlDtaVrg_W_aQP3D6FY-EOe_rdMUSFZ3LEwiQ82QgqhX1TKh1cLxq7iw2AuicRgURMloY3zwmmmMI4CtdkMX" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="6300" data-original-width="4316" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguVbOhb5J_4-x4hwV4FravZUeSe4quNSSMWPnaCEHziQngpCVCqLndVW6fRoQYmlREb40R4iZ2-bvFenQeorn3kw2O9WRTJf5V3RfMtlDtaVrg_W_aQP3D6FY-EOe_rdMUSFZ3LEwiQ82QgqhX1TKh1cLxq7iw2AuicRgURMloY3zwmmmMI4CtdkMX=w273-h400" width="273" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">From 1904 until the late 1920s the prime tenants of the Brennan Building's ground floor (386-390 Bank Street) were the patent medicine manufacturers of the Fruit-a-tives laxative, using the premises as their offices and warehouse. It was said to provide 'all the medicinal properties of fruit in the most effective form' - but actually contained no fruit whatsoever. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 15, 1906)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEeXk4M7QfIElEVjelu_V7V2Rff6IZxKnGZG4OXGX3HUpWYX5GLfmMHD0PxfBm8X5x94SRZGcX1u_IHub-17GWKy1KkkoSyTR03O3ZB1TQKOL0sS8Y6kfuB2BFgaLsSqBHVKmGPNvjX8z9lDmXR4tgfBe2uZd5r3L5cev_u4dgPjfn09HnhIxWVEEM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="1013" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEeXk4M7QfIElEVjelu_V7V2Rff6IZxKnGZG4OXGX3HUpWYX5GLfmMHD0PxfBm8X5x94SRZGcX1u_IHub-17GWKy1KkkoSyTR03O3ZB1TQKOL0sS8Y6kfuB2BFgaLsSqBHVKmGPNvjX8z9lDmXR4tgfBe2uZd5r3L5cev_u4dgPjfn09HnhIxWVEEM=w640-h478" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Each 'Fruitative' tablet contained 1/200th of a grain of Strychnine and 1/6th of a grain of Hyosycamus extract, otherwise known as 'stinking nightshade' or henbane. The first ingredient, a highly toxic poison often used as rat poison was supposed to produce convulsive spasms in the gut, while the second was an unproven folk remedy for various gastro-intestinal maladies. You were instructed to take <u>three</u> a day on an empty stomach, which the manufacturer assured acted gently without fear of any ill side-effects. But I'm thinking that these things must have really cleaned out its users in a hurry. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Lost Ottawa)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5p6TXgqTaN_YmPpgSNx5BGH7StRZRktb0x_kOeLomdu4q1NH-Gp73ptdO2M8jOIJNZd2G4uG6KpsqWfcJyIednpP09tRdA5qHq-uUo97rKyvPkVm9R5Me19vgnCRqXI5ht-qwFE5TTIK8B9rwZKNHIxCJBDJ6Zq2p7LXpWvAdsZQQoB_2BAcy4Q3W" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5379" data-original-width="6206" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5p6TXgqTaN_YmPpgSNx5BGH7StRZRktb0x_kOeLomdu4q1NH-Gp73ptdO2M8jOIJNZd2G4uG6KpsqWfcJyIednpP09tRdA5qHq-uUo97rKyvPkVm9R5Me19vgnCRqXI5ht-qwFE5TTIK8B9rwZKNHIxCJBDJ6Zq2p7LXpWvAdsZQQoB_2BAcy4Q3W=w400-h347" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The first Brennan Building's second floor functioned as the National Labour Hall, a facility run by the National Labour Association. It was one of that era's many Bank Street upper storey public assembly rooms and could be accessed by a separate entrance around the corner at 9 James Street. The hall hosted some riotous labour-related meetings, organizational drives, and rallies. It was also politically active, for example the eloquent Eugene Forsey, CCF candidate for Ottawa South in the 1945 election staged one of his campaign events here</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>. (Ottawa Citizen, May 17, 1945)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9NFwrl7TvejIcs2RCVJdu9AWXu5LxGPi18DjmBUJ0AOJQM4EkzyuTCdzFYzehreHm0KCzWks0Wfvr4tFHiYqq7rc-iSUpOyVjd7vGTORhWDx5cPAUgWa2X8ivsTXa24U0QaoAQ2MWIZDOsQR-7qGLctAI-b3l-hSFRf1LEFItZWncyEtBS8hK3xLU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="7068" data-original-width="2574" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9NFwrl7TvejIcs2RCVJdu9AWXu5LxGPi18DjmBUJ0AOJQM4EkzyuTCdzFYzehreHm0KCzWks0Wfvr4tFHiYqq7rc-iSUpOyVjd7vGTORhWDx5cPAUgWa2X8ivsTXa24U0QaoAQ2MWIZDOsQR-7qGLctAI-b3l-hSFRf1LEFItZWncyEtBS8hK3xLU=w232-h640" width="232" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Brennan's first fire of note broke out in the National Labour Hall, possibly as a result of a short circuit in an electrical fuse box in a washroom. It caused some damage but the real victims were the four tenants of the third floor apartments above the hall who were forced out of their units by heavy smoke at two o'clock in the morning. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, June 22, 1945)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHQctIiKH_ALtcdlicjDjqEZ6sPwHFMF9MjS5zB9w5l3xu1YTBjhvvdU-DGk6UEUyXNbu_5Y9vw4KT1V6TifvFgGqQDgC0VE6UNZeY5AE7HH20Uqq2bfXd8buhLuRKaaVl-ZJIhHB4SNhS049-mmjv7qWnIUjL5FVk2QekKGRX-QbbGB6PdEvYSYCc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="808" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHQctIiKH_ALtcdlicjDjqEZ6sPwHFMF9MjS5zB9w5l3xu1YTBjhvvdU-DGk6UEUyXNbu_5Y9vw4KT1V6TifvFgGqQDgC0VE6UNZeY5AE7HH20Uqq2bfXd8buhLuRKaaVl-ZJIhHB4SNhS049-mmjv7qWnIUjL5FVk2QekKGRX-QbbGB6PdEvYSYCc=w640-h510" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Canadian Tire Corporation store below and the CCB Electric Works next door survived this fire unscathed although five years later much worse was yet to come for the CTC store.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiUmbErkVh6gdTie1Ve_Oi7h0GfWCEgFzJOYQALruOCAA7u8mW3QQclKUSxlYzc_5yjvEbXrx3a--iLSlygsg881HLlMcBgOl37gJPP_hBb3T1EjJPCkj8k9wwR5lu3S70vAvAX4Ap4rg3cLfSlb9h7Lr7eYi7YSQx-S_kcVbb2skwbOlCj1BKqGnt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3032" data-original-width="4386" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiUmbErkVh6gdTie1Ve_Oi7h0GfWCEgFzJOYQALruOCAA7u8mW3QQclKUSxlYzc_5yjvEbXrx3a--iLSlygsg881HLlMcBgOl37gJPP_hBb3T1EjJPCkj8k9wwR5lu3S70vAvAX4Ap4rg3cLfSlb9h7Lr7eYi7YSQx-S_kcVbb2skwbOlCj1BKqGnt=w640-h442" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The dailies’ account of the Brennan Building/Canadian Tire fire of early 1950 ran to many pages filled with lengthy columns of lurid, breathless prose. They describe the awful events of that hellish night in dramatic detail which was life-threatening to the firemen and the building’s residents. For a flavour of this I have woven together some extracts of the newspaper coverage. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">The 18 minute delay? In the early morning of Thursday, January 26, 1950 at 2:00am a Mr. Costin, member of the Corps of Commissionaires just getting off duty noticed a shower of sparks emanating from Canadian Tire’s neon sign and crossed the street to pull the fire alarm box at Bank and Waverley. Apparatus from three stations was dispatched, arriving within moments. After a brief inspection the Fire Department crews thinking that this was nothing very serious declared that it was an electric situation and therefore the responsibility of the Ottawa Hydro Electric Commission, returning to their stations at 2:07am. However at 2:21am one of the firemen who had remained on the scene at Bank and James saw copious plumes of smoke oozing out of the basement windows and from between the gaps in the CTC storefront’s Vitrolite tiles, ran across Bank and pulled the alarm box again. Moments later in a sudden violent blast the front of the store blew out onto the street. By the time that the fire trucks and crews returned to the scene a raging fire had started in the Brennan Building where hundreds of gallons of paints, oils, and solvents lay waiting. The delay caused an out-of-control fire to take hold and an investigation by the Fire Prevention Bureau was launched.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrVU2GQ5rryLJa5CYseA0SbbmAjsUYcofDY0hQDbyRVSia2qsGoZBUXr1vrmFAr6R5RmoVJ5cDaavR-OP6hjs_1moJn2Zao7SUI3-FSiOxAXxoRB18xFFC0GKxi4huVfvsdemBwOkfb41yE2ZCvxX1yaQS9I7Quclu7gAro9qIDykOZQu3sECvzk6b" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3318" data-original-width="4155" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrVU2GQ5rryLJa5CYseA0SbbmAjsUYcofDY0hQDbyRVSia2qsGoZBUXr1vrmFAr6R5RmoVJ5cDaavR-OP6hjs_1moJn2Zao7SUI3-FSiOxAXxoRB18xFFC0GKxi4huVfvsdemBwOkfb41yE2ZCvxX1yaQS9I7Quclu7gAro9qIDykOZQu3sECvzk6b=w640-h510" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Within an hour fire broke through the roof of the building. This allowed the fireman to deploy the Department’s new high-pressure water cannons (being used for the first time), which moved in fresh torrents from above. These ‘tons of water… turned Bank Street into a fast running stream of thick ash-covered water.’ <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Once the area’s power lines became scorched and then snapped with loud cracks large sections of Centretown were plunged into darkness, compounded by the low-hanging smoke. Floodlights were brought in to illuminate the Brennan Building’s death by inferno. As a final gesture Bank Street’s multi-globe light standards began to shatter one by one in a seemingly orchestrated sequence of sparks and flying shards of glass that travelled up and down the street. To prevent the fire’s spread firemen were detailed to monitor nearby rooftops for flying embers, which having been fanned by a stiffening wind, travelled for blocks</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd2UHkr4LyWoQaUxWY3bqYLJiG4RbvC0uDYANRDlrIpmDJTfQEw_YCVfFHpxWXgXvUlmQLi5RGaRpAd_7jXd5ZO__QQ6TPM-0Nqeew0pBW4xh6VU8fT74rqDI6Jn0DC5XIauFSqYluvjtBygCmu2a-MHTC31JcgqNFZdQ4Z8pf3GBc6AxpF_8QpKYp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3226" data-original-width="5095" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd2UHkr4LyWoQaUxWY3bqYLJiG4RbvC0uDYANRDlrIpmDJTfQEw_YCVfFHpxWXgXvUlmQLi5RGaRpAd_7jXd5ZO__QQ6TPM-0Nqeew0pBW4xh6VU8fT74rqDI6Jn0DC5XIauFSqYluvjtBygCmu2a-MHTC31JcgqNFZdQ4Z8pf3GBc6AxpF_8QpKYp=w640-h406" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">‘Smoke, combined with explosive substances in the stock of the Canadian Tire Corporation caused recurring blasts that shook the blazing building and threatened adjoining structures.’<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>These explosions were particularly severe when the flames reached CTC’s recently stocked large tins of antifreeze which launched themselves like powerful rockets. ‘At the height of the blaze flames shot hundreds of feet into the air and the glare was visible miles out into the country.’ That nightmarish scene was cut short when the fire began to consume CTC’s supply of rubber tires that produced such a dense, rank pall of oily black smoke that visibility in this part of Centretown dropped to just a few feet. Heavy low clouds then moved in to trap the stench of this noxious brew.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">’Three firemen were trapped when a major blast sent the outer brick wall tumbling down to Bank Street with a crash audible for blocks. Their helmets were crushed and all suffered major head injuries.’ To free them comrades had to rush to their aid, frantically clearing away the piles of fallen bricks and rushing the injured victims to the Civic Hospital in the emergency wagon, where they were to remain in serious condition. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiw3DcaQmq9rTw3cN8IjzPGk3raUhAKVtujiNW9F2m9o4XUwE8sbm7bzcKxjtLtptGWAlf0ZBUHuLjgKy31VxPEZt7JmgpMDS7FTFyETsSESKEoUd3yJAkO1PeK1dKu_zMdIos1TTVuz34l-wxZgeUnrJu-rgX89s6IIu6OrrhBV50BQhSCCsNPbXjt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1650" data-original-width="2053" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiw3DcaQmq9rTw3cN8IjzPGk3raUhAKVtujiNW9F2m9o4XUwE8sbm7bzcKxjtLtptGWAlf0ZBUHuLjgKy31VxPEZt7JmgpMDS7FTFyETsSESKEoUd3yJAkO1PeK1dKu_zMdIos1TTVuz34l-wxZgeUnrJu-rgX89s6IIu6OrrhBV50BQhSCCsNPbXjt=w640-h514" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The rescue of the occupants of the third floor apartments was equally fraught and several times the fire fighters were forced back by the choking smoke in the corridors, having to make several attempts before they could reach the terrified residents. ‘Explosions echoed through the block as the occupants made their way out and flames mushroomed through the building, blocking stairways and forcing many to escape down ladders hastily set up by the firemen.’</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">‘We had no sooner reached the third floor than flames and heavy smoke began filtering through the stair treads at our feet. I yelled down the hallway at the three firemen ahead of me, but they kept right on going through the flames. They were the real heroes.’ This photo was taken in James Street, looking towards Bank where you can see lights in the windows of a paint store across the street still beaming. It would be the scene of another toxic fire many years later</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqH473QF-7Y7dITA0vC_MNb5YRJMGbxCOxFubSyCdTYjd_HuXn1vEOzqh9AoKcu_XJxFK6l1Ali_T8AGWfvUx63DcGbsxDfeiCCbpt6TNaZWhXYtqGr0kZcwGxht1p1Ya9cMkez8c72c_BbYKK23q6H7H05bR-S-mX4hJiw1syuzxQ5ZRn80b4p88K" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="807" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqH473QF-7Y7dITA0vC_MNb5YRJMGbxCOxFubSyCdTYjd_HuXn1vEOzqh9AoKcu_XJxFK6l1Ali_T8AGWfvUx63DcGbsxDfeiCCbpt6TNaZWhXYtqGr0kZcwGxht1p1Ya9cMkez8c72c_BbYKK23q6H7H05bR-S-mX4hJiw1syuzxQ5ZRn80b4p88K=w640-h364" width="640" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Here's a view of that doomed building on the other side of Bank Street before it would meet a similar fate.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-D7QXleryx0Zy6fPKGTAY5YqlGyuru0pJc-dv52FdEw1fSdrZX55u-ZabBA3NgrB7fYJxyLwYXy7--3D2GG3tnNN4eSB82gokKQCYVN4xx6YVVUT1K9RbfO721DVJP1Uo_YdEPU5zTXZ8CNnEpfMGpLUb00u7-wDJ_sBwWkUz0nY4cmQSg-6ayEnO" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="6910" data-original-width="5071" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-D7QXleryx0Zy6fPKGTAY5YqlGyuru0pJc-dv52FdEw1fSdrZX55u-ZabBA3NgrB7fYJxyLwYXy7--3D2GG3tnNN4eSB82gokKQCYVN4xx6YVVUT1K9RbfO721DVJP1Uo_YdEPU5zTXZ8CNnEpfMGpLUb00u7-wDJ_sBwWkUz0nY4cmQSg-6ayEnO=w469-h640" width="469" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As the fire at the Brennan Building progressed ‘A hanging sign knocked against a guy wire supporting the still live OTC trolley lines. They snapped and the trolley wires flopped onto the west pavement in an explosion of blue and green lights. It leaped and writhed in the middle of the street, emitting great snapping flashes of light. Fortunately, although many onlookers were nearby, none was touched by the cable.’</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgODRaVN0dUzNm6O8Q5jTnqugBy85-WHhagWBKokrUlz5AAg-AGrGPM-fZ-3bJokdEWJaYejOyXAPEs0S7fvr5iNzhgx8BxkiNzT1P_bdjiT9ztMgx58OLUQ_2Ouz02zPF5AgTHhMeqxMip5Ta3dvXdSrABRvU-k0Bbvecn-k18QJvdDJzv5T8JLSxP" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4198" data-original-width="4956" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgODRaVN0dUzNm6O8Q5jTnqugBy85-WHhagWBKokrUlz5AAg-AGrGPM-fZ-3bJokdEWJaYejOyXAPEs0S7fvr5iNzhgx8BxkiNzT1P_bdjiT9ztMgx58OLUQ_2Ouz02zPF5AgTHhMeqxMip5Ta3dvXdSrABRvU-k0Bbvecn-k18QJvdDJzv5T8JLSxP=w400-h339" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The next day for safety reasons the City's Chief Building Official ordered what remained of the Brennan Building's walls demolished. It would take some days to restore normal streetcar service to Bank Street. At the left hand side of this photo you can see what remained of the United Refrigeration store, the other major business in the Brennan Building. A lone wringer washer stands in the window amidst the charred debris. In a triumphal gesture a much grander United Refrigeration would return to the next Brennan Building. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">(</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Ottawa Citizen, January 27, 1950)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwhYoaodssHqJtaFZa0w81nReILWqyWdAsSKD5kHmTQn0mvqWvWKcIon3wzi7zjf74jgXAZd_q4LI671ZIwwvRAVjLlf7KcPhM_GHcTPH1D50SDbvR9SCcI-lBgi2S6HiHIFxzFv9qWupQtldOL2L8Q9Nvta5H-Bph3fjcSbeXw0XawfG6LElLa4_b" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1960" data-original-width="2848" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwhYoaodssHqJtaFZa0w81nReILWqyWdAsSKD5kHmTQn0mvqWvWKcIon3wzi7zjf74jgXAZd_q4LI671ZIwwvRAVjLlf7KcPhM_GHcTPH1D50SDbvR9SCcI-lBgi2S6HiHIFxzFv9qWupQtldOL2L8Q9Nvta5H-Bph3fjcSbeXw0XawfG6LElLa4_b=w400-h275" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The same block in the late 1970s, before the demolition of the Alexandra Hotel at Gilmour Street, where many of the burned out tenants had been sheltered.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5TXHBtfXOes_2pB4BE3uxkJd6Qh5h9JPU7QG7-2ucaZ2_u8R-PD4QRR8JCN1m97QPczl7_j4IVIGaADszeU0aHmZQdZJB7pKFE7IdCHrbLuxVJihcNrlzb8oeRt5mL06kQVO-DoxFeMXeX3-NVMArBPGGus-wU3rtr98SaeJ5IsGJ-2a20tqV7ry5" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2329" data-original-width="4287" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5TXHBtfXOes_2pB4BE3uxkJd6Qh5h9JPU7QG7-2ucaZ2_u8R-PD4QRR8JCN1m97QPczl7_j4IVIGaADszeU0aHmZQdZJB7pKFE7IdCHrbLuxVJihcNrlzb8oeRt5mL06kQVO-DoxFeMXeX3-NVMArBPGGus-wU3rtr98SaeJ5IsGJ-2a20tqV7ry5=w400-h217" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">And today. It's amazing that this stretch of Bank Street has remained so architecturally stable.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3vkUgEpCaTSTzRMh-iN5mqkhVnqoLANQyawE4ZF3dHFKLX-Sf0fWQCM3Rs4Fei63Fx8q9c9cNLmyYGbjBnYfkE9la3y3Hatxm6OBA1C7fpfX312_-oQScE7iWezlsstukgasUntn8fPzchwCyZ3gF85KBKNI4XRsBM8z44Do6sek404crScEz9WZ9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5475" data-original-width="4728" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3vkUgEpCaTSTzRMh-iN5mqkhVnqoLANQyawE4ZF3dHFKLX-Sf0fWQCM3Rs4Fei63Fx8q9c9cNLmyYGbjBnYfkE9la3y3Hatxm6OBA1C7fpfX312_-oQScE7iWezlsstukgasUntn8fPzchwCyZ3gF85KBKNI4XRsBM8z44Do6sek404crScEz9WZ9=w345-h400" width="345" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Canadian Tire Corporation's first Associate Store opened in Hamilton in 1935. In Ottawa the CTC arrived by degrees, first as Super-Lastic Tire Sales (one of the mother company's brands) but the Canadian Tire name was nowhere to be seen - just an oblique reference to 'Catalog Prices'. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, May 31, 1935)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8kuLd1NQbPu_AO9iIjpXL6rRQqs7OCePtdxBM5e1BmGMBWd0tpTf104Y9U4HN4Ule-iqxw8IlrcWtfCvtjfeCQygMRVvDiI9vrSYyjvvP7LIxVP-SbqINnuTlupoU-3qRwYRqHajb9UPiiXbkYJy1KRlPzMPxPJlsD5EWC17vNxYojWbyURXewxE3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="6966" data-original-width="3660" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8kuLd1NQbPu_AO9iIjpXL6rRQqs7OCePtdxBM5e1BmGMBWd0tpTf104Y9U4HN4Ule-iqxw8IlrcWtfCvtjfeCQygMRVvDiI9vrSYyjvvP7LIxVP-SbqINnuTlupoU-3qRwYRqHajb9UPiiXbkYJy1KRlPzMPxPJlsD5EWC17vNxYojWbyURXewxE3=w336-h640" width="336" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">By 1939 Super-Lastic was specifying that it was the C.T.C. Catalogue - for your Guns, Ammunition, and Hunting Knife needs. 'See the new Canadian Tire Corporation Fall and Winter Catalogue for Complete Listings'. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, October 31, 1939)</i></div></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieKHyNcjXAXwlguzoexpGxp7f3QY6viSiisJ4nF_T1KXnn4L3UhY_lGNE6xCSjS65MYGjmU38FppQQ7Q1cL0_hxi7ezAVwbyC9Ero8zvsH1SpUf2WV6_LIGjw7JgFOb6OfiUCL2QlbkAUL6oJt9tZSR103YRkARjlI7RG19OftEhSBGoDpbUkXUcQp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="7104" data-original-width="2763" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieKHyNcjXAXwlguzoexpGxp7f3QY6viSiisJ4nF_T1KXnn4L3UhY_lGNE6xCSjS65MYGjmU38FppQQ7Q1cL0_hxi7ezAVwbyC9Ero8zvsH1SpUf2WV6_LIGjw7JgFOb6OfiUCL2QlbkAUL6oJt9tZSR103YRkARjlI7RG19OftEhSBGoDpbUkXUcQp=w248-h640" width="248" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And for the Christmas shopping season of that year they could proclaim that they were now officially a Canadian Tire Corporation Associate Store. By this point CTC's Associate network had reached over 100 stores in Eastern Canada. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, December 15, 1939)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQxndrgkEW3UFw7Wo1rlPw--r59PM82BpyOzfs-VuNLcZoYWxwBwXJGSIPxmDbY-jx8YqSgTsFllKjK0ZoO7TtD_HTs9I8rSJayfU-tgsxr6uWQ3sEuOUhhQS3MQyyuXf9paFf2tItA4OjDn9y-tyj25VnlAsnXLGggFXr1gEaS05loNXNh1BPjTSY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="1196" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQxndrgkEW3UFw7Wo1rlPw--r59PM82BpyOzfs-VuNLcZoYWxwBwXJGSIPxmDbY-jx8YqSgTsFllKjK0ZoO7TtD_HTs9I8rSJayfU-tgsxr6uWQ3sEuOUhhQS3MQyyuXf9paFf2tItA4OjDn9y-tyj25VnlAsnXLGggFXr1gEaS05loNXNh1BPjTSY=w640-h502" width="640" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The name Super-lastic Tire Sales was dropped altogether by the 1940s.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRofag580FoBfQxJstxvSPraEAN_bm5f5rBv5OM2vFgTgL7DuLcRcMSY5A9EiNIK2ZRkhFFCOfaOEQqt8tLRFdrGTVjys8kKGweJmLI_Dx1fxsXvriWduU1Ry2b6dExgnyMDIW2KbxZldqKNhMbInDzJPyD_vnMVL3sr8UaECnuDK7KsoUL0KUABSv" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1103" data-original-width="1822" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRofag580FoBfQxJstxvSPraEAN_bm5f5rBv5OM2vFgTgL7DuLcRcMSY5A9EiNIK2ZRkhFFCOfaOEQqt8tLRFdrGTVjys8kKGweJmLI_Dx1fxsXvriWduU1Ry2b6dExgnyMDIW2KbxZldqKNhMbInDzJPyD_vnMVL3sr8UaECnuDK7KsoUL0KUABSv=w400-h243" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">CTC built a large cinder block addition at the rear of the Brennan Building. </span><i>(1948 Fire Insurance Plate 130)</i></div></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOmIcciO6Qwc37sqfPlg_cQqgvGerAfP6dpqk2BTJL0UcNp9fzlg21vaTi1pSMWoM4sAca17e5wu6GqZexDw52gwzl3qYwtIBpkCu_jGB6_gP-PxT_JkSV2uru0sWAqdzZYUV9KrDMpMpMDAqyCXCsFxI_AwD8zj0a7AbOIM5-dhaF_z0L0uqSqnvv" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="7036" data-original-width="4379" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOmIcciO6Qwc37sqfPlg_cQqgvGerAfP6dpqk2BTJL0UcNp9fzlg21vaTi1pSMWoM4sAca17e5wu6GqZexDw52gwzl3qYwtIBpkCu_jGB6_gP-PxT_JkSV2uru0sWAqdzZYUV9KrDMpMpMDAqyCXCsFxI_AwD8zj0a7AbOIM5-dhaF_z0L0uqSqnvv=w397-h640" width="397" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">A building permit had been issued in March of 1940, shortly after the Associate Store designation </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, March 6, 1940)</i></div></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJIllCMC0-Ij0BVj4vilKecLekObbWV97fJsZyhIsBi_7dtst7yO4FiQUffjuSH-mn4A94qjeZw46M41_T8Xcw7fxorsLjQlNlmC75dxXv9_i_Kyb8MdFtRTFO4B-HFoN7HZZekV3RZUvxhStZmZK-mrU6F9qa31vBiC-WA1860zcjlJpZZjCOi-_r" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="7188" data-original-width="4798" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJIllCMC0-Ij0BVj4vilKecLekObbWV97fJsZyhIsBi_7dtst7yO4FiQUffjuSH-mn4A94qjeZw46M41_T8Xcw7fxorsLjQlNlmC75dxXv9_i_Kyb8MdFtRTFO4B-HFoN7HZZekV3RZUvxhStZmZK-mrU6F9qa31vBiC-WA1860zcjlJpZZjCOi-_r=w427-h640" width="427" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Two days after the fire the owners of the CTC Associate Store in the Brennan Building announced they will continue at a temporary location until a NEW PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT could be built. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, January 28, 1950)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaNhAHpoWMuqef5pQTXYMX_JJYoaoQuzeQPwkBbu4TfWODDB6UPPxt1pqdAEJ1fYBKBOrFT2K2Ao3NVQcJJsUxwAYzZJqcy8gZ_n377ZRls9ebDrRh7JlfTLiEGhUGh2X4gKMXyCNbzo-f2AwW0i3dHAkc00N2-xJsP5esSNccAEn8I6mCK6iQhlp1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="1149" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaNhAHpoWMuqef5pQTXYMX_JJYoaoQuzeQPwkBbu4TfWODDB6UPPxt1pqdAEJ1fYBKBOrFT2K2Ao3NVQcJJsUxwAYzZJqcy8gZ_n377ZRls9ebDrRh7JlfTLiEGhUGh2X4gKMXyCNbzo-f2AwW0i3dHAkc00N2-xJsP5esSNccAEn8I6mCK6iQhlp1=w400-h204" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Shortly after that they were able to relocate to a former sporting goods store at 680 Bank Street in the Glebe. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Google Streetview)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHFR0HqTyBpRSEgaIWJYOB-NEmF4vcC67DTgGgXhlxh2hoMbUXnnsCjyWjyzv_Nx3JXFChzwqZ9mwlvEH6XqDZMI1_o815j8DErUkIPtuAHYsMf0CxbrcwXfFCF7AWg7pWPshijPiBk9ZhzsgB3ikxM2AQtQxniHQ70Hwv9H6sgSl989hQTFjfsjhu" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="8379" data-original-width="6344" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHFR0HqTyBpRSEgaIWJYOB-NEmF4vcC67DTgGgXhlxh2hoMbUXnnsCjyWjyzv_Nx3JXFChzwqZ9mwlvEH6XqDZMI1_o815j8DErUkIPtuAHYsMf0CxbrcwXfFCF7AWg7pWPshijPiBk9ZhzsgB3ikxM2AQtQxniHQ70Hwv9H6sgSl989hQTFjfsjhu=w303-h400" width="303" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In fact the move to their own permanent store had been under consideration for some time. In 1945 the Canadian Tire Corporation bought several lots on Kent, Slater, and Laurier. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, March 8, 1945)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicIt9m82C7eT5KUlbHdkIpyuMly9eXSkoA7srU8FU7FhJruowrbjW0-ouPdYH1SMr2t9r4BojOtimEc-74yjIqkqahCBYusM_IcRa2ms93Ju65CH6WYh4C01ib4p9tE8T_jCX7K50oXqSoQvM9qaIFPUmT5GaoBUvnEsOs5JLcqCFZXQKywXT3frv9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5404" data-original-width="3726" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicIt9m82C7eT5KUlbHdkIpyuMly9eXSkoA7srU8FU7FhJruowrbjW0-ouPdYH1SMr2t9r4BojOtimEc-74yjIqkqahCBYusM_IcRa2ms93Ju65CH6WYh4C01ib4p9tE8T_jCX7K50oXqSoQvM9qaIFPUmT5GaoBUvnEsOs5JLcqCFZXQKywXT3frv9=w440-h640" width="440" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The new Canadian Tire at Laurier and Kent was officially opened by Acting Mayor Len Coulter on Saturday, July 5, 1952. To celebrate Spanish style gaucho hats fringed with little dangling pom-poms around the brim (for Mother, Dad, Sister, Brother) were FREE with every purchase over $1.00. The CTC store became a beloved institution for Centretown residents and downtown office workers alike - although they will not likely remember it as a one-storey store facing Laurier Avenue. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, July 4, 1952)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXJXEpLJwkEq4Mvg00OexaYKl93IJUO9H75rDPvQuJcKJXkBmNjX99gt0Jj7ZlxXfQPEijM_3toPC6W0wAtC8ShOVkrwhgGyEil2Z4ajQX9m1YD2ZwVbAePa_2syEbSM4Y31RhC0jOjEkEFknsKX8xMDE_18f83jC1FZEiCynNvpx9S76fQtC2cC_Y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2796" data-original-width="1719" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXJXEpLJwkEq4Mvg00OexaYKl93IJUO9H75rDPvQuJcKJXkBmNjX99gt0Jj7ZlxXfQPEijM_3toPC6W0wAtC8ShOVkrwhgGyEil2Z4ajQX9m1YD2ZwVbAePa_2syEbSM4Y31RhC0jOjEkEFknsKX8xMDE_18f83jC1FZEiCynNvpx9S76fQtC2cC_Y=w395-h640" width="395" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For reasons known only to the CTC it was built in two phases less than a year apart, with the second floor to come. However phase one did include two modern conveyer belts from the basement to the main floor to transfer large quantities of merchandise in a labour-saving mode. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 4, 1952)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFv1-Vk6hIlYGyxHWk0k2Fx8gRyBnjKxTu6FP1sSPGqV4zLCaV7sXCvkCUZ74UDcUXvuSiu7qhmoU6eKHHUVNb0iSCNwioGab_4tFUwXrK6XUE-u4dyeTDxWJZKhro5epX5H-CHV-ar1jVpVnlOGBtug03ZAN488_vufkHM6kfTtLOkWAmvelxwYo1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2878" data-original-width="3324" height="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFv1-Vk6hIlYGyxHWk0k2Fx8gRyBnjKxTu6FP1sSPGqV4zLCaV7sXCvkCUZ74UDcUXvuSiu7qhmoU6eKHHUVNb0iSCNwioGab_4tFUwXrK6XUE-u4dyeTDxWJZKhro5epX5H-CHV-ar1jVpVnlOGBtug03ZAN488_vufkHM6kfTtLOkWAmvelxwYo1=w640-h555" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The free Spanish style gaucho hats, handed out by 'lovely ladies', were a hit, and worn by practically all comers, including the Acting Mayor - lower left picture. The Opening Day crowds thronged all of the store's departments. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, July 10, 1952)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgt1fj8ZnEbs-WuAT9PPw5EgYuOq4FuD251p53ky3PpLoCidI6KdTr4ZKurgKb9Wnij-xr1JmiSVSyMD7OPAy069PQYjoZ1RzmzDF4NhcRwSMUAOd1B5zmgw7ptWrWqWuCSc8nNWLU8t8FLhAGgpqCqwK_HQF15kGdMiWDvwLHo-JiVhpr_4TlrQ8et" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="7428" data-original-width="5017" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgt1fj8ZnEbs-WuAT9PPw5EgYuOq4FuD251p53ky3PpLoCidI6KdTr4ZKurgKb9Wnij-xr1JmiSVSyMD7OPAy069PQYjoZ1RzmzDF4NhcRwSMUAOd1B5zmgw7ptWrWqWuCSc8nNWLU8t8FLhAGgpqCqwK_HQF15kGdMiWDvwLHo-JiVhpr_4TlrQ8et=w432-h640" width="432" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The copy in the advertising surrounding the July 1952 opening had completely muddled the history of the store and the chronology of its locations, but by the time that the second floor expansion was ready the CTC correctly remembered that it had been in business in Ottawa for 18 years, starting in a 1,000 square foot store in 1935 although not always under the Canadian Tire brand. Certainly the 'familiar sign' was only present for about 13 years or so, and its role in the whole Canadian Tire saga turned out to be notorious. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 23, 1953)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQKu4wWO_47wwT_nGl-tF5B1EJQvv8Gfb4F2BAmBMhZGencn1J9736YVp_jltZ4jPIpKND6-euM-tzg_F5VcJltXmcFH7qzjcG_juhZ9klsF40mc0KoJwdb5cAyWdAzm_QIOB7RIb7nIVs47zgeT-I0cuKPZiD0fdo2meQNhzf5mGitGSeZydlhHgL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1026" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQKu4wWO_47wwT_nGl-tF5B1EJQvv8Gfb4F2BAmBMhZGencn1J9736YVp_jltZ4jPIpKND6-euM-tzg_F5VcJltXmcFH7qzjcG_juhZ9klsF40mc0KoJwdb5cAyWdAzm_QIOB7RIb7nIVs47zgeT-I0cuKPZiD0fdo2meQNhzf5mGitGSeZydlhHgL=w640-h438" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Many happy memories of accumulating wads of Canadian Tire money after cruising the crammed tools, sports, hardware, housewares, and miscellany sections of this store. I can even remember the conveyor belts. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Flickr)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFTEtBlF-f0E926oseWnz5R_QUbrtCuqApgEe6GKLC_F9H2TJ3ZCqWGpT_TzVbo5zKnzvsLx9A8PzdD9maTBA-C4WsS36ui79KvDKiNABk-XkaI7cg8F1m4JQR2_Q-rPUvFQM1zubIDFWnHwVqy-7kqypVI35M-R48408PLSnRam-M8XcTke83Sd7S" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="965" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFTEtBlF-f0E926oseWnz5R_QUbrtCuqApgEe6GKLC_F9H2TJ3ZCqWGpT_TzVbo5zKnzvsLx9A8PzdD9maTBA-C4WsS36ui79KvDKiNABk-XkaI7cg8F1m4JQR2_Q-rPUvFQM1zubIDFWnHwVqy-7kqypVI35M-R48408PLSnRam-M8XcTke83Sd7S=w640-h464" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In their proportions and materials the early 1950s certainly had a fixed style for its commercial buildings. The new Brennan and the CTC Associate Store could be kissing cousins. In the 70s and 80s many prominent architectural firms like Murray and Murray located their offices here - perhaps because of the abundance of natural light.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVZrRwQ0v5kxOClN8XT4JdxNrnnDpSffPy0F8n-FlK1zAb2af9YlYBA6LeP6s1sqExq4-yGHK3ymyZIi-p6GszkovGFKj4zKTUlAh9GxDuOkAs3LyaZtnaD7zNOLXVpMDvZHtdNuP5d1ckXmBduNYPOMJD5qIlYfqh6WnHxBwtK8ljXfz0__4tOhxN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3261" data-original-width="4850" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVZrRwQ0v5kxOClN8XT4JdxNrnnDpSffPy0F8n-FlK1zAb2af9YlYBA6LeP6s1sqExq4-yGHK3ymyZIi-p6GszkovGFKj4zKTUlAh9GxDuOkAs3LyaZtnaD7zNOLXVpMDvZHtdNuP5d1ckXmBduNYPOMJD5qIlYfqh6WnHxBwtK8ljXfz0__4tOhxN=w640-h430" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">'The spacious offices are finished in eye-easy green and wood trim. The latest designs in fluorescent lighting illuminate the building throughout.'</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3gptk5Syhq-GD4pvpiaA_RB83qRuLHVxu9zjxLZCmVHodSZbygQcbfw4lcjv4S-D7DdEhLPGNvhiKGlDjD-RzRpRjfohUvEB20FBx80A-eGObQbjoaD-8WQoCmfr4iZsRJaS0MV-9P3qq8x8PZk2yTXboy225Xr-Wta3qAbnQHlzEG2Yqr2mGaWDS" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="6862" data-original-width="5074" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3gptk5Syhq-GD4pvpiaA_RB83qRuLHVxu9zjxLZCmVHodSZbygQcbfw4lcjv4S-D7DdEhLPGNvhiKGlDjD-RzRpRjfohUvEB20FBx80A-eGObQbjoaD-8WQoCmfr4iZsRJaS0MV-9P3qq8x8PZk2yTXboy225Xr-Wta3qAbnQHlzEG2Yqr2mGaWDS=w472-h640" width="472" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Like so many local projects constructed around 1950 the Brennan Company believed that they were furthering 'the Greber plan for the beautification of Ottawa' by helping the cause considerably with their 'fine, new office building'. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 14, 1951)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiesMJs3Oo27bBldc2WB5X7aIlQTN7htny5FDxEGRU3HTzmRtIqlebcvojJYxycWSRVyY7-w8Alv-jjYn3KoPevjkCJPvQ7LnttzWv7-OP0Ic8iKSJtTr0G_zoP2IyJ7Kp0dF7f-wNEpvbj5gmsHXlSUL0Zi-AUdXq3H5diksJzvUOXn3sis8qyGB1S" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="7117" data-original-width="5010" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiesMJs3Oo27bBldc2WB5X7aIlQTN7htny5FDxEGRU3HTzmRtIqlebcvojJYxycWSRVyY7-w8Alv-jjYn3KoPevjkCJPvQ7LnttzWv7-OP0Ic8iKSJtTr0G_zoP2IyJ7Kp0dF7f-wNEpvbj5gmsHXlSUL0Zi-AUdXq3H5diksJzvUOXn3sis8qyGB1S=w451-h640" width="451" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">United Refrigeration had said that there was only one working appliance left in their store after the fire of January 26, 1950 had destroyed the rest of their stock. Well maybe two - a demonstration slice of bread that had been left in one of the electric toasters was actually toasted by the heat of the fire.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Ottawa Citizen, January, 27, 1950)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiszt4U672k3qKrqgN5KoPNBHm-j3qEbHahyyRnBi5QTqRNnBNZ4re5kAeOf-wWfLYshR4V-j-fFAHKCvsjg6KOj3blHiRRmtgC4jt8ykZYn2V3-xgLojrkE5VraM9CsabjUUhF-Dl9FyMcojD_zRcOqpPIcDuYIXiLi5v3FswxBOqXrvS445QcI5Uu" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3400" data-original-width="4755" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiszt4U672k3qKrqgN5KoPNBHm-j3qEbHahyyRnBi5QTqRNnBNZ4re5kAeOf-wWfLYshR4V-j-fFAHKCvsjg6KOj3blHiRRmtgC4jt8ykZYn2V3-xgLojrkE5VraM9CsabjUUhF-Dl9FyMcojD_zRcOqpPIcDuYIXiLi5v3FswxBOqXrvS445QcI5Uu=w640-h458" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They would return bigger and better than ever, tripling the size of their former store by taking up most of the commercial street frontage in the new Brennan Building. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 14, 1951)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnU0mNXA3W-KRvl3wS7GEZ0Ztppw_FeZ9h5PtTzPHOnuE-iG9MwatFtHTImLfkn3TZPG88Xalr0FgFa61NuIO_g2uJEsEwBP5LuAZpbMKz3zJp2nPhBLTiWlgySRESMbwhUfCY1wf4fGfWMGQzNds393Hhey_9IaIqpl02IXe-3ZY0rp4M5BECT_nM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2146" data-original-width="2941" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnU0mNXA3W-KRvl3wS7GEZ0Ztppw_FeZ9h5PtTzPHOnuE-iG9MwatFtHTImLfkn3TZPG88Xalr0FgFa61NuIO_g2uJEsEwBP5LuAZpbMKz3zJp2nPhBLTiWlgySRESMbwhUfCY1wf4fGfWMGQzNds393Hhey_9IaIqpl02IXe-3ZY0rp4M5BECT_nM=w640-h466" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">These Kelvinator refrigerators were not cheap. For example Model RF-16, with extra roomy shelves, plus two big 12 quart crispers and the famous Kelvinator Polarsphere Unit cost almost $400.00 - which using a currency converter translates to $5,300.00 today. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 14, 1951)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisZ335H9T-JTGEthuxHmiTIUfHdC4vAUwydx5bGLhjDf8ZT0ioiqqAxKoe8rUZ3Ba_LyPRRV3yp6Wvkldvhlmr5-eNhkOBsqw2PwzsO0KK32OjNrRlI9Po4tc1QIeTdaWUmHoJ-aSG_XDEB_Ya_2qXKiCNN24jWxSVBaelR-8VxGC4GpNvF1lDKM3X" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2083" data-original-width="4098" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisZ335H9T-JTGEthuxHmiTIUfHdC4vAUwydx5bGLhjDf8ZT0ioiqqAxKoe8rUZ3Ba_LyPRRV3yp6Wvkldvhlmr5-eNhkOBsqw2PwzsO0KK32OjNrRlI9Po4tc1QIeTdaWUmHoJ-aSG_XDEB_Ya_2qXKiCNN24jWxSVBaelR-8VxGC4GpNvF1lDKM3X=w640-h326" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">United Refrigeration Sales and Service Limited occupied a double width storefront with recessed entrance in Brennan No.2, which would later be subdivided. The freestanding column in the middle suggests one of the steel beans used in the building's frame.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Ottawa Citizen, April 14, 1951)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDBH0COb2ZwPgCG9Rg9SoSV8Hedo4FCIB4bJRFSJ74h7p9M9_K0JCkPbZRExvCEro_CRrof1jMmPhYT3PyUAGsOBv7S75HPGBnltGnYvt-fidnw5by8S9dN6M92qIbkPQ9MsbcVcU1ABMFGFme5BMjgKDN9p0xWGjKCD4XQUIvNtyqp7gBA-HYYsXl" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDBH0COb2ZwPgCG9Rg9SoSV8Hedo4FCIB4bJRFSJ74h7p9M9_K0JCkPbZRExvCEro_CRrof1jMmPhYT3PyUAGsOBv7S75HPGBnltGnYvt-fidnw5by8S9dN6M92qIbkPQ9MsbcVcU1ABMFGFme5BMjgKDN9p0xWGjKCD4XQUIvNtyqp7gBA-HYYsXl=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was enclosed in a fluted cladding, which has survived to this day. It was actually termed 'gleaming white Monel metal', a nickel alloy that contained some aluminum.</span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu_V-2ziGcgVs3-o-s3rQTH9t9kjdX6sQ904BKYi92m_OzgvxN54ZA43bgkKe7MIsodTIlZ8gDo2irgzrW9SW0c80cxuhUiiePpiXzOgFVThOAW5At4puhIE4tq00zYedbxqujpu_zGGiCwkKZA0B1ZwSsUeMdAJOOf1m5ma7dueoDG42oWbUFJrXn" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1568" data-original-width="2320" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu_V-2ziGcgVs3-o-s3rQTH9t9kjdX6sQ904BKYi92m_OzgvxN54ZA43bgkKe7MIsodTIlZ8gDo2irgzrW9SW0c80cxuhUiiePpiXzOgFVThOAW5At4puhIE4tq00zYedbxqujpu_zGGiCwkKZA0B1ZwSsUeMdAJOOf1m5ma7dueoDG42oWbUFJrXn=w400-h270" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Some of it retains the original sheen.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqVpQpcOqzf0TcVFxV8HVWPFk2D1UsswCa6IdQPVhxlnQnLJMLhiG_WAXMEBvBZyJ0VwPc84yuFAelFSECLJl7xw-H2KGkWrnk9iIsqA1sW2IUHTl1PmjI0a9jZ4Jf7GttR_lcdBQ7F4k4PgZow4QGUm7yedZCqs6GMeY6fVyDh5jRYwTGe6MjIdZf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2637" data-original-width="3710" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqVpQpcOqzf0TcVFxV8HVWPFk2D1UsswCa6IdQPVhxlnQnLJMLhiG_WAXMEBvBZyJ0VwPc84yuFAelFSECLJl7xw-H2KGkWrnk9iIsqA1sW2IUHTl1PmjI0a9jZ4Jf7GttR_lcdBQ7F4k4PgZow4QGUm7yedZCqs6GMeY6fVyDh5jRYwTGe6MjIdZf=w640-h454" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The limestone surround around the entrance to the offices above and terrazzo style panels under the plate glass windows are two of the other surviving storefront elements.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqfcSo6CbwMt42RAC6V9xBIOmlCPMzBVUTW-fk1VfAqwYIF_fSSFBalukhlMUbglQ34-4i3jsHkiaAJFGJUr_VivH_KzBYHNfSiVyoNCTtLfT3-QYRwIC5ZH1iweNswo5Ejxj94nyAOVa4-CRdXG1wxteLFzUy-qMItC4MFcdHVm7obVY6iwuo4MHF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="3150" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqfcSo6CbwMt42RAC6V9xBIOmlCPMzBVUTW-fk1VfAqwYIF_fSSFBalukhlMUbglQ34-4i3jsHkiaAJFGJUr_VivH_KzBYHNfSiVyoNCTtLfT3-QYRwIC5ZH1iweNswo5Ejxj94nyAOVa4-CRdXG1wxteLFzUy-qMItC4MFcdHVm7obVY6iwuo4MHF=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Almost four decades after the Brennan Building blew up this block was revisited by another petrochemical explosion of biblical proportions. This time it would be on the east side of the street, in a venerable two-storey Arts-and-Crafts-style row with Bond's Decor Ltd., and Randall's Paints on the ground floor and the Capital Bowing Alley (think vast expanses of hardwood lanes) above. Bond's specialized in unpainted wood furniture that was bone dry, ready to be coated with their supply of lacquer and epoxy finishes. Randall's of course still had plenty of oil-based paints and varnishes. Quite a recipe...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5U8ErEqs4_C-cFtu2RUmWHo7_zKfLbaz2FiOpgEUKYU0M_YUj_T5jmEldamOxEXSlnyuzv2GzmHgNMT7aR51Dalr5nyQKfqI2616gHs94010lypNM9DNaKjvA97aHJXBwF-fqo-UNXUY3MQ8nJ3D4kSfowfaOL0Uardukh6ahomIcUlua4Z4HJXZ9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2471" data-original-width="3977" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5U8ErEqs4_C-cFtu2RUmWHo7_zKfLbaz2FiOpgEUKYU0M_YUj_T5jmEldamOxEXSlnyuzv2GzmHgNMT7aR51Dalr5nyQKfqI2616gHs94010lypNM9DNaKjvA97aHJXBwF-fqo-UNXUY3MQ8nJ3D4kSfowfaOL0Uardukh6ahomIcUlua4Z4HJXZ9=w640-h398" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A fire broke out and quickly spread through the building on Monday, April 20, 1987. There was an eye-witness to the initial moments of the outbreak. 'A customer in Bond's said she smelled a strong odor of chemicals before a huge ball of black smoke whooshed by her. "It lifted my hair and my skirt, Agnes McIntosh said. "It was kind of a poof, bang and this tremendous cloud of black smoke came out right to me. Then two men, staff at the store came running out of the back and passed me. Getting out of there was all I could think of." Needless to say these highly flammable businesses were quickly engulfed and a heavy cloud of yellow and grey smoke soon blanketed much of the downtown.' </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 1987)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhudM3uh00Y-_mdDVn2E5hZ1BSvPEApfQgVV6jDtDXTRheZG_DCeEYbxIjj-lermZyhC1QXQjP9UHuiRybwsYMEx5ol2jJILSW0H5aVTC3kyS4AMHWdEwbYOOaNjjWnG5eo24RC8zUszGX1f4e__g-wgPZfEVogYANzNfc-KdQOkM1TY2M2JJZRKN80" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4814" data-original-width="4021" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhudM3uh00Y-_mdDVn2E5hZ1BSvPEApfQgVV6jDtDXTRheZG_DCeEYbxIjj-lermZyhC1QXQjP9UHuiRybwsYMEx5ol2jJILSW0H5aVTC3kyS4AMHWdEwbYOOaNjjWnG5eo24RC8zUszGX1f4e__g-wgPZfEVogYANzNfc-KdQOkM1TY2M2JJZRKN80=w533-h640" width="533" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: left;">This amazing news photo was taken inside what remained of the building which was reduced to a crumbling shell. The interior and all of its contents were simply obliterated by the heat. Later Chief Fire Inspector Bob Crothers speculated that it might have been caused by a cigarette butt being tossed into the venting chimney of Bond's epoxy spray booth. (</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><i>Ottawa Citizen, April 22, 1987)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyyox0hXkaCwj0OtECIZLQQNi8r-CmXf5uQJdHyktrjCcEt8lRk27lHRsNeaEBywo9gaOYm4aYi1TuMRLo9Pj7n_W253uwohOdZVokcQw4wBA63IJEggEQLDVTOpGK8wkWGk15O67sbtrxgsrUGXXizsqmU6GiQuohzIjdPOZdSsgiLQ-g-pUvZB4R" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3025" data-original-width="4283" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyyox0hXkaCwj0OtECIZLQQNi8r-CmXf5uQJdHyktrjCcEt8lRk27lHRsNeaEBywo9gaOYm4aYi1TuMRLo9Pj7n_W253uwohOdZVokcQw4wBA63IJEggEQLDVTOpGK8wkWGk15O67sbtrxgsrUGXXizsqmU6GiQuohzIjdPOZdSsgiLQ-g-pUvZB4R=w640-h452" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">But on a more personal note - a lower floor of the Brennan Building witnessed an explosion of a different kind on Monday, November 8, 1982 when Mrs. Holmes edged out a long time incumbent to become the new Alderman for Wellington Ward which encompassed most of Centretown. Her opponent blamed his loss on the 'feminist vote'. With the exception of a brief interregnum she served continually until 2014. The victory celebrations pictured above took place in busy if slightly down at heel campaign rooms located in the Brennan, where her signs were printed, canvassers trained and rallied, strategies hotly debated, phone banks rang out, and a constant supply of bad coffee and cheap sugary cookies was served up. I know because I was one of the campaign managers. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, November 9, 1982)</i></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-52179251418896403962023-05-19T07:26:00.000-07:002023-05-19T07:26:03.522-07:00JOHN PRITCHARD MACLAREN, ARCHITECT (1865-1951): FORTY YEARS OF STYLISH VARIETY<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0a2gYt55DcDp1AiZhfS01oUmMqm3ZA_EnMebOgurhvfpDHOS8GhtsHupCaG41WcaVFvyOpWNcFt31L0meaJNtbNkeXV63vCQ0frVbkoXBMiTCLVLK17h6QZM8cI89Mn9Sv9sAS1uidYNR6J6wImqOB36D7bNCS4uILQgBmvAzyWHJxS2bi8beyPal" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3133" data-original-width="4662" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0a2gYt55DcDp1AiZhfS01oUmMqm3ZA_EnMebOgurhvfpDHOS8GhtsHupCaG41WcaVFvyOpWNcFt31L0meaJNtbNkeXV63vCQ0frVbkoXBMiTCLVLK17h6QZM8cI89Mn9Sv9sAS1uidYNR6J6wImqOB36D7bNCS4uILQgBmvAzyWHJxS2bi8beyPal=w640-h430" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Architect John Pritchard MacLaren was part of a wealthy family active in lumbering, paper-making, hydro-generation and real estate. MacLaren Street is named after them. He produced a steady stream of capably handled but not ground-breaking buildings in a variety of styles. In a career of forty years he designed numerous churches, several banks, some interesting houses, two library branches, a movie theatre, a private school for girls, auto garages, showrooms, and a warehouse.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Born in 1865 to Alexander MacLaren and Ann Pritchard in Wakefield, Quebec (think of that town's historic MacLaren Mill) he practised briefly in Brantford, Ontario before moving to Buckingham, Quebec, the location of MacLaren-owned paper mill where he lived for a few years before taking up perman</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">ent residence in Ottawa in December 1898, opening a practice under his own name. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhegbGiQ-kLm6IP_3jX-_bnFxEiNdq0zlzHSXon15Yv8SPv4ckzs3Br--DOhkMawzP1k5ctRUIelO1V8idwVEJ9P7-01_TbY9C2mTa8VD0xr56vOsmgxDy-hvZdPuUkJL22TfQHWrMclG9RDsscm0STCxmiSOkFkuBrbvxo03O4OgZMLLWaLlFXbmUh" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img alt="" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhegbGiQ-kLm6IP_3jX-_bnFxEiNdq0zlzHSXon15Yv8SPv4ckzs3Br--DOhkMawzP1k5ctRUIelO1V8idwVEJ9P7-01_TbY9C2mTa8VD0xr56vOsmgxDy-hvZdPuUkJL22TfQHWrMclG9RDsscm0STCxmiSOkFkuBrbvxo03O4OgZMLLWaLlFXbmUh=w632-h640" width="632" /></a><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">From the </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Ottawa Citizen</i> of July 10, 1900: "</span><span style="font-family: arial;">The congregation of the Erskine Presbyterian Church met last night in the Concession Street Mission Hall and finally decided that a new church should be built adjacent to the hall.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This lot is 125 feet by 110 feet in size. It belongs to what is known as the MacLaren property, which is owned by a syndicate of local gentlemen.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It is situated on the east side of Concession, between MacLaren and Gilmour Streets.” </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Google Streetview)</i></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5xAiZFJroSJOwBOzFdc5GD4rKDe4bhXfxCEbex42Zr8dgg-N43vqO69XmZw2wQVXrIhXq1n8MH5rdwE9JConOoQGQOsrgolPBLYa2wfvJ4kuMPUtw7qsLhoLtTeeEGwQ5VUcYu4et_h6hjKJm1I7JxOp2f-KtCz6rZlLzgN7-6sa_19QXw0vcJHJQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1176" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5xAiZFJroSJOwBOzFdc5GD4rKDe4bhXfxCEbex42Zr8dgg-N43vqO69XmZw2wQVXrIhXq1n8MH5rdwE9JConOoQGQOsrgolPBLYa2wfvJ4kuMPUtw7qsLhoLtTeeEGwQ5VUcYu4et_h6hjKJm1I7JxOp2f-KtCz6rZlLzgN7-6sa_19QXw0vcJHJQ=w640-h522" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The first Erskine Presbyterian Church had been built in Rochesterville which was renamed Dalhousie Ward when the area west of Concession Street (later Bronson) was annexed by the City of Ottawa. After their church was destroyed by the Great Fire of April 26, 1900 the District Presbytery which governed church real estate matters concurred that a new location should be found, provided that it be situated no further east than Bell street. They later agreed to a site a little further east, at Concession and MacLaren Streets - probably because the MacLaren land syndicate had been instrumental in selling them the property. Was it purely fortuitous that J.P. MacLaren was to be hired as the architect - the first job for his new practice? Erskine's cornerstone was laid on July 10, 1901 - a year plus a day after the decision had been taken to build here.</span><i> (Ottawa Journal, July 10, 1901)</i></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjo4iv1JRhJnt57o0A5bEC1Uv2ChvlTE4D7gflG1PqciZ2AZwyHauTGVJ7gNXTox8ieuO-acxmxtDRK8-4PKkwDiCGBpDxZe1ycfL0uQrT_GdNKdE5B-91kAoBqEm4LmMimg8_COczB8u7zOXFSeSXBQ6Dewrk-8E6z_4zp2fwLmceI1CktFaCePsEw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5404" data-original-width="3161" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjo4iv1JRhJnt57o0A5bEC1Uv2ChvlTE4D7gflG1PqciZ2AZwyHauTGVJ7gNXTox8ieuO-acxmxtDRK8-4PKkwDiCGBpDxZe1ycfL0uQrT_GdNKdE5B-91kAoBqEm4LmMimg8_COczB8u7zOXFSeSXBQ6Dewrk-8E6z_4zp2fwLmceI1CktFaCePsEw=w373-h640" width="373" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Erskine would remain happily ensconced in this little building for five years, by which point the congregation had secured the funds sufficient to lash out on a much larger structure on the lot adjacent, with J.P. Pritchard again as their choice of architect. This was a common arrangement when these churches grew by degrees the old building would be converted into their Sunday School hall. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, February 24, 1906)</i></span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: start;"><i> </i></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_wnVl_VlKfjGCeI6NeLa8gyKwlEBYXqtjKjaBYeo9xYaueB3pLqTGiGzU0IwtQ7uet0OO-QrQw8pzoCp2RatNhUOki0coV1A1s45gqa_3vyZrS9Bw8X0QEr7BTDg9zSk3-p9YFbuwZgMepJqZyzIstvMMvgA5G93Vmmc5OGnKrcfYYoI7wvqdpBsT" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="1108" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_wnVl_VlKfjGCeI6NeLa8gyKwlEBYXqtjKjaBYeo9xYaueB3pLqTGiGzU0IwtQ7uet0OO-QrQw8pzoCp2RatNhUOki0coV1A1s45gqa_3vyZrS9Bw8X0QEr7BTDg9zSk3-p9YFbuwZgMepJqZyzIstvMMvgA5G93Vmmc5OGnKrcfYYoI7wvqdpBsT=w640-h372" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">The new Erskine Church had a magnificent interior that seated 1,600 worshippers in tiered wooden galleries, lit by large windows. The corner tower was capped by a very tall, tapering steeple that would make it a neighbourhood landmark forevermore. When the congregation had dwindled to unsustainable numbers Erskine was sold to the evangelical Peace Tower Church, which until then had been meeting in a warehouse space off Kirkwood Avenue, building </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">up its own funds so that it could make the leap into </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">this inner-city historic pile. </span><i>(Google Streetview)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDpdZzaUMBO1eiyIrcYDecbyHc5A1gs2iBp2g45eM-Us0IK6UASA9gdfIjlrV36x6-E68hNpgOthY9reXNQgtMqrmQtilV4yuSd0MpPQeFglObgrJq5iNZuWt-1-BPC7M5NpAahrSkt0eC2M0QEZ80SxtFFkC3PKkI2RxELSaXF-ZFIom0HcZ7zKYM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5418" data-original-width="3329" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDpdZzaUMBO1eiyIrcYDecbyHc5A1gs2iBp2g45eM-Us0IK6UASA9gdfIjlrV36x6-E68hNpgOthY9reXNQgtMqrmQtilV4yuSd0MpPQeFglObgrJq5iNZuWt-1-BPC7M5NpAahrSkt0eC2M0QEZ80SxtFFkC3PKkI2RxELSaXF-ZFIom0HcZ7zKYM=w392-h640" width="392" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;">No image for this building but it deserves a mention. International Harvester was seen as a union-busting tariff-dodging combine of American agricultural implement giants like McCormick and Deering when it decided to form a shell company, come to this country in 1903 and locate its Canadian head office in Ottawa to be housed in a large building being constructed for them on Sparks Street - with MacLaren as architect. From a brief notice in the </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;">Ottawa Journal</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;"> dated</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;">November 13, 1903 it was noted that: “CONTRACT AWARDED - Alderman C.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hopewell was to-day awarded the contract for the carpentry work in the new International Harvester Co. building on Sparks Street. The work is being rushed forward as quickly as possible.” At the time it wasn’t at all unusual for city politicians to be dabbling in the contracting business while serving on Council. In fact Hopewell would later become Mayor of Ottawa, but ended his life when a string of business deals went bad.</span><i> (Ottawa Journal, October 30, 1903)</i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8x4v289Ag4ESeD70A93FyaFyJ8_IB2eadp_1rpZ2TmL5pnBsM2J2_13KznsnNJT5Tt1mx7276t8AIsIv-cfxTxvqp2oeMRO2j2aqImBs8ZpqDuYngwbo1JW3A1GPl4HNIAN1faGvCMHPa6_phb_BgbK9STAwE01BAddrf4lfICYV7DD2Xxa35LMw8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1211" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8x4v289Ag4ESeD70A93FyaFyJ8_IB2eadp_1rpZ2TmL5pnBsM2J2_13KznsnNJT5Tt1mx7276t8AIsIv-cfxTxvqp2oeMRO2j2aqImBs8ZpqDuYngwbo1JW3A1GPl4HNIAN1faGvCMHPa6_phb_BgbK9STAwE01BAddrf4lfICYV7DD2Xxa35LMw8=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Until its annexation in 1885 the area due south of the city limits at Gladstone Avenue had been known as the Village of Stewarton in honour of the pioneering family that had settled there. But the name persisted and was still in use in 1906 when J. P.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>MacLaren designed what was perhaps his most full-blooded Gothic Revival church - the Stewarton Presbyterian Church at Bank and Argyle. It replaced their much more modest building on the same site which had been built a few years earlier.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLH2ZIzwYIiVXZYINJgmIRSvZimeLLo-Vgx_ovHM3XcBQZvk6iRXpQ3o6J1Np1SjI9DaDTcFkMRLNtYBx5IT0k41kiHE446ZGmrJUUzjB2egMbu7YUgq26ZjKyhWN5CaMx6kC-AWcoTybfMKc1V-Q7hY8X3IhZCly4s3yYwDnr3bYC6LRGILvpf56L" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5350" data-original-width="4559" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLH2ZIzwYIiVXZYINJgmIRSvZimeLLo-Vgx_ovHM3XcBQZvk6iRXpQ3o6J1Np1SjI9DaDTcFkMRLNtYBx5IT0k41kiHE446ZGmrJUUzjB2egMbu7YUgq26ZjKyhWN5CaMx6kC-AWcoTybfMKc1V-Q7hY8X3IhZCly4s3yYwDnr3bYC6LRGILvpf56L=w547-h640" width="547" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For this church, clad in boulder-faced Gloucester limestone, MacLaren must have taken some relish in designing the crenellated battlements atop the two towers flanking the principle entrance - one square and mighty, the other more svelte and octagonal, sporting a turret. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 1906</i></span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: start;"><i>) </i></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_HIkwGeuq-ZX_bMM_LG9WGUcdkd3_S5Ag4FNHlDwDuo9WjpSqxUW1lCOrn3gJHYv3EQBwXgjScQfIvRQkKBBznlVkw4OOiUQCZrN1V11iJRyBIzChzRN57k_JOL7MfYEinHef61qKw0bkW_z1e2bRv9mGSvohJE4xi_upXv0tnZGrkZOlB335CMa9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_HIkwGeuq-ZX_bMM_LG9WGUcdkd3_S5Ag4FNHlDwDuo9WjpSqxUW1lCOrn3gJHYv3EQBwXgjScQfIvRQkKBBznlVkw4OOiUQCZrN1V11iJRyBIzChzRN57k_JOL7MfYEinHef61qKw0bkW_z1e2bRv9mGSvohJE4xi_upXv0tnZGrkZOlB335CMa9=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The sanctuary which seats more than a thousand, many in cast-iron supported balconies on three sides, is a vast airy space.</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Centretown United Church) </i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHVbSVUoz3YiovtDV0c1tJmHpe3ZOxkYtA5EXHFwROzssq-5Wk-gyxZZHW7N4ucpCv-IrkBIgpAo3QfLYrSA2KF7bnrMzyJOvpcZcBk1SDnrbU4nZ0sbaFgpfiCSCThPHJkT2Qc14w2thJJecQT8ZVGbgYSg_hZxItwxRxX0rMHlCjSHc8aP6w4BG4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3337" data-original-width="5350" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHVbSVUoz3YiovtDV0c1tJmHpe3ZOxkYtA5EXHFwROzssq-5Wk-gyxZZHW7N4ucpCv-IrkBIgpAo3QfLYrSA2KF7bnrMzyJOvpcZcBk1SDnrbU4nZ0sbaFgpfiCSCThPHJkT2Qc14w2thJJecQT8ZVGbgYSg_hZxItwxRxX0rMHlCjSHc8aP6w4BG4=w400-h250" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A semi-circular platform for the alter, raised dais, fonts, choir and organ is thrust forward out onto the church's floor. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Plan published in Ottawa Journal, April 23, 1906)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMsdtfJZIEJ2luVdlEe106jPmvzixtsoj6PGbk5DvUUApwuexT0kcVBzns8ngikSuyE6PZeOX3U7TcZLpoQt8mXL4WUMs21MRuZnsBaiBcgOezemwPM36mTNf2Pq2PQRWsBfDXCDKsb92xv0_9HPeLdr3w8J4wm-xiD4EZCSZyDmSCcxu0aUqrfcJ_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMsdtfJZIEJ2luVdlEe106jPmvzixtsoj6PGbk5DvUUApwuexT0kcVBzns8ngikSuyE6PZeOX3U7TcZLpoQt8mXL4WUMs21MRuZnsBaiBcgOezemwPM36mTNf2Pq2PQRWsBfDXCDKsb92xv0_9HPeLdr3w8J4wm-xiD4EZCSZyDmSCcxu0aUqrfcJ_=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It makes this church, which has excellent sight-lines and acoustics, especially well-suited to host concerts. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Centretown United Church)</i></span></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQQalgU9_NvEaXKQCTXpmPmR7yzsSQGjlhOLhXCWi0q2ijoo9nLx4sy5TUD0Z6_53busrC_4173VWh5OEwgRa5hZrbKOwI9mANQt4LyH_AM36Xn6-G97jgsY5T3nEj4b-umnUYkguLmLSFNoqiNQn-sKH9eYOvHLn_tiUzrt4siSUmeSsWiRVAamTl" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="901" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQQalgU9_NvEaXKQCTXpmPmR7yzsSQGjlhOLhXCWi0q2ijoo9nLx4sy5TUD0Z6_53busrC_4173VWh5OEwgRa5hZrbKOwI9mANQt4LyH_AM36Xn6-G97jgsY5T3nEj4b-umnUYkguLmLSFNoqiNQn-sKH9eYOvHLn_tiUzrt4siSUmeSsWiRVAamTl=w640-h600" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In 1961, by which time it was the Stewarton United Church, the congregation voted to merge with the struggling McLeod United (formerly Methodist) Church which was also on Bank Street a block north to become the McLeod-Stewarton United Church. When that wound up a few years ago it became the Centretown United Church, which itself is an amalgamation of three other churches. This cornerstone is a newish replacement for the original which had been marked by a bronze plaque that was stolen for scrap. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg80IJC3XxmoL2LHzvfpl28zW2cX9yR0lmPnhfCezSrDppLLPZXZNDyNvrF-Og5f267aoXnDDl5okYdHrQEOViYWZCVUuEOCNTokcMJeP8CQIGpZsm31JBpn0SHJIyNNPhAaTD-3kG_WFbeWOOjkGau8Mdp6uLWMAmsqLRLdjdzna-u9GkSBSo5-b-e" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="801" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg80IJC3XxmoL2LHzvfpl28zW2cX9yR0lmPnhfCezSrDppLLPZXZNDyNvrF-Og5f267aoXnDDl5okYdHrQEOViYWZCVUuEOCNTokcMJeP8CQIGpZsm31JBpn0SHJIyNNPhAaTD-3kG_WFbeWOOjkGau8Mdp6uLWMAmsqLRLdjdzna-u9GkSBSo5-b-e=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">MacLaren’s ample 267 Somerset Street West home for Samuel Gamble (1909) was restrained and free of superfluous ornamentation save a noble front entranceway, a Queenston limestone surround with two simple Doric columns supporting a hooded canopy.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZpqd2OgAdWYu1hWkSVy9l4nEgjInDY14pG2JEWWMoIoMQt8-mgqYnxHUECjQkKER61MQFBF0otvx_VGaNvIn0pzyETXSSoevORlsxj16CVy0XeaR8zsZ3Vv0eywd3oYZ5cgf6PIPyuIfRBRx4rlmn-GCxYtnn9Dsuxox7fQZky_OBlGC9tq9v0_X-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="901" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZpqd2OgAdWYu1hWkSVy9l4nEgjInDY14pG2JEWWMoIoMQt8-mgqYnxHUECjQkKER61MQFBF0otvx_VGaNvIn0pzyETXSSoevORlsxj16CVy0XeaR8zsZ3Vv0eywd3oYZ5cgf6PIPyuIfRBRx4rlmn-GCxYtnn9Dsuxox7fQZky_OBlGC9tq9v0_X-=w640-h328" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The house was dated and monogrammed with the owner’s initials. Gamble was the managing director of Sparks Street’s carriage trade department store Murphy Gamble. In the 1990s the three historic houses (including Gamble’s) in this block were linked by discrete new infill to form the Abiwin Co-operative Housing Corporation (Anthony Leaning, Architect). </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMYx6_9zieT2Q4v8X6yj2cwGabCgUkgNefFKtiAB4rqLEAOxbwCYMPfT5FJoVFADT2ihRFMNyQd9u38sNbjqP3gmQjZtdEJqRvc0nSBXKvzAaivPrE2-XAAns_bo2y3tnpClj9mD-4GZbIEEerQ4FSCt-nCoVkVxuCfSlIidMoEtynXW6ET-vEAWM8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="886" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMYx6_9zieT2Q4v8X6yj2cwGabCgUkgNefFKtiAB4rqLEAOxbwCYMPfT5FJoVFADT2ihRFMNyQd9u38sNbjqP3gmQjZtdEJqRvc0nSBXKvzAaivPrE2-XAAns_bo2y3tnpClj9mD-4GZbIEEerQ4FSCt-nCoVkVxuCfSlIidMoEtynXW6ET-vEAWM8=w640-h462" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The William E. Matthews house on Clemow Avenue at Percy Street (1909) was designed with no particular style - MacLaren just provided a large family home with plenty of rooms and a front porch. It was one of the first houses to be built on the Ottawa Improvement Commission’s well landscaped upper-class Clemow. Today it is the Embassy of Lebanon. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Google Streetview) </i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjokQfIBaCosTFvvWTSfwLwttgy11c8SZNoZu3BPyac72EHH3ewqkhNiV4giIYPOv_vmWuFT7lAvRsz7WjlPjiQ8cnIiAPTXm_JvkLnMlxpglNqEnoyNMKKro6j4a3l5tRVPPI3vKrKeJt9PaA_AO4KFAbi9NKvyazGlwDA33OamFX5dosUeimveAib" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="960" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjokQfIBaCosTFvvWTSfwLwttgy11c8SZNoZu3BPyac72EHH3ewqkhNiV4giIYPOv_vmWuFT7lAvRsz7WjlPjiQ8cnIiAPTXm_JvkLnMlxpglNqEnoyNMKKro6j4a3l5tRVPPI3vKrKeJt9PaA_AO4KFAbi9NKvyazGlwDA33OamFX5dosUeimveAib=w640-h489" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Matthews was a successful pork packer and sausage maker with stores all over Ottawa and an abattoir in Hull. He was eventually bought out by Canada Packers. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC) </i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFH4VSSurPbHjyNg4Iz11IuzyCdsfa_nw1pC3sFl6UE1kth8MXyoyHSBa8SRg8frjrPfEh8IqBqi5p_8olLe2zW44sJ6P30M8HYHK4kbEieJjtF3msSK_8x3i6ihYHEtF3ukHQL-ENDxjYRvWjjuFtlMZSgFI0OHZBWnT8_04SjBnJICA8TnnYLuva" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="771" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFH4VSSurPbHjyNg4Iz11IuzyCdsfa_nw1pC3sFl6UE1kth8MXyoyHSBa8SRg8frjrPfEh8IqBqi5p_8olLe2zW44sJ6P30M8HYHK4kbEieJjtF3msSK_8x3i6ihYHEtF3ukHQL-ENDxjYRvWjjuFtlMZSgFI0OHZBWnT8_04SjBnJICA8TnnYLuva=w640-h458" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Bell Street Methodist Church on Arlington Avenue at Bell Street (1910) was built on a tight budget for a working class community. Even with the absence of expensive materials like dressed stone - except for some horizontal banding and the shallow foundation, MacLaren managed to achieve a powerful expression of the church’s volumes with large expanses of plain brick. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmgdBVtMNxoGLmHBP-zPaZnT2XMeiSbNOQwaosgJhYeptbrb2sac2yz0ZlzgLyl3iHcosHA1jzn8yjcse6nuCr7V_wrvj74f5I5nEyNjF51c_tl9k6sG8spqc_tUP4LXsIBW7nwldSBoE9wGDqIkcaFt5Qx0e1kWdaZ2YOYnvlDsHJryL-8i9r3Lf2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="843" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmgdBVtMNxoGLmHBP-zPaZnT2XMeiSbNOQwaosgJhYeptbrb2sac2yz0ZlzgLyl3iHcosHA1jzn8yjcse6nuCr7V_wrvj74f5I5nEyNjF51c_tl9k6sG8spqc_tUP4LXsIBW7nwldSBoE9wGDqIkcaFt5Qx0e1kWdaZ2YOYnvlDsHJryL-8i9r3Lf2=w640-h472" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For some time this has been the home of the Ottawa Korean Community Church, which is about to enter into a dramatic joint venture with a developer. The church is set to be incorporated into a large residential tower by NEUF Architects of Montreal, taking advantage of the church’s very big parking lot, with Bell St.’s church hall and offices to be demolished for additional footprint size. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2kXtPsqQFesss6jhSkfI8r5LivwZZrPdruA1RCRfMn0MJ2kt_Cwr4N1yssxxa1XTNgAFP8eDyfA0eFOs-rhtpNx3slnmRJ9KRhK1TA1PjoRc_lmf6oc0_dAefPgHT4hk464P4B67DuuC9rSTJsETY1HZh7iveG9kcR53zl5olhTleXrPEhs7AngOT" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="959" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2kXtPsqQFesss6jhSkfI8r5LivwZZrPdruA1RCRfMn0MJ2kt_Cwr4N1yssxxa1XTNgAFP8eDyfA0eFOs-rhtpNx3slnmRJ9KRhK1TA1PjoRc_lmf6oc0_dAefPgHT4hk464P4B67DuuC9rSTJsETY1HZh7iveG9kcR53zl5olhTleXrPEhs7AngOT=w640-h334" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">“NEW CHURCH IN WESTBORO - Plans Approved by Presbyterians for $11,000 Expenditure. Work of building will be started upon a new $11,000 Presbyterian Church in Westboro this summer. Mr. J. P. MacLaren is the architect and will have charge of the drafting of the new set of plans.” <i>(Ottawa Journal, March 27, 1913)</i>. The church was never quite finished, and this was accomplished in the mid-1950s after MacLaren's death with a new hall and entrance vestibule with a little spire animated with raised chevrons.</span></span></p></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4JrEPamqsJSRSEYNcTQR2v74jdcjrMCG3ISOUPRa4wXXWqKrgi0g9BtuXYG6j6E3NWzbkK9umqW1K_lWH3EhJ1MJM6O215ls2PpBq-hLpOD4Tt3LdfkrwDIh4yu7EKr56LyERuXfOYX6SRpiYbg7QoDz1wJoRdSnpiX85V21wSAXeIwuAcuG0SS22" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4JrEPamqsJSRSEYNcTQR2v74jdcjrMCG3ISOUPRa4wXXWqKrgi0g9BtuXYG6j6E3NWzbkK9umqW1K_lWH3EhJ1MJM6O215ls2PpBq-hLpOD4Tt3LdfkrwDIh4yu7EKr56LyERuXfOYX6SRpiYbg7QoDz1wJoRdSnpiX85V21wSAXeIwuAcuG0SS22=w323-h400" width="323" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For a hundred and ten years Metcalfe Street has been graced with a precious but incongruous little temple that looks like should be from another time and place. That it's raised high on a mound, reachable only by flights of stairs, and set off by a manicured lawn make MacLaren's First Church of Christ Scientist all the more rarefied. The pale creamy stone in a city of brick furthers this effect. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgN-wJaJn1ci_k0SlfhepuQA6EvMFJQKp9RoQQVMBFSFIaDtiApOtnc9nn_MiGQPz0SFNJt1wRikExfpiNlT1HjCDWSM4KlfI_un0Wl9YRw3nRlXEKzIDhrgcqSQuL_Z68omGBUh6oRLyA-ZJ4KdWEmSVFh6AJOERPfFcvPWCDTYqChy8NRvnDN2sdr" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4609" data-original-width="5206" height="567" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgN-wJaJn1ci_k0SlfhepuQA6EvMFJQKp9RoQQVMBFSFIaDtiApOtnc9nn_MiGQPz0SFNJt1wRikExfpiNlT1HjCDWSM4KlfI_un0Wl9YRw3nRlXEKzIDhrgcqSQuL_Z68omGBUh6oRLyA-ZJ4KdWEmSVFh6AJOERPfFcvPWCDTYqChy8NRvnDN2sdr=w640-h567" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">"The architect is Mr. J. P. Maclaren and it will be noticed that the design is strikingly different from any other church in the city. It is of Italian classic design, the same treatment being carried throughout the building." A quick Google search of Christian Science churches in North America will reveal that there are lots of them that look exactly like this, so I'm thinking that there must have been a standing style directive from the Mother Church in Boston, although that is a rather bizarre domed Byzantine confection. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 28, 1913)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEmfCbRr45VnkeClASZEUY0QgsOpDzEtHSoh4Yv4LW-jjMfJz3W74M51LK83mePsSV5aDBXQDUM6HtwAHNdfmvSn0CZE6yIPDbRJMuo2_NU161o_SMVnUvQr5VJqGwQQ5ALrLr9PuaIFm3CgCb0t239MSo0Dz7FswuUjiBXRT6SCgA1xwuCz0jFTy9" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="760" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEmfCbRr45VnkeClASZEUY0QgsOpDzEtHSoh4Yv4LW-jjMfJz3W74M51LK83mePsSV5aDBXQDUM6HtwAHNdfmvSn0CZE6yIPDbRJMuo2_NU161o_SMVnUvQr5VJqGwQQ5ALrLr9PuaIFm3CgCb0t239MSo0Dz7FswuUjiBXRT6SCgA1xwuCz0jFTy9=w400-h324" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Whatever the style mandate handed to MacLaren, he excelled at delivering these restful but at the same time energizing interior spaces, like the church's 750 seat auditorium, ideal for Christian Science's regular routine of weekly guest lectures. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgy5pCma8Zy2T7mquF3pp8tbIe-SEEEd6rf61DeFFgpvR-aUTQZFMF9waXiGbvSaDF8jKM_mug3M12OZOYtlFfCgRz1mfyADPV2BxF9FxI8GaOy_BrctRoNsA7-x7rnCKcRgIwkGTW55Ua1X8EjP3RNzCeth5JAduxHX3UbkcFrYMYKU0FNNetKIYW2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="760" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgy5pCma8Zy2T7mquF3pp8tbIe-SEEEd6rf61DeFFgpvR-aUTQZFMF9waXiGbvSaDF8jKM_mug3M12OZOYtlFfCgRz1mfyADPV2BxF9FxI8GaOy_BrctRoNsA7-x7rnCKcRgIwkGTW55Ua1X8EjP3RNzCeth5JAduxHX3UbkcFrYMYKU0FNNetKIYW2=w640-h500" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Building on unstable land underlain by a seam of Leda clay, the church soon experienced severe settlement problems, and the resulting repairs ended up costing almost as much as the building's original price tag.</span><i> (Photo: LAC)</i></div></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzDo20vEOtAnkdsdL5qA5eCgD6_ZjNHV_Mw0hVvqqPd95SkBaR1FGCslZoPVl8ZD6lN9QR5tt7WO9ek--Cxyzdd9iuCjxP9cFULpggUwm99SeqW6NodKwoL0HgWOPv6HCoIX0XCc9f23KaXzf3tFTINhbtIXSrv6hNwe3Rt5GMYNOxkSDDU4sz4ieB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzDo20vEOtAnkdsdL5qA5eCgD6_ZjNHV_Mw0hVvqqPd95SkBaR1FGCslZoPVl8ZD6lN9QR5tt7WO9ek--Cxyzdd9iuCjxP9cFULpggUwm99SeqW6NodKwoL0HgWOPv6HCoIX0XCc9f23KaXzf3tFTINhbtIXSrv6hNwe3Rt5GMYNOxkSDDU4sz4ieB=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Despite all of that this church is a trad oasis of balance and symmetry that never fails to inspire this weary passerby, and must rank as MacLaren's best. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Waymarking)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizxJK6xDqpVW4K0AI0l22qVeGqp8Nygiej4Hur-wsOL9S4CyghUCx-93x-wAMuOqLSFvuXAeomsa_JtzNyBcwoTzWlhVEJInvWSvKdR3aOLIXLHoHfYHUYoG-E69P270u8xsh5HdzhGQywZOHBs9AT74Ofsu8DCNydVskdWmGTRVN42GG2mBjvledl" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizxJK6xDqpVW4K0AI0l22qVeGqp8Nygiej4Hur-wsOL9S4CyghUCx-93x-wAMuOqLSFvuXAeomsa_JtzNyBcwoTzWlhVEJInvWSvKdR3aOLIXLHoHfYHUYoG-E69P270u8xsh5HdzhGQywZOHBs9AT74Ofsu8DCNydVskdWmGTRVN42GG2mBjvledl=w400-h248" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">With the demolition of its Main Branch on Metcalfe Street fifty years ago, the Ottawa Public Library’s West End Branch is the last Carnegie Library building in the city, a tight Georgian box. It was tendered on October 21, 1917 with plans available for inspection at the offices of Mr. J.P. MacLaren, 104 Sparks Street. With a growing collection of books at the West End Branch, the Chief Librarian authorized the construction of a rear addition for a stack room (also to be designed by MacLaren) on May 10, 1932 for $6,000. These library stacks are a largely a thing of the past, but they were multi-level freestanding structures with layers of steel shelves, often with glass block floors.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIs_gKHWx2f_SyqQFACBF-_9biEKW-0kPUkyxM25sNOCx8EhJqEgOxYi7Ley9cSm3nfCbV3OxgsflbBjnb4B7pOS7U45QQGlOlOqNoh87S0OdxPq-Ff1zoRiBhkv3Gf8GgaPw8nGyYr5CgSrZUiSq4OM4Sl-o7EtXu0dVFC2q7NJoK-hXUaX1775we" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="980" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIs_gKHWx2f_SyqQFACBF-_9biEKW-0kPUkyxM25sNOCx8EhJqEgOxYi7Ley9cSm3nfCbV3OxgsflbBjnb4B7pOS7U45QQGlOlOqNoh87S0OdxPq-Ff1zoRiBhkv3Gf8GgaPw8nGyYr5CgSrZUiSq4OM4Sl-o7EtXu0dVFC2q7NJoK-hXUaX1775we=w640-h366" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hintonburgh residents had been clamouring for an expansion of their slightly decrepit West End Branch and the OPL finally responded with this design by +VG Architects. It’s now bigger and brighter inside, but their glass ‘lantern’ reading room plastered on the front of the old building hasn’t done MacLaren’s design any favours. The branch has been renamed the Rosemount Branch in recognition of its street address.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: start;"><i>(Photo: Capital Currents)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjb8_4ONybjiH5t5JYz3iuKkll7Z_0ZUUiMyaT83Lpsdc6ivOXdmd9Ba_1XhZqcCfFyMfe0ZbIf_CFqQ8hnWw-xF9NBA10NCt_4ibeDA9RUWLiilahjLNDf5Odv94seVfiVlVzgKLSqz3uhVr4_ub4bnWashuFIo15uuV1cW23p4Ii9XELZk6u8aZ3x" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="1166" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjb8_4ONybjiH5t5JYz3iuKkll7Z_0ZUUiMyaT83Lpsdc6ivOXdmd9Ba_1XhZqcCfFyMfe0ZbIf_CFqQ8hnWw-xF9NBA10NCt_4ibeDA9RUWLiilahjLNDf5Odv94seVfiVlVzgKLSqz3uhVr4_ub4bnWashuFIo15uuV1cW23p4Ii9XELZk6u8aZ3x=w640-h256" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">J. P. MacLaren's 1921 house for Cedric C. Pearce at 7 Rockcliffe Way in Lindenlea has been modernized beyond recognition (far right). Here are its neighbours, designed around the same time in the style that was preferred for this planned subdivision, developed under the authority of the City of Ottawa. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Google Streetview)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghBvPxLv7ZJQGCuNDRz4KryBL01I65AkAlJLgxyyZarUWLuMYqpX7AuhJ-3WbBBOVUbczGOvyaC6rQfv57OA2S9oqYzCCXQxY1j_sg24QGhTmxsKz4EIYtT_qX4_SegkcngX5tOFHTua-f3gijVg8JjiGfMapTL7XtnSEF7ZwaIMJ7DDmZyHfT4LDB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2989" data-original-width="4954" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghBvPxLv7ZJQGCuNDRz4KryBL01I65AkAlJLgxyyZarUWLuMYqpX7AuhJ-3WbBBOVUbczGOvyaC6rQfv57OA2S9oqYzCCXQxY1j_sg24QGhTmxsKz4EIYtT_qX4_SegkcngX5tOFHTua-f3gijVg8JjiGfMapTL7XtnSEF7ZwaIMJ7DDmZyHfT4LDB=w640-h386" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">According to Martha Edmonds’ <i>History of the Village of</i> <i>Rockcliffe Park</i> (2005) when it was reconstructed in 1925 the Elmwood private school for girls on Buena Vista Road the plans included the incorporation of the Keefer family’s former farmhouse as part of the construction campaign. The school had been established ten years earlier, so the refurbishment and expansion project was seen as an anniversary project.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, November 16, 1925)</i></span></div></span></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcTJwbEGqHglWaKUAnyX0Q-gUhmzyJKFaoSOaat54IwbBQUKMbrVi3nZA5j-VCwjUtu2E9-cyUFcSy7gxtgkhn1nEsOLeiD__99a5rLtCaI5WVQrFEhasMOWQUwG5TXl271EIMkJWmLtatVu7o5vp2lGKw4nxacPWNFauRrf1YjjawurrJm6BbkAIk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4390" data-original-width="4954" height="567" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcTJwbEGqHglWaKUAnyX0Q-gUhmzyJKFaoSOaat54IwbBQUKMbrVi3nZA5j-VCwjUtu2E9-cyUFcSy7gxtgkhn1nEsOLeiD__99a5rLtCaI5WVQrFEhasMOWQUwG5TXl271EIMkJWmLtatVu7o5vp2lGKw4nxacPWNFauRrf1YjjawurrJm6BbkAIk=w640-h567" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The <i>Journal's</i> Elmwood school article was accompanied with this illustration of the newly reconstructed building, with ‘J P MacLaren Architect’ appearing in the picture’s lower left. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, November 26, 1925)</i></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfa2JF4Du4usPNq_nXEIEgDuy-BbXpLWdxphqj_R228WMhGuGtNAPsbKHHrm1rm135mNhFqyLkw8gEhbi13WdUp1r9c-5V3DPLdVsJOGHk1U7280zBajzhD2Wkr7PpXiQxNNdXZlD4LdP5pbo5RxRp8ZG81v6GbP2PnpG926VKhtmjdh_XsLl-4x4I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="1139" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfa2JF4Du4usPNq_nXEIEgDuy-BbXpLWdxphqj_R228WMhGuGtNAPsbKHHrm1rm135mNhFqyLkw8gEhbi13WdUp1r9c-5V3DPLdVsJOGHk1U7280zBajzhD2Wkr7PpXiQxNNdXZlD4LdP5pbo5RxRp8ZG81v6GbP2PnpG926VKhtmjdh_XsLl-4x4I=w640-h358" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In 1932 MacLaren also designed a $10,000 residence for the school’s principal, built of cinder blocks covered by stucco and half-timbering to harmonize with the main building (above). He also designed several other Rockcliffe Park houses in the same decade.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzmsJv99levtDOz2JJwbjfJA8gjo2KolLwfTobYx76bbKwpMgsQka5cwl1Js7PLYnWz_bQe0S8FtKCbTH7IApA1iDszCDUKK9DgGoQ7dqNMEtlMC4x0Kg9JsE_gRmLzYXWNZX4b13gQJZ7NZ73vLDtppkQRJrfpHUNkF3pCEzVDbyJeoa-L9FUs_Iu" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzmsJv99levtDOz2JJwbjfJA8gjo2KolLwfTobYx76bbKwpMgsQka5cwl1Js7PLYnWz_bQe0S8FtKCbTH7IApA1iDszCDUKK9DgGoQ7dqNMEtlMC4x0Kg9JsE_gRmLzYXWNZX4b13gQJZ7NZ73vLDtppkQRJrfpHUNkF3pCEzVDbyJeoa-L9FUs_Iu=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The City of Ottawa’s Heritage Designation Report dated August 20, 2008 concerning another MacLaren building states that ‘he also designed the Knox Presbyterian Church in Manotick in 1926’ which seems plausible. For this MacLaren reached into his bag of historic styles, choosing a Tudor Revival design as he had just done at the Elmwood School for Girls. Knox was obviously built on a budget with the main body of the church being constructed with Hydrostone which were really just extra strong concrete blocks.</span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSzx5UpOD_x_IhzlsjDVzVj1NDPM0gGTngKej1RAfqhWMSwPbidy-nmzTVjGnNzjCAD9a-qm1B_ISGYvFio-qBmb6Q_3X2G_upbuHLvDJ9p_PcYnuQNKgadMic3dPZ4_gXi3N5WEvYK_Y0u5eaqBymp7locho-pWdeUX0qZbFYDxAj0ZLzFHXtE4iy" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3251" data-original-width="3521" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSzx5UpOD_x_IhzlsjDVzVj1NDPM0gGTngKej1RAfqhWMSwPbidy-nmzTVjGnNzjCAD9a-qm1B_ISGYvFio-qBmb6Q_3X2G_upbuHLvDJ9p_PcYnuQNKgadMic3dPZ4_gXi3N5WEvYK_Y0u5eaqBymp7locho-pWdeUX0qZbFYDxAj0ZLzFHXtE4iy=w400-h369" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Although not quite so robust a design as either Erskine or Stewarton it is clear from this early drawing for St. Giles Presbyterian Church deep in the Glebe section of Bank Street that MacLaren intended the building to be faced in randomly-sized rough-dressed stone. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, March 8, 1927)</i></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-7ba0tnuvHgV__v55AzCd93Tmx0KwuelM7qXwpds__PgR72OCzxvZn3mMDyMufHZDZ71WaxpEG-dN-QP2I6KDdbiNfiWKVNMVAe1M9DUNhP-Idlg3NFIC3iO5XqOuzTyDxcSimU_ZylxYJOB74MQ_bQPzYUjgE_PO3BQ27tck4DFvPDCGg6KBG1C0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3912" data-original-width="4644" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-7ba0tnuvHgV__v55AzCd93Tmx0KwuelM7qXwpds__PgR72OCzxvZn3mMDyMufHZDZ71WaxpEG-dN-QP2I6KDdbiNfiWKVNMVAe1M9DUNhP-Idlg3NFIC3iO5XqOuzTyDxcSimU_ZylxYJOB74MQ_bQPzYUjgE_PO3BQ27tck4DFvPDCGg6KBG1C0=w400-h337" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Yet when the new Presbyterian Church officially opened on Sunday, May 5, 1929 the building would be brick-faced, with minimal applications of smooth artificial stone limited to the window and door surrounds, and a belt line at the foundation, which was also brick clad. This decision was obviously a cost-cutting measure, and one that would come back to haunt them.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Ottawa Citizen, May 4, 1929)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirZlALvd_U2tQT_T2PKL-dsbg6IerG4p3CRczXkDOHo31ReETukU1WxjdgCjVGYgsTrb2N-Oq6qYtTDwnKg6bLeYQdzbqga5JF-u-w9AJ3f9V4iq2gV7QSkGC2fsGnRTrYtpG7dbSQAyJ6Tqm7m06iE7o7LrpnXbCd6sRjVVn9VuDL4rItJZUcByn_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="6450" data-original-width="4708" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirZlALvd_U2tQT_T2PKL-dsbg6IerG4p3CRczXkDOHo31ReETukU1WxjdgCjVGYgsTrb2N-Oq6qYtTDwnKg6bLeYQdzbqga5JF-u-w9AJ3f9V4iq2gV7QSkGC2fsGnRTrYtpG7dbSQAyJ6Tqm7m06iE7o7LrpnXbCd6sRjVVn9VuDL4rItJZUcByn_=w467-h640" width="467" /></a></div><br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">The full page of sponsoring trade ads that usually accompanied the launch of a building of any importance are a wealth of information about building materials, construction techniques and the local firms who were active at the time. From this we learn that ‘Special Private Design Wilton Carpet’ was installed</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">A.J. Freiman Ltd., that the walls were built of cinder-crete blocks, and that three different carpentry shops were employed to make St. Giles fabulous wooden fittings, furniture, and of course ceiling.</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: start;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, May 4, 1929</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">) </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMuOzcE6iD6kW9_ApsPYBW9LN3nxASxuQVqec8Y4KN9Y21X2S3PcKCouwhbNdqA06aIRK8ASLKlhW1VZ4FzWVUPx52hL0IKir7TWhSkCGOoHHqHyJpiliSwz35qwvMX09nZOxvApba3KCIF-4OpAHooy6-63FKs1BV-vhAGZrou-CktUauvSH7j2GZ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4263" data-original-width="4679" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMuOzcE6iD6kW9_ApsPYBW9LN3nxASxuQVqec8Y4KN9Y21X2S3PcKCouwhbNdqA06aIRK8ASLKlhW1VZ4FzWVUPx52hL0IKir7TWhSkCGOoHHqHyJpiliSwz35qwvMX09nZOxvApba3KCIF-4OpAHooy6-63FKs1BV-vhAGZrou-CktUauvSH7j2GZ=w640-h584" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">It was my discovery of this darkly dramatic drawing displaying St. Giles' massive hammer beam ceiling, published on the same day in 1927 as the aborted stone-fronted elevation drawing, but in the </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">Ottawa Journa</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">l, that prompted this post and led to a deeper dive into the varied career of J.P. MacLaren. </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, March 8, 1927).</i></span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: start;"><i> </i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPkw9gLJikqP-6yFxcWFxcy6ycS_s7sF97swCgm1akHUi50iBgJLE0qBoGbSTYgc7zuyfoqyoGb-FtCRaA31lzHR_eo2GvuD_tSIS2KNkOHD6PQQW0PO3KfzH846oWO8dxdgCxOGAdn3p7x0HXrI-SXSfyinKCfOnVk4QmRwl86aDQSiwMQ6IFZXlD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="938" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPkw9gLJikqP-6yFxcWFxcy6ycS_s7sF97swCgm1akHUi50iBgJLE0qBoGbSTYgc7zuyfoqyoGb-FtCRaA31lzHR_eo2GvuD_tSIS2KNkOHD6PQQW0PO3KfzH846oWO8dxdgCxOGAdn3p7x0HXrI-SXSfyinKCfOnVk4QmRwl86aDQSiwMQ6IFZXlD=w640-h492" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The outer skin, the building envelope along First Avenue hints at what lies within. Despite its complexity the southern wall seems to have held up fairly well in the intervening almost-100 years.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><i>(Google Streetview)</i></span></span></p></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPNflVRevDfoGN02yewKZHxYMCB9oXQDnN0lO78vaw1a4uwRtNEtZaRvyBVs_rVWNsp-8uHnDLXboq64GU3aZHqnao4BM3Vnw2uVIPEZxnEJNbWb5A1TSuunl6FJRWH2Tiw23xSnT6MFjrrY56cMczGAOmVnADodtIaNDJbrjPGxDAUQBPFb1kiDxH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="767" height="545" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPNflVRevDfoGN02yewKZHxYMCB9oXQDnN0lO78vaw1a4uwRtNEtZaRvyBVs_rVWNsp-8uHnDLXboq64GU3aZHqnao4BM3Vnw2uVIPEZxnEJNbWb5A1TSuunl6FJRWH2Tiw23xSnT6MFjrrY56cMczGAOmVnADodtIaNDJbrjPGxDAUQBPFb1kiDxH=w640-h545" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Bank Street facade, which was exposed to the prevailing weather conditions from the west, as the repairs to the nave’s roofline attest. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Google Streetview)</i></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7HvBPfueW5nXQckw_NM1f4PyTPFBa1TEcSmDtcVj2bfjPmHmUVJM-3GKEtaRTxBdPVo_AnDyYMjNgifFIQa21bBuQlS2RyvRrvmS8ybKuGGDlAqnb8-eiN6pyu-Bl8qZ2gDJ1jBg1BB-s7Z4rpBetT2X2LpVTLyaB0L2vSgQd0jmpPX9-oGSG9RUS" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="738" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7HvBPfueW5nXQckw_NM1f4PyTPFBa1TEcSmDtcVj2bfjPmHmUVJM-3GKEtaRTxBdPVo_AnDyYMjNgifFIQa21bBuQlS2RyvRrvmS8ybKuGGDlAqnb8-eiN6pyu-Bl8qZ2gDJ1jBg1BB-s7Z4rpBetT2X2LpVTLyaB0L2vSgQd0jmpPX9-oGSG9RUS=w640-h586" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Maintaining these old churches is a never-ending task for any church’s hapless building committee of harried volunteers. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Google Streetview)</i></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjH0F7mT83FgbyuvnsYhpgggA3xdsSAL1yOWKkwKj2A4XiDMKTSxmyEEuDIuAL_pSZMVrHGZrJEAc_fRG6i1ZDwOox12Keh45g8W41v-hz2eF6FFZ2eCjwlJ12k2kkPEirNj6UO7ABGQF5EIA6Wj5Qci57JFodHM9XeENroza7uAulDXQvzLDx1qz4p" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1504" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjH0F7mT83FgbyuvnsYhpgggA3xdsSAL1yOWKkwKj2A4XiDMKTSxmyEEuDIuAL_pSZMVrHGZrJEAc_fRG6i1ZDwOox12Keh45g8W41v-hz2eF6FFZ2eCjwlJ12k2kkPEirNj6UO7ABGQF5EIA6Wj5Qci57JFodHM9XeENroza7uAulDXQvzLDx1qz4p=w477-h640" width="477" /></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">t looks like the west window’s tracery has had to come in for some attention as well. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: St. Gile’s Presbyterian Church) </i></span></span></div></div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPErF6A1FD5QuncfNTcE2dWaDFgpOiog4AFaNlf8xVUXPYfW9PP445Rz4ED44wItnKAUqc0HRGgL3KkpCdg8PGgDYMpv0gPBiOwIN0asTY9ML-N_U8KkZ485Dc_juJ4pRqYFcuRV7mZCS2wQE_V7mWIJgiG-wSqKul6DOFFIjzFo7KM2wmPY_eMWqA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="760" height="505" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPErF6A1FD5QuncfNTcE2dWaDFgpOiog4AFaNlf8xVUXPYfW9PP445Rz4ED44wItnKAUqc0HRGgL3KkpCdg8PGgDYMpv0gPBiOwIN0asTY9ML-N_U8KkZ485Dc_juJ4pRqYFcuRV7mZCS2wQE_V7mWIJgiG-wSqKul6DOFFIjzFo7KM2wmPY_eMWqA=w640-h505" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">When W.E. Noffke’s Bank of Ottawa Branch at Bank and Gloucester Street was heavily damaged by a fire in 1929 the Bank of Nova</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">Scotia (which had absorbed the Bank of Ottawa in 1919) turned to J.P. MacLaren to rebuild, which would cost the bank $55,000. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a009101) </i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEbNg4Tl2KanCmkzOhC6jVJ237TTqrc8RpVOrxsmimZuxLxihnsIwQIvYvbqLwTASvtCWlxC956ULHahJrH6WiAqWbw2-6SrurVTABj2LzMSqK2v-9qq5JKwhOL2CKImdJ9idBYbik7-8iKKIn5KAtE6eyezNGj_-gUiszaB07Wik-UajVOmWru1Zv" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1200" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEbNg4Tl2KanCmkzOhC6jVJ237TTqrc8RpVOrxsmimZuxLxihnsIwQIvYvbqLwTASvtCWlxC956ULHahJrH6WiAqWbw2-6SrurVTABj2LzMSqK2v-9qq5JKwhOL2CKImdJ9idBYbik7-8iKKIn5KAtE6eyezNGj_-gUiszaB07Wik-UajVOmWru1Zv=w640-h522" width="640" /></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">MacLaren expanded the bank to the north by 14 feet and west by 32 feet, and deleted Noffke’s prominent pediment bearing the old bank’s coat of arms and the front entrance flourishes, but preserved his two Ionic columns while added two more. Or as the <i>Ottawa Journal</i> of August 2, 1929 put it: 'the front will be harmoniously finished in Indiana limestone, and will make a notable improvement to Bank Street, in this section.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgds-7uyQCS2UZjt9gyYjDv-2QlPNBqMDnulfWNI33yY6xEqx_sVqwecAPuDez2Zb8QpYOx6yCal8o_4ikMFuzPUio5ktlGd-Tp0xLxf_ai7FmiPbrAW10WCrSHxr2uJRzmRoltCOtFWJg5FFiiuMioHn3tQnwfveO_1JdmnTM7NfQh9q45fPh54kMQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3452" data-original-width="4506" height="491" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgds-7uyQCS2UZjt9gyYjDv-2QlPNBqMDnulfWNI33yY6xEqx_sVqwecAPuDez2Zb8QpYOx6yCal8o_4ikMFuzPUio5ktlGd-Tp0xLxf_ai7FmiPbrAW10WCrSHxr2uJRzmRoltCOtFWJg5FFiiuMioHn3tQnwfveO_1JdmnTM7NfQh9q45fPh54kMQ=w640-h491" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">From the letting of a contract for its construction on June 13, 1932, to the night of its official opening on December 5, 1932 the Mayfair Theatre on Bank Street in Ottawa South was erected and fully equipped as a 634-seat movie house in just under six months. It was developed by F.G. Robertson as a replacement for his Fern Theatre at Bank and Frank which had been demolished in 1931 to clear a site for the Rialto Theatre. The Mayfair was built for $50,000. (</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Ottawa Citizen, December 3, 1932)</i></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaiDNN7O_F1zk_0c2SiX8eWTcIqlfmo2UhaxQ9TW4nYvZH3_cMEr1JWk8JI3TxuQa-WZC3wlgFkT7WF5mGHwyBOIexxmfVmDpyffptNu5rvspu11IOXaJVd_hGMhR9o9eUdIOBH5h8GXL18F7MZJB0HkE3IWePN23NzpQd6gUSsMouBusQMdV3Gt6w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="580" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaiDNN7O_F1zk_0c2SiX8eWTcIqlfmo2UhaxQ9TW4nYvZH3_cMEr1JWk8JI3TxuQa-WZC3wlgFkT7WF5mGHwyBOIexxmfVmDpyffptNu5rvspu11IOXaJVd_hGMhR9o9eUdIOBH5h8GXL18F7MZJB0HkE3IWePN23NzpQd6gUSsMouBusQMdV3Gt6w=w640-h472" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Mayfair was designed to be a modest neighbourhood house, primarily for ‘B’ movies, double bills, and re-releases. Its auditorium could be described as an ‘atmospheric’ with arcaded faux balconies suggesting a Spanish or Italian village, and the ceiling painted to evoke a night sky - although these effects were rather limited when compared to the giant movie palaces.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh30l7py98QppfMXM-6h5H2Ypm_YcGrA7B9Xj6HiDeexmve6wi2lYJ9ja680owXSQPAmjYJR4BO_rApy3e4fK78Emk4aHvZ-JNKJ6zq7oHS3oXaq8BrCQwX_KNwTqbP3YczvWJfhStsEIJXbFtE_DDUJ32Qp2TFC0_FDCgH_PTAEkttH9_uFYbrW3pf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="580" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh30l7py98QppfMXM-6h5H2Ypm_YcGrA7B9Xj6HiDeexmve6wi2lYJ9ja680owXSQPAmjYJR4BO_rApy3e4fK78Emk4aHvZ-JNKJ6zq7oHS3oXaq8BrCQwX_KNwTqbP3YczvWJfhStsEIJXbFtE_DDUJ32Qp2TFC0_FDCgH_PTAEkttH9_uFYbrW3pf=w640-h512" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For a brief time in the 1970s the owners of the Mayfair experimented with running soft core porno films. This shot shows the Mayfair's original upright hanging neon sign and 'now showing' marquee</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Going to nearby Hopewell Public School in the early 1960s I frequented the Mayfair quite often. If I remember the theatre's layout correctly, those two tiny square windows over the marquee were for the very small bathrooms, accessed by some vertiginous stairs. The box office and the snack bar were in the same cramped cubicle. After selling you a ticket from the front half, the attendant would turn around and sell you a candy bar out of the back half.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6wPpB4OpkszsGgc1R1Bnw5IFIvXabxIwR-m0ffTHex4NpbiZIuJvK8k_9NhTPqzEzKZ0D8TmPxd91uiXRvX7eHWQZSs2tfFIeGI8mBL6Wt5u-HlDsgfm29DPHjl1Vd_4muVuPARbcYWp5tl5gCi2Gtk90SLdaRhUrIvLO53z60AGnk2wl4O5vSqWj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="660" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6wPpB4OpkszsGgc1R1Bnw5IFIvXabxIwR-m0ffTHex4NpbiZIuJvK8k_9NhTPqzEzKZ0D8TmPxd91uiXRvX7eHWQZSs2tfFIeGI8mBL6Wt5u-HlDsgfm29DPHjl1Vd_4muVuPARbcYWp5tl5gCi2Gtk90SLdaRhUrIvLO53z60AGnk2wl4O5vSqWj=w640-h507" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Though shorn of its overhanging marquee and flashy neon sign (the result of the City of Ottawa’s punitive sign by-law which outlawed them) thankfully the Mayfair is still going strong as an owner-operated theatre showing a wide variety of films. It was granted heritage designation in 2008. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Heritage Ottawa)</i></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxVYP-WVGi6vw9zLeAJWaurP9nINFRLVrwwOslDB1d3b6MKhHwCUaDEHWIB_rNKr6Y8lmUmd9-GlKfa3_rd2-DNkCiBXYldC0TWQAJm6TCo-PcFMVEYRP1pKVS2rW6p3uv7b4GY-CL2-QlztOVihcSf7YrPAKienBTn0SPbZvEtQ7lIymN7-zBRfNJ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="742" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxVYP-WVGi6vw9zLeAJWaurP9nINFRLVrwwOslDB1d3b6MKhHwCUaDEHWIB_rNKr6Y8lmUmd9-GlKfa3_rd2-DNkCiBXYldC0TWQAJm6TCo-PcFMVEYRP1pKVS2rW6p3uv7b4GY-CL2-QlztOVihcSf7YrPAKienBTn0SPbZvEtQ7lIymN7-zBRfNJ=w640-h384" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Ottawa Public Library’s Rideau Branch was opened by Sir Robert Borden on Saturday, January 27, 1934 at 7:30pm, which seems like an odd time. It was built to serve the residents of Lowertown, Sandy Hill and New Edinburgh at a cost of $27,500. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Google Streetview)</i></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUA_iAW5xexa-ujY9QnDL9epq45j4K0gRzaWG39YXITJbf6kXIRKlw9_xjo8T-XIG3nByYh81CfB2EeG7vbcv6j_LT4mdhISbjE7fH6hgSnji_ihzNgoX9Dysvwu-S1hu6r7F4QfPXYmlhnjugs-5ouv1vHhehU3Y7jnRNpXmXzxPUb264GFAYiXKb" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1024" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUA_iAW5xexa-ujY9QnDL9epq45j4K0gRzaWG39YXITJbf6kXIRKlw9_xjo8T-XIG3nByYh81CfB2EeG7vbcv6j_LT4mdhISbjE7fH6hgSnji_ihzNgoX9Dysvwu-S1hu6r7F4QfPXYmlhnjugs-5ouv1vHhehU3Y7jnRNpXmXzxPUb264GFAYiXKb=w640-h424" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The library contained adult and juvenile reading rooms, stack room, and a lecture hall and committee room in basement. This view of the kids’ reading room from a few years ago demonstrates MacLaren’s mastery in creating lofty and inspiring beamed interior spaces. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Rideau Street BIA)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglhTbcMI3dPnRj2cGlKG3OOuz3SAL1TuVPVmytzk2hu_3knT07e046E45iMikcm6lOLfYGb4534SKmEhbiBHeHcHXF4pNsOFb-wk59ZDbaGw3HYiYb3fhJIBnZHpbC-ZB_Qmwq8-l98dcXyEDnBsiH45z-1eSaaSv7KGD8IuOJ5J5SlB-NRIcLp0i4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglhTbcMI3dPnRj2cGlKG3OOuz3SAL1TuVPVmytzk2hu_3knT07e046E45iMikcm6lOLfYGb4534SKmEhbiBHeHcHXF4pNsOFb-wk59ZDbaGw3HYiYb3fhJIBnZHpbC-ZB_Qmwq8-l98dcXyEDnBsiH45z-1eSaaSv7KGD8IuOJ5J5SlB-NRIcLp0i4=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: start;">The Rideau Branch was said to have been designed in the ‘French Gothic’ style, but that shaped gable over the main entrance recalls more of the French Baroque. Whatever the style the architect managed to imbue a compact building built on a slim budget with great dignity.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGIOli90olWRdfvxeUhw7DKtcwzyQPCHrT0XuzM2yf7L_IEQiYui8s3kLnd6fxsWjIZyoPgJXIBaBCdNlEfWwJrYlE9P0K2hm3KVZ660kvJV6fZHxKjMtY4bzarQ9xo-30gcX7lo_0pJVHN-FGw56W_FDPye_BC3p3NXfwFOltRM3v5t9xwxL4du0R" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3350" data-original-width="5141" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGIOli90olWRdfvxeUhw7DKtcwzyQPCHrT0XuzM2yf7L_IEQiYui8s3kLnd6fxsWjIZyoPgJXIBaBCdNlEfWwJrYlE9P0K2hm3KVZ660kvJV6fZHxKjMtY4bzarQ9xo-30gcX7lo_0pJVHN-FGw56W_FDPye_BC3p3NXfwFOltRM3v5t9xwxL4du0R=w640-h418" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> I wish that I had known this when I posted a previous post on Neville's Creek, where the Capital Storage Company was replaced by Jim Strutt's Canadian Nurses Association National Headquarters building. The addition of a fireproof warehouse in 1940 was John Pritchard MacLaren's final work. But the caption in their <i>Ottawa Journal</i> advertisement was wrong when it said that "this view at the left shows the modern new fireproof warehouse just completed by the Capital Storage Company". These buildings are an older brick warehouse with a cornice, crowned by their prominent roof sign, and a much older attached stone building.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Ottawa Journal, April 27, 1940)</i></span><p></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6YgbMsK4k2ywUn-S-XENAQdt5XRmhYNPNWmq5Yh1xWKfhCEWzgTHjyrj36BSTm_GuxFgbsRw8fv6nyvyzIz0_Q_FGEaW0QFIzPmEI7aLO1AKQNg-uVZ4M62vTJjxGIPHPP4TtEKjXNv1lI5lWUv0aSJuzWoPgsGqoQK7m68vkypC0wcujPbKe98FP" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1262" height="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6YgbMsK4k2ywUn-S-XENAQdt5XRmhYNPNWmq5Yh1xWKfhCEWzgTHjyrj36BSTm_GuxFgbsRw8fv6nyvyzIz0_Q_FGEaW0QFIzPmEI7aLO1AKQNg-uVZ4M62vTJjxGIPHPP4TtEKjXNv1lI5lWUv0aSJuzWoPgsGqoQK7m68vkypC0wcujPbKe98FP=w640-h575" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">MacLaren's 1940 addition is the more modern section on the right of this view, with vertical signage running down the upper two floors. After retiring J.P. MacLaren lived for a further ten years in his Besserer Street home passing away on May 10, 1951. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: City Archives)</i></span><br /><br /></div>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-47355107911591819662023-05-05T06:13:00.000-07:002023-05-05T06:13:58.846-07:00COMMENDABLE 'BACHELOR' APARTMENTS MEANT TO GRATIFY THE LONG-FELT NEEDS OF CIVIL SERVANTS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPHCr3D4EdHePeDGGJkAtoHJARwVyG06Vvdvw-BnsPDcLFzAbSA1Eg4uSAoJxIWiNqCK2uC0sWX0_G88R7MQiUWJ4ViV2LKlUrAEidEtCC56gdUPnN9hEN3IjEiTosBytk-QXW3T1f1i7n-UEk17IvmI_AxCsc_dOQENZnkC9wy4fD5moUQGfm-_rq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3850" data-original-width="4961" height="497" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPHCr3D4EdHePeDGGJkAtoHJARwVyG06Vvdvw-BnsPDcLFzAbSA1Eg4uSAoJxIWiNqCK2uC0sWX0_G88R7MQiUWJ4ViV2LKlUrAEidEtCC56gdUPnN9hEN3IjEiTosBytk-QXW3T1f1i7n-UEk17IvmI_AxCsc_dOQENZnkC9wy4fD5moUQGfm-_rq=w640-h497" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Recently, in providing a professional evaluation of 110 Gloucester Street (The Wendell Apartments) a local heritage consultant hired by mega-developer Claridge Homes has dissed this stylish little building. It is an early example of its type - an apartment house with the latest technological features proffering fully serviced units to both male and female members of Ottawa’s burgeoning public service. That it also ranks quite high in the canon of one of the city’s most significant pre-WW1 architects, Arthur LeBaron Weeks (1881-1962) should be another point on its scorecard. Surprisingly the evaluation report’s historic research uncovered neither fact.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The consultant has determined that ‘In sum, 110 Gloucester Street is not a rare, unique, representative, or early example of an apartment in Ottawa. It does not have a high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit’. The final assessment: The Wendell’s sole worth is limited to serving as a generic reminder of the low-rise brick buildings once typical of Centretown. Of course for a variety of political and planning related reasons it's highly unlikely that this building could ever receive a heritage designation - but that shouldn't undermine its intrinsic historic value. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXhc1wzxPpupzcfkm8EQXkJthEutDZOrP0xfuX32ea5u218tdxeGRZGLuR1DVvESl3XW1iqkC2bqm24FWalwE8j5QdBBEVyL-jmo0aXLk9QSZzhwSgHj2Y97nAV83eSK2lA-ztPp3vBkqY_YGbdtFOd1TsV7m1KTss_DYgNcKpL0DBrZTiEc6okm2e" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1596" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXhc1wzxPpupzcfkm8EQXkJthEutDZOrP0xfuX32ea5u218tdxeGRZGLuR1DVvESl3XW1iqkC2bqm24FWalwE8j5QdBBEVyL-jmo0aXLk9QSZzhwSgHj2Y97nAV83eSK2lA-ztPp3vBkqY_YGbdtFOd1TsV7m1KTss_DYgNcKpL0DBrZTiEc6okm2e=w640-h436" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">So I must rush to the defence of The Wendell, which although now in a somewhat damaged condition, was an important footnote in the history of the development of Ottawa’s first apartment buildings, and given its brief moment in this early 21st century sun the full story needs to be told.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZlwktR77mFWNkX_oPqC80aPx3fn5Bmig5oiR8M5SEKFvlef4R0MF6s8JCpWBga2Nug_VCG8E_pW9Cvl5rbsnTrrF41jGHkxkwvaAVhqWrp26iRFk28b8jPDsFmpwQcrfOHIdE0djAfriDddeRkzDFa17ArgY7H5YT1BwxBJoZUIQ8GuFbQJJ_GUW3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="913" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZlwktR77mFWNkX_oPqC80aPx3fn5Bmig5oiR8M5SEKFvlef4R0MF6s8JCpWBga2Nug_VCG8E_pW9Cvl5rbsnTrrF41jGHkxkwvaAVhqWrp26iRFk28b8jPDsFmpwQcrfOHIdE0djAfriDddeRkzDFa17ArgY7H5YT1BwxBJoZUIQ8GuFbQJJ_GUW3=w640-h412" width="640" /></a></div>This particular block of Gloucester Street looking west from Metcalfe in 1938 during its tree-lined days. Sigh.... The Wendell would be the first flat roofed building seen on the left in the middle distance.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Photo: LAC) </i></span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRRhsNG4z7ZGv2cDq4VbhGp9pu2Wutv-3JyUVO3RTADAP-GN1gSt-fH2_CKJL0YASRhDoOllwtKEqQh9uqPTBP_DhSFlTD6OG-J58DdIlfcYGXmonRieIwMJCV1ILO7-y7KtTviXrNjTM3XLCB5YoQPZ-U_L6wRbjstZcWysWacEmGZRKTwSbWnYNk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="731" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRRhsNG4z7ZGv2cDq4VbhGp9pu2Wutv-3JyUVO3RTADAP-GN1gSt-fH2_CKJL0YASRhDoOllwtKEqQh9uqPTBP_DhSFlTD6OG-J58DdIlfcYGXmonRieIwMJCV1ILO7-y7KtTviXrNjTM3XLCB5YoQPZ-U_L6wRbjstZcWysWacEmGZRKTwSbWnYNk=w587-h640" width="587" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Why this fuss about The Wendell? It’s about to become a dwarfed neighbour to 100 Gloucester Street designed by EVOQ Architects, Claridge’s next addition to their Loops 1 and 2 apartment tower complex. This full frontal view is for scale - rarely do developers provide such brutally honest streetscapes. </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4RA6wK5vi_aMUNa6kBhAMtd12n3uzgeacm2tYA6PP0d19FMlrD4_NQgljeeCl8z1tpEdGKFR3kRobQkISLSiIIAcujaqOzV0qQUmQAYX5cCzENgOATH0NZarXv6p9OXZ9VgHQRSqHo6WQ4CC4gcfrCPXPJjqlOakAdNfiVq2nU7g4owTBVBYQzwM1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1021" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4RA6wK5vi_aMUNa6kBhAMtd12n3uzgeacm2tYA6PP0d19FMlrD4_NQgljeeCl8z1tpEdGKFR3kRobQkISLSiIIAcujaqOzV0qQUmQAYX5cCzENgOATH0NZarXv6p9OXZ9VgHQRSqHo6WQ4CC4gcfrCPXPJjqlOakAdNfiVq2nU7g4owTBVBYQzwM1=w640-h468" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Their renderings are usually misty eagle’s-eye views from high up in the clouds. </span><i>(EVOQ Architects)</i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfoVjT3ESAGXYJ1zOqhrxCwSz2_eEO2Ev_qaxU2RWpwcX-W2_tpZ_93MQaKi7bN_TayRk-E6UqNLe-CbvlvOZZkHQ5pS2jjXoxtsHF4cEu0Bz1vXWMhxQDf79tW-ddiMT3MEKJTAbSRpXyEAFEDgkeNJd5_H7oxyOTI-L5Utm8lvDKTpjjLtVzlVEr" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="1128" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfoVjT3ESAGXYJ1zOqhrxCwSz2_eEO2Ev_qaxU2RWpwcX-W2_tpZ_93MQaKi7bN_TayRk-E6UqNLe-CbvlvOZZkHQ5pS2jjXoxtsHF4cEu0Bz1vXWMhxQDf79tW-ddiMT3MEKJTAbSRpXyEAFEDgkeNJd5_H7oxyOTI-L5Utm8lvDKTpjjLtVzlVEr=w640-h332" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Or worm’s-eye perspectives meant to demonstrate a sympathetic and harmonious treatment at grade. The developer's engineers are confident that The Wendell will survive the deep excavation being dug inches from its eastern wall. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(EVOQ Architects)</i></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyVxIAXk_loEVhVyaw_LIZ8XklAu-KIXBXrdb1sNUts0YgdPj87bZYrWB5fgDU2QyT7PUWmyAsotnG_hymZfA1r1tCq9_I85NkElL1K8Op6ROq52ELJRnrD6bixjGq5mWWVAUwp1kAy8--gURDo8x0Z98qZyjJkB20Y_OV32NQ0mJ-JKKaX0E1TNeO" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3850" data-original-width="4961" height="497" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyVxIAXk_loEVhVyaw_LIZ8XklAu-KIXBXrdb1sNUts0YgdPj87bZYrWB5fgDU2QyT7PUWmyAsotnG_hymZfA1r1tCq9_I85NkElL1K8Op6ROq52ELJRnrD6bixjGq5mWWVAUwp1kAy8--gURDo8x0Z98qZyjJkB20Y_OV32NQ0mJ-JKKaX0E1TNeO=w640-h497" width="640" /></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Returning to The Wendell. Shortly before its occupancy owner Edward McNeill published the perfunctory beauty shot of his new building, lightly animated by a sophisticated Gloucester Street scene with a motor car entering the view, a well-dressed woman and child with parasol, and what may be one of his prospective hoped-for tenants striding along with brief case in hand. ‘A L Weeks Architect’ appears at the lower right corner. (</span><i>Ottawa Citizen, September 19, 1912)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQuAJXCnnNJ3yWYrx2JOWxZpZ9H56yRP-hNUr3bBcAokdhwvCeomf-TrNzZ-h3Va7pGwq4kRw-ld8B58MQYIbCIvGXyiYoCKRfDkUrbDKZXBZWy-5dljziP_4J6j2Pil57Dy1CMI1vCAFAO7gjK8YIH3uS0RR7W4sP4aB9HkD6DEuZT50LxprBvMfZ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2283" data-original-width="4961" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQuAJXCnnNJ3yWYrx2JOWxZpZ9H56yRP-hNUr3bBcAokdhwvCeomf-TrNzZ-h3Va7pGwq4kRw-ld8B58MQYIbCIvGXyiYoCKRfDkUrbDKZXBZWy-5dljziP_4J6j2Pil57Dy1CMI1vCAFAO7gjK8YIH3uS0RR7W4sP4aB9HkD6DEuZT50LxprBvMfZ=w640-h294" width="640" /></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">"clothes closets... tiled bath room... with all [the] latest conveniences and improvements". This advertisement from V. V. Rogers, the rental agents promised that </span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: start;">"Although these apartment are known as </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: start;">'Bachelor Apartments' they are commendable to ladies and others desiring to live in an up-to-date apartment at a moderate rental.’ </span><i style="font-family: arial; text-align: start;">(Ottawa Citizen, September 19, 1912)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOJiu20fnghVB9sIDNXT4DQ-AmnKGhfR_ZnU8bNehQdGmxaIFdsXfYx8YaLRjx1jIS6i2PXxt8UI1hleXownOwLn2g96rKMoIUrXOvoWbBpy1UG4zHzb6CID5y8Uv-tSod8VkS6zwZKYK42BIWIykC5CkhfOzvS13XfwCVIzPT5_18gcRj9qo1MQif" style="font-style: italic; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4015" data-original-width="4529" height="567" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOJiu20fnghVB9sIDNXT4DQ-AmnKGhfR_ZnU8bNehQdGmxaIFdsXfYx8YaLRjx1jIS6i2PXxt8UI1hleXownOwLn2g96rKMoIUrXOvoWbBpy1UG4zHzb6CID5y8Uv-tSod8VkS6zwZKYK42BIWIykC5CkhfOzvS13XfwCVIzPT5_18gcRj9qo1MQif=w640-h567" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">The <i>Ottawa Journal</i> had run the same picture a week earlier, but accompanied it with a promotional article that demands quoting:</span></span></div></span></span><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /><b>"LONG FELT WANT IS PROVIDED"</b></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>"<b>In Erection of Bachelor Apartments on Gloucester Street, by Mr. Edward R.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>McNeill"</b></i></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">"A long-felt need has been gratified by Mr. Edward R. McNeill in the erection of his bachelor apartments on the south side of Gloucester Street near the corner of O’Connor.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>When interviewed this morning Mr. McNeill stated that the building would be completed and ready for occupation by the 15th of October. A visit to the premises will<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>surprise the prospective tenant where a magnificent entrance meets the eye with large tera cotta columns and vestibule finished in white oak and Italian marble. In completing the interior, none but selected oak hardwood has been used."</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgElKFgZzoJ5cM_zA1pXYH1XNYUkLn40JeoMc3vaJ9MMvVg204AuF4R0x3ff9r13_2gtCqakzzZlf8CDIAyN9LwLuOXA7Dwj5V4ECEBOqBxQVo_8lm75zkoAiTOZhDDP6Zjl1znsCkQHKFOKhYNZZSAFz38rlb-J8SrlDXnT8MP37hi3dGkhsKE6Fjs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3752" data-original-width="4481" height="535" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgElKFgZzoJ5cM_zA1pXYH1XNYUkLn40JeoMc3vaJ9MMvVg204AuF4R0x3ff9r13_2gtCqakzzZlf8CDIAyN9LwLuOXA7Dwj5V4ECEBOqBxQVo_8lm75zkoAiTOZhDDP6Zjl1znsCkQHKFOKhYNZZSAFz38rlb-J8SrlDXnT8MP37hi3dGkhsKE6Fjs=w640-h535" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">By the time that Rogers was placing this ad at the end of October most of the units appear to have been taken as there were 'just a few' left. To continue the <i>Journal's</i> puff piece of ten days before:</span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">"The lay out of the building is on the plan of the latest bachelor apartments in New York, where Mr. A. LeB. Weeks, the architect, visited before preparing the plans and specifications in order that the most modern ideas should be used in the construction of this building, which is absolutely fire-proof. The front of the building is finished in a special brick manufactured by the Peerless Brick Company, a local concern, which had the contract for supplying all of the brick used in the construction of this building."</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">"The apartments consist of a living room, bedroom, kitchenette and bath room. On the third floor there are a number of single rooms with running water. A private telephone system has been installed in each apartment and speaking tubes connecting with the main entrance. This departure from the ordinary apartment home should very much appeal to members of the Civil Service and be of special interest to ladies employed in the Service, in fact all not living at home where a select, modern, airy apartment is desired instead of the ordinary “rooming house” at as low a cost."</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">"In the course of conversation, Mr. McNeill stated that these apartments would rent from $</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">15 to $35 per month unfurnished or that arrangements could be made to have these furnishings at a slight advance in the rent mentioned.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">"</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9F4jYyDXDuAFP2grX9R0OoqtfiDKKNL-2XGBqsYYAbDNDqPtV4zKzbXMgPZwztigW84GV7UFZb7qO8k39yxfH3sWLFByejHlOvtQqCIQ00xZKAfCYkikjtsje-e0wr4HgxDZqSYhRNiLQzbNCU9FracfrzIdEh1WilDfGv2wUjkRURGkt5e_qG0J1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="851" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9F4jYyDXDuAFP2grX9R0OoqtfiDKKNL-2XGBqsYYAbDNDqPtV4zKzbXMgPZwztigW84GV7UFZb7qO8k39yxfH3sWLFByejHlOvtQqCIQ00xZKAfCYkikjtsje-e0wr4HgxDZqSYhRNiLQzbNCU9FracfrzIdEh1WilDfGv2wUjkRURGkt5e_qG0J1=w640-h470" width="640" /></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In 1911 Arthur Weeks left the very successful practice he had pursued in partnership with the well-connected Alan Keefer three years earlier to establish the sole proprietorship of his own business. The Laurentian Club (1912-13) at Elgin and Albert Street was strikingly similar to the Wendell Apartments, with a very complex cornice and basketwork brick patterning with stone trims in the attic storey. They were in fac</span></span><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">t designed at the same time, although it is doubtful that The Wendell was built using the 'Kahn System' of a reinforced concrete structural frame as is proclaimed by the placard leaning against the club's side wall. If it had that would have been remarkable. </span><i>(Library and Archives Canada)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihxPTEHohP300qXJ1xh7uKVdscPI5FGuYEfq8Z8ja9o1puvtb9KQUAf28yWYylr13ECqGP6pXC7Hnuw6ri3zla0UOinPoaubMBY3r3Vew2zPQLZxKlBSspD53cCXhfAcdq56QTWR8Jnih-NL23qNemwVbr4L2srXQZmbf8Hl7P6OCgAEbMMDPYIlKW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5500" data-original-width="3757" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihxPTEHohP300qXJ1xh7uKVdscPI5FGuYEfq8Z8ja9o1puvtb9KQUAf28yWYylr13ECqGP6pXC7Hnuw6ri3zla0UOinPoaubMBY3r3Vew2zPQLZxKlBSspD53cCXhfAcdq56QTWR8Jnih-NL23qNemwVbr4L2srXQZmbf8Hl7P6OCgAEbMMDPYIlKW=w437-h640" width="437" /></a></div></i></span></span></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This post will concentrate on Weeks’ output generated during the period that he was working alone, between 1911 and 1914. The Bryson Building on Queen Street east of Bank was one of two office buildings produced by Weeks during this period. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, September 20, 1913)</i></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKnP5IzguhzQDSvANtd_H-OFHcplRAAwW-9vp-Uai8yBmDdFeY9TaRX95lLa8f0Pn_VflJfUVXBHn0phYthZcXPbpIxhYEkOofo2xE4tKsNKcikZ3AXD8FgsdfHpzLd_ilMNAeHdZWknBXQChJsiSNQr2MOVPxHjN5tKyb-oy0OPnEIDjDSPUxQKW6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="513" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKnP5IzguhzQDSvANtd_H-OFHcplRAAwW-9vp-Uai8yBmDdFeY9TaRX95lLa8f0Pn_VflJfUVXBHn0phYthZcXPbpIxhYEkOofo2xE4tKsNKcikZ3AXD8FgsdfHpzLd_ilMNAeHdZWknBXQChJsiSNQr2MOVPxHjN5tKyb-oy0OPnEIDjDSPUxQKW6=w507-h640" width="507" /></a></i></span></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It bears more than a passing resemblance to a major project designed by Weeks during his previous partnership with Alan Keefer, the Rosenthal, later Birks, Building (1910-11) on Sparks Street. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Library and Archives Canada)</i></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi51-By2M_NnGBSRkhhls_xslbCI-LZryd9Qxp79hbNpce7sP7nH-q6hTl3GFp1j0k8D9qqHh6vwZBxWIYQM0qOKVCgwx2EnkzqrJ9G9vf-WfW77WiRk8yNs3B8u8gCbEPp62w4dnutPwB695riA3wseRE6jMTiA0kgAQxZNpf-qpoRvVYOOnMVGeT0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="596" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi51-By2M_NnGBSRkhhls_xslbCI-LZryd9Qxp79hbNpce7sP7nH-q6hTl3GFp1j0k8D9qqHh6vwZBxWIYQM0qOKVCgwx2EnkzqrJ9G9vf-WfW77WiRk8yNs3B8u8gCbEPp62w4dnutPwB695riA3wseRE6jMTiA0kgAQxZNpf-qpoRvVYOOnMVGeT0=w435-h640" width="435" /></a></i></span></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">His largest, and the last building (1913-14) that he authored while in independent practice, was the headquarters and printing plant ('handsome and substantial') for the Ottawa Journal on Queen Street west of Bank. Much later it would serve as the Ottawa Public Library's temporary home as its new (1974) one was being built. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, April 28, 1914)</i></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkULFiqm4NiBIi977eFBw-GXRVJUmsAOnGmJEfjZ0R2VRcvHJ2oi-PW0SEu-AtBRG7jOtev6yeoN2N62ZeJocf10Vx1ODLzERjTxHOSQD5HrzR6Ta-KNb60EM88KnT4TtrlqsKwJZX9hUC7XWML6sw8a5ZfnWB22BCnDxXNUmPT2ahejTwQIJAxiu_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5036" data-original-width="5088" height="635" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkULFiqm4NiBIi977eFBw-GXRVJUmsAOnGmJEfjZ0R2VRcvHJ2oi-PW0SEu-AtBRG7jOtev6yeoN2N62ZeJocf10Vx1ODLzERjTxHOSQD5HrzR6Ta-KNb60EM88KnT4TtrlqsKwJZX9hUC7XWML6sw8a5ZfnWB22BCnDxXNUmPT2ahejTwQIJAxiu_=w640-h635" width="640" /></a></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">Arthur Weeks produced two places of worship during this period. A largish house that was standing on the site of the future church had to be picked up and moved around the corner down Florence Street to clear a lot for the First Congregational Church (1911-12) Kent and Florence. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, March 4, 1911)</i></span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><i> </i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhk3SeqZFbrry5t1f-ivW262VLFhGmtxB9860gQPZOfwUisYAlzX2QOxI6QJdHytvVYUCO2rch8DNbGbuaftq0ZTDAHX-cZMihjQd9pte0tviWa8A2hE0dQLXz1RuUuSDeE9G3i5_z1IcgyRKvHs9qV7UF4L0XmYyhOYFmiqASyjmKSFZVUI170gPTC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="901" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhk3SeqZFbrry5t1f-ivW262VLFhGmtxB9860gQPZOfwUisYAlzX2QOxI6QJdHytvVYUCO2rch8DNbGbuaftq0ZTDAHX-cZMihjQd9pte0tviWa8A2hE0dQLXz1RuUuSDeE9G3i5_z1IcgyRKvHs9qV7UF4L0XmYyhOYFmiqASyjmKSFZVUI170gPTC=w541-h640" width="541" /></a></div></span></span><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Its fairly straightforward Gothic Lite design executed in ‘Tapestry’ yellow brick, conceals a very handsome sanctuary within, where the congregation was seated in a gently raked 270 degree circle surrounding a sunken platform for the officiants, a layout proscribed by that sect. Today it is the Chinese Community Centre. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 4, 1911)</i></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5wgTr9EAMJq1lLgEAisRcHmz0lbKc6lEPIiE7Tg8pVvwPZKA1rtRUJ9zeSDisIf_Rfd4MhKn9rO6orY9npjUKykQ4eufhWG8jPIlfVYHw6hsJlT2CC45XjSFwnwQS81_Te02v64R9qHTwxEGzF0KZHMI0kccgApWT7shPUuenx0-q8C8l9ycX4w46" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1303" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5wgTr9EAMJq1lLgEAisRcHmz0lbKc6lEPIiE7Tg8pVvwPZKA1rtRUJ9zeSDisIf_Rfd4MhKn9rO6orY9npjUKykQ4eufhWG8jPIlfVYHw6hsJlT2CC45XjSFwnwQS81_Te02v64R9qHTwxEGzF0KZHMI0kccgApWT7shPUuenx0-q8C8l9ycX4w46=w640-h586" width="640" /></a></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Agudath Achim Jewish Synagogue (1912) on Rideau Street, the third temple to be built in Ottawa, incorporated some faint Oriental effects but its chief feature was the Palladian entrance supported by a pair of very elaborate columns with bizarre capitals. </span><i>(Photo: Ottawa Jewish Historical Society)</i></span></p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1HNxWVnrAvwrvi6XbquCt3X1DOAxl-xsEj2-hzcHYHF-wnrpsTxFn5xOf-qkHL-CCHgK4TGXYMOgg7PQpCfGvgmRTKBt1oeLTV5GfUd_68tyNIfFoCVA03T9m-X1adw1ZFp64VeN3-JcphTMV13GSMOQhtPvGymr7vs97VxcGUMRObl5MoB629QTN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="760" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1HNxWVnrAvwrvi6XbquCt3X1DOAxl-xsEj2-hzcHYHF-wnrpsTxFn5xOf-qkHL-CCHgK4TGXYMOgg7PQpCfGvgmRTKBt1oeLTV5GfUd_68tyNIfFoCVA03T9m-X1adw1ZFp64VeN3-JcphTMV13GSMOQhtPvGymr7vs97VxcGUMRObl5MoB629QTN=w640-h462" width="640" /></a></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Weeks also designed important houses for two wealthy clients. The Wilson Southam House (1911) on Crescent Road in the Village of Rockcliffe Park. Known as ‘Lindenelm’ it was destroyed by fire, and rebuilt with less lavish Tudor details. His brother Harry lived next door.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Photo: LAC PA-034271)</i></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgz4N-jce5XdyKtabmHb-YxRZslwclOkPUqsApQAcqQ_gJUvyaOpyZjk96Hmtafyaqkmf3wu2Ak8I8cMuwOaushfIT8dODCir6KTptCc4joeX5o0ozoxjp6zPaxgBT9rm79--uqRD-2gVZCsiJywVYZzFcEUqNm5GdZEliWDtlUHeRA5WCuqCDwWNGg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2246" data-original-width="3256" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgz4N-jce5XdyKtabmHb-YxRZslwclOkPUqsApQAcqQ_gJUvyaOpyZjk96Hmtafyaqkmf3wu2Ak8I8cMuwOaushfIT8dODCir6KTptCc4joeX5o0ozoxjp6zPaxgBT9rm79--uqRD-2gVZCsiJywVYZzFcEUqNm5GdZEliWDtlUHeRA5WCuqCDwWNGg=w640-h442" width="640" /></a></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: start;">GlebeSite attributes this very smart house with its dramatically outsized giant order entrance portico at 211 Clemow Avenue to Arthur Weeks, although their named occupant (Dr. McTaggart, a dentist) doesn’t match the name on Weeks’ client list, a Mr. John Angus McKenzie. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;"><i>(Photo: GlebeSite)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVCXcfI82A53VTesQ7K2fEP2PDtKAoSLIDr2G8cRhP27ArOgicSaf8HRL4kAgznK2jqeYwbvWej1oa_4bxHrQ6NM4c2Mshca8vT32r1ost3iL3w__0-b8RHHH5BF-cDkUhmI_o6VJr0O6aJC1-uSTEdCCFjyA2u_uZCTui7fi-uj6XzbibWqMmDNW2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2154" data-original-width="4592" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVCXcfI82A53VTesQ7K2fEP2PDtKAoSLIDr2G8cRhP27ArOgicSaf8HRL4kAgznK2jqeYwbvWej1oa_4bxHrQ6NM4c2Mshca8vT32r1ost3iL3w__0-b8RHHH5BF-cDkUhmI_o6VJr0O6aJC1-uSTEdCCFjyA2u_uZCTui7fi-uj6XzbibWqMmDNW2=w640-h300" width="640" /></a></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">While in independent practice Weeks received a variety of commercial </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">assignments, like the Slater Street garage (1912) for Wylie, Ltd., a car dealership that held the local franchise for Studebakers.</span><i> (Ottawa Journal, May 27, 1912)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjb-JbMXr595_tvDSjauV73DartavyZMdtnTmkkC9mMQ-3QsAU-LOOKId9BRacwHX9zu9KWfZjvjQemEC1z2mOHDbTq486ICQZYMI6JMWJNru1WPHtJ8OfsgQnZglwa4i2t_E4olEZvFeAIsQHqDHRLDGd0YuGeiXWNsVO7Xoj_2tTIsHzLazr9f__W" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="7079" data-original-width="4604" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjb-JbMXr595_tvDSjauV73DartavyZMdtnTmkkC9mMQ-3QsAU-LOOKId9BRacwHX9zu9KWfZjvjQemEC1z2mOHDbTq486ICQZYMI6JMWJNru1WPHtJ8OfsgQnZglwa4i2t_E4olEZvFeAIsQHqDHRLDGd0YuGeiXWNsVO7Xoj_2tTIsHzLazr9f__W=w416-h640" width="416" /></a></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">John M. Garland and Son had operated a large wholesale warehouse at O'Connor and Queen from the 1890s. They intended to virtually double its size after the purchase of some adjoining property on O'Connor Street.</span> <i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 4, 1911)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiomDRJrf-FIIAEOzQYSz7RdRvNqHVcwyphZGGv4WmXBq8YzXx-xs8EVOOPzFG6ktxX26cj5_zd4bLFdZBiwFo9gMhYhrFac9rgyJlYnVzBeAa1iFA5Z_tN7s_YCRT3w9vRyr-OExVe3qLWKVMiVvHZBBjju6vWA8JoEMrmVzr8QjzKlhtPSLCbvvRD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="774" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiomDRJrf-FIIAEOzQYSz7RdRvNqHVcwyphZGGv4WmXBq8YzXx-xs8EVOOPzFG6ktxX26cj5_zd4bLFdZBiwFo9gMhYhrFac9rgyJlYnVzBeAa1iFA5Z_tN7s_YCRT3w9vRyr-OExVe3qLWKVMiVvHZBBjju6vWA8JoEMrmVzr8QjzKlhtPSLCbvvRD=w576-h640" width="576" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">It had already been enlarged several times by 1911 when the company hired Weeks to design the addition, in a style to match the existing warehouse's unexpected grandeur. The Kahn System placard on the sidewalk hints that this may have been taken at the time of Weeks' addition</span><span style="text-align: left;">. (Photo:LAC)</span></div></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhg-v4xoGtBtPHCPajy6BGJ8eeFEDArvT45a5OQPJJ1WlzTBA-tKE4n2SwmjOfs8AfWj0g3XyJ2YHSUo-KU510_Oe-4TAosrsp2TCNNwC0PryBddA1m56IKuPMAP0yY-rcCStxGuCAxMuQHJUfZ6UevJNrtdgQ8t2HWo83mzCH2mSgpBLYoWyBCMc4U" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="838" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhg-v4xoGtBtPHCPajy6BGJ8eeFEDArvT45a5OQPJJ1WlzTBA-tKE4n2SwmjOfs8AfWj0g3XyJ2YHSUo-KU510_Oe-4TAosrsp2TCNNwC0PryBddA1m56IKuPMAP0yY-rcCStxGuCAxMuQHJUfZ6UevJNrtdgQ8t2HWo83mzCH2mSgpBLYoWyBCMc4U=w517-h640" width="517" /></a></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Because of the narrowness of O'Connor Street, and the fact that it was hemmed in by other buildings, it is impossible to find a photo of the full frontage of the Garland warehouse. This one dates from 1916. It's unclear as to whether they actually proceeded with their intention, but by my reckoning (shinier roofing and cornice materials) Weeks' enlargement would have been to the right of the pedimented window in the middle of Garland's fancy Mansard. </span><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqGYTWzlSwuWBYx27qREFCCDEm4ymoPzsLLTZJ1qPdWbFb1YHVLi8iAc2zaJoYvuF2pjESd2X_8lbIp_Umv3lO8K_dKqW7k-B9dt1z9Sjgc9ohM5IFfbGvSg48uVsf3XwxaQ3RbcsynqrU3yYqYtRxeBJoDnFrvJ7l-__P_XEKtslIc6vJJkbsacbd" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2966" data-original-width="2113" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqGYTWzlSwuWBYx27qREFCCDEm4ymoPzsLLTZJ1qPdWbFb1YHVLi8iAc2zaJoYvuF2pjESd2X_8lbIp_Umv3lO8K_dKqW7k-B9dt1z9Sjgc9ohM5IFfbGvSg48uVsf3XwxaQ3RbcsynqrU3yYqYtRxeBJoDnFrvJ7l-__P_XEKtslIc6vJJkbsacbd=w285-h400" width="285" /></a></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>'Plans are Being Prepared by Local Architect'</b> - that would be Arthur L. Weeks, who was </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span style="font-size: large;">retained in 1913 to design this ambitious building after a spectacular Albert Street fire had destroyed both the Nickle and an adjoining theatre. It was to contain an 1,800 seat vaudeville and motion picture theatre, with offices and stores to either side of the entrance and apartments above. Unfortunately this project was to remain in the land of the unbuilt. </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, July 18, 1913) </i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">However there would be a tragic postscript to The Wendell's story...</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFwVPrPQQa9iF5oMTbx4J_iLmR2sftukzBWtHiPbz8xZ5thpEhfEpEQr-UgVozPLEC8mPF4vJsGHn5sChIVWrpPNL6zZupUclZxWhhNnZZQvbnsSx-XVDbtBGdav0J1b_fH4oiRsPu1VbrV-aCZKUegPP7vByGYN9zulP5eCPEcrT2_kyJYEuLXrfE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5569" data-original-width="6408" height="557" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFwVPrPQQa9iF5oMTbx4J_iLmR2sftukzBWtHiPbz8xZ5thpEhfEpEQr-UgVozPLEC8mPF4vJsGHn5sChIVWrpPNL6zZupUclZxWhhNnZZQvbnsSx-XVDbtBGdav0J1b_fH4oiRsPu1VbrV-aCZKUegPP7vByGYN9zulP5eCPEcrT2_kyJYEuLXrfE=w640-h557" width="640" /></a></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1912 owner Edward McNeill had said that the most modern ideas were used in constructing The Wendell and that his building 'was absolutely fireproof'. This proved to be desperately wrong. In the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 4, 1941 a vicious fire destroyed all of the third and some of the second floors. Most of the tenants, sleeping at the time managed to escape, but there were fatalities. The Citizen's front page photos documented the condition of the building's exterior later that day.The roof had burned off but the walls were relatively intact. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, March 4, 1941)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsS3tUkTDYcZXiQHX39MRe4n3vw9dVPoGltt-gJ7NQCh9QW7449-2EWWFjU-nz6m3ZtDKDSmJvxMgTXd56gd6b7xhH8R5b5nIFlwlf3q1lFHQCScNoinp_7MJii_fmoXsLC4dpQNQKrGQlZF3eKDUhkhoLKtrID_XxboChXoZEs80xVEeQR4FI_nOQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4627" data-original-width="5214" height="569" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsS3tUkTDYcZXiQHX39MRe4n3vw9dVPoGltt-gJ7NQCh9QW7449-2EWWFjU-nz6m3ZtDKDSmJvxMgTXd56gd6b7xhH8R5b5nIFlwlf3q1lFHQCScNoinp_7MJii_fmoXsLC4dpQNQKrGQlZF3eKDUhkhoLKtrID_XxboChXoZEs80xVEeQR4FI_nOQ=w640-h569" width="640" /></a></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The fire had apparently started with a lit cigarette butt falling on a davenport in a second floor apartment. It then likely spread by travelling up the unit's dumbwaiter's shaft (which didn't have a fire retardant lining) to become fully engaged on the third floor - where the twelve individual rooms had previously been consolidated to form full size apartments, without the use of fireproof materials. They were lucky that it did not reach the basement where McNeill, who also owned the Federal Typewriter Company, was storing tons of highly flammable stencil and stenographer's paper.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Ottawa Journal, March 4, 1941)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-_SlcUe-QCzeqdV4wtHPbNxtPi6G92Jxf3b6Y0_wRqSQDaanA25s5vgXMQn6Jbg7-SNWmlM862W0Eca-99jjmk34MnjFcs1wV-tgTPbvvXWlrjxSe6UpydldvbViMEQQ7RfaxCGMrLlrK8ec72xwxk_m8syRDGbAB1I6TwoNtRuqwSoKrgb4updEY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2998" data-original-width="5144" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-_SlcUe-QCzeqdV4wtHPbNxtPi6G92Jxf3b6Y0_wRqSQDaanA25s5vgXMQn6Jbg7-SNWmlM862W0Eca-99jjmk34MnjFcs1wV-tgTPbvvXWlrjxSe6UpydldvbViMEQQ7RfaxCGMrLlrK8ec72xwxk_m8syRDGbAB1I6TwoNtRuqwSoKrgb4updEY=w640-h374" width="640" /></a></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">An Inquiry led by the Chief Coroner and the Crown Attorney was convened one week later. They heard from 23 witnesses - some providing gruesome first hand accounts of their injuries and terror. The findings supported the cigarette theory, but found that there had been delays in reporting the blaze. No one had telephoned the fire department and it wasn't notified until someone thought to run out and pull the emergency alarm box at Gloucester and O'Connor. A recently installed Bell Telephone cable had prevented the fire escapes from lowering all the way to the ground, and those fire escapes could only be reached from inside a few individual apartments, not from the common space in the hallway. While the fire extinguishers had been checked a few months earlier the jury seconded the Fire Chief's advice to install fire alarm gongs on each floor. </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, March 11, 1941)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFZsVRkeEHBey_6VactA6RQun4Wnb2XZhOvIIFbdt5BPEEsGk0aVNrEf7eh4KQ7uf9b3AeqLiTPBjo3luzeoakjTMw51ZyhHwZHqMQXLCKKc_5G_b2PzsjbhNdIZfRZrY9CaDlT4PeE5R1p7h4cz0a4-UO0XyRlpUkaJTR8v72ZvsXCXldtBhFyaJ4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="8034" data-original-width="5022" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFZsVRkeEHBey_6VactA6RQun4Wnb2XZhOvIIFbdt5BPEEsGk0aVNrEf7eh4KQ7uf9b3AeqLiTPBjo3luzeoakjTMw51ZyhHwZHqMQXLCKKc_5G_b2PzsjbhNdIZfRZrY9CaDlT4PeE5R1p7h4cz0a4-UO0XyRlpUkaJTR8v72ZvsXCXldtBhFyaJ4=w400-h640" width="400" /></a></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">A permit was soon issued to reconstruct the damaged portions of The Wendell, using fireproof construction in the walls surrounding the hallways. Two enclosed 'fire-tower' stairwells would be added at the front and back of the building. And the choice of an architect was noteworthy. For this Edward McNeill retained the redoubtable Cecil Burgess who, as his first professional job, had briefly been Arthur LeBaron Weeks' final partner during 1914-15 before Weeks left Ottawa for Detroit, Michigan in 1916, never to return.</span><i style="font-style: italic;"> (Ottawa Citizen, March 21, 1941)</i></div></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /><br /></i></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></span><p></p></div></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-83835911099280318362023-04-21T06:19:00.002-07:002023-04-25T15:10:23.404-07:00EXPLORING THE SHIFTING SHORES OF NEVILLE'S CREEK<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHR8rW2n9tWbQFW-9BmisIjOX3UcrOs_Gz-RAHtI2qCPHg0p7suVgehkBZDEOms5Tz3VwpeqS9O5lDHs0keIPFxmaDhMb5aUb3sd3NwevWVqcLI5YbOru5xpi-OhlmjbDNSQkup2KAu5DWPYISw7o-Pc2zSie7Ygg_2GhZa-knbIFoZZL2kR9beAX8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1739" data-original-width="2741" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHR8rW2n9tWbQFW-9BmisIjOX3UcrOs_Gz-RAHtI2qCPHg0p7suVgehkBZDEOms5Tz3VwpeqS9O5lDHs0keIPFxmaDhMb5aUb3sd3NwevWVqcLI5YbOru5xpi-OhlmjbDNSQkup2KAu5DWPYISw7o-Pc2zSie7Ygg_2GhZa-knbIFoZZL2kR9beAX8=w640-h406" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There are few vestiges of Neville's Creek today - a sudden dip in Robert Street halfway between Waverley and Gilmour, and a leafy little valley south of Lewis Street that meanders towards the Driveway. When full of water and flowing it was in a strategic location, discharging into the Rideau Canal at the very tip of the Golden Triangle. Development along its southern bank has barely changed from the time that it was fully built out as a quiet residential enclave in the early 1900s. The northern shore is another matter. It has served as the location of tiny framed cottages, a beer bottling works, industrially scaled utilitarian buildings, and latterly a highly regarded Modernist landmark that is about to be swept away by a new luxury apartment tower attempting to incorporate some of the site's recent history. More on these old houses in a moment </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>(Photo: Fire LACe999908799-u )</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg__tv0fT0EJw9f6qMmTeyurL9sDl-tp_IjRlucIzT3bFYWKr99iJK_3YkqI8-YoRTKjWQrPgT0knFtiBL-kc-iF-euq-aeaI4dEtrhRPrjYnl1Cs5y_pTMetvTSgbYg2PeJcJLKDgZPSTK51KCj98oC4EJM2MTGS30m5dCx9I-Ay9lZ2p2reHgG46D" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="2157" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg__tv0fT0EJw9f6qMmTeyurL9sDl-tp_IjRlucIzT3bFYWKr99iJK_3YkqI8-YoRTKjWQrPgT0knFtiBL-kc-iF-euq-aeaI4dEtrhRPrjYnl1Cs5y_pTMetvTSgbYg2PeJcJLKDgZPSTK51KCj98oC4EJM2MTGS30m5dCx9I-Ay9lZ2p2reHgG46D=w640-h328" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">A clear overview of the course of Neville's Creek as it flowed eastward from beyond Macdonald Street into the canal. This predates the construction of the OIC Driveway when there was only a narrow wooden footbridge over its mouth. Charles and Neville Streets were to be consolidated as Waverley Street, where Robert was to terminate, resuming at Gilmour. George Almond Street (whoever he was) would become an extension of Lewis. The two houses hanging out at the extreme end of Neville in the preceding title block are Nos. 1 and 5. They would ultimately disappear. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Map: Fire Ins 1895-98 LACe10689255-v8)</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfqGiOZI7LO8GbBMLCgawthWGLYwt0S5iSRm-h76aMY0zr_1YzQ7THDbLMWeowJNbOaJEj-cQM0xIZ1FVw10s3vpEtqxz7OBAgt8VKbS9GnMxKBD3bhbFYTImYRCVLf5VPRNG4e7RwhmAQkfficlZBuj-to5uLeCYCaakFMFDFkXkPEhzKBwrUiuXY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2189" data-original-width="2749" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfqGiOZI7LO8GbBMLCgawthWGLYwt0S5iSRm-h76aMY0zr_1YzQ7THDbLMWeowJNbOaJEj-cQM0xIZ1FVw10s3vpEtqxz7OBAgt8VKbS9GnMxKBD3bhbFYTImYRCVLf5VPRNG4e7RwhmAQkfficlZBuj-to5uLeCYCaakFMFDFkXkPEhzKBwrUiuXY=w640-h510" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The vacant houses were being documented by the newly created Federal District Commission some time after 1929 prior to their being expropriated and demolished. This is the older of the two with a Confederation-era neo-Georgian Ontario stone farmhouse composition, but in clapboard and in miniature. It's sitting directly on the ground with barely any foundation, and may have been moved here from another location, which was common for the time. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Photo: LACe999908801-u)</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0x88VFJ8_63jqg9wxFwmuXzbV5r9-nCExPC72vYD9FTt8vagWB9DI16bBbr9ktO1A-BGfCIw4o9umEW5LmkRDHiyRpylIsr3-sylL2Wn-NqGh7dCHo54Rw76rT2G2LlELjvz5hiKhnHd6zkJD0rd6EmX0Y7exciglAzJXa-FSb_IY0Z7obfKJ04kL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1884" data-original-width="2784" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0x88VFJ8_63jqg9wxFwmuXzbV5r9-nCExPC72vYD9FTt8vagWB9DI16bBbr9ktO1A-BGfCIw4o9umEW5LmkRDHiyRpylIsr3-sylL2Wn-NqGh7dCHo54Rw76rT2G2LlELjvz5hiKhnHd6zkJD0rd6EmX0Y7exciglAzJXa-FSb_IY0Z7obfKJ04kL=w640-h434" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The side view of No. 5, with a smaller gabled wing at the rear and beyond that a board and batten tail which probably comprised a summer kitchen and a storage shed. Remarkable state of preservation for its age, likely 1870 or earlier. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Photo: LACe99908799-u)</span></i></span><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUX4gaSlNF4jd3Q9eZY6MZHBvZTAGMmO8p1Qt5tMPZGUzKoUPdyu11Hbl5IJVn1lPgvMAE3K4gOIhC0xkSrImdIfnGwmsxqKLaRUQHvhFQ5V2u3PeSnvt1oHAlxayjXqryUi0-P99oJPXqyKpITGisggC51lHlMHko6SY-NIHrJ5e5d6mKYt6NGMvP" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1136" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUX4gaSlNF4jd3Q9eZY6MZHBvZTAGMmO8p1Qt5tMPZGUzKoUPdyu11Hbl5IJVn1lPgvMAE3K4gOIhC0xkSrImdIfnGwmsxqKLaRUQHvhFQ5V2u3PeSnvt1oHAlxayjXqryUi0-P99oJPXqyKpITGisggC51lHlMHko6SY-NIHrJ5e5d6mKYt6NGMvP=w640-h468" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A detail from the 1849 survey of the Rideau Canal's Ottawa Reach pinpoints the relationship between Neville's Creek and the canal. It marks the dividing point between the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2009/10/deep-cut.html">'Deep Cut'</a> to the north (so named because of the amount of material that had to be dug out to form this narrow channel), and the widened area to the south where the engineers were able to take advantage of a natural gully that extended all the way to Bank Street. Neville's Creek, which once flowed east through some marshy ground all the way to the Rideau River was dammed just above the canal's right-angled turn, so that the creek could feed this widened stretch beyond. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>(Map: LAC 005-048)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRSJWAhDmFq7yrDXNTnwIGXW5zQKC_pq9HN13HlzYTwayj7QA7TQizJfdaz7xskYhVm5TZa1YgR1XULSfT_uYcX8OXVON4ehc5QmN2bVKtHodgwWpWd-qRhwzKJ-bv383rXUSq5dUgT3inpu6nLMc-tNACz13iCbOzC2VH3AgbgBO-6bOwqcByF7pf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="2903" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRSJWAhDmFq7yrDXNTnwIGXW5zQKC_pq9HN13HlzYTwayj7QA7TQizJfdaz7xskYhVm5TZa1YgR1XULSfT_uYcX8OXVON4ehc5QmN2bVKtHodgwWpWd-qRhwzKJ-bv383rXUSq5dUgT3inpu6nLMc-tNACz13iCbOzC2VH3AgbgBO-6bOwqcByF7pf=w640-h352" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The whole course of the Rideau Canal's Ottawa Reach, laid out in a sketch map dating from the commencement of construction. For orientation, north is on the right, and west is at the top. The blue arrow (added by me) points to the river bound continuation of Neville's Creek. It was probably also used a waste-water wash to lower water levels as required. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>(Map: LAC 005-031)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCxN3GmZ_D-ocvYU3jYx3mTUeO8bbw_cBySSyesYso55Y2AXSzBJd9c99P5xHipN_Z1t9h_fVmgOCOg-dgdii693xDasfu3Me9vH4-pkt7m9xhGjJWXJRBomPm6AtmeCEDGwYwdp0SE6Z441mOpMqa35bA5LR6zebfb1XYzXbv1Pw8Ru4r24hxlJNU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2771" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCxN3GmZ_D-ocvYU3jYx3mTUeO8bbw_cBySSyesYso55Y2AXSzBJd9c99P5xHipN_Z1t9h_fVmgOCOg-dgdii693xDasfu3Me9vH4-pkt7m9xhGjJWXJRBomPm6AtmeCEDGwYwdp0SE6Z441mOpMqa35bA5LR6zebfb1XYzXbv1Pw8Ru4r24hxlJNU=w640-h474" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Next door No. 1 Neville/Waverley was the typical red brick two and a half storey Centretown neighbourhood house of the early 1890s, although with the spool work in the gable and front porch bracket flourishes, it was a cut above average. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Photo: LACe999908794-u)</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhgbEwWs9cWhT5Mim_aYgGFOGIOkf82nruNFQcdg_HdvQ7hlS0wmJzCjmZ_zIFDfA1cQSG5AJfwgyl2D6IjN1T6hoPHn_DdChw9go5UxtLhs18EJ7PZKCOmYC4MfJI6VqSI9jBN0Qem2a_ksk6CuvUe7Wvzv8_LrSbEDdRiUBhgd0bBfUJ4B3807n6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2067" data-original-width="2747" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhgbEwWs9cWhT5Mim_aYgGFOGIOkf82nruNFQcdg_HdvQ7hlS0wmJzCjmZ_zIFDfA1cQSG5AJfwgyl2D6IjN1T6hoPHn_DdChw9go5UxtLhs18EJ7PZKCOmYC4MfJI6VqSI9jBN0Qem2a_ksk6CuvUe7Wvzv8_LrSbEDdRiUBhgd0bBfUJ4B3807n6=w640-h482" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And the rear shot with a nice bedroom level screened-in porch that would have been great to sleep in during Ottawa's muggy summers. There is a 1920s couple at the right in the distance captured standing in the street and looking back. They were probably spying on the FDC's photographer who would have been using an attention getting large format camera and tripod. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>(Photo: LACe99908795-u)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCY6Jzreab39NapO475UObvQ8MAzSnas1rux4jK0BCG1f7W57gv_2lROL8u9SqteEB3qayZ5r7qKB4yiaNjaO9_mEiidNdhC8x0eIMwdJ2zEomefdEC8nI8-yW7bNxeSNPJVZGsIUdYL98KsLkzVbziwHDMmVRSMYcxc5mtY7kDovkJ5TKwkICmGTe" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1477" data-original-width="2712" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCY6Jzreab39NapO475UObvQ8MAzSnas1rux4jK0BCG1f7W57gv_2lROL8u9SqteEB3qayZ5r7qKB4yiaNjaO9_mEiidNdhC8x0eIMwdJ2zEomefdEC8nI8-yW7bNxeSNPJVZGsIUdYL98KsLkzVbziwHDMmVRSMYcxc5mtY7kDovkJ5TKwkICmGTe=w640-h348" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The two houses were scheduled for demolition in order to make way for the Driveway's landscape improvements that the FDC was undertaking - mostly widening the turn at Waverley. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Photo: LACe999908799-u)</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjruQK18N3unqWEDV0Euwd4z2ULVkLOamma90feTIiG4CusNV4iDXmuSFoDMnjIDdIYoQZm_QZGfE-rMc4mkbZ0Q_zw2qT4LSGpGZ1cF1-FbKadfZE39gWVqUoYroiy9ws_jk_38cB3tF0MHj2g-VQZ-SpXYZvMVer80bba-0IQIMkoUlP0cwbrbRtH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="848" height="567" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjruQK18N3unqWEDV0Euwd4z2ULVkLOamma90feTIiG4CusNV4iDXmuSFoDMnjIDdIYoQZm_QZGfE-rMc4mkbZ0Q_zw2qT4LSGpGZ1cF1-FbKadfZE39gWVqUoYroiy9ws_jk_38cB3tF0MHj2g-VQZ-SpXYZvMVer80bba-0IQIMkoUlP0cwbrbRtH=w640-h567" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Neville's Creek had totally disappeared by 1912, when the property was now encompassed by the Ottawa Improvement Commission's Driveway 'gardens'. The ancient water course was diverted into storm sewers that now lay under an earthen dam that delineated the canal's 90 degree turn. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Map: Fire Ins 1912 LACe10689369-v-8)</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_9lr3cmVAgPuJi2WFH0PQ4U0c8asHe9GiH9l4_glHzq6UJtKFwi3Ls0lcCVNTOQ0COKMG2p8IOlOcO_Uv-T_9zqgYYsDFAYNytNWMOfjFNCukr-T-4uOQQJwwuyFk9eQleUUrHcrA4pLAZErojnKOt39SYvQlT4dYGeyuWDAVXc_yeTmf_2qugvDL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1740" data-original-width="2756" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_9lr3cmVAgPuJi2WFH0PQ4U0c8asHe9GiH9l4_glHzq6UJtKFwi3Ls0lcCVNTOQ0COKMG2p8IOlOcO_Uv-T_9zqgYYsDFAYNytNWMOfjFNCukr-T-4uOQQJwwuyFk9eQleUUrHcrA4pLAZErojnKOt39SYvQlT4dYGeyuWDAVXc_yeTmf_2qugvDL=w640-h404" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The tip of the Golden Triangle as it was in 1929 before the houses were removed. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Photo: LACe99908801-u)</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOdfLLiTbamX_6GBMpuqVJZOENlHsOmnX8r_oxHO6Jd0GaKILqcWZvlgqdJNw1onBRHfLNVVPAde1FmluFrog6L7KuxM5d_XbSswqMC7Upl6tLsFLkawXf-4NdzAz1vyrAK76fpkc1M7uJjMeu0q24PJA43W5nYQmG-jHMZLyazOAfWg2eY_0p2Rxj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2115" data-original-width="2778" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOdfLLiTbamX_6GBMpuqVJZOENlHsOmnX8r_oxHO6Jd0GaKILqcWZvlgqdJNw1onBRHfLNVVPAde1FmluFrog6L7KuxM5d_XbSswqMC7Upl6tLsFLkawXf-4NdzAz1vyrAK76fpkc1M7uJjMeu0q24PJA43W5nYQmG-jHMZLyazOAfWg2eY_0p2Rxj=w640-h488" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And the same area after the Driveway was widened, curbed and flanked with new sidewalks at its western edge. Across the canal the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-university-of-ottawa-campus-swells.html">University of Ottawa's stadium, 'the Oval'</a> and the Ottawa Artificial Ice Company could now be clearly seen. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>(Photo: LACe999908798-u)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibPuUp1KMWw21uKKxdNEoB3HC-KQC_qTXzY5WeuGORyxY8z6PwqItCvu2OhL7nYuVeLf-034u1VJXrFbrTxK86Nh6ObXy4lcc9IEjg0zzSuKA7fYNHw6Vio5anEmDThnkMaCr5URTlJsLOMGIpnKH4ZY-pALEGJXGlMwmC0DuOXj9PEiqnetbxluL-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="398" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibPuUp1KMWw21uKKxdNEoB3HC-KQC_qTXzY5WeuGORyxY8z6PwqItCvu2OhL7nYuVeLf-034u1VJXrFbrTxK86Nh6ObXy4lcc9IEjg0zzSuKA7fYNHw6Vio5anEmDThnkMaCr5URTlJsLOMGIpnKH4ZY-pALEGJXGlMwmC0DuOXj9PEiqnetbxluL-=w400-h236" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Neville's Creek, Neville's Point, and the small settlement that grew up around it isolated from the rest of the city appears in the 1876 Brosius Bird's Eye panoramic view of Ottawa. To make the point that Cap't William Neville's boat building business was located here, steaming ships are passing nearby.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWu76RrDB3nENegjHdSolY47F9jaxxtKDREbRJXvM4NSQ0wFNB98XscoVUYOwy93C5JpMPaSaTeMVFU4uWcAO48jvnTbu1BdwFQgrSWghZwGxwtf17nYYmkUI1iMEUPos7Ln8hUYr9Y0e4MSnloTV9Qu8MX4kytqxragYJGxtHrlpqfn-PqNXg8yvJ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="600" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWu76RrDB3nENegjHdSolY47F9jaxxtKDREbRJXvM4NSQ0wFNB98XscoVUYOwy93C5JpMPaSaTeMVFU4uWcAO48jvnTbu1BdwFQgrSWghZwGxwtf17nYYmkUI1iMEUPos7Ln8hUYr9Y0e4MSnloTV9Qu8MX4kytqxragYJGxtHrlpqfn-PqNXg8yvJ=w640-h452" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Neville lived at what was later 61 Waverley, at the corner of Robert, a building once known by long-time residents of the area as the R W Confectionary (now demolished). Neville family members continued to live in the tip of the Golden Triangle on Gilmour, Lewis and Waverley Streets for decades. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Photo: LAC Ted Grant)</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj22CgwlIwkkB8TeexHnqaqMLIQcgRP7OOjHrDAGWxoRXG4uZmRRf8MiE8SFC8zKsJuYPqcJyz5Rjq8hs62e9pgm9ZOc1EmTGOgbYIsrCqTNIpXbYACumJCFpPIXcufXWS1EXqlOEtXR0O9wpwpsHvrrBmCOe1_zajMZJVsXQGgu1NdrsbnMAiiUshk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1857" data-original-width="2547" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj22CgwlIwkkB8TeexHnqaqMLIQcgRP7OOjHrDAGWxoRXG4uZmRRf8MiE8SFC8zKsJuYPqcJyz5Rjq8hs62e9pgm9ZOc1EmTGOgbYIsrCqTNIpXbYACumJCFpPIXcufXWS1EXqlOEtXR0O9wpwpsHvrrBmCOe1_zajMZJVsXQGgu1NdrsbnMAiiUshk=w640-h466" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The November 9, 1925; reprinted November 8, 1932; revised to 10 October 1948 Fire insurance plate for the former Neville's Creek area shows a multiple building complex on what would have been its northern shore - Capital Moving and Storage Company, a fairly large concern that was the official Ottawa agent for Allied Van Lines, North America's biggest moving company</span>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkdC0nMF9bgA34YC8EO9Pb6-o-_uaQM1VmXPyVIjXLAH5MlrozDYU0hMhlgrWKW1yDk_4-KMfdD5AnJG4Gmc2_Cv3ORZ35LLu5oZZ6xepgZ9lj9roZ82A_OaC4rNQg2LmX09nVeCR34YlRbXzXQiIF7saM--_n3k96h3uV1OafU9wsI7WIw79k2o8w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1262" height="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkdC0nMF9bgA34YC8EO9Pb6-o-_uaQM1VmXPyVIjXLAH5MlrozDYU0hMhlgrWKW1yDk_4-KMfdD5AnJG4Gmc2_Cv3ORZ35LLu5oZZ6xepgZ9lj9roZ82A_OaC4rNQg2LmX09nVeCR34YlRbXzXQiIF7saM--_n3k96h3uV1OafU9wsI7WIw79k2o8w=w640-h575" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Capital Moving and Storage Company moved here from Wellington Street in 1925. It's unclear whether they made any use of the older two storey storage building that was also already on site which appears to have been unsecured as compared to the main building where the windows were barred or blocked up. The small pines in the foreground of this winter shot were part of the OIC's post-creek landscaping. They are still growing there today. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Photo: City of Ottawa Archives)</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJZvvxhuYn8Gv9mwqsCenSjVxYWBFVQ_2PyHUNaz3ZxcxiFreyabJ8bH630yXhlU5rHdTssLCTbRWIeGVxIMSaM44ulJJg8c2T27pIBrr0MHRwLuJyYqCE82hbFpGOsLzDRqFBYBTJEAZQUU-hYN2puMS_PKkmEKP7NeAsxTYr5nKdycXfmf2NJA5P" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2279" data-original-width="4567" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJZvvxhuYn8Gv9mwqsCenSjVxYWBFVQ_2PyHUNaz3ZxcxiFreyabJ8bH630yXhlU5rHdTssLCTbRWIeGVxIMSaM44ulJJg8c2T27pIBrr0MHRwLuJyYqCE82hbFpGOsLzDRqFBYBTJEAZQUU-hYN2puMS_PKkmEKP7NeAsxTYr5nKdycXfmf2NJA5P=w640-h320" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhATz4U0wZWRiHU9O7By1IHxA232PegGSZBmHAHgV5NQA0VZXVpz-NXKjwvQpVsXFeaGe3KgNVjyiP2zw_e5gNq0aCwrm8hBaq_lggaYSotHuvVtRdOQ2U0BJIg0orON3Regtb4i2fOl9zxgCUozrxU0XHMnBDAxjLir7jenejCK3sY0KrOcegZttO4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1225" data-original-width="4567" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhATz4U0wZWRiHU9O7By1IHxA232PegGSZBmHAHgV5NQA0VZXVpz-NXKjwvQpVsXFeaGe3KgNVjyiP2zw_e5gNq0aCwrm8hBaq_lggaYSotHuvVtRdOQ2U0BJIg0orON3Regtb4i2fOl9zxgCUozrxU0XHMnBDAxjLir7jenejCK3sY0KrOcegZttO4=w640-h172" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: left;">In announcing their move to the Driveway on May 6, 1925 the company said: <i>'CAPITAL Storage Co., Lewis St. and Government Driveway, paid up capital $180,000, your security, established 1886, offer you fireproof, isolated, modern storage for household goods in private compartments at very reasonable prices, with separate piano, trunk, and rug rooms. We also do local and long distance moving, high class crating, packing and shipping to any destination. Please book space now. Telephone Q370.' </i>They were very proud of their capacious International stream-lined semi-trailer Moving Van Truck.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKm1tUrk5flfpWDUX8VzBGf5HoRVyVGowEG8awW9-pPhFNNtDG0qfFjLl9qkHGV7AK2k0psS0sW_mrGAaMAyWKgCVIi1ovHzH0g0oSPsnArmwwH6_4qDEUwKFNtYSm_hvPHRMs7mtGnulEiyQh8UsBmGfOzqHfpS8F5PP16QV4HSrzjgkQX6H61Txy" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3748" data-original-width="4938" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKm1tUrk5flfpWDUX8VzBGf5HoRVyVGowEG8awW9-pPhFNNtDG0qfFjLl9qkHGV7AK2k0psS0sW_mrGAaMAyWKgCVIi1ovHzH0g0oSPsnArmwwH6_4qDEUwKFNtYSm_hvPHRMs7mtGnulEiyQh8UsBmGfOzqHfpS8F5PP16QV4HSrzjgkQX6H61Txy=w640-h486" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Capital Storage continued to operate from their Driveway property until 1955 when they relocated to Preston Street. How they managed to get those large moving vans in and out of the site and through the neighbourhood's narrow streets is a mystery. After that it appears that in order to protect the Rideau Canal environs and manage the area's future development the lots were scooped up by the Federal District Commission, which then converted the western end of the land into a district maintenance yard. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Ottawa Citizen, August 28, 1953)</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhk9Xk4NLSOcSS87W1RM2IvkJzo32It0bJc-xLUCmnN_ttT8bSuzZqTe9O25rSREyG2ElVH-QUae9qCjfnXwD0tiR-nQ5yDDU46I9ZmE9mQwZ4NiuE6r45wDgr8HcBBFKPKzpJmwhW7q-uXq7jR2bmpfdRWRqqk8zi_wbtpf2Ts9KldU9Hy1wUa288-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="745" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhk9Xk4NLSOcSS87W1RM2IvkJzo32It0bJc-xLUCmnN_ttT8bSuzZqTe9O25rSREyG2ElVH-QUae9qCjfnXwD0tiR-nQ5yDDU46I9ZmE9mQwZ4NiuE6r45wDgr8HcBBFKPKzpJmwhW7q-uXq7jR2bmpfdRWRqqk8zi_wbtpf2Ts9KldU9Hy1wUa288-=w400-h319" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ten years after they abandoned their Driveway at Lewis location Capital Moving and Storage Company's bulky warehouses would be replaced by this, formally known as the Canadian Nurses Association House. Is it a Modernist masterwork, or an overly complicated project where the architects packed in one too many design moves? Selected from a grouping of seven potential architects, the CNA chose James Strutt and Inigo Adamson, a partnership of two radical pioneers that had been formed in 1960. They produced one tricky little building - it's small but intense. </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">(Photo: NCC Annual Report, 1966)</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwmIR8Y2p1wPW2Ux2pVbcgfVmb-MeGG2Dk9-eBkjv_hqpdiCVJCU1aO5agIXIw-smJtXSQEDhaIa6u29gtmcO_k8MqG46KQGQp7GdK-NaDI5vlMKKTkwgaP1WtCA7OYhChb90M469Lu3t7rrmQRyD8Qqjhylb3eeW9mLWycXAmmswkZuS0yTWIAy0R" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="1273" height="553" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwmIR8Y2p1wPW2Ux2pVbcgfVmb-MeGG2Dk9-eBkjv_hqpdiCVJCU1aO5agIXIw-smJtXSQEDhaIa6u29gtmcO_k8MqG46KQGQp7GdK-NaDI5vlMKKTkwgaP1WtCA7OYhChb90M469Lu3t7rrmQRyD8Qqjhylb3eeW9mLWycXAmmswkZuS0yTWIAy0R=w640-h553" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Its ribbed surfaces highlighted their finely considered choice of a locally made burned and roughened antique brownish brick contrasted with sparsely applied tinted precast trimming - both of which are nearly impossible to fabricate today.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidbFr7kvzGNw83u6t6XcYORSsmt1KRWf70-P0dEeUNFIt9JI0iQCwp9ih6HDrmdcN2z77HzsIuv0OSiQGmM7lHj4Vbh8OeNgGgLJi784VLzXVRsAOzr8maI8FpI7LUS0h8nu2IPW-xrecVPsm38ic4P2v_U1nPRqunykVX7OaFcMBFe4vLuJ1g71I-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2967" data-original-width="4498" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidbFr7kvzGNw83u6t6XcYORSsmt1KRWf70-P0dEeUNFIt9JI0iQCwp9ih6HDrmdcN2z77HzsIuv0OSiQGmM7lHj4Vbh8OeNgGgLJi784VLzXVRsAOzr8maI8FpI7LUS0h8nu2IPW-xrecVPsm38ic4P2v_U1nPRqunykVX7OaFcMBFe4vLuJ1g71I-=w640-h422" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The CNA's odd internal circulation pattern required you to enter via the top floor and work your way down through the levels, an act that mimics the building's downward-sloping site, which was actually the shore of the old creek bed. Of course to do this you first had to ascend the monumental flights of stairs using mighty handrails at both the front and rear entrances. Once inside you could experience the building's three principal office floors, broken down into six sub-levels on alternating landings. This is the CNA's rear door conveniently adjacent to the parking lot and therefore used more often that the canal-facing official front door. Above these deeply recessed portals looms one of the CNA's signature design motifs - a hollow precast cube that would be deployed elsewhere as well. Obviously the other design star was the transparent, twisted lantern dome carrying many nurse-related messages. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, May 2, 1968)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQMH6-B8_nTD2gw_oXZlRIKytirSHAwiaMyeMSfchJiIJ5HfIRZ2vPaARI3IDW0PK_RXIO8diMTQyAWVBIOJgual9dBD_h3vcuYU6vpT4DtVHTK0skTCLkU6Syi6nnEW0Kxm9VsW_4Zevmc-x6tHkFwJtCwsJ4YWQQoDAL0FLDYVDVrp2nE7OdUZYU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3483" data-original-width="4639" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQMH6-B8_nTD2gw_oXZlRIKytirSHAwiaMyeMSfchJiIJ5HfIRZ2vPaARI3IDW0PK_RXIO8diMTQyAWVBIOJgual9dBD_h3vcuYU6vpT4DtVHTK0skTCLkU6Syi6nnEW0Kxm9VsW_4Zevmc-x6tHkFwJtCwsJ4YWQQoDAL0FLDYVDVrp2nE7OdUZYU=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Barbara Lambert's May 2, 1968 'Design for Living' review of the CNA Headquarters contains so many fascinating quotable quotes regarding the building's myriad of carefully wrought components that I have reprinted it in its entirety. In the 1960s Lambert, a skilful observer of the local design scene, was the <i>Ottawa Citizen's </i>first full-time architecture critic.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhupVzrMKWrGcbZjG8D9FCzaQbS6VKgScHWTUEb1pxWEHqNibUzEr6dsqlcvncTD9OhmrvQZMTx9CTPpsoQMq5lUgcky5kh0N9NiFpoFc8OJNFK-O9ZoOgU9u9CSL58SQ5thwQEebN9WMiXR6TJH6xNn941KP8NS1hNqRUQOsGt1soBwoOmcveFMOob" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="862" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhupVzrMKWrGcbZjG8D9FCzaQbS6VKgScHWTUEb1pxWEHqNibUzEr6dsqlcvncTD9OhmrvQZMTx9CTPpsoQMq5lUgcky5kh0N9NiFpoFc8OJNFK-O9ZoOgU9u9CSL58SQ5thwQEebN9WMiXR6TJH6xNn941KP8NS1hNqRUQOsGt1soBwoOmcveFMOob=w640-h466" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The footprint of the CNA was described as a 'jagged diamond', which can be seen near the middle top to the right of the high rise apartment tower of this 1991 aerial view of the Golden Triangle's tip. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>(Photo: geoOttawa)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzqg1H2B1EaZx7-moajRBbVPigHKoDICtErhJ7TED0DF-U7weqCygMFNU5YFlp_-LiNcp0CLDfP256d91rZfqfw01lgls78EUx7fPUjH0Xvm9pjb_OMYG9Y2FyCeqdXZsHyO14fyVquAq_6kJoH1cvImD6mMB12bn7FQ8k3w0bQW-6Ht-je1cI4Z4-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzqg1H2B1EaZx7-moajRBbVPigHKoDICtErhJ7TED0DF-U7weqCygMFNU5YFlp_-LiNcp0CLDfP256d91rZfqfw01lgls78EUx7fPUjH0Xvm9pjb_OMYG9Y2FyCeqdXZsHyO14fyVquAq_6kJoH1cvImD6mMB12bn7FQ8k3w0bQW-6Ht-je1cI4Z4-=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The zig-zag saw-toothed walls continue on three sides where those hollow concrete cubes make an appearance in miniature along the roofline. Take a good look at this wall in its present position because it is to be reimagined in a different location.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkfq3X3HjIpAUi7mnJSq-19Py3t2Gl4KIuAaiZtFi4jiVm7DcR1QKdRyL5NWldJ26Clp-DKF2PGmmpzEtH1vUSeR95qnIlA7t3OS9MUKXgB5txIsnkY_imp8yqIrGUGxs_zjW-5Pps-hfbUPgbFPfkuAsp0viDLnQCLlcU_I7IPKLItl2kyu8up5oj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="966" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkfq3X3HjIpAUi7mnJSq-19Py3t2Gl4KIuAaiZtFi4jiVm7DcR1QKdRyL5NWldJ26Clp-DKF2PGmmpzEtH1vUSeR95qnIlA7t3OS9MUKXgB5txIsnkY_imp8yqIrGUGxs_zjW-5Pps-hfbUPgbFPfkuAsp0viDLnQCLlcU_I7IPKLItl2kyu8up5oj=w640-h502" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">We've all heard of the facadectomy procedure where a building's historic skin is to be shored up and preserved <i>in situ</i> while the new building is constructed behind. Here a slice of the 1966 CNA Headquarters is to be referenced with a replica wall to be erected at a far remove from its original foundations. To the casual observer unaware of its heritage baggage it could look like a shotgun marriage between the new and the pseudo-old. To me it's a strategic fig leaf trying to temper a developer's business decision to proceed with the necessary destruction of a Modernist landmark designed by one of the city's most important architects, that once gone would probably have been best remembered through a lavish on-site display of some great historic photographs. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>(Image: Hobin Architecture Inc.)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgb5RMB-xZv_2LFaF4ixB9OUx0xpYrBvlVjjh6aC7D9iyUvEa9isHnXEBJqe5oxl1_jiZhgvuw3dzYiKbBlu3f9AXrzP7RNZ81IY4kzWhL1PjjTAtYqBrW1bu4KPjJLpI7H3P5SNUzpvsvXFxk2AbHOBDUF-olbhaSrptQGG-BPXXXSga4dNLu2CDQY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1309" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgb5RMB-xZv_2LFaF4ixB9OUx0xpYrBvlVjjh6aC7D9iyUvEa9isHnXEBJqe5oxl1_jiZhgvuw3dzYiKbBlu3f9AXrzP7RNZ81IY4kzWhL1PjjTAtYqBrW1bu4KPjJLpI7H3P5SNUzpvsvXFxk2AbHOBDUF-olbhaSrptQGG-BPXXXSga4dNLu2CDQY=w640-h414" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">An earlier version of the 50 Driveway development where two spires and a parapet wall are meant to project some verticality. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>(Image: Hobin Architecture Inc.)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjplBmrX8AJiPgVLw1zAVWTHYOlMr3HfsQ1rjBhEuSDE6TP29Brid970PDnz2734v4UC_kQnncHKDMvfqquL4rGuncMLh5lVyYSTqtAWJ6In9eQq33nnlZ405j--5uIqxIzpK1CORFItt20nIq_v1n7SSzXePU76mA2l0hqRibaOTDEexCugutUhC6x" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1308" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjplBmrX8AJiPgVLw1zAVWTHYOlMr3HfsQ1rjBhEuSDE6TP29Brid970PDnz2734v4UC_kQnncHKDMvfqquL4rGuncMLh5lVyYSTqtAWJ6In9eQq33nnlZ405j--5uIqxIzpK1CORFItt20nIq_v1n7SSzXePU76mA2l0hqRibaOTDEexCugutUhC6x=w640-h388" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In its first submission to the City of Ottawa development approval process the proponents had wanted to plunk the partially reconstructed 'lantern' element down on the lawn, where it would become a Modernist garden folly - not what was popularly imagined as a nurse's cap, Florence Nightingale's lamp, the CNA's ancient torch logo, or a beacon of hope.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Image: Hobin Architecture Inc.)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFgl51VUeGfjVTG4TaNDaggNa4T9KU-T5dI8CweBZTqEy_Lshp1AFKBR1zqlT8mbwtI9JHnxPQdbDUOb9836Wthky2eHjUDTou2HqkjumHm8vWB1CkzlSQTnO_grpktK5gSiKZTViTQz0bsq_XyXld5Nz49x5ToJjSyETtYZ2rFSXmwdDrM6i4YqBu" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="1149" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFgl51VUeGfjVTG4TaNDaggNa4T9KU-T5dI8CweBZTqEy_Lshp1AFKBR1zqlT8mbwtI9JHnxPQdbDUOb9836Wthky2eHjUDTou2HqkjumHm8vWB1CkzlSQTnO_grpktK5gSiKZTViTQz0bsq_XyXld5Nz49x5ToJjSyETtYZ2rFSXmwdDrM6i4YqBu=w640-h282" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">With the revised plans the building's lantern is now to be placed at the very top of the new apartment tower, where it will shine out across the Golden Triangle throughout the night. A vintage photo of the building's eastern (canal-side) elevation, taken shortly after the CNA's construction, displays the uncompromising severity of the architects' original intentions. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Photo: Carl Bray Heritage)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghyiNw6p7mU1M_qlx9yD90UNBpZU0Dba2H1CFePWz7CPjLfJMyQ05XcKd3QfJoU17ABuPaYpe2ubS-n3q2I0df11cKPfRqoJFGxw6SNdozjkwMV_yT-85LMxXamguh-U5oXF-MMs9kIG0y5fqsHLbCjdZDmz1O0y41zeB34R5d9BZVJXMjAxNAnD87" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="1164" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghyiNw6p7mU1M_qlx9yD90UNBpZU0Dba2H1CFePWz7CPjLfJMyQ05XcKd3QfJoU17ABuPaYpe2ubS-n3q2I0df11cKPfRqoJFGxw6SNdozjkwMV_yT-85LMxXamguh-U5oXF-MMs9kIG0y5fqsHLbCjdZDmz1O0y41zeB34R5d9BZVJXMjAxNAnD87=w640-h322" width="640" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It seems incongruous that for what was meant to be a sincere, doubtlessly expensive, technically challenging homage to Strutt and Adamson's legacy that the clumsily punched newish windows to either side of the entrance stairs, much later degradations of the CNA's historic fabric, are apparently to be reproduced in this symbolic facsimile at the base of a new and unrelated apartment block. I won't ask 'What would James think?'.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>(Image: Hobin Architecture Inc.)</i></span></div></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-54136153117823746052022-06-19T07:08:00.001-07:002022-06-20T10:05:03.228-07:00St. LUKE'S PARK EXPLAINED: WHAT LIES BENEATH<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTfTw-yNEY4xsmvI8G_nRPuWTI4JvW_ZgqH3mAvlapMhWqA--MeF8yI-hlKBzHxM1CGrdZ5evpiuyHM-74ww1TvqUokbMg74jJBuIqmZja9GXu_5oaOdO_ebF2M8eNgc1ypllxxV_fAiwp9NTI0n3LMxYPSi3YLYoLBNNPh3FoyevlIlrdkKqj2RHF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1411" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTfTw-yNEY4xsmvI8G_nRPuWTI4JvW_ZgqH3mAvlapMhWqA--MeF8yI-hlKBzHxM1CGrdZ5evpiuyHM-74ww1TvqUokbMg74jJBuIqmZja9GXu_5oaOdO_ebF2M8eNgc1ypllxxV_fAiwp9NTI0n3LMxYPSi3YLYoLBNNPh3FoyevlIlrdkKqj2RHF=w640-h515" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It’s just a snippet of a park, only a sliver of land between Frank Street and Gladstone Avenue, but its history is bound up with some important milestones in Ottawa’s municipal past. Several times it has survived close escapes when either City Council wanted to be rid of it, or traffic engineers and urban planners have tried to devour it for other purposes.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First, to explain the park's long and narrow dimensions, a shallow half-block that was cut short when the city’s street grid ran into the city’s southern boundary of the time. More significant is the origin of its name. From 1898 to 1925 this property was the site of one of Ottawa’s two Protestant hospitals and suitably named after St. Luke the Evangelist, the patron saint of physicians and surgeons.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLupnkl2LJx7GjiN8vmgwdEfpZpWHm5Piha1znK0I-fy52t6q94G74gkWiqDlpPZ2GZ8MLmx2YLag6hxnE_QMg3HyhkwlLzRfDWy30ZHFj5039ZbZgRxg8jBn1-sr-9cO2Ut3Ava6ocysfDAatPAgOwZI0CX8qyRGrz5FWwvtJSHeyCenRHOaKbjwl" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="759" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLupnkl2LJx7GjiN8vmgwdEfpZpWHm5Piha1znK0I-fy52t6q94G74gkWiqDlpPZ2GZ8MLmx2YLag6hxnE_QMg3HyhkwlLzRfDWy30ZHFj5039ZbZgRxg8jBn1-sr-9cO2Ut3Ava6ocysfDAatPAgOwZI0CX8qyRGrz5FWwvtJSHeyCenRHOaKbjwl=w640-h454" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the mid-1890s a group of worthies, headed by lumber baron J.R. Booth had been formed to secure suitable land and financing for the building. When the hospital was constructed it was literally at the edge of town, a common practice of the era because it was held to be healthier to be located away from city noise and fumes.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The St. Luke’s Trustees hired the prominent architect Edgar L. Horwood to design the building, which was located at the western end of the block close to Elgin Street with a front door facing Frank Street</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Photo: LAC)</i></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg279DdxID0ScLTef2Rx_Od07qZsesyNEGMHZYPK_xYYkyHDJ8VQfQad8Obpl3h_pQ6dtzI1hqQuQ1K61Kip7flntjoW6itavGZqCtnKevYWqAFptt9xB0IHRGX08xO68QnmwSLUTcBuFBHprM9P45LKKo9zRtOYetxJ2a2xQQUqkFj_5Oapbc9E3BW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3291" data-original-width="6904" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg279DdxID0ScLTef2Rx_Od07qZsesyNEGMHZYPK_xYYkyHDJ8VQfQad8Obpl3h_pQ6dtzI1hqQuQ1K61Kip7flntjoW6itavGZqCtnKevYWqAFptt9xB0IHRGX08xO68QnmwSLUTcBuFBHprM9P45LKKo9zRtOYetxJ2a2xQQUqkFj_5Oapbc9E3BW=w400-h191" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;">‘Sir Wilfrid Laid the Stone - To-day’s Ceremony at St. Luke’s Hospital. - A corner stone was placed in position by the Premier who made a short address. The corner stone of the new St. Luke’s Hospital was laid at noon to-day.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: start;">The articles usually placed in a corner stone were then inserted in the stone and the ceremony was over with Sir Wilfrid performed this interesting ceremony. There was a large crowd present notwithstanding the unpleasant weather.’ </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;">(Ottawa Journal, September 22, 1897)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGYsP785yJfl43MALQeiWlL_VFMFw8S3abLeUzKMbRdXvyh9w0d1kJ6_sag-vj-lRfLS_8bYMs0ewCUYeJj9LkcZ_JX5GWJ3RtkMLOgo6WUrlQuq1LcJF6_W3B6qYH3uDqMMbHunQMFLmCw4zfSIhw4y-Naztu7a_Lb8iBOdMBkm6NyhhqijGWFIeH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="1986" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGYsP785yJfl43MALQeiWlL_VFMFw8S3abLeUzKMbRdXvyh9w0d1kJ6_sag-vj-lRfLS_8bYMs0ewCUYeJj9LkcZ_JX5GWJ3RtkMLOgo6WUrlQuq1LcJF6_W3B6qYH3uDqMMbHunQMFLmCw4zfSIhw4y-Naztu7a_Lb8iBOdMBkm6NyhhqijGWFIeH=w640-h386" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">‘The building itself will be an ideal one for a hospital’<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>said the <i>Ottawa Journal</i>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>At 220 feet long and 75 feet deep, its 14-foot ceilings were intended to create light airy spaces conducive to healing. The high basement floor was to be used tor the out-patients’ department, a consulting medical surgery, the pharmacy, and the pathology laboratory. Nurses were to be housed in their own top floor residence, with a kitchen, dining, and sitting rooms. The building had one large elevator.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A combination of wards and private rooms provided beds for 120 patients, with an additional 65 to be housed in a wing to be constructed in the future. Before designing St. Luke’s architect Horwood visited hospitals in Montreal, Toronto, New York, Buffalo, and Philadelphia for inspiration. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixfWLuoaNupJ5cZDGI9fsvWLKzgadSIFrmujfMkLMNTYX4TDq-xBVOMVR8S6To0-Rh5o0KZyMz2ASKd50X8a9xRJ7q9CfvB9PAWiJ0Nvxc7fSwY-_flZdsESiUoSwI6fLLJK5sYEgz-oECEGeZkfMbG3xAOXj8X9i1v83G95NZqhll77Qg6j6icotA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3937" data-original-width="4399" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixfWLuoaNupJ5cZDGI9fsvWLKzgadSIFrmujfMkLMNTYX4TDq-xBVOMVR8S6To0-Rh5o0KZyMz2ASKd50X8a9xRJ7q9CfvB9PAWiJ0Nvxc7fSwY-_flZdsESiUoSwI6fLLJK5sYEgz-oECEGeZkfMbG3xAOXj8X9i1v83G95NZqhll77Qg6j6icotA=w400-h358" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">‘</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That planned-for expansion came in 1912, a rather impressive new wing carried out in the Jacobethan style. 'The new building is to be four storeys high and is to be built of red brick in the same style and of the same material as the present building. There will be accommodation in the new wing for forty-six public patients, besides which there will be eighteen private rooms. Two operating rooms are to be on the top floor. The addition will contain all the most modern improvements and equipments. Not a stick of wood will be used in construction, all the windows, sashes, being of metal, while all the floors will be of concrete.’ </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, July 24, 1912)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_PjC-3p8DLdKaSxR7FpUtkZmf3ikY2NGxcaA7YNLvsHzEz-ODow4hEpzxziLNcaypjT4sr-R7LeBrs_LwWlxXQrKfx9_C-sjLcm_ZZ-T_cKqY9PKncXUlupMx5JF_oNSmdLOxwki2Iv3Z7SslRziX5cTaescY3axi4ed4HxVD7ulSu6PO_Q_YU2Jx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="760" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_PjC-3p8DLdKaSxR7FpUtkZmf3ikY2NGxcaA7YNLvsHzEz-ODow4hEpzxziLNcaypjT4sr-R7LeBrs_LwWlxXQrKfx9_C-sjLcm_ZZ-T_cKqY9PKncXUlupMx5JF_oNSmdLOxwki2Iv3Z7SslRziX5cTaescY3axi4ed4HxVD7ulSu6PO_Q_YU2Jx=w640-h476" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">St. Luke’s was eventually acquired by the city’s administration in a complicated legal arrangement that had the City</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">of Ottawa constructing the much larger Civic Hospital on Carling Avenue, with proceeds from the sale of the redundant hospital in Centretown going towards the costs. The City took possession in 1925.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">However after several years of indecision and failed schemes which resulted in the City of Ottawa never actually selling the property, City Council came to see the property as a valuable public asset that could serve the surrounding neighbourhood with some urgently needed public space.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It wasn’t for lack of trying. The Orphans’ Home, being evicted from its building further north on Elgin Street entered negotiations with the city. This was followed by consideration of potential purchases by the cruelly named<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>St. Vincent Home for Incurables and then the Perley Home for Incurables. After that the City’s Board of Control made an effort to lease it to the Dominion Government for the Geological Branch of the Department of Mines or other government purposes.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In 1929, in a last effort to deaccession the old St. Luke’s the City offered the property for sale by tender. The three bids submitted were deemed insufficient. Later a revised tender to demolish the older parts of the hospital building was<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>advertised. It was hoped that the 1912 wing could still be occupied for some useful purpose. None could be found and the rest of the building was taken down that same year. During the demolition workers uncovered the original cornerstone of 1897 with the time capsule encased in a glass bottle. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwTy9tmiSFy-WGfnpULOoc4DnX3FFVxAJPOZ9tuTT2E3ZiLNzQh52cyUTcWcUwzD8qbkB0k9vYmOLcGFC7l1bDWaNqDmnDXIbuY1pqafKXAwcAZmErVV6UFRnWLozPxhYhR_rerG5TNJSkmV6alOAOUp595XCCeISEFWx7eXjxS8BbF-CS2WWSmBri" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="952" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwTy9tmiSFy-WGfnpULOoc4DnX3FFVxAJPOZ9tuTT2E3ZiLNzQh52cyUTcWcUwzD8qbkB0k9vYmOLcGFC7l1bDWaNqDmnDXIbuY1pqafKXAwcAZmErVV6UFRnWLozPxhYhR_rerG5TNJSkmV6alOAOUp595XCCeISEFWx7eXjxS8BbF-CS2WWSmBri=w640-h293" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Plate 70 of the 1912 Fire Insurance Atlas depicts the 1912 addition in place, with excavations underway for a laundry annex that was to be erected at the rear of the hospital facing Gladstone. An ice house was located at a distance, further east on Gladstone. The map actually places the hospital too close to Elgin. In fact the 1912 addition was dead centre.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOIOUyqHziBlKz3cJoFAzSFtpJMQDKqm0qZNGkxFRHNHCnleJhJ4nVJMzZQb1PqK71M8_OqLLMegWbBkpOX94Qu0hVFQIwzECgOZVxYFBOKawYoCP1jTgrS_QVC1qMVqjbO9FhPuQ6OzJM0a-DjbGIMpxdyi8XW1NLEFKYYXSVasTJnMCnb7OX6bn8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="828" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOIOUyqHziBlKz3cJoFAzSFtpJMQDKqm0qZNGkxFRHNHCnleJhJ4nVJMzZQb1PqK71M8_OqLLMegWbBkpOX94Qu0hVFQIwzECgOZVxYFBOKawYoCP1jTgrS_QVC1qMVqjbO9FhPuQ6OzJM0a-DjbGIMpxdyi8XW1NLEFKYYXSVasTJnMCnb7OX6bn8=w640-h346" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />From a 1928 aerial photo: 1, a small formal, fenced park facing Elgin Street for the use of patients; 2, the 1897-98 wing; 3, the 1912 addition; 4, a large grassed area at the eastern end of the block, open to the public and set up with some sort of track.</span></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhepuKR9f6TTtF5sFOaz4cV-bYKMf9IKPWsjWZ31jdBfYSpUTD4rM8qMpvFo8PKgm_chrk2HPiTyHBCdwulY0e8kJ8HJfLCg__HcSAJ-wEdE8bd-hU-YtXDYO-v4hMlDOrq4NuMQxiE7P_xvuSvG8sliMS3nH2MIfsoTixK75rIZ_3k4qcEfbDWPqVA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2013" data-original-width="2309" height="559" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhepuKR9f6TTtF5sFOaz4cV-bYKMf9IKPWsjWZ31jdBfYSpUTD4rM8qMpvFo8PKgm_chrk2HPiTyHBCdwulY0e8kJ8HJfLCg__HcSAJ-wEdE8bd-hU-YtXDYO-v4hMlDOrq4NuMQxiE7P_xvuSvG8sliMS3nH2MIfsoTixK75rIZ_3k4qcEfbDWPqVA=w640-h559" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Plate 137 of the 1948 Fire Insurance Atlas shows the service station that once stood at the northwest corner of the block (concrete block, with three pump islands) and the newly completed dressing room in the middle of the park.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaaVpAa8jnMTjEkO6RnlI6BJItXd3hL-NpXxM8HmXqDK2Vfpol1E6f8w4_pciYGsIklo--ZT4YExi2-whE4Q8BdTXxPM6P6kspnzlgyCnNe11TMHhu2gD2fsW6e8vao77Clnge1ZuJaQ9_Nmk7pXy_OP_DVL_X8zW8JybqU1Py-Y4I_y09lS0VZsJm" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1411" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaaVpAa8jnMTjEkO6RnlI6BJItXd3hL-NpXxM8HmXqDK2Vfpol1E6f8w4_pciYGsIklo--ZT4YExi2-whE4Q8BdTXxPM6P6kspnzlgyCnNe11TMHhu2gD2fsW6e8vao77Clnge1ZuJaQ9_Nmk7pXy_OP_DVL_X8zW8JybqU1Py-Y4I_y09lS0VZsJm=w640-h515" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With the hospital demolition completed, </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;">in 1930 the City of Ottawa decided to create what it would call St. Luke’s Playground, but not before selling the northwest corner of the property at Frank and Elgin for a Cities Service gas station. This chunk of the block remains in private hands to this day.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For many years the so-called ‘playground’ was rough and provisional because for some time the city planners wanted to build a scenic drive through it which would then travel east on Frank to connect with the Federal Driveway on the Rideau Canal. Several attempts to sell the land for building lots were also floated.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: arial;">A softball diamond and a horseshoe pitch were among the park’s chief attractions. In the mid-1930s the City’s Playground Committee agreed to add a drinking fountain. At last in 1946-48 the City recognized the area’s acute lack of recreational space and proceeded with a field house, a play equipment area, and a wading pool. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">The newly completed 1948 facilities at St. Luke’s were ready just in time to be photographed and used as an illustration plate in Jacques Gréber’s 1949 National Capital Plan.</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> A basketball court and lawn bowling green would be added. Tennis courts would complete the facilities but not before St Luke’s would undergo the greatest threat to its existence.</span><i> (Photo: NCC Library)</i></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgooPz3gFtJxYarm7C_4d_hk02iXIsRE4N--HzIVK-4gaFazWwU3LRKETdfQ4VQYaY6poSmvBw6d7b6VkLjEeo4goxq9ELUz7XCA0EmYG6qg9lfoxFE4hZPtkk65eFlm7OtgxGfW3sHPR422hnvZ8XxCn4kypnOy4W9VUodU8RF0H8tY-aQULhBPTJY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3442" data-original-width="6231" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgooPz3gFtJxYarm7C_4d_hk02iXIsRE4N--HzIVK-4gaFazWwU3LRKETdfQ4VQYaY6poSmvBw6d7b6VkLjEeo4goxq9ELUz7XCA0EmYG6qg9lfoxFE4hZPtkk65eFlm7OtgxGfW3sHPR422hnvZ8XxCn4kypnOy4W9VUodU8RF0H8tY-aQULhBPTJY=w640-h354" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">‘New Wading Pool - St. Luke’s playground was a busy place last night when children and civic aldermen combined to open the new St. Luke’s wading pool.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Seconds after the water was turned on throngs of youngsters plunged into the pool and shouted joyous greetings to the cameramen who attended to record the opening.’ </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 16, 1948)</i></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEy8CeG4yEa-TXd-BuAF1oXxuiHy1-C94r8d190qOYlAnxZZcxr5r9qA0zbSl8bJ5p8jMcuzTnPxW_NEx6hTpGiPfV6igUgoGHq5kTMbsFOJPxpFgY24POfaOqbtyF4vwVWALyj_z3kOy9Bbr9u5imzmNT6N-p__iOnHBs1Gi7ysdCyke3AiWfvAQc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEy8CeG4yEa-TXd-BuAF1oXxuiHy1-C94r8d190qOYlAnxZZcxr5r9qA0zbSl8bJ5p8jMcuzTnPxW_NEx6hTpGiPfV6igUgoGHq5kTMbsFOJPxpFgY24POfaOqbtyF4vwVWALyj_z3kOy9Bbr9u5imzmNT6N-p__iOnHBs1Gi7ysdCyke3AiWfvAQc=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I don't think that the parents who take their kids to St. Luke's wading pool would realize that they are using a 75-year old community institution, little changed in the intervening decades.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="600" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2ZPxvfJ8ZHaHBH3YOlbwazoXIE3aYLr9VmAU6yn12xwVWg9i2w0TLoLRw7KTwAVGND3en6k2ZNvOlZfm7dcs_2VKzzC59S0rpbFXxX1cL6VOlDlB7uEIG4ZKjGPKAf_6gHMOAHyIboX5TL3w8dv6-fLy4Sgx2EMGF7fs8y_pzgcxJ9QBC4_dYUjep=w640-h584" width="640" /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">In 1959, the park was used as a backdrop for a photo-essay about a boy's-day-out adventure story, featuring their roam through the Golden Triangle neighbourhood. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><i>(Photo: Ted Grant/LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiC9IzwcgEpOFe7VXSNpPmyX2XCNnexXBIXYowHE3WGV7oOP3SMhZv4YTOyH4vKarz6CVOtkGSgsJimzTilM_M1mNlioj1tOIPdi3o1hMbUoyWXzIudeuSONILCdPiBNTpL2EJqMhnhbZETNgirMC5MkDk5y4PYDzC0I2im05Bow4mkrPKWhBGPH6bl" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="599" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiC9IzwcgEpOFe7VXSNpPmyX2XCNnexXBIXYowHE3WGV7oOP3SMhZv4YTOyH4vKarz6CVOtkGSgsJimzTilM_M1mNlioj1tOIPdi3o1hMbUoyWXzIudeuSONILCdPiBNTpL2EJqMhnhbZETNgirMC5MkDk5y4PYDzC0I2im05Bow4mkrPKWhBGPH6bl=w640-h524" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One of them tested out his basketball skills. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Ted Grant/LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjN267aAn-BgDsZFBSkhKv1GaFQi_NP4OlLUi_cAFZQXYtbXeH62_LnduH20gQrlQrx7HCG-odd25T97lCbvfqqlFiRpd9Tgv_bpknue09034iVpPHLrABOcyFint0Sk__3rkYiUUJF3yp1qBBbllvndpvy644ON59ZJyerw817kdLL5QNnEH8b9GZi" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="1365" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjN267aAn-BgDsZFBSkhKv1GaFQi_NP4OlLUi_cAFZQXYtbXeH62_LnduH20gQrlQrx7HCG-odd25T97lCbvfqqlFiRpd9Tgv_bpknue09034iVpPHLrABOcyFint0Sk__3rkYiUUJF3yp1qBBbllvndpvy644ON59ZJyerw817kdLL5QNnEH8b9GZi=w640-h515" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">For comparison's sake - the same location today.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="600" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiJYQRvtPniVM2cbEpWI4ROpELzmK7z1vrxlCs942ImydFv9tTJlQGblhwYxBz5U5qVunRYZObiHIlpFI43uTqHZgOW5yKMdRDayX8S7-8-LOHJ_kT7b1VoPV_OWNYB1x0L_uxfnD5GciiFjAYk70QKhpoj1QoDwtaVJOB809G8NyB8gFs1mP60HfD=w640-h468" width="640" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By then the 'Dressing Room' building had become the St. Luke's Community Centre, with more facilities for programming in what was still a rather shaky seasonal building. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Ted Grant/LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="1311" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvoOP7pS0tD2RyekHbXMyJSOOG_4S5n3UYURaWAo9aTNT5prwCFV1XeizO2yUZRTVScVXwuD1_BcOAWFPB0c4j3q9-Bn9hR_dJc4-RR1HJJ1PbFsznBQxdy06OvOdi-XYYw2JfyBr5xtFI6hVNHYZCYMG7XCVmbmL0nps8LZQXDwXp8F4wtYezH8rK=w640-h356" width="640" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It has since been stabilized and winterized. As a tribute to their years of dedication the St. Luke’s field house was officially renamed the Bethell Field House in memory of Lloyd and Shirley Bethell, the nearby Frank Street residents who shepherded the area’s children through more recreation. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZtgMkX7YTsF5IXyQ-wxHSxF0mN676aHaphcC8ieVs6VYxymMYZy284YXGquB0AXeCGxxhs8IratSSf7K57SGlMLYFhAoDO25ZUzqWaus6r_YKLvOcM3XWta6Fo_vBdjJflGzMK8JwqXfmKBBRgWSK1kDj2OunnrfDjkq1MiYgZOxR5oR9CWA2yjGR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1522" data-original-width="2100" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZtgMkX7YTsF5IXyQ-wxHSxF0mN676aHaphcC8ieVs6VYxymMYZy284YXGquB0AXeCGxxhs8IratSSf7K57SGlMLYFhAoDO25ZUzqWaus6r_YKLvOcM3XWta6Fo_vBdjJflGzMK8JwqXfmKBBRgWSK1kDj2OunnrfDjkq1MiYgZOxR5oR9CWA2yjGR=w640-h464" width="640" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">St. Luke's Park was also the scene of less strenuous activities, like this marbles tournament that was pictured in an uncaptioned news photo. How did you know it was St. Luke's - the south west corner of the park to be precise? </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CA024135)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjho4ncVqnhiMnYyddhtpZ3zuTDgeBr_Iqvu9ooC4tgRrUEHjBSmKpDfLBA36Dq6r1KWiScadxXbimTcl-pDftn_i0taP5VbHy1Yyib4mpC3vJ_jLRFwqugMtucZ9vgEKTco4EEqOJHy3Zk0OyQDdBYFqxnHf-8D7KaU0jWHChYzkNxdtMewCL3g3iu" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="916" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjho4ncVqnhiMnYyddhtpZ3zuTDgeBr_Iqvu9ooC4tgRrUEHjBSmKpDfLBA36Dq6r1KWiScadxXbimTcl-pDftn_i0taP5VbHy1Yyib4mpC3vJ_jLRFwqugMtucZ9vgEKTco4EEqOJHy3Zk0OyQDdBYFqxnHf-8D7KaU0jWHChYzkNxdtMewCL3g3iu=w640-h476" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">A little sleuthing on Google Street View demonstrates that it was the south side of Gladstone east of Elgin in the background.</div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="1111" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiB9mxsOwPaEh4ZU4UuHc_Lzrkv98y5-nKKJqBHkbTDYJd4Ge4RSJdZclrAscsB5BS-h4sGB46n31LJZ8qnV_dLZHXzsyh_MQgD46PLlcH91XGKUH_ePFaGny9CtOi2svW1_ZcVdtzVou13r74eylf5RrSSuMwdR1M9s-6XuDEvPsvinVmWoMceZfMe=w640-h388" width="640" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">During 1965-67 traffic engineers announced that a new arterial road would slice through the lower part of the Golden Triangle linking to the new bridge planned to cross the Rideau Canal north of the Queensway.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd3DxWCzaS4oni_6uLaAso0jiKFA3Fzx8ehjuZnYiVFn_j18JuYrqYfogQgYrumShW2IIPNyZxLYlOFBxGW0va59FZp5XT-5mv9GB01XvPdVEnVznkP3nna6hbDtG41bpZG0sXLKhGuKQkAGWLofTA463RGzLRqmbOImK6O6MsEoMnak5pACrYCco6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2131" data-original-width="2701" height="505" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd3DxWCzaS4oni_6uLaAso0jiKFA3Fzx8ehjuZnYiVFn_j18JuYrqYfogQgYrumShW2IIPNyZxLYlOFBxGW0va59FZp5XT-5mv9GB01XvPdVEnVznkP3nna6hbDtG41bpZG0sXLKhGuKQkAGWLofTA463RGzLRqmbOImK6O6MsEoMnak5pACrYCco6=w640-h505" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Consulting engineers DeLeuw Cather provided three options for access roads to this new crossing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-jcL-2L0QIr5UuLaRXT1ED2kpQYLIfbh306VfBEa1qeRhGFHYFiGDvNfOgIBOHUPxdsbxofh2NTC4BBohNwBV9Px574jr9g2gVgH36tDc8iqgYxGCXmXgEowcioF4WohMCtg0q5kcgTQwohnmFH1KQ299iVve8NFBhrWM9QihZlwTm6EncdtbaIz3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1583" data-original-width="2001" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-jcL-2L0QIr5UuLaRXT1ED2kpQYLIfbh306VfBEa1qeRhGFHYFiGDvNfOgIBOHUPxdsbxofh2NTC4BBohNwBV9Px574jr9g2gVgH36tDc8iqgYxGCXmXgEowcioF4WohMCtg0q5kcgTQwohnmFH1KQ299iVve8NFBhrWM9QihZlwTm6EncdtbaIz3=w640-h507" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This was eventually narrowed to one - proceeding east of Elgin on Gladstone Avenue, and the hooking right as it aimed for the Canal.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUs7MqXJRv3OaiQiL1t-AqRJ3wQKkeJFzF4Up9Ri5U-H5XwM3NQVAOZ3Pk6p5PVz_jrpc9HZoxgZbiL2Pj2cldptaFIHNUW3wE3OkjfYCAJlyOcyx6fUrcf_9NyQ1weOBth8kWNr0tiPv0Nhwnw_ZI-ueBBrqm32Ba7o4UGZgFsCobF_22c3OgvOaA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1400" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUs7MqXJRv3OaiQiL1t-AqRJ3wQKkeJFzF4Up9Ri5U-H5XwM3NQVAOZ3Pk6p5PVz_jrpc9HZoxgZbiL2Pj2cldptaFIHNUW3wE3OkjfYCAJlyOcyx6fUrcf_9NyQ1weOBth8kWNr0tiPv0Nhwnw_ZI-ueBBrqm32Ba7o4UGZgFsCobF_22c3OgvOaA=w640-h314" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">Much of St. Luke’s Park was to be sacrificed for this.</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE2YQeFDkn_vEYszTEQl2EOiTAZcqqfKwTvzV6BqXGVYJTkpcPEO6Hmqk4qyJNww41jUUsMX5fTTVD-xmxyBcQsCNW44Q_vlcDCEbJiWK7sZdU9gAto_TOzaz_HNZeKXVEzksmsBdfZkRpBm3LDCav9CXUy9abGS9hjB7Z8YtHoIfwWsQ-U0OueD6D" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="990" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE2YQeFDkn_vEYszTEQl2EOiTAZcqqfKwTvzV6BqXGVYJTkpcPEO6Hmqk4qyJNww41jUUsMX5fTTVD-xmxyBcQsCNW44Q_vlcDCEbJiWK7sZdU9gAto_TOzaz_HNZeKXVEzksmsBdfZkRpBm3LDCav9CXUy9abGS9hjB7Z8YtHoIfwWsQ-U0OueD6D=w640-h410" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: start;"> W</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: start;">ith the rest to serve as a 50-car surface parking lot, or sold off for housing. The city’s drastic plans were eventually killed off when the Centretown Community Association was formed, initially with the express intention of halting the new road - but soon creating the framework of what would finally be the Centretown Plan. </span></span><img alt="" data-original-height="1630" data-original-width="1995" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1cWwN4f3wi-L6y30gm1zqLUUo81klLSF0PEA9f7m__3rWKa4YJGZRPH2eNsRp09Tra6NLrGtwlhm07cEUyKa89gnBpEL4PNtcQBT80FsqOEi1JJydinERo5cNgz3Ow4xDyMlJHD8NB_01qBA4w2kMR97FBJ2OqjL_1SrjG-6QBy4s4lV6jacnOVw0=w640-h522" width="640" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">However after the apparent death sentence a search for a replacement park, to be called St. Luke’s West, was soon begun. Properties on Waverley and Lewis west of Elgin Street were expropriated for what would eventually be known as...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMpRZD7Tp2S3wLVGLo4jOAjSWGiIZwg1YhbxF8NCAH3Xub92J8Eicia49DbiXMGaCimrE3_PCDubJsil-CrD2gv4k5HI8zDw_dgD0uc7dC1aRt_F0Ts4brIN-nMZ0OrCYrCEWR4WHJirI0bwsinQ3Rn8lYhgtdpxlVvt3UBeEdh8WunEj6lwyIy_S1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1648" data-original-width="1270" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMpRZD7Tp2S3wLVGLo4jOAjSWGiIZwg1YhbxF8NCAH3Xub92J8Eicia49DbiXMGaCimrE3_PCDubJsil-CrD2gv4k5HI8zDw_dgD0uc7dC1aRt_F0Ts4brIN-nMZ0OrCYrCEWR4WHJirI0bwsinQ3Rn8lYhgtdpxlVvt3UBeEdh8WunEj6lwyIy_S1=w308-h400" width="308" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">...Jack Purcell Park, in honour of the man who had been instrumental in fostering sports activities, especially hockey for local kids.</span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3484" data-original-width="3873" height="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhESspOCejLJo1qQiucxQiYqof4pQYykaWbmlUiY4AoHSmc5u1U92JC26NQvqXZt4ELzWnvrMCdySwOyNOOkf3S7GelHiPjkWB6iXIUOMvIoRpqU8jZI-oMwGv6sXPrZAOCciDDazKnw8OCJ-Z6F3xvI9kpzSxNSmkp85YgQGEE17YpQ6M-7uQElabL=w640-h575" width="640" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There are a few things that remain as tangible objects to the hospital’s somewhat brief presence here. The house at 177 Frank Street which looks like a large family home was really built as the St. Luke’s nurses’ residence when they could no longer be accommodated in the hospital building itself.</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4QibGyXq-VuflGxjrm8-B13KFxzrR5GMjDdVrGSrGkfxWZMjpbX43t3Xe9V46aOeLwl5sPUHV7OpY7KKr5oUGTV_h55EgXghIZNgtsz52MfOArjbXME4LYUUqCWCEnFKJuEanpApsR28c9VM2Coq32SZVquy6q0k0xuI0nfdsNN2P7jkidTzkU6SQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="1611" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4QibGyXq-VuflGxjrm8-B13KFxzrR5GMjDdVrGSrGkfxWZMjpbX43t3Xe9V46aOeLwl5sPUHV7OpY7KKr5oUGTV_h55EgXghIZNgtsz52MfOArjbXME4LYUUqCWCEnFKJuEanpApsR28c9VM2Coq32SZVquy6q0k0xuI0nfdsNN2P7jkidTzkU6SQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And more recently the parents who managed the park’s playgroup reported that when digging for the footings of new equipment they were surprised by the discovery of enormous pieces stone and cement - obstacles that had once been part of the hospital’s deep foundations.</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-31706101013731489632022-05-09T08:59:00.000-07:002022-05-09T08:59:06.770-07:00THREE FROM THE SEVENTIES<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinWJUu-sEs34LyuDTCc3Wv4p7mRfZO3kIn9P75rkd1Z3c_aOkNn2DaCCng3u152X3mtBgBDAGyF6BTKALKtaqmieNJNZzl3chMNEF_dCxbX3-c9fmisnwPA1Asr5IPxWiwFUtcVPfVNqpFvJLaiyRXGyY3Pw-I6S3HGLyqpGwfNlaMswdfANXNx5JV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1964" data-original-width="2356" height="533" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinWJUu-sEs34LyuDTCc3Wv4p7mRfZO3kIn9P75rkd1Z3c_aOkNn2DaCCng3u152X3mtBgBDAGyF6BTKALKtaqmieNJNZzl3chMNEF_dCxbX3-c9fmisnwPA1Asr5IPxWiwFUtcVPfVNqpFvJLaiyRXGyY3Pw-I6S3HGLyqpGwfNlaMswdfANXNx5JV=w640-h533" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Experience has proven that at least 50% - no, make it somewhere between 60-80% of the new building construction news published in Ottawa's dailies during the 1960s and 70s never got built, or underwent some major transformation before going up. These breezy bulletins usually contained phrases like 'construction is set to begin within the month...' or 'completion of the new building is expected for.. (some unreasonable date)'. Here are three such pledges undertaken in the spring of 1970 - case studies in what could happen to those optimistic announcements.</span><i> (Ottawa Journal, June 20, 1970).</i></div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi75ruVzF5UgyorZjDFJ9qVLRA-wEvXlfKiZl7XO2X6bJsWsjSoi_qvLOgHLKFY5iTF19DBAI5KCTH1ZbhRUUZwO-oXkXRfbDpf91f40pJBBef4o8O6154xI28tDL2fAG8Q8kMDlvVuFZq8NnIsRHwyG0ACV3nMzpC1OHL0ykHRrJXuOXIjbIohUvmN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2922" data-original-width="1501" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi75ruVzF5UgyorZjDFJ9qVLRA-wEvXlfKiZl7XO2X6bJsWsjSoi_qvLOgHLKFY5iTF19DBAI5KCTH1ZbhRUUZwO-oXkXRfbDpf91f40pJBBef4o8O6154xI28tDL2fAG8Q8kMDlvVuFZq8NnIsRHwyG0ACV3nMzpC1OHL0ykHRrJXuOXIjbIohUvmN=w328-h640" width="328" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Before the construction of Claridge Homes' 45-storey ICON tower at Preston Street, Carling Avenue's most prominent built landmark was the Bromley Square apartments, its relatively modest 26 storeys being boosted by the fact that it sits on the brow of a hill just east of the Carlingwood Shopping Centre. Its beige-y mass is visible from great distances east and west. The architect appears to have been Harry Ala-Kantti, one of Ottawa's most prolific apartment building designers. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, May 12, 1970)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgq3aUNI6dEIJWieVlHP4-dAXF0U6MRqrksWWfUt_VevZArYAxz3UPy1Fk5CUaA-b24Towj3JxMoGpk9Ys1jq21zA_DLRTo257Aeb_FF0ZeAFV2OA66j0I4PqSLmsDIubJA-rboi4exnssSJCpHzt4hQYiyLoX2Vw2O50C35q_n3EO8HpeDh0SgKyvq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="540" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgq3aUNI6dEIJWieVlHP4-dAXF0U6MRqrksWWfUt_VevZArYAxz3UPy1Fk5CUaA-b24Towj3JxMoGpk9Ys1jq21zA_DLRTo257Aeb_FF0ZeAFV2OA66j0I4PqSLmsDIubJA-rboi4exnssSJCpHzt4hQYiyLoX2Vw2O50C35q_n3EO8HpeDh0SgKyvq=w520-h640" width="520" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">Unlike most of today's hyper-realistic but ultimately phoney computer-generated architectural renderings the Bromley Square apartments got built pretty much as promised, minus the dramatic fins at the roofline that may have been eliminated as a result of value engineering. One irony about the source of this building's name - it was inspired by the nearby street that was to be its primary access point until the area's hostile home-owners (who didn't much like a tower going up in their backyards) demanded and got a traffic barrier that would prevent this from happening.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-thOD6fjSmQJgTfWc0ODr1VlU9ApnOLG4LGNKl-kxql_g-ZUa9g0Ndtp0hik3cY0sPZRawZcp47ZWuhZbSKoYh2DlW3AsQfeM4SmatT2qaWY53KLda9CahTT0Y3B5KQcXNjab7rVQzJ034f6LvHKgY9mz6mD8Xq-InLnyIjtV0FLlmKNn5ra9-bXC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="770" height="551" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-thOD6fjSmQJgTfWc0ODr1VlU9ApnOLG4LGNKl-kxql_g-ZUa9g0Ndtp0hik3cY0sPZRawZcp47ZWuhZbSKoYh2DlW3AsQfeM4SmatT2qaWY53KLda9CahTT0Y3B5KQcXNjab7rVQzJ034f6LvHKgY9mz6mD8Xq-InLnyIjtV0FLlmKNn5ra9-bXC=w640-h551" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Fifty years later, a side-by-side comparison - a rare case of truth in advertising? Well not exactly. The parking garage was intended to look like a solid building, or perhaps there was going to be an actual podium with a parking deck on top.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNjlQtrmVRbBSzTmiiPmJh9uH9-ATz8wB1azl6XMOsL53V1SzhVz07DeLvhGIMw27SOebaFLWjj6iGLk61mXaaKZa02QTyAwGTjKtQvBJg6gg-dpAKSlDjm6mVDd4oi-_B4gy2XPqoUVUSVnyM7rodNLJX8LgVBC5OOr53_RmzuCRjSx-nOkXI3WrU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1167" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNjlQtrmVRbBSzTmiiPmJh9uH9-ATz8wB1azl6XMOsL53V1SzhVz07DeLvhGIMw27SOebaFLWjj6iGLk61mXaaKZa02QTyAwGTjKtQvBJg6gg-dpAKSlDjm6mVDd4oi-_B4gy2XPqoUVUSVnyM7rodNLJX8LgVBC5OOr53_RmzuCRjSx-nOkXI3WrU=w640-h384" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bromley Square's chief flaw is that it ended up with no front door to match its 2001 Carling Avenue address, or rather that which it does have is dark and dank, buried deep within the bowels of the parking structure - a very unprepossessing, if not to say unpleasant way to get in if you're entering on foot from Carling itself.</span></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixk-pbuAXcmAOaXctHgTy668Taiv723I-24sPYaaUuWNCmrtCNZJ-4I4DNdRlxiZai4upLdOfTVH0laaudC1HOcCKY4rXhdQQaypRz4VkGcsscKEFZb7YLo8VjruKW5VrwsFDXCrYq0lsBhzyzFGs-YbBtx-zeY8XR06PQ_F94hHTn0ihqBHYhybE-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5709" data-original-width="4006" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixk-pbuAXcmAOaXctHgTy668Taiv723I-24sPYaaUuWNCmrtCNZJ-4I4DNdRlxiZai4upLdOfTVH0laaudC1HOcCKY4rXhdQQaypRz4VkGcsscKEFZb7YLo8VjruKW5VrwsFDXCrYq0lsBhzyzFGs-YbBtx-zeY8XR06PQ_F94hHTn0ihqBHYhybE-=w448-h640" width="448" /></a></div>On Saturday June, 20, 1970 veteran <i>Ottawa Journal</i> architectural and heritage columnist Eric Minton authored a full-page feature on the Government of Ontario's intention to build a number of subsidized apartments for low income seniors, although the programme was going to be almost fully paid for by the Government of Canada's housing and urban renewal funds. Out of a total of eight buildings promised by the announcement, many were actually built - including apartment towers at Rideau and Wurtemburg, McLeod and Cartier, Golden and Richmond, Kirkwood Avenue, and Russell Road at St. Laurent, which beat the odds for typical promises in the newspapers. Here are two that failed to materialize.<br /></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPs3VFYP3iiNkoTsf8OW6NZwDNRGlQLWNcmHC9v3coJUqWHVdJnM8HVX4rCFRUaY5TXUxG-wLqpwbjSxuP9KBoByJ7W1v6k4a2efWNHTX-xtBamqE-8_z1U3Qw6A1k5HgI-74Ffq607T6aTLUypUbhG0pY_zORN8XK4aOuKV4KlYp1cLWPLP8xceIO" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2812" data-original-width="1001" height="664" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPs3VFYP3iiNkoTsf8OW6NZwDNRGlQLWNcmHC9v3coJUqWHVdJnM8HVX4rCFRUaY5TXUxG-wLqpwbjSxuP9KBoByJ7W1v6k4a2efWNHTX-xtBamqE-8_z1U3Qw6A1k5HgI-74Ffq607T6aTLUypUbhG0pY_zORN8XK4aOuKV4KlYp1cLWPLP8xceIO=w377-h664" width="377" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This tall tower on the east side of Lyon Street between Slater and Laurier was a bit of a hybrid. The apartment tower was first revealed in the <i>Ottawa Journal </i>on June 20, 1970 as part of that batch of buildings to be delivered by the Ontario Housing Corporation, then the Province of Ontario's very large social housing agency. The newspaper described it as a 'massive highrise'. As was usually the case with these rent-geared-to-income projects, it was to be built by a private sector developer and then turned over to the Ontario Housing Authority. From the circular feature on the roof deck, it may have been initially designed as a private sector market-rent building and the proposal then swept up by OCH's ambitious 1970s building programme, and transformed into a potential rent-geared-to-income tower. Whatever the case it never got built </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, June 20, 1970)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjF9PWgCqu4JcI-E94XWvWBoczO9-sXNvrU2DdNRetxDMR8fAC23-K0DTThC5-dXOc0QzNjxk89Iua2nlwow9Fat42_SHIso1cSs3D8HclrrBecthk9126I0b-h5aZwQqbht6La7rde06fVFki0HnI52vukHHXmt0-1_fpniocqpccQpt9kmxyNyWqT" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjF9PWgCqu4JcI-E94XWvWBoczO9-sXNvrU2DdNRetxDMR8fAC23-K0DTThC5-dXOc0QzNjxk89Iua2nlwow9Fat42_SHIso1cSs3D8HclrrBecthk9126I0b-h5aZwQqbht6La7rde06fVFki0HnI52vukHHXmt0-1_fpniocqpccQpt9kmxyNyWqT=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of course, more than thirty years later another Lyon Street tower of the same height and in the same place ended up as the western anchor of Minto's mixed-use full-block Minto Place, by architects Murray, Murray, Griffiths and Rankin. Originally opened as the Minto Suites executive hotel, the building has been smartened up inside and rebranded as <a href="https://www.minto.com/ottawa/furnished-apartments/Minto-One80five/main.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw06OTBhC_ARIsAAU1yOVf4jI-msAxSxwS1p5C9281_GZgHW_7YO2X0Lh6tmWOttgI2xmXsEkaAvjGEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds">MintoOne80five</a> (its street address) for short-term business stays, although it was once also offering long-term rentals.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSewNUPQvhy0FYkP-HjzM61pUBXVJA6yPjoIrFAZRjHurQdUJ0sPWikrON61MYVm9RfUY3TsSgzxH1OxcBBXyvBOCwLpnqfUepu4vT8PSLRp_0ec05wN0Aq16-FQ6T3sDIzlTMbs825Zc-f2N_0wm-5jSLyQSbvnwLexFdjg4_tyRNZUWSBgc5mnHY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="1020" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSewNUPQvhy0FYkP-HjzM61pUBXVJA6yPjoIrFAZRjHurQdUJ0sPWikrON61MYVm9RfUY3TsSgzxH1OxcBBXyvBOCwLpnqfUepu4vT8PSLRp_0ec05wN0Aq16-FQ6T3sDIzlTMbs825Zc-f2N_0wm-5jSLyQSbvnwLexFdjg4_tyRNZUWSBgc5mnHY=w400-h374" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The ground floor of the ultimate version has vaguely Post-Modern details, with the 1970's plan for stacks of projecting angular balconies lined up in a zipper/herringbone pattern scraped off for lots of bay windows and a few balconies having the same profile as those windows. Pale precast panels replace what would doubtlessly have been concrete.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh5guB3Ss7yjl6Zjv4Ra_PKQfk9Nkj65_UuaeFDWBMVVOeB0lY4VImomIIKVJHg9rXpPmWMCrxvblJ0NmAfSUdRndWCJbpenlfatrq7Lg8i_M5tLGDuKBFPrJpfNdD25ugFeqUKpGokjFtvH5m3hsx7PCVs76OcIkZYM7_G8dZqk8pfnPT79gu7hw7" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2631" data-original-width="2001" height="529" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh5guB3Ss7yjl6Zjv4Ra_PKQfk9Nkj65_UuaeFDWBMVVOeB0lY4VImomIIKVJHg9rXpPmWMCrxvblJ0NmAfSUdRndWCJbpenlfatrq7Lg8i_M5tLGDuKBFPrJpfNdD25ugFeqUKpGokjFtvH5m3hsx7PCVs76OcIkZYM7_G8dZqk8pfnPT79gu7hw7=w392-h529" width="392" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Finally, this 11-storey 81-unit building to be jointly developed with Urbandale Realty Corp., also announced on June 20, 1970, was to be another OHC project, aimed at low-income seniors. Its basic no-frills design was dictated by a stingy MUP (Maximum Unit Price) but it was its height that caused the project to founder on the shoals of NIMBYism, coming at precisely the same time that the New Edinburgh neighbourhood was starting to undergo full-scale gentrification. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, June 20, 1970)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiijHG6Blu0-sysJ5pO2EKL1iXQAHl5kyDm8xtp_tBOR3Cfe3WirvKWnzcNiyr4q0HyEAulGo83EralYc2ieZ-oX5ceiMesFAb3pmI30eTlMi1aRQEhloY6p6wbWnGIlHH9USrjF5lXlBsQU4SxuSvCs0K5oTZsHdU8utvJErWHJRSAcyyFs0IA5h-L" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1168" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiijHG6Blu0-sysJ5pO2EKL1iXQAHl5kyDm8xtp_tBOR3Cfe3WirvKWnzcNiyr4q0HyEAulGo83EralYc2ieZ-oX5ceiMesFAb3pmI30eTlMi1aRQEhloY6p6wbWnGIlHH9USrjF5lXlBsQU4SxuSvCs0K5oTZsHdU8utvJErWHJRSAcyyFs0IA5h-L=w400-h274" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For decades the corner lot at Crichton and Dufferin (on the right) had been industrial, the site of the Ottawa Mica Company which manufactured electrical insulators - there's even an 'Electric Street' a few blocks away which may have been a tribute to the business. It had been vacant for many years before the social housing proposal came along.The glittering piles of waste mica chips can be seen in the yard to the rear of the company's factory in this 1965 aerial view. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(GeoOttawa Maps)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimipNSa41SmeqzUrapNhhMy6WTLNI30xvsKt74kWxkFuSxUYou73UZBYYnODqbNV7ZrXuv1JraAuqi8ioeCtpuNuOho7QdETZRUWn3giVXnGM9-DvCPdurGTYaU-7IgAubpF9t9Bzmxt07qhGxfNvmhr3VAQWL03YkNOyckpSGzNPpTeIsfE8GT171" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3700" data-original-width="2001" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimipNSa41SmeqzUrapNhhMy6WTLNI30xvsKt74kWxkFuSxUYou73UZBYYnODqbNV7ZrXuv1JraAuqi8ioeCtpuNuOho7QdETZRUWn3giVXnGM9-DvCPdurGTYaU-7IgAubpF9t9Bzmxt07qhGxfNvmhr3VAQWL03YkNOyckpSGzNPpTeIsfE8GT171=w347-h640" width="347" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As part of its campaign to stop the seniors' apartment building the New Edinburgh Community Association staged a demonstration of its potential height by floating two helium-filled balloons on a rope from the corner of Crichton and Dufferin, but by then their chief objection was that 'it would allow a population density rise of almost 300 per cent over the previous zoning regulation for that area'. Of course this was spurious because Ontario's <i>Planning Act</i> didn't permit the regulation of population density, only gross floor space. Perhaps the pop density argument was used to mask the fact that it was for low income residents, albeit primarily elderly women. All of that aside, architecturally it was a bleak building, designed to fail. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, March 15, 1970)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7Q9Cnom99gbSB3HU6qR7xuxp2Ky_KT4Gb8PiG-te2daWnWQNjfMASelt5nQxQJYPyrwakw6YJ8tSFCNvcGhiFQAn5JNvTMmsZsEWfFMPIPOGlgNxV82iYPlJ6V9nwZC0HUYhlayIAIn77CyF8HyhpBLSbFxxSjYq-V2hLBDgS5_-zNiu3RTkX7YPs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="2501" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7Q9Cnom99gbSB3HU6qR7xuxp2Ky_KT4Gb8PiG-te2daWnWQNjfMASelt5nQxQJYPyrwakw6YJ8tSFCNvcGhiFQAn5JNvTMmsZsEWfFMPIPOGlgNxV82iYPlJ6V9nwZC0HUYhlayIAIn77CyF8HyhpBLSbFxxSjYq-V2hLBDgS5_-zNiu3RTkX7YPs=w640-h173" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">NECA won their battle at the March 1971 Ontario Municipal Board hearing. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. The City's Planning Department admitted that it would be 'an intrusion into the neighbourhood' and that they actually wanted an eight-storey building but City Council had overridden their recommendation. For its part the community association warned that if approved 'the flood gates would be open'. </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, March 19, 1971)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRFKmkeWh_rNHMMG3IEdt7ymvyHMBUhxwh4mkWMETToS0wMmUyndKKGXbejkWvjd9XTxnIvdB-JdnHLEjA-fnrTxltjPWNxNdu4JK1mqKMXZqISoUGRymGr21KrwG2YDxXxpB16aoUAalCpSKT3NTJNoTQLzGKVH8tYXogG8O8AwKvKgO_3CyWCy3J" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1193" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRFKmkeWh_rNHMMG3IEdt7ymvyHMBUhxwh4mkWMETToS0wMmUyndKKGXbejkWvjd9XTxnIvdB-JdnHLEjA-fnrTxltjPWNxNdu4JK1mqKMXZqISoUGRymGr21KrwG2YDxXxpB16aoUAalCpSKT3NTJNoTQLzGKVH8tYXogG8O8AwKvKgO_3CyWCy3J=w640-h446" width="640" /><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTEXbp23I5dcuE_ijZN-j7YipvtmNVrzbf4ojwnYdnuUR1iaeVv2yM9bS8f6p0c1sUcc5dQx5ITqYreTG-DZKsYnRGnfU8yvK9D2nJHFv4yckZ1DVgEeTo8FPb2m9tJIeOmUkOwnJd8eX4SVZbQX50mWukO-CeHX-qhBENuE481NGnWBfa9_gs9o66" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1277" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTEXbp23I5dcuE_ijZN-j7YipvtmNVrzbf4ojwnYdnuUR1iaeVv2yM9bS8f6p0c1sUcc5dQx5ITqYreTG-DZKsYnRGnfU8yvK9D2nJHFv4yckZ1DVgEeTo8FPb2m9tJIeOmUkOwnJd8eX4SVZbQX50mWukO-CeHX-qhBENuE481NGnWBfa9_gs9o66=w640-h314" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">The old mica works site stood vacant for a few more years and it was eventually developed as this townhouse row - looking very Seventies, low-rise indeed but design-wise perhaps not the best fit for New Edinburgh's quaint streets.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-69297743665074644462022-04-26T10:02:00.002-07:002022-04-27T20:53:02.675-07:00LOWE-MARTIN COMPANY LIMITED - PRINTERS, BOOKBINDERS, LOOSE LEAF & CARD INDEX SYSTEMS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgO72CnAzhjKg_zbWKYVctg580EQ1l_k7gOCytU1oS_RcPVgAvy9_obvZV2D8bqN7OH6BGBBKozSRAFd576DVOcoOyh0zcSGIGNAb0PSwZ3aOhuGwFqG_s2L4MxvKPXDs5PZ-dwMAKgG52p-CHibUqHx4_CZI5uohm7rVnoDXhChhCJ_bEmZTKpUnXP" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="949" data-original-width="996" height="610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgO72CnAzhjKg_zbWKYVctg580EQ1l_k7gOCytU1oS_RcPVgAvy9_obvZV2D8bqN7OH6BGBBKozSRAFd576DVOcoOyh0zcSGIGNAb0PSwZ3aOhuGwFqG_s2L4MxvKPXDs5PZ-dwMAKgG52p-CHibUqHx4_CZI5uohm7rVnoDXhChhCJ_bEmZTKpUnXP=w640-h610" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">E.D. Lowe and T.H. Martin established a small printing and bindery business on Bank Street in 1910, expanding steadily so that it would soon open satellite sales offices in Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg. On May 14, 1913 the<i> Contract Record and Engineering Review</i> reported that Lowe-Martin Co. Limited was engaging the services of Ottawa architects Alan Keefer, Hugh Richards and William Abra to design a five-storey office and printing plant on Nepean Street. Two years later the <i>Ottawa Journal</i> extolled that this firm 'must not only be judged by their finished work [mostly catalogues] and steadily increasing clientele, but by their handsome new building on Nepean Street. This building in itself speaks volumes for this lusty new concern - and a concern that Ottawans may well be proud of.'</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBQ9MNvxBmh2DfllxIBm4c_NKco_TInx9E3S5F6mLeH0SzylB3DS942wJ_oeal3dicp77G17MhqcDu8po2CPhASScP7Md-KCSKk1wPu-XkzpVwjxUHj8AmKY5QCLnoW8qiFw06tN_hmYI5-Vs6yF6vCsaH65LmF0pUp5ILn_UamxiGdTZ5kUjcSNb-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2709" data-original-width="2393" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBQ9MNvxBmh2DfllxIBm4c_NKco_TInx9E3S5F6mLeH0SzylB3DS942wJ_oeal3dicp77G17MhqcDu8po2CPhASScP7Md-KCSKk1wPu-XkzpVwjxUHj8AmKY5QCLnoW8qiFw06tN_hmYI5-Vs6yF6vCsaH65LmF0pUp5ILn_UamxiGdTZ5kUjcSNb-=w565-h640" width="565" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The contrasting shade of the peach pink paint on the structural frame, which stands slightly proud of the side walls reveals just how thick and beefy the reinforced concrete floor plates were. The Ottawa Fire Insurance atlas plate 122 calls the exterior masonry sections laid between the exposed members of the concrete frame a 'brick curtain wall', but it is certainly not hung from the frame in the modernist sense of a thin skin curtain wall.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzEQ_k0qhqsKyLldokJThEXyPZMHFZ91fGWio_spwjgaXI9Rn3wJvrYlw3eG5mm4SiEkfCujdhGGabJq20iSVpFq0tUbldXrpz56k9v8ZZ5OIXf-nFS5q2_i85kylXUMHT82YHHswZ-qVQwXp_e4ry9uE4545Gn8B7rEfWqCFb9bQjItkXinACZmXS" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzEQ_k0qhqsKyLldokJThEXyPZMHFZ91fGWio_spwjgaXI9Rn3wJvrYlw3eG5mm4SiEkfCujdhGGabJq20iSVpFq0tUbldXrpz56k9v8ZZ5OIXf-nFS5q2_i85kylXUMHT82YHHswZ-qVQwXp_e4ry9uE4545Gn8B7rEfWqCFb9bQjItkXinACZmXS=w509-h640" width="509" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To protect the building from violent vibrations, the heavy printing presses and bindery machines were confined to the half-basement level, with other phases of production taking place on the floors above. Today developers would be slavering at the possibility of converting the Lowe-Martin building, in its original state, into hipster, light-filled, raw industrial-inspired lofts. The little house to the left was a Chinese Laundry that operated here until well into the 1940s. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC a042933-v8)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEJyIq6cNBNgF3TnVJPBgyZS2xMXyHTDGQyuZs6G5XJQ7TlCmNQDipE3pkfB0E4t2Q-8Bl1rbb-cjXN-_Xiy5lLU5dQwcO2KncDCD6LLXN932s_v59PAnnI2ppLVmKfCn2dCUlWqUSb-KKEc9dkpYN2mEJn2SpoO6Jji2T5gdXvOPNbo_JvMSux4hq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="852" height="547" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEJyIq6cNBNgF3TnVJPBgyZS2xMXyHTDGQyuZs6G5XJQ7TlCmNQDipE3pkfB0E4t2Q-8Bl1rbb-cjXN-_Xiy5lLU5dQwcO2KncDCD6LLXN932s_v59PAnnI2ppLVmKfCn2dCUlWqUSb-KKEc9dkpYN2mEJn2SpoO6Jji2T5gdXvOPNbo_JvMSux4hq=w640-h547" width="640" /></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEJyIq6cNBNgF3TnVJPBgyZS2xMXyHTDGQyuZs6G5XJQ7TlCmNQDipE3pkfB0E4t2Q-8Bl1rbb-cjXN-_Xiy5lLU5dQwcO2KncDCD6LLXN932s_v59PAnnI2ppLVmKfCn2dCUlWqUSb-KKEc9dkpYN2mEJn2SpoO6Jji2T5gdXvOPNbo_JvMSux4hq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The original steel-framed industrial-style windows were substituted with these soulless but much more practical aluminum frame replacements in recent years. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Google Streetview)</i></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6oljTpz-SfSd-qFr65T2oFqVnmoUndAsRfuLz9WohDc1Vm-bRfjpdUijEFER3ZP7ly8tvFHPbonbnsAkO-gSLPdWzNthRZdLrTi8R_jXIasmGGl3_ImaK_T8AcC6vmi8n84y_H8Akl6hnxzK7vrP7lAk1Zu67M5CbuoXQNSkcHcbadWPfyW_nKdp0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="501" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6oljTpz-SfSd-qFr65T2oFqVnmoUndAsRfuLz9WohDc1Vm-bRfjpdUijEFER3ZP7ly8tvFHPbonbnsAkO-gSLPdWzNthRZdLrTi8R_jXIasmGGl3_ImaK_T8AcC6vmi8n84y_H8Akl6hnxzK7vrP7lAk1Zu67M5CbuoXQNSkcHcbadWPfyW_nKdp0=w640-h302" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In this 1959-61 City of Ottawa urban renewal photo taken at the southwest corner of Bank and Gloucester Street, the building looms behind a block of derelict structures about to be demolished. Note that Lowe-Martin had added 'CARD INDEX, LOOSE LEAF SYSTEMS' to the painted sign at the roofline. </span><i><a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2012/11/hartmans-eye-surgery.html">(URBSITE, Hartman Building)</a></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzjZAlNvkjOXLvYsOpw1tbJdDQpJ99SeJWaxLj_0tW4awAyeCUTVDRnGjKmYSw0gNOPV2mH0jtEkNGoN_aQQbQqpu-zIIkG2WHsNZjHW-aj7NydLKiJ3v5zQLbcQeJcgKuVN8RBAJ8lwtT7-nUib4aFLF94QavJeMv1mzs5yr_xOMmt6LKRFul5CWs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4264" data-original-width="4753" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzjZAlNvkjOXLvYsOpw1tbJdDQpJ99SeJWaxLj_0tW4awAyeCUTVDRnGjKmYSw0gNOPV2mH0jtEkNGoN_aQQbQqpu-zIIkG2WHsNZjHW-aj7NydLKiJ3v5zQLbcQeJcgKuVN8RBAJ8lwtT7-nUib4aFLF94QavJeMv1mzs5yr_xOMmt6LKRFul5CWs=w400-h358" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In 1915 Lowe-Martin had purchased a substantial portion of the 'Library Bureau' business which manufactured filing and card catalogue cabinetry, records keeping systems, and index and vertical filing supplies, and moved them into the upper floors of their new building. This came about because the Library Bureau's premises on Isabella Street were being requisitioned for World War I purposes. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, July 7, 1915)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqlfrMi6Nvdm9Oj2VEhl1uczb90khnFeJQsbs32XqwyPzm3oAfWUvnEqzGKdtTyyH_AlDTyKt2ucTzuwpbIT4zHwYW8TbavV8YImFTSofgNgDOs8A1BmJI2OpMHt67N24-jksJQUHAODhgAYDR5BjlqY4iPuqUomB8VTY_9zfbvxxPjEkVbic__R_k" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4114" data-original-width="4576" height="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqlfrMi6Nvdm9Oj2VEhl1uczb90khnFeJQsbs32XqwyPzm3oAfWUvnEqzGKdtTyyH_AlDTyKt2ucTzuwpbIT4zHwYW8TbavV8YImFTSofgNgDOs8A1BmJI2OpMHt67N24-jksJQUHAODhgAYDR5BjlqY4iPuqUomB8VTY_9zfbvxxPjEkVbic__R_k=w640-h575" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">The Library Bureau's company name made it sound like an official organization but it was actually a large woodworking plant at the northern edge of the Glebe, manufacturing a range of office furniture and equipment for banks, libraries, accountants, and government departments. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, March 20, 1908)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiWCS-yX-Y-4OYXo9FK-Pg4_ZGR9M_9NpYnB6blTkpqOfKOIyvv4TVvUrvdtpcqUb_KYTh4DfJXWVSUjXXzPB7yj5ztrQfBllSjDjaNN1_nrFFPE2Jyiwp711LbS3zLt_aCN1NAoSZCrZ-z7Esg4u7KmCAPxev99bLfpHBy61E-Ma_d1UQlMYdA_o_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3644" data-original-width="4053" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiWCS-yX-Y-4OYXo9FK-Pg4_ZGR9M_9NpYnB6blTkpqOfKOIyvv4TVvUrvdtpcqUb_KYTh4DfJXWVSUjXXzPB7yj5ztrQfBllSjDjaNN1_nrFFPE2Jyiwp711LbS3zLt_aCN1NAoSZCrZ-z7Esg4u7KmCAPxev99bLfpHBy61E-Ma_d1UQlMYdA_o_=w400-h360" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Lowe-Martin's Nepean Street location became known as the Acart Building when Acart Graphic Services Inc. located their design and production business here. The printers had relocated to a new plant on Coventry Road in 1970. In a sense the new business continued the function of the one that had originally constructed the building. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, October 19, 1985)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFw7X0GHSRHSXepexTfhkJBXSn5P9Az5y23p07W-BB6XI0ClgYMVOKPg14c4k24_mb99SuG2ka715JNHGgumfMM_ieDvSyXjJIM8H6nzV35OpqvSFx_69fHht22qRkoeTdFEW7mGvXqrG8yosfv1fsAhGG9Kb6N0MdJdknQDVukwUYW66qBXwnCfb_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2533" data-original-width="4252" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFw7X0GHSRHSXepexTfhkJBXSn5P9Az5y23p07W-BB6XI0ClgYMVOKPg14c4k24_mb99SuG2ka715JNHGgumfMM_ieDvSyXjJIM8H6nzV35OpqvSFx_69fHht22qRkoeTdFEW7mGvXqrG8yosfv1fsAhGG9Kb6N0MdJdknQDVukwUYW66qBXwnCfb_=w640-h382" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The upper three floors had become government offices during World War II, when a growing civil service had to squeeze into any available space. During World War I Lowe-Martin boasted that they were 'Expert Systematizers', offering to demonstrate the new 'Automatic Index' to prospective clients. I wonder what they would think about the death of printed paper records, now transmogrified into infinitely searchable databases residing in a cloud.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidxU_M_wtLXtO2tQ0t_CIV214b5JnL-KFLhaxtfS0165DbCls0TFc-ldEalDoFawpLqxxZEjafeVXMAwNQotWXXBBZYf3lIy_Du3MVa2BPTTWLfDSj9LriFpRtZQ13YL6Q-EDT3sadwWKrowhG0yVvwSb7b5GT_mPKmzXLQlvnm3bDQYyB6DRcA0as" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="1998" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidxU_M_wtLXtO2tQ0t_CIV214b5JnL-KFLhaxtfS0165DbCls0TFc-ldEalDoFawpLqxxZEjafeVXMAwNQotWXXBBZYf3lIy_Du3MVa2BPTTWLfDSj9LriFpRtZQ13YL6Q-EDT3sadwWKrowhG0yVvwSb7b5GT_mPKmzXLQlvnm3bDQYyB6DRcA0as=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A look down Nepean Street from the other end of the block at O'Connor towards Bank in quieter pre-digital times. The Lowe-Martin printing plant is just to the right of that lone cyclist travelling down the road. </span><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-decoration-line: underline;"></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div></div></div></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-52279884375839751082022-03-12T07:41:00.001-08:002022-03-13T08:17:10.338-07:00OLD BONES: THE CONNAUGHT BUILDING FROM THE BOTTOM UP<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCO-VsblThHJ7vnIiQ_jYW1wOGAhVnZzGHFStq4Iuy74g-ocWjT3vVO02ibeXrbLaze1MDUIRtzqvoHfcxRbi0spPAToTl06b_CDe_z-iwu38t-ABOU5Z_8JaCguSF-eGKGwNIHtyxNpX4OaMg4zz_MTSIB1_pvNXYZ_Vww7hbxxgLiHOR98Eh4hIm" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="561" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCO-VsblThHJ7vnIiQ_jYW1wOGAhVnZzGHFStq4Iuy74g-ocWjT3vVO02ibeXrbLaze1MDUIRtzqvoHfcxRbi0spPAToTl06b_CDe_z-iwu38t-ABOU5Z_8JaCguSF-eGKGwNIHtyxNpX4OaMg4zz_MTSIB1_pvNXYZ_Vww7hbxxgLiHOR98Eh4hIm=w400-h302" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is a short prequel to an earlier posting on the noble <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2021/11/tales-from-castle-connaught.html">Connaught Building</a>, with a smattering of construction progress photos of excavation-digging, foundation-laying, and steel-erecting. If you believe the LAC captions that accompanied these photos they were taken over six days in the mid-summers of 1913 and 1914, and were probably part of a much larger series that documented the Connaught's entire construction. They were likely bound together in a Department of Public Works album that is lost to time or yet to be discovered in DPW's vast archival holdings. These photos offer a partial record of early C20th project management and construction technology while offering fragmentary glimpses of a pre-WWI Sussex Street. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Construction Magazine, 1920)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjk3QySR2JvQGv2tRQZlqe-UKiE0umfTElcucM4qN7cZRy6kYZDhvXbB2vpKw6T70qzG4d_ARUbaeI6cqalbogBVpbykRvTRY-W2R-u11v_Zk_l5NC5VUZoS_yOL1zj2-KXWXOtKIGYqyJsRU9ZKVPfSap-gWL2pa1hLsW1qUs1nM5P3oJUbOy5hlK-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="760" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjk3QySR2JvQGv2tRQZlqe-UKiE0umfTElcucM4qN7cZRy6kYZDhvXbB2vpKw6T70qzG4d_ARUbaeI6cqalbogBVpbykRvTRY-W2R-u11v_Zk_l5NC5VUZoS_yOL1zj2-KXWXOtKIGYqyJsRU9ZKVPfSap-gWL2pa1hLsW1qUs1nM5P3oJUbOy5hlK-=w640-h438" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Viewed ca. 1920 from the edge of Parliament Hill and firmly perched in its Major's Hill Park setting, the Connaught Building formed part of an architectural trio that ran the gamut. Its sober Tudor mass was parried by the Chateau Laurier's Loire Valley cooper flummeries, with the Daly Building's 'Chicago Style' geometry sandwiched between them. On an unrelated arboricultural matter how did they manage to grow so many healthy trees in the park's very shallow soil? </span><i>(Photo: LAC a 034232)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNn1TyeLMyJulVHi9d31aQERq4HTC_L2R7N8-BJ_ntmNgjvI-imHLti5odELK6wiIOX0ShYBPefBYaxT-R-G2io8O1nlntIHhsQEOMLgdP1QxUee3Rdrn7Fynsd8HYuro179I2ef0dUpVPiYqsV0pG4nbq4eExk4NlKxDrWGnkWKnsohOW-DC__NCk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1000" height="519" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNn1TyeLMyJulVHi9d31aQERq4HTC_L2R7N8-BJ_ntmNgjvI-imHLti5odELK6wiIOX0ShYBPefBYaxT-R-G2io8O1nlntIHhsQEOMLgdP1QxUee3Rdrn7Fynsd8HYuro179I2ef0dUpVPiYqsV0pG4nbq4eExk4NlKxDrWGnkWKnsohOW-DC__NCk=w640-h519" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A reminder that the Connaught had two different street elevations - five levels on Mackenzie and six on Sussex. Those fine goblet-shaped elm trees were the victims of a road widening and a frenzied drive in the early 1960s to cut down all of Ottawa's elms in a misguided attempt to halt the spread of a tree disease. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a043767)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuLR_7rjBnoFc7hwJO990V6aSSsseK8dtanfPik8FchehOsU9o0-x1jzZzM53T7teH-uJnJyBz9XbkUyO4vafJRCl0LfQZxnfGsqfULAYDJnM-V6IM7KAmxHCZqu89M9cLKCvBA0PkeOB21tFmpZ5MBqodFS1iWL1Hvss5wsXPPm1x4wmPVg7Pfajl" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1000" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuLR_7rjBnoFc7hwJO990V6aSSsseK8dtanfPik8FchehOsU9o0-x1jzZzM53T7teH-uJnJyBz9XbkUyO4vafJRCl0LfQZxnfGsqfULAYDJnM-V6IM7KAmxHCZqu89M9cLKCvBA0PkeOB21tFmpZ5MBqodFS1iWL1Hvss5wsXPPm1x4wmPVg7Pfajl=w640-h512" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The first task was to slice away the site's underlying Gloucester limestone formation all the way back to the Mackenzie frontage with some powerful blasting that occasionally sent flying rocks into the Chateau Laurier's windows. Two temporary railway tracks on sleepers were then put down to convey heavy equipment and loads of building materials across the excavation floor. Was this organized chaos? There's a lot going on at once, but you have to imagine that all of this noisy activity was unfolding under the supervision of some sharp-eyed foremen. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a053079, 24 July 1913)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDdc78ooxMD3gSAbrYG4zSjz6YZc7vkiulCDW7dWViA0mQln5IjwZBYVuVvc4Sk5OJrh13BpXVULlAkquVOOKC7OGYJEgcsFXaoK9Ocfnj9-rcK7NPos9n_8b80HZDv29x5Naeos2XIncsuuwPWViZiJxyTo8E_1AkzMkHkuixzShdcXEQzhaREHO7" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1000" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDdc78ooxMD3gSAbrYG4zSjz6YZc7vkiulCDW7dWViA0mQln5IjwZBYVuVvc4Sk5OJrh13BpXVULlAkquVOOKC7OGYJEgcsFXaoK9Ocfnj9-rcK7NPos9n_8b80HZDv29x5Naeos2XIncsuuwPWViZiJxyTo8E_1AkzMkHkuixzShdcXEQzhaREHO7=w640-h512" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Safety equipment amounted to overalls and crumpled fedoras and most of these workers appear to be wearing ties and suspenders on the job. Some fierce looking pieces of steam powered equipment was brought in to do the major digging but the majority of grunt work was done by hand. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a053089, 25 July 1913)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhM10mzmjLoFOnCk1ohfV52_wJmG55Br9UIrJE4f7072MMO8OBPXNqS3at8DlLU6rupfY2jE4-iX6pj3p7UGSm8YZK6wj3b3f0dC_M4-jhPFany4XPnoYPLmry-5eRvifbuKBOl6LyrDTMvGvvAlUj68ib9ubYHfmpYlk0juwLrAdukZC9bq9Vxsi6U" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1000" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhM10mzmjLoFOnCk1ohfV52_wJmG55Br9UIrJE4f7072MMO8OBPXNqS3at8DlLU6rupfY2jE4-iX6pj3p7UGSm8YZK6wj3b3f0dC_M4-jhPFany4XPnoYPLmry-5eRvifbuKBOl6LyrDTMvGvvAlUj68ib9ubYHfmpYlk0juwLrAdukZC9bq9Vxsi6U=w640-h507" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the yard's bright arc lamps dangles from a timber standard above some massive timber shoring, which suggests that there was night work. This is at the York and Sussex Street end of the site, with a three-storey commercial block in the background. It and part of a neighbouring building were later destroyed by fire - this was a frequent occurrence on Sussex. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a053087, 11 August 1913)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEindF1jRIFmbCU753PEQs9EqaCMq4Kg6dBA-z-pa6DnCpNL8NXlB0HclWbrZ6W4OkdIyxdRRo84gD6oJwmOQTDaiFvVwdOzaFP-w197kBTYYtpFjVfN-HImJaIZryuN1S1GiyrDL17jdCof6Rg_tj7LDWejuIUfRihkZ0B61kVBww8tRZ3pg8jVMO6W" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1243" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEindF1jRIFmbCU753PEQs9EqaCMq4Kg6dBA-z-pa6DnCpNL8NXlB0HclWbrZ6W4OkdIyxdRRo84gD6oJwmOQTDaiFvVwdOzaFP-w197kBTYYtpFjVfN-HImJaIZryuN1S1GiyrDL17jdCof6Rg_tj7LDWejuIUfRihkZ0B61kVBww8tRZ3pg8jVMO6W=w640-h464" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By 1959 the burned ruins had been replaced by wholesalers Jules Patry's short-lived building. A truncated portion of the old building survived as the Hobby House craft shop, later to become the location of le Hibou Coffee House. Patry's soon relocated to City Centre on Somerset Street West where it would become an anchor to the new crescent-shaped development. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Ted Grant, 1959)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRibhrZtYFp8MFmeS20H0oYMm58lMrsxcVvr7kawF4eDfwe5jBjHI_WtsbHgItpTALctZmkILkVMI6y_2m7PzwJAIDUGmOJ_mXzVVTHBkANK8GSNNdStANluogPkeXIpQQhuShc5dqu2qNch_2tGcn9QPJKmLXxBzNlwKKoPp9eF1QIugkCDKibbLW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="1095" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRibhrZtYFp8MFmeS20H0oYMm58lMrsxcVvr7kawF4eDfwe5jBjHI_WtsbHgItpTALctZmkILkVMI6y_2m7PzwJAIDUGmOJ_mXzVVTHBkANK8GSNNdStANluogPkeXIpQQhuShc5dqu2qNch_2tGcn9QPJKmLXxBzNlwKKoPp9eF1QIugkCDKibbLW=w400-h241" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As part of the NCC's 'Mile of History' project Patry's Sussex building was then demolished for the NCC's first new build on the street in a modernist/historicist mode by Montreal architects Rosen, Caruso and Vescei. Dig what architects would later call 'punched windows', the use of brick and the standing seam metal roof detail, all to be seemingly sympathetic to the street. Drafting tables are visible in the window because this was the Hughes-Owens architectural supply store. The ground floor of this under rated building, an early example of streetscape contextualism has since been veneered in a fake ye-olde-mainstreet wrapping. </span><i>(Photo: NCC Annual Reports)</i></div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkFdHtc1Tag1xnozbAJHhHVTBZAlG7y-35LR98F4bRcNMf8aGHYkB7yXtGr4g4yVAeAWTz5flXcIaH3X1BY2EsEkIutIZxTwOHTH8CSk_cI3iwJBxEsibmCqg1c-2k5TizG21Xz8RV8vQ0msPFabZB58fwUafZN9FY9X-pQu_5ibY9rAS2wbgG_fEG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="1000" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkFdHtc1Tag1xnozbAJHhHVTBZAlG7y-35LR98F4bRcNMf8aGHYkB7yXtGr4g4yVAeAWTz5flXcIaH3X1BY2EsEkIutIZxTwOHTH8CSk_cI3iwJBxEsibmCqg1c-2k5TizG21Xz8RV8vQ0msPFabZB58fwUafZN9FY9X-pQu_5ibY9rAS2wbgG_fEG=w640-h502" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A battery of bobbing cranes and anchored derricks was used to drop heavy materials into the excavation and then move them around as required. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a053089, 11 August, 1913)</i></div></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioozlYs-wy2GEb4QkcgPcwLv19SxfugHjqnwgbYrkWFA8KL1zPIe1mn0UB3ZoS5D2ISAV3V_H5aztxq8rqjaKQ3pd2_gVVawvYDqpcISWOvd0p3GDL0z1thKxVgZ9la91AOcOCUqT0H5Z4fQj4gnj_5UYfEWglF5VdzeOKdoGRlD5G53dxZh1M-cRU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="1000" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioozlYs-wy2GEb4QkcgPcwLv19SxfugHjqnwgbYrkWFA8KL1zPIe1mn0UB3ZoS5D2ISAV3V_H5aztxq8rqjaKQ3pd2_gVVawvYDqpcISWOvd0p3GDL0z1thKxVgZ9la91AOcOCUqT0H5Z4fQj4gnj_5UYfEWglF5VdzeOKdoGRlD5G53dxZh1M-cRU=w640-h515" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The scale of the wood, likely shipped on transcontinental freight rail lines from the newly opened timber limits in Western Canada, was impressive. Less so for the teetering cribwork about to receive a massive derrick foot. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a053085, 11 August 1913)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDy_ODUv9F24MzlsTUGcPkGglAVD693T3whZvvZ_SZLNIaFflN2p8F2uSBjM6FYbHjOIn8FpDBEihD-cz38RIAECaZ1o_1jaU4RW1D-ZfTex1SAH-6Fme_DBmqJf7c3a26dDD0JX7S_70d2SXOi4JH0gqzei0_MvdB3FX8tY264GSMx-8u5dNGjrbe" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1000" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDy_ODUv9F24MzlsTUGcPkGglAVD693T3whZvvZ_SZLNIaFflN2p8F2uSBjM6FYbHjOIn8FpDBEihD-cz38RIAECaZ1o_1jaU4RW1D-ZfTex1SAH-6Fme_DBmqJf7c3a26dDD0JX7S_70d2SXOi4JH0gqzei0_MvdB3FX8tY264GSMx-8u5dNGjrbe=w640-h507" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Connaught's Sussex side was the more functional face of the building, with access to the lower level's extra tall customs examining warehouse. This photo's obvious retouching highlights one of the area's horse and human fountains - a trough for the horses, and tin cups attached with chains for the humans. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a043766)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhA55iTsINcaZ6Ax7iFvLYJ8P7yw6A70ziOE1nQO083eOrjn-HzRJpJWASoSf67_WNS6eiC7JAohorDblJBHmlS4S5-md9seitq8Q1rwWNujXGLzqWPYcoSq7DmD171JBiAS0vqVmPx_qWr-7KCzqKuPsRf55ogKu3YEMbxkOG6pBqNVhm-h221MqKP" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhA55iTsINcaZ6Ax7iFvLYJ8P7yw6A70ziOE1nQO083eOrjn-HzRJpJWASoSf67_WNS6eiC7JAohorDblJBHmlS4S5-md9seitq8Q1rwWNujXGLzqWPYcoSq7DmD171JBiAS0vqVmPx_qWr-7KCzqKuPsRf55ogKu3YEMbxkOG6pBqNVhm-h221MqKP=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of these was replicated for the City of Ottawa's York Street Millennium Fountain although the city refused to install the tin cups. </span><i>(Photo: <a href="https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMF35R_The_York_Street_Millennium_Fountain_Ottawa_Ontario">Waymarking</a></i><span style="font-size: medium;">)</span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg44nbolgmmxit6NvTdd4Vjnti1EC5bIrjRzVOuChstpf2k0QJmalkvSLIsHCQwMrlmtaDCDxAT1WwflJsyGNS_NU1pN0husc4Jf3IogbQbNE4_r_rUAse5TEeLGsX-rIEjEojIbkLWsHAOCWBAuAY_xvhOS_-qBm3vTshePF9pWSTz9hz3jraRt54w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1000" height="497" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg44nbolgmmxit6NvTdd4Vjnti1EC5bIrjRzVOuChstpf2k0QJmalkvSLIsHCQwMrlmtaDCDxAT1WwflJsyGNS_NU1pN0husc4Jf3IogbQbNE4_r_rUAse5TEeLGsX-rIEjEojIbkLWsHAOCWBAuAY_xvhOS_-qBm3vTshePF9pWSTz9hz3jraRt54w=w640-h497" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Connaught's steel was delivered the following summer. The builders were able to use the large swath of empty land between Mackenzie and Sussex that had been wiped clean for the aborted Exchequer Court and Justice Department competition. The east side of Sussex, seen here between York and St. Patrick, survived. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a053084, 20 July 1914)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiodnDehPOpHjPb6247UWxu5ciZZZo_ORYblibgm2hPXeAMXYX9hCHEewvcBg7Ltyr-laTgDpGpcpwk-qalLsIrgxR3SDZIF4xA7ByhlS8FlZhuGKWBI4R4wwexELH_F6YHoHmwIz8ce0L9Xb2CrfHupgjGipbD3CAu73slB8mpUOOfbLWCj3x6AlPz" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1598" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiodnDehPOpHjPb6247UWxu5ciZZZo_ORYblibgm2hPXeAMXYX9hCHEewvcBg7Ltyr-laTgDpGpcpwk-qalLsIrgxR3SDZIF4xA7ByhlS8FlZhuGKWBI4R4wwexELH_F6YHoHmwIz8ce0L9Xb2CrfHupgjGipbD3CAu73slB8mpUOOfbLWCj3x6AlPz=w640-h290" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The same stretch in 1980 when the land in question had been cleared of its WWII temporary buildings and before the US Embassy landed here. From this picture it's clear that in order to form its premises the l'Institute Jeanne-D'Arc, a convent and bilingual girls' boarding school had tied together a block of disparate hotels under one long brown roof. </span><i>(Photo: CMHC 1981-106-09)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQv4BTkNglWe2XmvDchWxv7zeQTr2e2-CCiKIcNaCIk68Z-AK5phmhjeNaLrPNJIqHMDc_xm0N58_37dJslOFKKz-3AksxtXg9XSGS22hcqsmObVBv6fAmnDXvtmZjlVh601WyKRE-6zTsprTKfCM6GwKAP82kMdI0Fq9dQDp4MH0NkPWMzEApadYY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1600" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQv4BTkNglWe2XmvDchWxv7zeQTr2e2-CCiKIcNaCIk68Z-AK5phmhjeNaLrPNJIqHMDc_xm0N58_37dJslOFKKz-3AksxtXg9XSGS22hcqsmObVBv6fAmnDXvtmZjlVh601WyKRE-6zTsprTKfCM6GwKAP82kMdI0Fq9dQDp4MH0NkPWMzEApadYY=w640-h507" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1916 just as the Connaught Building was being completed the land adjacent (in use briefly as its construction yard) was requisitioned for the construction of the very long stonecutters' shed that was needed for shaping the masonry on the new Centre Block. For maximum efficiency they used mechanized gang-cuttig machines organized in an assembly-line fashion </span><i>(Photo: LAC RG11)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEje6GjhZukXWOvCJYQfMqgIjPfDn_8z_PP3vYRErNGpgwjRQWcu4mgeNghA-eNINJiS8i3lBsfIRyz8ijRrG0Cm4ec5UWc35G0-QNY9g_lF7rCNWlZR3W9NjKxSEFySHxTHjd4kP0TVxJEFkZ2BQTfeepVWr1lM0f4ChIWq_jNcOGxrteyjZUFUQCWb" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1000" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEje6GjhZukXWOvCJYQfMqgIjPfDn_8z_PP3vYRErNGpgwjRQWcu4mgeNghA-eNINJiS8i3lBsfIRyz8ijRrG0Cm4ec5UWc35G0-QNY9g_lF7rCNWlZR3W9NjKxSEFySHxTHjd4kP0TVxJEFkZ2BQTfeepVWr1lM0f4ChIWq_jNcOGxrteyjZUFUQCWb=w640-h504" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The stonecutters' shed wasn't demolished until 1927, when the Peace Tower was finally completed. The land was then graded and grassed. This image is reversed. The Connaught Building should be on the right.</span><i> (Photo: LAC e01093909)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkuF7zQwcvMTaCblVRqlC0kBXnOG1UjNXwpNRdsRMyYSGa4U-8VNJ84m0rBTV4VVrN-E5YdSYPywvfuju9kADsKpJhA7cGu6lHMOgCLw_mvYhMbAGkhoFqWT2QdePFjOcENFAxNu0bHFJqxZkryVZ2R7K1wJi4qY8ZuWk6Dx4wPpsHsepPzAA-qpG-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkuF7zQwcvMTaCblVRqlC0kBXnOG1UjNXwpNRdsRMyYSGa4U-8VNJ84m0rBTV4VVrN-E5YdSYPywvfuju9kADsKpJhA7cGu6lHMOgCLw_mvYhMbAGkhoFqWT2QdePFjOcENFAxNu0bHFJqxZkryVZ2R7K1wJi4qY8ZuWk6Dx4wPpsHsepPzAA-qpG-=w640-h300" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Looking east down Clarence Street in 1938 in one of the many DPW photos taken in preparation for Jacques Gréber's work. This view is virtually the same today, although he really didn't like old buildings and would have rather seen them gone. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC e010934919)</i></span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhm1HCP2t83CAfogQ7nuYMOf5z4Dgp_5_Trz_cpBGnYW1rbAYWv56RNYnASvAWzV-fgAKCxiGnwsvHmU2RR5nrIwNu2WVnwqMafgn0eKRjgr17WYXF_vqFZpUngGKyRJONjOt5jijaVYNvQ7JiDUdoiUyzLeLHXXgdM6o_yZO7U9s9zHNbGJoTdunq4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1000" height="509" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhm1HCP2t83CAfogQ7nuYMOf5z4Dgp_5_Trz_cpBGnYW1rbAYWv56RNYnASvAWzV-fgAKCxiGnwsvHmU2RR5nrIwNu2WVnwqMafgn0eKRjgr17WYXF_vqFZpUngGKyRJONjOt5jijaVYNvQ7JiDUdoiUyzLeLHXXgdM6o_yZO7U9s9zHNbGJoTdunq4=w640-h509" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another view of the stacked steel beams and columns waiting patiently for deployment and coded with chalk or paint markings that would guide them to their ultimate location. </span><i>(Photo: LAC 053088, 20 July 1914)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3ckFygOQzcKAUdMBZGZ3Z6Ams0XrRBgt-CptSoercQQ1z1CM7Db57PrX6rqom6aWVCNx_slPQApNNpmwHcS5vZtudBCnEs_gCyDk_rexA75EiaGE7sZrFTcpkFgyCozWBdkbO6AIFiwTC5hndFVrTulKL9FX7aWHCOoMskMXUz3mpN1xQiK1CKGjy" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1000" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3ckFygOQzcKAUdMBZGZ3Z6Ams0XrRBgt-CptSoercQQ1z1CM7Db57PrX6rqom6aWVCNx_slPQApNNpmwHcS5vZtudBCnEs_gCyDk_rexA75EiaGE7sZrFTcpkFgyCozWBdkbO6AIFiwTC5hndFVrTulKL9FX7aWHCOoMskMXUz3mpN1xQiK1CKGjy=w640-h504" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By mid-July 1914 the future Connaught Building was a storey and a half above grade with a lot more steel ready to be hot riveted. This is the last of the construction progress photos but it would have been great to see the whole building profiled against the sky as a finished steel skeleton. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a053086, 20 July 1914)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiiF-4uLa4Jb3JH4Pp4meLooGUFnJKgtHcWGptCXeoF7xMva8pnJCSJp-SSf0B1dyTrlg6ft6J3SHi7nkiYzjwie-9cIbbTk1MYFHF6F3Dg0xlKlhbttBFO1gC7sHoWSqmxcFJzmET3BPcNbze8QFTu4c7-4F8HDOvdsapBKxMGROPK9Y0WWnAYXXt" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="998" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiiF-4uLa4Jb3JH4Pp4meLooGUFnJKgtHcWGptCXeoF7xMva8pnJCSJp-SSf0B1dyTrlg6ft6J3SHi7nkiYzjwie-9cIbbTk1MYFHF6F3Dg0xlKlhbttBFO1gC7sHoWSqmxcFJzmET3BPcNbze8QFTu4c7-4F8HDOvdsapBKxMGROPK9Y0WWnAYXXt=w640-h598" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fully clad in its contrasting smooth and rugged stone facing the Connaught offers up what is surely one of Ottawa's most satisfying silhouettes.</span><i> (Photo: LAC e10860788)</i></div></span></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-39133638257191138492022-02-04T07:01:00.001-08:002022-02-04T18:12:44.847-08:00'FREEDOM' CONVOY 2022? FROM THE ANNALS OF PROTESTS PAST - THE "ON-TO-OTTAWA" TREK OF AUGUST 8-22, 1935<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiZ__enx75D2BECjjp8_YPmtquJJvmIF1PCGesIsW8eltQZPkAiCkckS49QbDuK3AUhe9hspeoToN7UsyIzJ0_4hwS6TxtAVLaW_-jQ0NPAvi-s87OoJxkNTKCaxZEakqWwXkHspQn9G_kXR-8m9sstsmXiSUpdNZKtmDlBuTWuUytZJ3rHpzwGZzO" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1410" data-original-width="2024" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiZ__enx75D2BECjjp8_YPmtquJJvmIF1PCGesIsW8eltQZPkAiCkckS49QbDuK3AUhe9hspeoToN7UsyIzJ0_4hwS6TxtAVLaW_-jQ0NPAvi-s87OoJxkNTKCaxZEakqWwXkHspQn9G_kXR-8m9sstsmXiSUpdNZKtmDlBuTWuUytZJ3rHpzwGZzO=w640-h446" width="640" /></a></div><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>On a blazing hot afternoon in August 1935 four hundred dogged protesters arrived in Ottawa after a 22-day, 290-mile walk from Toronto. They were attempting to finish the earlier cross Canada “On-to-Ottawa” trek that had been smashed up by deadly police violence in Regina.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i>Their objective was to present Prime Minister Bennett with a 7-point manifesto demanding financial relief for unemployed workers and other benefits. He rejected their request outright and refused any federal assistance for food or shelter. The City of Ottawa was left to deal with this dilemma. The trekkers who alternated between defiance and desperation during their 15-day stay in the city remained remarkably peaceful during the whole episode</i></span><span style="text-align: left;"><i>. </i> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeGxV6VjhMpGj8CJ6bTco8-s3H3p-KKwMXnSqogT7pIiGxWuNqP4dhHM7Kbmu4Hsd8ftm40veSLgThInwUqX_U96VyRMKxLESUTnxIFvno19V9fNQqbqjvwYv7GWbkf-QToKTIwP267QFhMSyhfU4x1XJAHnBc5DHDAG9dY_Rbn61BQzii7AM-kD4E" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1621" data-original-width="4047" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeGxV6VjhMpGj8CJ6bTco8-s3H3p-KKwMXnSqogT7pIiGxWuNqP4dhHM7Kbmu4Hsd8ftm40veSLgThInwUqX_U96VyRMKxLESUTnxIFvno19V9fNQqbqjvwYv7GWbkf-QToKTIwP267QFhMSyhfU4x1XJAHnBc5DHDAG9dY_Rbn61BQzii7AM-kD4E=w640-h256" width="640" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"The “On-to-Ottawa” marchers started on the last lap of their journey to Ottawa at 3:45 o’clock this afternoon, when they set off from Teskey’s on the Prince of Wales Highway [a roadhouse near Hogs Back]. They were accompanied by two city traffic men and 10 provincial traffic officers who will accompany the trekkers to Parliament Hill. They are expected at the city limits at 4:30 o’clock."</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"When the “On-to-Ottawa” trekkers reach the Capital at 4:30 o’clock this afternoon they will be allowed to stay on the circus grounds at Plouffe Park, after parading to Parliament Hill, it was stated today following a conference attended by the Mayor, the Chief of Police and a delegation of the marchers."</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Evening Journal, August 8, 1935)</i></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidqeFZnLBiUSwC_t_9osEsrP0E35w93ufnQKIaB_MDSrwGd5JmwpNCxF1qWw4eGvfd7Qn4xiN9t78q6pTOhija2HJ6mtJy7Qx6uoZ4InGyhQGaijSrxkELi3nT8-xHdtR0siCr1z0QO399aDS6rpPvlBkC3u6UHxe3cIzgS72MWG_b96HweD8_zpqN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2105" data-original-width="4681" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidqeFZnLBiUSwC_t_9osEsrP0E35w93ufnQKIaB_MDSrwGd5JmwpNCxF1qWw4eGvfd7Qn4xiN9t78q6pTOhija2HJ6mtJy7Qx6uoZ4InGyhQGaijSrxkELi3nT8-xHdtR0siCr1z0QO399aDS6rpPvlBkC3u6UHxe3cIzgS72MWG_b96HweD8_zpqN=w640-h288" width="640" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">"<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Permission for the trekkers to camp in Ottawa was obtained this morning by Mayor P.J. Nolan from C. Jackson Booth and the marchers will be quartered on the circus grounds, west of Plouffe Park. No concessions, however, will be granted to the trekkers such as a house-to-house canvass or a tag day."</span></span></span></div><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">"Following a conference by civic officials and city police this morning it was announced to representatives of the trekkers that permission to parade through of the streets of the city to their camp grounds would be granted and that handbills may be distributed along the route of the march by the men. It was also decided to let the trekkers announce by way of the handbills the location of any food depots that may open up. They may also hold a public meeting at the camp or any other place they can obtain for such purpose but no public meetings on streets will be tolerated by the police. After the announcement to representatives of trekkers they left for Plouffe Park from their current camp on the Prescott highway." </span><i>(</i></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Ottawa Evening Citizen, August 8, 1935) </i></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIiq4OJvBfWWlo-awEA1_FKUFQ6v_5HWfERINv27JMsqU73HXxo1l5O9UfHgt9l7nwx5l949IOabmNbcvSgd9TegTmkcXAs_xCteTniN_MkCXigptWfBqz3PpGz5C0-9TxArzMH_NJ5Dsl0h7hrbzVZ9jv--TWdeKQOOlBFk9hlLUzmEoDTdwZI8b4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1952" data-original-width="4032" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIiq4OJvBfWWlo-awEA1_FKUFQ6v_5HWfERINv27JMsqU73HXxo1l5O9UfHgt9l7nwx5l949IOabmNbcvSgd9TegTmkcXAs_xCteTniN_MkCXigptWfBqz3PpGz5C0-9TxArzMH_NJ5Dsl0h7hrbzVZ9jv--TWdeKQOOlBFk9hlLUzmEoDTdwZI8b4=w640-h310" width="640" /></a></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To the surprise of the march's organizers Bennett's reply to their meeting request came the day after their arrival.</span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> "The interview had been arranged to enable the trekkers to present their seven "demands" for work at wages and improved conditions in the relief camps. The trekkers had previously announced that the length of their stay in the Capital will depend upon their interview with the Prime Minister."</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Ottawa Evening Journal, August 9, 1935)</i></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8ooF4Xj9VT_m85ksbM6bDBMF521ob2LYJ02k3BdgXCY2VaWrHfoAJzsFnB95xRF26sBiGh8bRk4Y8TrPNHAHoXY2vQTnAVnZpguKkrW9SAQmmjRdRojX54j2GiQrxFA_zxWfGRBdJO04Pobu-YWdWLY0R9aGYRR-6D9ik7tTwRx2jp9L07kQxxVub" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3011" data-original-width="4639" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8ooF4Xj9VT_m85ksbM6bDBMF521ob2LYJ02k3BdgXCY2VaWrHfoAJzsFnB95xRF26sBiGh8bRk4Y8TrPNHAHoXY2vQTnAVnZpguKkrW9SAQmmjRdRojX54j2GiQrxFA_zxWfGRBdJO04Pobu-YWdWLY0R9aGYRR-6D9ik7tTwRx2jp9L07kQxxVub=w640-h416" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">"Indicating they had planned to stay in Ottawa at least a week, a delegation representing the 400 "On-to-Ottawa" marchers from Toronto, now camped at Plouffe Park waited on the Prime Minister's Secretary, presented a copy of their demands, and asked an arrangement for a meeting with Mr. Bennett next Thursday, but Mr. Bennett countered with an announcement that he would meet the delegation at 10:00 o'clock tomorrow morning. </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Mayor P.J. Nolan had previously communicated with Premier Bennett asking him to meet the trekkers as soon as possible." </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Evening Citizen, August 9, 1935)</i></span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAzUbo_iBC4pgsfhQjghG6KDzFT5vmB6XMpIjbJbgzr-jaEpSOJNomva3qVs4p4e1tBLr8g3irJcAu65Vpa8Bl51Q3l6jO__INDT3zV382D8S3kpVlRDcY6qSpsdA7o2KP8HArmeAJm3M9csGfvI6F93JGJ4JpIDniCILi_TiwbEQSF9-bbLXOrhmv" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1952" data-original-width="4067" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAzUbo_iBC4pgsfhQjghG6KDzFT5vmB6XMpIjbJbgzr-jaEpSOJNomva3qVs4p4e1tBLr8g3irJcAu65Vpa8Bl51Q3l6jO__INDT3zV382D8S3kpVlRDcY6qSpsdA7o2KP8HArmeAJm3M9csGfvI6F93JGJ4JpIDniCILi_TiwbEQSF9-bbLXOrhmv=w640-h308" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">"The Government has no intention of providing food and shelter for the 400 trekkers from Ontario. Prime Minister Bennett made this point clear to a delegation of 11 of the marchers who waited on him this morning in an interview that was orderly with the exception of a few outbursts from one member of the delegation. The group was led by E.G. Humphreys. He said he did not want to discuss the trekkers' seven point program for unemployment relief with the Prime Minister just yet, but asked if they would be given shelter. The Prime Minister refused." </span><i>(Ottawa Evening Journal, August 10, 1935)</i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMPQ0qPOS58v7zCwTUrnkH3n2SuL5HOp8w1kIvm4ygrt2mcKwCipRxZp82HYjaTMS6tTt-uy7-s7dDQPOMUSc3IvGQnI6R6E8k4SjbFjchOWXs1UMoPI83BU1DhTSW_0eSGWltkgYQP84E2fF_R_zfA3PssPRLWGsQ9clLBbVQ3jRQm3Y7Xxhy1zsQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1410" data-original-width="2024" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMPQ0qPOS58v7zCwTUrnkH3n2SuL5HOp8w1kIvm4ygrt2mcKwCipRxZp82HYjaTMS6tTt-uy7-s7dDQPOMUSc3IvGQnI6R6E8k4SjbFjchOWXs1UMoPI83BU1DhTSW_0eSGWltkgYQP84E2fF_R_zfA3PssPRLWGsQ9clLBbVQ3jRQm3Y7Xxhy1zsQ=w400-h279" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ewart Humphreys, the leader of the Ontario march to Ottawa (at the right) was a charismatic labour organizer who was in 1935, according to their </span><a href="file:///Users/robertsmythe/Downloads/administrator,+rcmp1935part8%20(1).pdf" style="font-size: large;">Report on Revolutionary Activities and Agitators in Canada</a><span style="font-size: medium;">, under continuous surveillance by the R.C.M.P. At the left is a first aid officer from the march providing one of the trekkers' regular foot inspections for wounds and blisters. After their arrival in Ottawa a sympathetic physician actually came to the Plouffe park encampment to carry out these inspections and offer treatment as needed.<span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></span><i>(Ottawa Evening Journal, August 10, 1935)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgs-uElhRK9OtC5MSiQLuB3k1N73vMZlzNHR7sofoZ0UCTMo_sEaK-tRU3jhfppQRYFbvWgC3hYrx7oeBfA0DRO0GgQsHx3-YojU0xqzMOVYlMVJ0KOtaE3_kVuSvOCMob223lIQB6uIb5xj1acfNEzrGVF2t_XwNguHmu9xI3QZibbsWWVRD7DbrpF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2214" data-original-width="4660" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgs-uElhRK9OtC5MSiQLuB3k1N73vMZlzNHR7sofoZ0UCTMo_sEaK-tRU3jhfppQRYFbvWgC3hYrx7oeBfA0DRO0GgQsHx3-YojU0xqzMOVYlMVJ0KOtaE3_kVuSvOCMob223lIQB6uIb5xj1acfNEzrGVF2t_XwNguHmu9xI3QZibbsWWVRD7DbrpF=w640-h304" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">""As far as I am concerned the trekkers having been turned down by the government can pack up and go home by the way they came", said Mayor Nolan on learning that the trekkers had been refused food and shelter by the federal authorities. Mayor Nolan said that he would positively refuse to meet with any delegations from the marchers. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Premier R.B. Bennet this morning refused the demands of the marchers encamped at Plouffe Park. The interview lasted fifteen minutes."</span> </span><i>(Ottawa Evening Citizen, August 10, 1935)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhO4lhvVdLjU89hQc6pMX7B41_Vs9HAqtbUMJw1dw8l1-Qwp5IZy-8Euckd9jPXExkXq5MsAHYhsKnQDtw87Eb5lBuD0at43xi85q_nQn8hKTCX4kImyjb1hbvoZAq7noeJKrgeLenmItIh9rTVtdGABRk1TkhC6l4XBWQF5_Kx1oYPfpJ_bPbkNbYC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2351" data-original-width="4660" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhO4lhvVdLjU89hQc6pMX7B41_Vs9HAqtbUMJw1dw8l1-Qwp5IZy-8Euckd9jPXExkXq5MsAHYhsKnQDtw87Eb5lBuD0at43xi85q_nQn8hKTCX4kImyjb1hbvoZAq7noeJKrgeLenmItIh9rTVtdGABRk1TkhC6l4XBWQF5_Kx1oYPfpJ_bPbkNbYC=w640-h322" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"Sort of a stalemate seems to exist today as to the four hundred “On-to-Ottawa” marchers now encamped on the circus grounds at Plouffe Park. It’s somebody’s move next, but whether it will be taken by the authorities or the trekkers themselves is in doubt."</span></span></div><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"City officials would like to see the last of the visitors but the latter do not seem anxious to move until they have accomplished what they had originally set out to do - discuss with Premier Bennett their seven-point demands. A delegation is to wait on the Premier’s secretary this afternoon."</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"When permission was given the trekkers to camp on the Booth property no time limit was set. It was rumoured that the campers were to be given 24 hours to get out of town but who was to give this order could not be ascertained. None of the strikers said this morning they had heard such instructions were to be given."</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">"Crown Attorney Ritchie said that he knew of no authority whereby the the city could remove the “On-to-Ottawa” marchers from their camping place on the J.R. Booth property adjoining Plouffe Park. “We will have to wait for developments. At the current time I do not know under what terms they are there”, said Mr. Ritchie."</span> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Evening Citizen, August 12, 1935)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">“At their camping ground on the circus ground west of Plouffe Park the trekkers were busy this morning erecting a tented town to provide temporary shelter from the sun. Shelters of every kind lean-tos, teepees, wigwams and pup tents were built from old lumber donated by an unnamed individual and scraps of canvas, tarpaulin and blankets. </span>Mayor Nolan announced that the trekkers will be allowed to use the 11 fire halls for contributions from Ottawa sympathizers. Donations of clothing, boots and shoes were received from quite a number. There is sufficient food on hand. Only two meals a day are served, one at 9:00 am and one at 5 pm." </span><i>(Ottawa Evening Citizen, August 13, 1935)</i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUox7JLLzg_xs-j3vrjNIuS4EQ19nqlErqcI2bvhA78Z2HJVbHPOiwTpmPuvXgSJeE9RzQ1TieAEKg9KutafidN25bsHldvpHxlOCx5w3Ya1o8bSTbUOQtzp1ADAVg759xi6hFBuimsayi6E5I4GYbCkJqOZ_DVrLv4ws-ymTUTMrSZCmptYdGgmMP" style="font-size: 11px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2777" data-original-width="4624" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUox7JLLzg_xs-j3vrjNIuS4EQ19nqlErqcI2bvhA78Z2HJVbHPOiwTpmPuvXgSJeE9RzQ1TieAEKg9KutafidN25bsHldvpHxlOCx5w3Ya1o8bSTbUOQtzp1ADAVg759xi6hFBuimsayi6E5I4GYbCkJqOZ_DVrLv4ws-ymTUTMrSZCmptYdGgmMP=w640-h384" width="640" /></a></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">R.B. Bennett refused the trekkers' request for a second meeting to discuss the seven-point demand, and on August 14, 1935 he pulled the plug on his Conservative government, calling an election for September 30, 1935. He later extended this to October 30th - making it a 77-day campaign, a record that was only exceeded by Stephen Harper in 2015. Both met with the same result. By mid-month the fate of the "On-to-Ottawa" trekkers had faded from the front pages. A hint at the state of their conditions is evident in a smaller news item from the day of the election call: </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"Magistrate Striker warns trekkers not to beg on Ottawa streets, and says that any future cases will be treated as an open defiance of the law. Meanwhile the nuisances at the camp ground have abated and no shortage of food is reported. While money donations are not so good as when they first arrived, it was stated that food and clothing donations are continuing and no food shortage is anticipated." </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Evening Citizen, August 14 1935)</i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsnLfGBup8ZdDdcUuwRVvHxG4Pl7Np4ZjeofdAKU6tWxQqaOiVdPe_RjrCyR8R51BocT7o_lVf33TfDRknd0bKkju3Dfy66ejK0QFyKFzjPCxXPMaAmaynzyAr1lQlYJC7izMRWgdNx2AvVfPnAo8E_YFamOSR5vwfLGjD4jrUBjkEBorE7TN2Sf6J" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="1128" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsnLfGBup8ZdDdcUuwRVvHxG4Pl7Np4ZjeofdAKU6tWxQqaOiVdPe_RjrCyR8R51BocT7o_lVf33TfDRknd0bKkju3Dfy66ejK0QFyKFzjPCxXPMaAmaynzyAr1lQlYJC7izMRWgdNx2AvVfPnAo8E_YFamOSR5vwfLGjD4jrUBjkEBorE7TN2Sf6J=w640-h448" width="640" /></a></div></div></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Conservatives were whistling past the graveyard when they claimed that Bennett's great fight was a triumph from coast to coast. While he had promised some moderately ambitious social programmes at the beginning of 1935, this was seen as too-little, too-late and Mackenzie King's return to power was all but assured. 'It's King or Chaos' has to be one of the great Canadian election slogans. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 15, 1935; Ottawa Citizen, October 27, 1935)</i></span></div></div></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBFzpuMxwLB43ydTPVHgiD17rBNqdrP-y_ls0tvEfgGPnUEWBt1vfCyj2kaOsG9kBdEZwNJsiAmwwyDBKQssq5N_kHODidkLdNq0lv1LE8UFMCjsZcGYske0YLLwq2F4StHk9X4Jlyei_sjOdOeni3yjmDrFPKI0Y99fOGSKqk6ng-KE3iFzudL6hF" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2340" data-original-width="4065" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBFzpuMxwLB43ydTPVHgiD17rBNqdrP-y_ls0tvEfgGPnUEWBt1vfCyj2kaOsG9kBdEZwNJsiAmwwyDBKQssq5N_kHODidkLdNq0lv1LE8UFMCjsZcGYske0YLLwq2F4StHk9X4Jlyei_sjOdOeni3yjmDrFPKI0Y99fOGSKqk6ng-KE3iFzudL6hF=w640-h368" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Canadian election call was all but eclipsed by Will Rogers' and Wiley Post's fatal plane crash in Barrow, Alaska the following day. Post was America's most colourful aviator known for his dangerous stunts, and of course actor and radio personality Rogers was its most famous homespun philosopher and satirist. </span><i>(Ottawa Evening Journal, August 16, 1935)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlmwhVC0FStapkG9DkEk7M6Xn4PDgqE9bfftWEJyvlkdH5EuezD8HjpWtOij-_-Z6M4iAndF9b6iWogcQ9GXF1R1L0EU49PqS4_y1YFbmzt9aAqw45ecHYfM3PKu3h8hdAbdXNhkXNOtvCk8f2T7kRPoMgfjCh1ikSyVkwSgNIY0WJQe8Y_EGw5XIL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2782" data-original-width="4662" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlmwhVC0FStapkG9DkEk7M6Xn4PDgqE9bfftWEJyvlkdH5EuezD8HjpWtOij-_-Z6M4iAndF9b6iWogcQ9GXF1R1L0EU49PqS4_y1YFbmzt9aAqw45ecHYfM3PKu3h8hdAbdXNhkXNOtvCk8f2T7kRPoMgfjCh1ikSyVkwSgNIY0WJQe8Y_EGw5XIL=w640-h382" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In a Depression weary year it was one of the biggest stories of 1935, and filled the newspapers for days. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Evening Citizen, August 16, 1935)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZEWppzFgEeUpAqqCLo8x_u_3bTSxrsDlZWPSg6yD1DG7_NEiV6hWHu0D-u6u5b8tkGUnha_rOJQkff9xsinPvkAh5i85hAjq8JuTxcSwuRC6jbbUG6UuO2tsOd_ipt32wPI6gcCeLW7cw4pRAnileImsqm7JrR7rd6bUOKvFYdRedTG1krJ8Wce8L" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1970" data-original-width="4641" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZEWppzFgEeUpAqqCLo8x_u_3bTSxrsDlZWPSg6yD1DG7_NEiV6hWHu0D-u6u5b8tkGUnha_rOJQkff9xsinPvkAh5i85hAjq8JuTxcSwuRC6jbbUG6UuO2tsOd_ipt32wPI6gcCeLW7cw4pRAnileImsqm7JrR7rd6bUOKvFYdRedTG1krJ8Wce8L=w640-h272" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Nearing the end of their stay in Plouffe Park and despite the Chief of Police's emphatic refusal to permit it, the "On-to-Ottawa" trekkers attempted to stage one last public event, a peaceful demonstration and parade through the streets. In response police were stationed near the park, and a truck containing quantities of leftist literature was seized. However it was the waning enthusiasm of the trekkers that finally snuffed out these plans. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Evening Citizen, August 19, 1935)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlLWOxWWq9-mM_nDy2ZlFQsFzRvZeuMShazAbVbJYnyiDmZuR-TkL3wtu8cX6rjKQO7HCK9E5gWcJKggjOmPDVxZE98AuNEdG63dJF5ut8UH2QNuRsSl3LJYJXmodc3xfXtmHclKyQTUrdObAAQG8Qnr_8S6S9LahlTv84oiqtzjLFkB2lyllROG6Z" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1977" data-original-width="4050" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlLWOxWWq9-mM_nDy2ZlFQsFzRvZeuMShazAbVbJYnyiDmZuR-TkL3wtu8cX6rjKQO7HCK9E5gWcJKggjOmPDVxZE98AuNEdG63dJF5ut8UH2QNuRsSl3LJYJXmodc3xfXtmHclKyQTUrdObAAQG8Qnr_8S6S9LahlTv84oiqtzjLFkB2lyllROG6Z=w640-h312" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As the marchers were breaking camp, the organizers appealed to members of the Railway Commission hoping to secure free passage on a train taking them back to Toronto, which was met with a deafening silence. </span><i>(Ottawa Evening Journal, August 20, 1935)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1j7_J_lUvlp3RINRgourbU85jwsxRz6DEiQR_yzEAbAuIRH0DrVPCZmI-Kt7UozqSHcVZsTHDMNeiZasU_CKtTCXq6CjsO2VAOx8sJA2doAB8ZW-4l7Lw0ZjTO8cPVJFMfNhTtS8wcZG719__4SRSVIQOFp46YEPeUtCZr97EoUv_SoG4yZ0jwbHW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2074" data-original-width="4657" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1j7_J_lUvlp3RINRgourbU85jwsxRz6DEiQR_yzEAbAuIRH0DrVPCZmI-Kt7UozqSHcVZsTHDMNeiZasU_CKtTCXq6CjsO2VAOx8sJA2doAB8ZW-4l7Lw0ZjTO8cPVJFMfNhTtS8wcZG719__4SRSVIQOFp46YEPeUtCZr97EoUv_SoG4yZ0jwbHW=w640-h286" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ontario Premier Mitch Hepburn announced at a Dominion-Provincial Conference then being held in Ottawa that he was resolutely opposed to providing the trekkers with any transportation assistance, telling them that they <span style="color: #cc0000;">"must get home the best way they can'.</span> Still hoping to get rid of his Plouffe Park occupation problem Mayor Nolan made an appeal for support from the Prime Minister's office, to which there was no response. Meanwhile on the same day the </span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Ottawa Journal</span></i><i style="font-size: large;"> </i><span style="font-size: medium;">reported that: <span style="color: #cc0000;">"</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Their ranks thinned by desertion, their food supply rapidly growing more scanty, and their tents and shelters sopping with rain, the “On-to-Ottawa” trekkers this afternoon were still hoping that efforts to get them train transportation out of Ottawa would be successful."</span> </span><i>(</i></span><i>Ottawa Evening Citizen, August 21 1935)</i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh329Z83WZQs1lWpwIGQ6XEa13lP0ieFXX0eiHEA5AuwmkheWwtkEQJWfQmiDxA143-KTkNxcStLKgfmuWIajj-NylEcUkiur-KIB4zyt-qxVRu8NzGa5zf1dggCzLTpN6krvJnKgnGw-Ts3W4YeKRiljGqNqMDnXxnR-biYAjhiGTT_xF7iMgnM3UN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2157" data-original-width="4067" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh329Z83WZQs1lWpwIGQ6XEa13lP0ieFXX0eiHEA5AuwmkheWwtkEQJWfQmiDxA143-KTkNxcStLKgfmuWIajj-NylEcUkiur-KIB4zyt-qxVRu8NzGa5zf1dggCzLTpN6krvJnKgnGw-Ts3W4YeKRiljGqNqMDnXxnR-biYAjhiGTT_xF7iMgnM3UN=w640-h340" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">"</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The relief trekkers bound for Toronto, plan to spend the night in the Village of Manotick 12 miles from Ottawa. The trekkers’ advance guard left Ottawa this morning at 9:30 a.m. They set out on a 290 mile walk for Toronto, not in the good spirits in which they arrived, but in fairly good order. They were accompanied by 21 Provincial Police." </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Evening Journal, August 22 1935)</i></span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAB6qJf1wUR3XA5wSBHB0sNAooBLn3UE9ukG3T5oGcU7o3FxwsAkLa0G_Yni9G-Z_Hr2drAVdnuJfTWDZHWgcdbnxCxaptI-M3lcWFa_lBVvGDpdsDtEac5l33TsycCJUAcBBwcFrYvY2dzGOsp8GXjgLSSElozkxBeNCpqxuM0GI-w4P_7aLeo2eR" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2297" data-original-width="4659" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAB6qJf1wUR3XA5wSBHB0sNAooBLn3UE9ukG3T5oGcU7o3FxwsAkLa0G_Yni9G-Z_Hr2drAVdnuJfTWDZHWgcdbnxCxaptI-M3lcWFa_lBVvGDpdsDtEac5l33TsycCJUAcBBwcFrYvY2dzGOsp8GXjgLSSElozkxBeNCpqxuM0GI-w4P_7aLeo2eR=w640-h316" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">The <i>Ottawa Evening Citizen </i>disagreed with that assessment. With the trekkers' departure a long forgotten chapter in the chain of populist protests coming to Ottawa sputtered to its disappointing conclusion. After the trekkers left the city police reinforcements claimed to have restored a calm that was never really broken.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>A condensed version of this post appears in the February 18, 2022 issue of The Centretown BUZZ.</i></b></div></span></div></div></div></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-21367246783929033142022-01-28T08:05:00.001-08:002022-01-28T08:05:44.288-08:00SEARCHING FOR WALTER HERBERT GEORGE<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t-SFqOwM4uQ/YeyOce63EzI/AAAAAAAAcks/4ob3q_LN5AMxmyaJkyVUjNbhxIA_G5ZiACNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Nov_7__1913_-002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2921" data-original-width="3627" height="515" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t-SFqOwM4uQ/YeyOce63EzI/AAAAAAAAcks/4ob3q_LN5AMxmyaJkyVUjNbhxIA_G5ZiACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h515/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Nov_7__1913_-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You wouldn't say that Walter Herbert George (1880-1959) was entirely forgotten, but with only eight identifiable buildings in Ottawa his recorded output is limited. It is apparent that he was responsible for many more projects that have yet to be discovered. W. Herbert George designed several of the luxurious Arts and Crafts, Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial, and neo-Georgian houses on Clemow and Carling [now Glebe] Avenues and Linden Terrace. This district east of Bank was part of an upper class subdivision then being jointly developed by the Clemow-Powell families and the Ottawa Improvement Commission in an area known as Clemora Park or the Clemow Estate. But it is his three Prairie Style houses on Monkland, which were part of the same exclusive area that are most distinctive. This post primarily concentrates on his two of his most important surviving buildings, the Kenniston Apartments on Elgin Street (1909) and the Imperial Theatre on Bank (1914) - and their respective fates.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qXb7vbWuUrM/YeyOsuTCDFI/AAAAAAAAck4/WXD23ZXENSg2ZH3K9hD2J1F-o2omM64fgCNcBGAsYHQ/a042643-v8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1000" height="448" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qXb7vbWuUrM/YeyOsuTCDFI/AAAAAAAAck4/WXD23ZXENSg2ZH3K9hD2J1F-o2omM64fgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h448/a042643-v8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">W. Herbert George's first building in Ottawa, the Kenniston Apartments (1907-09) on Elgin Street between Waverley and Frank was built for the Real Estate and Security Co. of Toronto. Its internal organization was clever, six or eight units clustered around five central staircases with separate entrances at street level. This provided even the interior apartments with great through-floor layouts having large windows at either end. Its U-shape enclosed a grassed forecourt that would later be cannibalized for another use. </span><i>(Photo: LAC a042643)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qy6LQKxWlHA/YeyOzcRPF7I/AAAAAAAAclA/xN1vcA5_H4oZKhZ7V3Q_JAkPbheAfHz6wCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Mar_24__1909_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3158" data-original-width="3873" height="327" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qy6LQKxWlHA/YeyOzcRPF7I/AAAAAAAAclA/xN1vcA5_H4oZKhZ7V3Q_JAkPbheAfHz6wCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h327/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Mar_24__1909_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As one of Ottawa's early hybrid apartment buildings it offered hotel-like arrangements for residents not wanting to do their own cooking or cleaning. The management offered 'Maids furnished by the hour as requested by tenants thereby avoiding the servant problem'. The building also sold external meal tickets so that those living outside the Kenniston could also use their 'First Class Dining Room'. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, May 24, 1909)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Khv65z6k2Fk/YeyO3c4u46I/AAAAAAAAclE/YMJMnDsmgv8bZvfH7_-ey7JVXq3DpYREQCNcBGAsYHQ/PA042653.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="960" height="512" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Khv65z6k2Fk/YeyO3c4u46I/AAAAAAAAclE/YMJMnDsmgv8bZvfH7_-ey7JVXq3DpYREQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h512/PA042653.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">With the double east/west or north/south exposures the apartments were (and still are) bright, although given those portières, rugs on rugs, and every dark surface groaning with bric-à-brac some residents were determined to put this to the test. I had a friend who lived in a third floor unit at the Kenniston in the early 1980s and her apartment still had one of these huge built-in mirrors in its original frame. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC PA024653)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--HDfyUdKLjk/YeyO7eqp2gI/AAAAAAAAclI/8BSXCpOxbHkHCRTDG7SRMUPpRh1tl722wCNcBGAsYHQ/a042646-v8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="972" height="456" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--HDfyUdKLjk/YeyO7eqp2gI/AAAAAAAAclI/8BSXCpOxbHkHCRTDG7SRMUPpRh1tl722wCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h456/a042646-v8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In 1908, before the building was totally completed and ready for occupants Herbert George moved his own offices into the Kenniston. One of the early residents was Dr. MacDougall King, brother of future Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King, who operated a medical practice out of his large apartment. A newspaper account written around the time of the Imperial Theatre's opening refers to the 'several apartment houses' also designed by W.G. George, but save for one these the other apartment buildings are unknown. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC a042646)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-udnfc0qyGFo/YeyPA28N__I/AAAAAAAAclQ/CaulCqSfxGk3hewYQHVcLKQslrBCYTagwCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Oct_13__1983_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2558" data-original-width="3930" height="260" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-udnfc0qyGFo/YeyPA28N__I/AAAAAAAAclQ/CaulCqSfxGk3hewYQHVcLKQslrBCYTagwCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h260/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Oct_13__1983_.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By the time that the Boushey family of Elgin Street acquired the building the Kenniston's forecourt had sprouted four gigantic Norway maples. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, October 13, 1983)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8Vb8HXLYWLU/YeyPEMTcr6I/AAAAAAAAclU/o9fLYwsohFEPB-eHT0g1ATiD7iot8WPiwCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Oct_13__1983_-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1838" data-original-width="2906" height="253" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8Vb8HXLYWLU/YeyPEMTcr6I/AAAAAAAAclU/o9fLYwsohFEPB-eHT0g1ATiD7iot8WPiwCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h253/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Oct_13__1983_-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Using a clever zoning by-law loophole their architects, Gale and Ling drew up a plan to sacrifice the trees, dig out the forecourt and lower it to a grade where it could be construed as a 'basement' instead of a cellar, even though these semi-submerged commercial units would now had full-height frontages. The cellar classification was more restrictive about new restaurant uses and required dozens of on-site parking spaces whereas the basement category was moot on these points. The City of Ottawa allowed them to chose the option that let the project slide through despite neighbourhood grief over the loss of a green oasis on Elgin. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, October 13, 1983)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Tl06AGd08LQ/YeyPIp2o9HI/AAAAAAAAclc/gsG5RjFkEaQUPY3v-jCqa2hCBkeY-WhZACNcBGAsYHQ/IMGP26046.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1596" height="384" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Tl06AGd08LQ/YeyPIp2o9HI/AAAAAAAAclc/gsG5RjFkEaQUPY3v-jCqa2hCBkeY-WhZACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h384/IMGP26046.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Almost forty years on I've come to terms with this, and after four decades in the summer months the honeylocust trees that the city insisted upon as replacements make a nice lush showing. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="http://centretown.blogspot.com/">(Photo: Images of Centretown)</a></i></span></div><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FMZCWPrr7gs/Ye7y5WK739I/AAAAAAAAcpA/No5FvjMhon8KdkwbIZVHIgOIOtBhe7lrACNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Oct_20__1910_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3637" data-original-width="4549" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FMZCWPrr7gs/Ye7y5WK739I/AAAAAAAAcpA/No5FvjMhon8KdkwbIZVHIgOIOtBhe7lrACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h320/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Oct_20__1910_.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #20124d;">'The management of the new Family Theatre on Queen Street announce the opening of their new playhouse on next Monday afternoon, Oct. 24th, at 1:30 pm.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>With the advent of the Family Theatre vaudeville lovers will be introduced to a new policy in theatricals and one which is expected to be hailed with much pleasure by all.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>A program of strictly high-class vaudeville and especially selected subjects in motion-photography, presented in the form of a continuous performance commencing every day at 1:30 pm and running without interruption until 11 pm at popular prices. The Family Theatre will cater to refined audiences, especially ladies and children, who will receive every attention and courtesy that a large staff of attaches can offer, and will be assured of a clean entertainment entirely free from vulgarity'.</span> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, October 21, 1910)</i></span></div></span><p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V6vWMw7nj1w/YeyOi2bbW9I/AAAAAAAAckw/RJEIkQXiTOkB3AJL1LhYuQkA4RbOmzG1QCNcBGAsYHQ/FamilyTheatre1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="639" height="299" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V6vWMw7nj1w/YeyOi2bbW9I/AAAAAAAAckw/RJEIkQXiTOkB3AJL1LhYuQkA4RbOmzG1QCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h299/FamilyTheatre1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">W. Herbert George's Family Theatre, one of Ottawa's first purpose built movie houses, was a business venture backed by Harry Brouse who had been a successful importer of wholesale fruit. He would later turn to architect George for another more ambitious theatre project. The yawning central arch was a motif common to many theatrical buildings of the era. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo:<a href="http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/62981"> CinemaTreasures.org</a>)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PD-Nm38RNV4/Ye7pEP8VshI/AAAAAAAAcos/5T5SPans9oIQA17UygT4RdmRXcoHjaXFACNcBGAsYHQ/SullivanNatlFarmersBank.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="783" height="239" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PD-Nm38RNV4/Ye7pEP8VshI/AAAAAAAAcos/5T5SPans9oIQA17UygT4RdmRXcoHjaXFACNcBGAsYHQ/w320-h239/SullivanNatlFarmersBank.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It was originally a Romanesque Revival trope, elevated to high artistry in some of Louis Sullivan's Prairie banks as pictured in his National Farmers' Bank of 1908.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Nwfc6Rd8Ux4/Ye7pevbkEKI/AAAAAAAAco4/qqX4jnnCOBUOIOg8EEoItidU48gv7SmNwCNcBGAsYHQ/33Monkland-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="649" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Nwfc6Rd8Ux4/Ye7pevbkEKI/AAAAAAAAco4/qqX4jnnCOBUOIOg8EEoItidU48gv7SmNwCNcBGAsYHQ/w295-h400/33Monkland-001.jpg" width="295" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The architect's home at 33 Monkland Avenue was featured in an advertisement for a patented time-saving backerboard that was 'Made of heavy sheets of Asphalt-Mastic one side surfaced with sized sulphide fibre board, the other re-inforced with kiln-dried bevel-edged laths.' It came in 4 foot-wide panels ready to be nailed directly to the studs. The ingenuity of some of these early building technologies is impressive.</span><i>(Contract Record and Engineering Review, 1912)</i></div></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZnBaHvwJfY0/YeyPuTAGCbI/AAAAAAAAcl8/2sXO04TwCRorY-QCnoMR_DhlCuJcArDsQCNcBGAsYHQ/33Monkland2019.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="784" height="301" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZnBaHvwJfY0/YeyPuTAGCbI/AAAAAAAAcl8/2sXO04TwCRorY-QCnoMR_DhlCuJcArDsQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h301/33Monkland2019.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Herbert's house had many handsome exterior finishes, although his handling of the building's masses is a little lumpen. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Google Streetview)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7DqOZKHleIQ/YeyP0EOBppI/AAAAAAAAcmE/SYbJyRWdp7IblIGxf6fQOh4A9zk2KapgQCNcBGAsYHQ/11Monkland.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="577" height="274" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7DqOZKHleIQ/YeyP0EOBppI/AAAAAAAAcmE/SYbJyRWdp7IblIGxf6fQOh4A9zk2KapgQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h274/11Monkland.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">More confident is this house by George with deep overhanging eaves, strip windows, and a heavily recessed porch - all in dark earth tones at 41 Monkland Avenue. The architect is recorded in a professional contractors' weekly as designing houses on this street for J. Wilbur Mooney in 1911, and for Alfred J. Stephens in 1912.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Photo: Google Streetview)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F3dAgD0Zp4I/YeyP6hKA_pI/AAAAAAAAcmQ/6hTDKmsXvdYaNmtFYnbd18WaVoSqaFjPACNcBGAsYHQ/41Nonkland.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="809" height="289" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F3dAgD0Zp4I/YeyP6hKA_pI/AAAAAAAAcmQ/6hTDKmsXvdYaNmtFYnbd18WaVoSqaFjPACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h289/41Nonkland.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The front porch on the home at 11 Monkland Avenue is bold but the rest of this W.H. George house is more conventional and less successful at carrying off any other Prairie style elements. I've tried to match the original owners' names to these particular addresses using Ottawa City Directories but still can't determine which was was Mooney's and which one was Stephens'. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Google Streetview)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OtV9rpppIBc/YeyRYBCfw6I/AAAAAAAAcns/oeltjS8Qm50yyAs254tPzjwdk0iLBufsACNcBGAsYHQ/Connaught%2BPark.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="730" height="153" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OtV9rpppIBc/YeyRYBCfw6I/AAAAAAAAcns/oeltjS8Qm50yyAs254tPzjwdk0iLBufsACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h153/Connaught%2BPark.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">While he was designing these fashionable Glebe homes W.H. George also was also working on the plans for a grandstand and stables at Aylmer's Connaught Park Racetrack (1912), one of his very few projects outside of Ottawa. </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/OutaouaisShareTheHistory/photos/a.263004117213649/263004893880238"><i>(Photo: Outaouais-Share the History)</i></a></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BLZZ4KAPHUk/YeyQJYFJLtI/AAAAAAAAcmg/DXt0JltoQFox3nU-E8kYDCZO88zsa4HOwCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Nov_7__1913_-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4013" data-original-width="3667" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BLZZ4KAPHUk/YeyQJYFJLtI/AAAAAAAAcmg/DXt0JltoQFox3nU-E8kYDCZO88zsa4HOwCNcBGAsYHQ/w584-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Nov_7__1913_-001.jpg" width="584" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #351c75;">'The new<b> Imperial Theatre</b> which is being built on Bank Street between McLaren [sic] and Gilmour streets by Mr. <b>Harry Brouse</b> and Mr. D. O'Connor promises to be the most beautiful and up-to-date theatre in the Dominion. The theatre is being built of stone, cement, terra cotta, brick and steel and will be completed early in the spring. The capacity of the house will be about 1,350 of which 700 will be on the orchestra floor and the balance in the balcony. On the whole the Imperial will be the keystone to the Somerset section of Bank street and Ottawans will be able to take pride in it's [sic] addition to the beauty marks of the city. Inside the new house will be more elaborate, the decorative scheme to be employed is that of Mr. G.H. George, the architect.'</span> </span><i><span style="font-family: arial;">(Ottawa Journal, November 7, 1913</span>)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jhd74N66Nt8/YeyQM6ZUMOI/AAAAAAAAcmo/u_Hcx_rGeRY8OvM1xnpuBGgu-0jt2f-yQCNcBGAsYHQ/imperial1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="587" height="323" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jhd74N66Nt8/YeyQM6ZUMOI/AAAAAAAAcmo/u_Hcx_rGeRY8OvM1xnpuBGgu-0jt2f-yQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h323/imperial1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Imperial Theatre was formally opened on Monday August 24, 1914. In a 2,000-word feature article published on the Saturday before, the <i>Ottawa Journal</i> described every aspect of the theatre's construction, building materials and decor in excruciating detail which I'll spare you. Most notable were the $20,000 pipe organ, one of the largest in Canada and the placement of the roomy more expensive box seats which were set in special enclosures occupying most of the orchestra section. This was a bad business decision because it seriously cut down on the total seating capacity. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Ontario Theatre Inspection Branch)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jaRjalR-VSk/YeyQWIlk2LI/AAAAAAAAcms/X7asGFm0Rt8w0artOM1AJja5SL03teHwgCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Oct_15__1955_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2631" data-original-width="4817" height="175" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jaRjalR-VSk/YeyQWIlk2LI/AAAAAAAAcms/X7asGFm0Rt8w0artOM1AJja5SL03teHwgCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Oct_15__1955_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After a long slow slide into showing only second-run movies the Imperial closed on October 15, 1955 with an uncertain future. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen,<span style="font-size: medium;"> October</span> </i></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>15, 1955)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GodHsIFN7FY/YeyQZzE8U5I/AAAAAAAAcm0/W514if9eoJAVmb7LsU8WQVrz7hdpAdsfACNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Apr_30__1957_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1807" data-original-width="4075" height="284" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GodHsIFN7FY/YeyQZzE8U5I/AAAAAAAAcm0/W514if9eoJAVmb7LsU8WQVrz7hdpAdsfACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h284/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Apr_30__1957_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When they were about to be dislodged from the old Lasalle Academy on Sussex the Canadian Repertory Theatre briefly considered moving into the now vacant Imperial, but this fell through due to lack of financing. In 1957 the Imperial Theatre eventually became Sid Rothman's Furniture Showplace. To accomplish this the building underwent some dramatic modifications. On the exterior the furniture store removed the old theatre's Bank Street doors and installed plate glass windows framing a new entranceway slanting inward from the sidewalk. Inside a new floor level was inserted above the lobby. In the balcony Rothman removed the theatre seats and replaced them with rows of televisions and appliances. The front of the balcony was devoted to nursery and children's furniture. And finally the raked orchestra floor was built up to be level with the new street entrance, and at the rear the former stage was used for storage, while the projection room was converted into an office. Although all of this could be said to be an act of heritage vandalism the <i>Ottawa Journal</i> wrote in a puff piece promoting the new store that ' Mr. Rothman used his ingenuity to sustain the beauty of earlier designing and architecture that created the charm and character of theatre interiors in other days.' </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, April 30, 1957)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4slBwX07thM/YeyQl4gyQDI/AAAAAAAAcnA/rjeEH-sm9cg_ELga-waMoL1fTW4if65SwCNcBGAsYHQ/Impperial%2BArcade.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="1061" height="261" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4slBwX07thM/YeyQl4gyQDI/AAAAAAAAcnA/rjeEH-sm9cg_ELga-waMoL1fTW4if65SwCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h261/Impperial%2BArcade.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In 1967 Rothman's remodelled entrance was converted into a greasy spoon/arcade known as Frank'n'Fries and the furniture store consolidated its operations into the balance of the building, going out of business in 1969. A subsequent arcade business revived the name of the old theatre. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Google Streetview)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T_6umSkMk1M/Ye3bOAP1ibI/AAAAAAAAcoI/duJLFB57qGwa1N5v9KUkemxPh4SDZ9EVwCNcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023102.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5562" data-original-width="4780" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T_6umSkMk1M/Ye3bOAP1ibI/AAAAAAAAcoI/duJLFB57qGwa1N5v9KUkemxPh4SDZ9EVwCNcBGAsYHQ/w549-h640/MiguelezCA023102.jpg" width="549" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These arcades were the scene of much dubious activity, and the pinball machines were in contravention of both the Province of Ontario's and the City of Ottawa's puritanical licensing laws. Here you can see plain clothes officers hauling out one of the offending machines. </span><i>(Photo: CA023102)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BMpGMDhKIlA/Ye3bdrQmwpI/AAAAAAAAcoM/jX2uanjoMQM6mxItv3fBlypuK0WkA1LVACNcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023101.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4341" data-original-width="4763" height="584" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BMpGMDhKIlA/Ye3bdrQmwpI/AAAAAAAAcoM/jX2uanjoMQM6mxItv3fBlypuK0WkA1LVACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h584/MiguelezCA023101.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They were impounded and dumped into the back of a city truck, to be hauled away and then smashed up to prevent their further use. </span><i>(Photo: CA023101)</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6JpMOBEZcac/YfBN87AenzI/AAAAAAAAcpM/nrRjWrZpk4EdIq9WobbFuUsJDSZDWc_SwCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Feb_26__1974_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="6890" data-original-width="3806" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6JpMOBEZcac/YfBN87AenzI/AAAAAAAAcpM/nrRjWrZpk4EdIq9WobbFuUsJDSZDWc_SwCNcBGAsYHQ/w355-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Feb_26__1974_.jpg" width="355" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">PANDORA'S BOX...OTTAWA'S BIGGEST AND BEST LIVE NUDE SHOW -"Where you see everything". </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 26, 1974)</i><br /></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Et2EvOcV4B4/Ye3by0BBTAI/AAAAAAAAcoY/qIsM3V5vE0QEHeNZea0dkzvgDu_u8WQiwCNcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023144.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3865" data-original-width="6000" height="412" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Et2EvOcV4B4/Ye3by0BBTAI/AAAAAAAAcoY/qIsM3V5vE0QEHeNZea0dkzvgDu_u8WQiwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h412/MiguelezCA023144.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hxPF8BDZsbk/Ye3cqm_5lbI/AAAAAAAAcog/jYH30CzSFaAte-j1V80IYF401kHi4_KDACNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Mon__Nov_22__1976_-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2620" data-original-width="4037" height="416" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hxPF8BDZsbk/Ye3cqm_5lbI/AAAAAAAAcog/jYH30CzSFaAte-j1V80IYF401kHi4_KDACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h416/The_Ottawa_Journal_Mon__Nov_22__1976_-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the 1970s the building endured a phase of particular notoriety. The opening of Pandora's Box burlesque theatre on the upper level of the former Imperial Theatre/furniture store in 1971 was met with frequent raids by the Morality Squad, and subsequent obscenity charges. This resulted in waves of free publicity that delighted the strip club's owners. The courts ultimately decided in favour of total nudity, but by 1976 with changing attitudes, the number of men who could have previously been seen furtively entering and leaving Pandora's Box had dwindled and the club was closed. Heritage Ottawa held their Annual General Meeting here in 1976.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Photo: CA023144; Ottawa Citizen, November 22, 1976)</i></span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1tAcee6H9TY/YeyQx5BJwMI/AAAAAAAAcnM/k75U3hoyFKgxnNXcVATmMB3MdCOi_Q7agCNcBGAsYHQ/Image%2B05-001.jpg" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="1496" height="406" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1tAcee6H9TY/YeyQx5BJwMI/AAAAAAAAcnM/k75U3hoyFKgxnNXcVATmMB3MdCOi_Q7agCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h406/Image%2B05-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Still wearing the strip club's garish lipstick red and gold livery, after a $500,000 interior renovation the building then became Barrymore's discotheque.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZfvgidwV_3k/YeyQ8mhMPCI/AAAAAAAAcnY/An0aS2b_6IgoYkDnfscQNBpLty42Q8waACNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Sep_20__1978_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4891" data-original-width="4282" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZfvgidwV_3k/YeyQ8mhMPCI/AAAAAAAAcnY/An0aS2b_6IgoYkDnfscQNBpLty42Q8waACNcBGAsYHQ/w560-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Sep_20__1978_.jpg" width="560" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Operating on five levels, with a dance floor tricked out with pulsating disco lights, a lounge, two bars and a planned supper club Barrymore's Discotheque was hoping for a big-spending well turned-out older crowd that never really materialized. The owners were aiming high (Studio 54) but their timing was wrong and with the death of disco it was all downhill. After that the space gradually transformed into a grungier establishment - Barrymore's Music Hall, a live music venue. Today the Imperial Theatre is in a parlous state of decay. Pieces of the façade's cast stucco ornamentation continue to fall off the building. In fact someone once picked a chunk of it off the sidewalk and presented it to me, which now has pride of place in a shadow box on my kitchen wall. I'll give it back if they ever intend to restore this place. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 20, 1978)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hgv0HuZZ8SQ/YeyRO4iWuPI/AAAAAAAAcno/HqApI00rFvI34LCSCYuJa-xqobsM3ST2gCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Jan_9__1915_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3805" data-original-width="4737" height="514" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hgv0HuZZ8SQ/YeyRO4iWuPI/AAAAAAAAcno/HqApI00rFvI34LCSCYuJa-xqobsM3ST2gCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h514/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Jan_9__1915_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">W. Herbert George's last domestic project in Ottawa and the only apartment building other than the Kenniston currently known to have been designed by him was the Weldon Court Apartments on Laurier Avenue West at Lyon Street. It was demolished in the early 1980s for Minto's Carlisle Apartments. The Weldon Court's apartments included modern fitted kitchens and many ingenious pieces of metamorphic built-in furniture such as multipurpose fold down tables, storage systems, and convertible wall beds. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(The Ottawa Journal, January 9, 1915)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2sxT5V8uOyM/YeyRfn47HhI/AAAAAAAAcn0/AYywJrwqz_Ey0yXMdhY4CAkmZltl7j83ACNcBGAsYHQ/HomewoodNurses.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="640" height="272" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2sxT5V8uOyM/YeyRfn47HhI/AAAAAAAAcn0/AYywJrwqz_Ey0yXMdhY4CAkmZltl7j83ACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h272/HomewoodNurses.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Herbert George closed his practice in 1917 to become a specialist in hospital design and construction with the Government of Canada. It was during this phase of his career that he was credited with the plans for the 1925 Nurses' Residence at the Homewood Sanitarium in Guelph Ontario. George later worked as a staff architect for the Department of Pensions and National Health and the Department of Veterans' Affairs, retired in 1949, and died at his Ottawa home ten years later. </span><i>(Photo: Wellington County Museum and Archives)</i></div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /> <p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-53224951803956634802022-01-14T07:46:00.000-08:002022-01-14T07:46:18.525-08:00SIDEWALK ARCHEOLOGY: AN AUTOPSY OF SULLIVAN'S DECEASED O'CONNOR & SPARKS STREET COMFORT STATIONS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MtjuGUYAjn4/YdzMqSUCfgI/AAAAAAAAckg/O83nz5kzjbIO2WxwChF2HhQPYBKVHnN4ACNcBGAsYHQ/a042986-v8-002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="373" height="284" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MtjuGUYAjn4/YdzMqSUCfgI/AAAAAAAAckg/O83nz5kzjbIO2WxwChF2HhQPYBKVHnN4ACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h284/a042986-v8-002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Francis Sullivan's subterranean public conveniences, once situated under the sidewalk at O'Connor and Sparks Street are an urban legend. They have been pictured as spooky spaces, lying silently underground, sealed up like a pharaoh's tomb. While the comfort stations were probably Sullivan's smallest commission, no other project generated so much controversy. Coming at the peak of his creativity, by the time that they were built his career had entered a downward spiral that ended in his early death. Paralleling Sullivan's own life story, the comfort stations met a fate as ignoble as their architect's. This post probably qualifies as a longish read because it attempts </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">to condense a convoluted story into a chronology of the essential facts surrounding the stations' story through contemporary newspaper accounts. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC a042986)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZgOyFnsLnAY/Ydx5e-gKtiI/AAAAAAAAcho/BgpHALT_4WwkjjulAe5LywmyH7MMvmvaQCNcBGAsYHQ/a042868-v8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="874" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZgOyFnsLnAY/Ydx5e-gKtiI/AAAAAAAAcho/BgpHALT_4WwkjjulAe5LywmyH7MMvmvaQCNcBGAsYHQ/w632-h640/a042868-v8.jpg" width="632" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Sullivan's comfort station episode began in the spring of 1912 and concluded in the fall of 1915. Despite Ottawa City Council's constant chipping away at his original design intentions, he managed to produce what was perhaps his most distilled expression of Wrightian principles, a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Robie-House">Robie House</a> in miniature. This is the women's station on the west side of O'Connor, just north of Sparks</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC a042868-v8)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R3K1UTJVXdg/Ydygltc9_SI/AAAAAAAAchw/r2jNBeqWYtEAf9Z7HCwEQOa3eof1SaC5gCNcBGAsYHQ/stn7.jpg" style="font-style: italic; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1516" data-original-width="1303" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R3K1UTJVXdg/Ydygltc9_SI/AAAAAAAAchw/r2jNBeqWYtEAf9Z7HCwEQOa3eof1SaC5gCNcBGAsYHQ/w549-h640/stn7.jpg" width="549" /></a><i> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Before getting to the comfort stations here is a brief survey of Francis Sullivan's municipal work. Sullivan had been quite successful in landing a number of city jobs. The first building to be completed (1912) was his flamboyantly towered <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-tale-of-two-francis-sullivan-buildings.html">Fire Station No. 7</a> on Arthur Street north of Somerset</span><span style="font-size: large; font-style: italic;">.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VdU0IUD3bjo/YdyhqAxpJWI/AAAAAAAAch8/gHAGnGJ4BBo5QQkM1mOb4IKEaiuUMDznACNcBGAsYHQ/marketbw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="1600" height="304" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VdU0IUD3bjo/YdyhqAxpJWI/AAAAAAAAch8/gHAGnGJ4BBo5QQkM1mOb4IKEaiuUMDznACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h304/marketbw.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>He was then engaged to prepare plans for the West End Market, a spectacular 300-foot long building punched by triumphal arches that was to be built at Somerset and Preston in the northeast corner of Plouffe Park. However the plan fell t</span><span>hrough</span><i>.</i></span><i style="font-size: large;"> </i><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 27,1912)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-njtqD-lLa5U/YdypgMfdjfI/AAAAAAAAcis/hfQBkIE97ik8hdbGA6hFI6rFLdzDjzuugCNcBGAsYHQ/sP893c_001_BytownWEB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="584" height="284" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-njtqD-lLa5U/YdypgMfdjfI/AAAAAAAAcis/hfQBkIE97ik8hdbGA6hFI6rFLdzDjzuugCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h284/sP893c_001_BytownWEB.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">The <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-smallpox-hospital-porters-island.html">Hopewell Smallpox Hospital</a> on Porter's Island (1912-13) was Sulllivan's largest City of Ottawa commission</span></span><i style="font-size: large;">. </i><i>(Photo: Bytown Museum)<br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Re4ms96RgW4/YdynVESHdvI/AAAAAAAAcic/ThgGJN0t3skIMo9OAr9Pefp30sYDcPuwQCNcBGAsYHQ/Booster3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1510" height="304" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Re4ms96RgW4/YdynVESHdvI/AAAAAAAAcic/ThgGJN0t3skIMo9OAr9Pefp30sYDcPuwQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h304/Booster3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sullivan's Slater Street High Pressure Pumping Booster Station was completed in 1913. It was located where the former Ottawa Tech H.S. playing fields now are, east of Bronson. </span><span><i>(Photos: Martin Birkhans)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sexVjipdFpY/YdyoWkjuQTI/AAAAAAAAcik/65SMRiap2IonCyneLXELdnAJfI4MqzjSgCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Apr_5__1913_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="6393" data-original-width="5312" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sexVjipdFpY/YdyoWkjuQTI/AAAAAAAAcik/65SMRiap2IonCyneLXELdnAJfI4MqzjSgCNcBGAsYHQ/w531-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Apr_5__1913_.jpg" width="531" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This was followed up by the City Water Testing Laboratory that was built in the pumping station.</span><i> (Ottawa Citizen, April 5, 1913)</i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-md5U_FWk8QQ/Ydytljxal6I/AAAAAAAAci0/f9smCHZvRyI7jK-M4JBYVFIBKoIjRYZdgCNcBGAsYHQ/h6horticulturepersp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1329" height="504" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-md5U_FWk8QQ/Ydytljxal6I/AAAAAAAAci0/f9smCHZvRyI7jK-M4JBYVFIBKoIjRYZdgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h504/h6horticulturepersp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Finally there is Sullivan's supporting role in Lansdowne Park's <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2014/06/separating-frank-sullivan-from.html">Horticulture Building</a>, which is officially credited to Allan Keefer.</span> <i>(Ottawa Journal, July 11, 1914)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><span><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M9QoxCU6zLM/YdyxmMUieYI/AAAAAAAAci8/fap873RQQiwwWtN0gh4Kop26oNYph_DYwCNcBGAsYHQ/a042986-v8-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="373" height="284" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M9QoxCU6zLM/YdyxmMUieYI/AAAAAAAAci8/fap873RQQiwwWtN0gh4Kop26oNYph_DYwCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h284/a042986-v8-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></i><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">Returning to these fabled comfort stations... Sullivan was first assigned to design a public lavatory in the ByWard Market, although this was never built. <i>‘There was a brief meeting of the Civic Market committee last night when it was decided to recommend to the council to spend $5,000 in erecting a modern lavatory at By Ward market. It will be of brick. Mr. Frank Sullivan, architect had rough plans before the members of the committee and made various suggestions. He was instructed to get out a plan which the committee and council will probably endorse.’</i> </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left;">(Ottawa Journal, May 11, 1912)</i></div></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LtYyDf1I9y0/YdyyKboDRMI/AAAAAAAAcjM/f4iRvaE2WCojvD5lRvMWI1lCHE-6-9AZACNcBGAsYHQ/a061225-v8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1613" data-original-width="997" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LtYyDf1I9y0/YdyyKboDRMI/AAAAAAAAcjM/f4iRvaE2WCojvD5lRvMWI1lCHE-6-9AZACNcBGAsYHQ/w395-h640/a061225-v8.jpg" width="395" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>A year</span><span> later the City of Ottawa decided that it would build a public comfort station in City Hall Square instead, and again turned to Sullivan.<i> ‘Architect Francis C. Sullivan has prepared plans for the public comfort station which it is proposed to erect on the city hall square. The building he proposes was considered a little too expensive by the sub-committee and he will amend the plans. The committee will meet again on Tuesday in order to have a report ready for the city council in the evening.</i></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>’ </i></span><i>(Ottawa Journal, August 1, 1913)</i></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="color: #b45f06; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">‘</span><b><span style="font-size: large;">CIVIC LAVATORY - Board of Control Will Call for Tenders-Work to be Hurried on.'</span></b></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'Architect F. C. Sullivan at yesterday’s meeting</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">of the Board of Control exhibited the plans for the public lavatories to be built at a cost of about $10,000. The Board decided to call for tenders which will be received up to September 30.’ </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, September 17, 1913)</i></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately the tenders were well over the estimated cost, and while the city mulled over this they were also considering something more ambitious, befitting of its City Hall location. '<i>The bulk tender received by the board of control for the construction of the public comfort station proposed for the city hall square is $2,575 over the estimate which had been given by the special committee. The board decided to have the architect, Mr. Francis C. Sullivan, report on the tenders before reaching a decision. The plans prepared by Mr. Sullivan are for a modest modern station with the latest and most sanitary equipment, and it is possible that the city council may decide to expend the larger amount as it is thought it would be unwise to have anything but the very best for the city hall square. In fact it is proposed that this should be an object lesson to the people.</i>’</span><i> (Ottawa Citizen, October 1, 1913)</i></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IWukBDpD4aE/Ydy0qGBjhII/AAAAAAAAcjc/rqHuGGgrcUYp_NwZqXZ48Yru1Dvfw-ViwCNcBGAsYHQ/a042986-v8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="994" height="569" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IWukBDpD4aE/Ydy0qGBjhII/AAAAAAAAcjc/rqHuGGgrcUYp_NwZqXZ48Yru1Dvfw-ViwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h569/a042986-v8.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium;">But in the following year the City Council decided to change the location of the comfort stations (this time there would be two separate buildings) yet again - to O'Connor and Sparks Street. However there was some dispute over the design. E.H. Bennet, the Chief Planner for the Federal Government's proposed redesign of Ottawa called the buildings too pretentious and the Mayor added that he'd heard the same thing from others. Sullivan's response was feisty</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;">.</span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;">‘PUBLIC COMFORT STATION -Tenders Received for O’Connor Street Building'</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">‘The board of control yesterday afternoon opened tenders for the public comfort station which it is proposed to erect on O’Connor Street north of Sparks. The lowest tender is within the amount left in the debenture and while the plans came in for some criticism as bring too pretentious they apparently are satisfactory to the board and at the next meeting it will receive the architect’s report on the tenders.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'When they [the tenders] came up a letter was read from the Town Plan Commission of Ottawa and Hull stating that while in the opinion of Mr. Bennett, the advisory engineer for the commission, the site was an admirable one, he considered the plans too pretentious and with too much shown above the ground. The mayor also said he had heard criticisms that the part above the surface was given too much attention.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'Mr Francis C. Sullivan, the architect, defended the plans with vigor. He said the highest point was only 11 feet 6 inches above ground and as it was on a hill the height above ground lessened farther back. He assured the board that the part above ground would be attractive in every way and would not be an objectionable feature. He did not believe in taking criticism from every one and told the mayor: ‘If I listened to every one’s opinion as you do, I would be like yourself, hated and loved.’ Mr Sullivan was told to prepare a report on which of the tenders he would favour being accepted.’</span><i> (Ottawa Citizen, October 28, 1914)</i></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CelpPDDLeig/Ydy3HWjvQRI/AAAAAAAAcjo/_Dq8l9EhtQoC_Z4h1mjqVFRaK0FhVCL2QCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Jan_14__1915_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3953" data-original-width="3346" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CelpPDDLeig/Ydy3HWjvQRI/AAAAAAAAcjo/_Dq8l9EhtQoC_Z4h1mjqVFRaK0FhVCL2QCNcBGAsYHQ/w338-h400/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Jan_14__1915_.jpg" width="338" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hearing strong objections from neighbouring property owners, the city forced more design revisions on Sullivan</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><i> (Ottawa Journal, January 15, 1915</i></span><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9MrHYTgrTLo/Ydy3cz52_GI/AAAAAAAAcjw/JfC4_06JBWImo4dCTyZWyBDaSQhnhHvtgCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Feb_3__1915_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5762" data-original-width="4479" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9MrHYTgrTLo/Ydy3cz52_GI/AAAAAAAAcjw/JfC4_06JBWImo4dCTyZWyBDaSQhnhHvtgCNcBGAsYHQ/w312-h400/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Feb_3__1915_.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sullivan's changes were still not sufficient to satisfy public opinion. One person charged that it 'would be the laughing stock of Ottawa' and was 'unsuitable and extravagant'. Another called them 'no better than a dog kennel'. He was ordered to revise the plans yet again.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, February 3, 1915)</i></span><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dVQg5ot7LKg/Ydy30UUC3KI/AAAAAAAAcj4/egj9qt_HAZEzKvov6XLq6oiShHvnIas8wCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Feb_17__1915_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5552" data-original-width="3009" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dVQg5ot7LKg/Ydy30UUC3KI/AAAAAAAAcj4/egj9qt_HAZEzKvov6XLq6oiShHvnIas8wCNcBGAsYHQ/w217-h400/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Feb_17__1915_.jpg" width="217" /></a></i></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These arguments centred around how much of the comfort stations would stick out of the ground. The above grade elements, really just an entranceway to a fight of stairs leading down into the business end of the station, the superstructure was the primary point of contention. At this point the city had called in another architect, the haughty ex-military socialite C.P. Meredith to review the plans, which could not have pleased the hot-tempered Sullivan. Another less obtrusive revision was in the works.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, February 17, 1915)</i></span><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">'WILL RESUME WORK - Plans of COMFORT STATION Approved by Board of Control - Small Superstructure.'</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">’After a long delay it is probable that the work upon the comfort station on O’Connor Street will be resumed in the near future, the Board of Control having announced that they approve of the revised plans submitted to them yesterday afternoon by Architect Frank Sullivan.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span>'</span></span><span>The revised plans do away with practically all of the superstructure which was originally intended about the entrance, and the combined ventilating shaft and smoke stack will terminate in a lamp post. Mr. C.P. Meredith has been appointed by the owners of the property in the vicinity of the comfort station who objected to the superstructure being obtrusive, and he and Mr. Sullivan will further deliberate regarding the plans before the work will be resumed.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'The mayor favoured waiting for Mr. Meredith to approve the plans, contending that if the work were gone ahead without the consent of the property owners they would probably take out an injunction to prevent the work being carried on. The board concurred with the mayor.' </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, February 19, 1915)</i></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">‘WILL RESUME WORK - Board of Control Finally Adopt Revised Plans For Comfort Station on O’Connor St'</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'An amended contract between the city and Messrs. Murphy Bros. will be signed today and the erection of the comfort station on O’Connor Street will be resumed. </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'This was the decision of the Board of Control yesterday afternoon when architect Frank Sullivan submitted the revised plans for an “inconspicuous” superstructure and incidentally showed the Board that the more the elaboration of the structure is eliminated the higher the costs to the city.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'On January 6 the architect stopped the work on account of the objections from the Board of Control to the elaborate superstructure. Since that time the matter has been up at Board meetings at least half a dozen times, and as many altered plans submitted.’ </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, March 5, 1915)</i></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CF-TDRmBxf8/Ydy-GaQI-XI/AAAAAAAAckA/r_DjP4AUlesKuL-gn7W2_AZrC4T4jVj1QCNcBGAsYHQ/ComfortStn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="293" height="314" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CF-TDRmBxf8/Ydy-GaQI-XI/AAAAAAAAckA/r_DjP4AUlesKuL-gn7W2_AZrC4T4jVj1QCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h314/ComfortStn.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of Sullivan's final adjustments was to add a cluster of four very handsome lamps to the ventilation pipe, thus turning the tallest of the stations' offending protrusions into a feature. On June 25, 1915 the <i>Ottawa Journal</i> reported that after three years of dithering <i>'The Board of Control decided that the new public comfort station on O’Connor Street, which is now ready for opening, should be open from 7 a.m. to midnight. Two men and two women will be engaged as caretakers, each working a shift of 8 1/2 hours. The men will receive $600 a year each and the women $300. Several applicants were heard yesterday and more will be heard next week.</i>’</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The stations' final cost was two and a half times the original allocation, and there were lingering allegations that Sullivan had illegally drawn funds from the City Treasurer's office to which he was not entitled. </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Once these underground lavatories were in the business of relieving full bladders the <i>Ottawa Journal</i> finally weighed in on the side of the comfort stations. They were impressed that they were odour-free. In an editorial dated October 2, 1915 they wrote: <i>‘The Civic Lavatory or “Comfort Station’ as it is officially called seems to be filling 'a long felt want’.</i></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> For years the city talked about public lavatories and finally the initial one on O’Connor Street was got underway. It took some time to build, and was fairly expensive, but the city’s effort seems to be appreciated by the public. During the past month, between 400 and 600 people have daily used the men’s department alone. Those who have visited the stations know that everything is thoroughly up-to-date, and care exercised by the janitors has kept the place free from objectionable odors. The building complete has cost the city about $25,000. The yearly maintenance expense, including sinking fund and interest, salaries of two male and two female janitors, and incidental expenses will total about $4,000 per year. But the advantage of the lavatory is to our own citizens, as well as to strangers, seems to make the expense worth while.</i>’ </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, October 2, 1915)</i></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EUOmH_-Mfgw/YdzArGeWB4I/AAAAAAAAckI/x82aXQpdSRAGwrpR91uLGZhRfusdgMdewCNcBGAsYHQ/BofM1stPhaseConst-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="1600" height="533" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EUOmH_-Mfgw/YdzArGeWB4I/AAAAAAAAckI/x82aXQpdSRAGwrpR91uLGZhRfusdgMdewCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h533/BofM1stPhaseConst-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The comfort stations were not universally popular. Nearby property owners continued to agitate for their removal. When in 1929 the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-walk-through-bmo-if-those-allegories.html">Bank of Montreal </a>revealed that they planned to construct an Art Deco temple along O'Connor from Sparks to Wellington, the bank's president made it clear that this was on the condition that the city would eliminate the offending lavatories.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vUR1pZKRdZU/YdzA07sZ0SI/AAAAAAAAckM/QSmTJhJl9_IcrVqQHNZIcvnvyAbZk6GZgCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Apr_9__1930_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="6743" data-original-width="3674" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vUR1pZKRdZU/YdzA07sZ0SI/AAAAAAAAckM/QSmTJhJl9_IcrVqQHNZIcvnvyAbZk6GZgCNcBGAsYHQ/w218-h400/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Apr_9__1930_.jpg" width="218" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On March 5, 1930 the <i>Ottawa Citizen</i> reported that during the course of its meeting <i>'J. H. MacLeod, Superintendent</i></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> of Buildings, informed the Board of Control that the comfort stations on O'Connor Street have been dismantled. The Board decided to instruct the Commissioner of Works to have the structures demolished at once. The suggestion made by the Commissioner of Works is that the super-structure should be removed and a concrete slab placed over the stations.' </i>Francis Sullivan had died almost a year earlier at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West and didn't live long enough to learn of the stations' demise.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">With this the City of Ottawa had fulfilled its agreement to remove Sullivan's highly contested comfort stations. This culminated a months long battle between those few members of City Council who wanted to keep them and those who wanted to accede to the bank's demands. It had been fought out in the courts involving multiple injunctions, suits, and counter suits, with the pro-station faction losing in the end.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 9, 1930)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-99uomqaceSY/YdzA4-0Y-tI/AAAAAAAAckQ/jOSXNZWH4IMQqQlMdm86MNdfcAAHGCHvACNcBGAsYHQ/RAIC1932-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="541" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-99uomqaceSY/YdzA4-0Y-tI/AAAAAAAAckQ/jOSXNZWH4IMQqQlMdm86MNdfcAAHGCHvACNcBGAsYHQ/w499-h640/RAIC1932-1.jpg" width="499" /></a></i></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">The Bank of Montreal, in its pristine setting won the RAIC's Gold Medal for 1932. There was no 'X marks the spot' for the vanished comfort stations. Of course the stations were not sealed up fully intact, and over the years there has been a lot of buried utility work under these O'Connor Street sidewalks. From first-hand observations I can report that in the late 1970s, when a trench was opened up here some white tiled walls were exposed, and the cavity filled with sand. Subsequent excavations revealed that all traces of the stations had been removed.</div></span></div></div></div></div></span></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-11546112926484297012021-12-30T07:38:00.002-08:002022-01-01T07:47:21.098-08:00IF ONE NORLITE IS GOOD, ARE TWO NORLITES BETTER?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2vrXIcTIFn8/YctzGBejkcI/AAAAAAAAcbs/yNXQGX9Lvt41IV3XiarwsBDvhkmWRw5_wCNcBGAsYHQ/NorliteDoubled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="1228" height="494" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2vrXIcTIFn8/YctzGBejkcI/AAAAAAAAcbs/yNXQGX9Lvt41IV3XiarwsBDvhkmWRw5_wCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h494/NorliteDoubled.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This post starts out with one of those wacky proposals that (thankfully) never came to pass, but then turns to a quick survey of the diverse and highly productive career of its architect, William Caven Beattie. After attending the Toronto Technical School W.C. Beattie (1886-1945), the son of a Protestant minister from Guelph, Ontario was then trained at four prestigious architectural practices - John Lyle (1906-08), Darling and Pearson (1908-12), RAIC President Francis Baker (1913) and Alfred Chapman (1914). Beattie moved to Ottawa in 1918 becoming Superintendent of Buildings for the Ottawa Public School Board the following year, an important position for a man of only 33. After leaving the Board he launched a private practice in 1924, producing a series of quality designs over the next 16 years. By the time of his early death Beattie was part of the WWII effort working as a staff architect for the Government of Canada.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N6W3vN5eUG0/YcuPaAzRrhI/AAAAAAAAcew/iHpOWO-AmVg8qJA3xOBy8LNGzIVfCztIgCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Feb_24__1928_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5256" data-original-width="4850" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N6W3vN5eUG0/YcuPaAzRrhI/AAAAAAAAcew/iHpOWO-AmVg8qJA3xOBy8LNGzIVfCztIgCNcBGAsYHQ/w589-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Feb_24__1928_.jpg" width="589" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Beattie's 1928 proposal to build a symmetrical doppelganger of Wellington Street's already existing Norlite Building and then link them with a broad middle section was perhaps a rare lapse in taste spawned by the speculative real estate frenzy of the late 1920s. With the $1 million in financing that was required the scheme was probably a victim of the 1929 crash. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 24, 1928)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sgZ4VNMddBo/YcuP3S71ZDI/AAAAAAAAcfA/rEETLhJtgYETO1dWZfAHeGna9aeE4fycACNcBGAsYHQ/Norlite-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="409" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sgZ4VNMddBo/YcuP3S71ZDI/AAAAAAAAcfA/rEETLhJtgYETO1dWZfAHeGna9aeE4fycACNcBGAsYHQ/w451-h640/Norlite-001.jpg" width="451" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Norlite Realty Company was incorporated in July 1916 specifically to construct and manage this building. Architects Hugh Richards and William Abra, with associate Colborne Powell Meredith followed the maxim that all tall buildings should have a classically proportioned bottom, middle, and top. While the Wellington frontage was carefully considered, with rusticated end pavilions and three arched openings in the centre of the ground floor the sides and back were decidedly plain - probably with the expectation that they would covered up by neighbouring buildings. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4OIx4ykR7Mg/YcuP7C3BkbI/AAAAAAAAcfE/6LNGepGp03cRlQ-HJX79da6XUFx2dXcmwCNcBGAsYHQ/National_Press_Building%252C_Ottawa-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="603" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4OIx4ykR7Mg/YcuP7C3BkbI/AAAAAAAAcfE/6LNGepGp03cRlQ-HJX79da6XUFx2dXcmwCNcBGAsYHQ/w411-h640/National_Press_Building%252C_Ottawa-001.jpg" width="411" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Upon its opening in 1917 the Government of Canada occupied the whole of the building, locating the Department of Immigration and Colonization here, along with three sections of the Department of Interior - the Land Patent Branch, the Mining Lands and Yukon Branch, and the Timber and Grazing Branch. To construct the building in the midst of WWI would have required an official exemption to skirt the Government's tight restrictions on the use of strategic war materials like steel and concrete. Jackson Booth's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LostOttawa/photos/ottawas-transportation-building-at-rideau-and-colonel-by-seen-from-the-from-the-/528548067244422/">Transportation Building</a> (J. Albert Ewart, 1916) ostensibly built for the Imperial Munitions Board offices was constructed under a similar arrangement.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qcusGxrxw00/Yc-JE9_a_1I/AAAAAAAAchM/QRe-tXgDe4c3_R73mVufdnB-d2knBcAPACNcBGAsYHQ/CPRTO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="217" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qcusGxrxw00/Yc-JE9_a_1I/AAAAAAAAchM/QRe-tXgDe4c3_R73mVufdnB-d2knBcAPACNcBGAsYHQ/w413-h640/CPRTO.jpg" width="413" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Richards, Abra, and Meredith's design may not have been entirely original. With its rusticated corner pavilions and the highly decorated top features like towers, arches and balconies, the Norlite bears more than a passing resemblance to Darling and Pearson's first proposal for their 1912 CPR Building (seen above) at the southwest corner of Yonge and King Street in Toronto. The final version omitted some of the ornament. </span><i>(Photo: Contract Record and Engineering Review, 1912)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UtFa16GMGA4/YcuQGz9Gb_I/AAAAAAAAcfQ/PiIc5cgwICQp2_Gy9ISjdgp5yYTEbrfxgCNcBGAsYHQ/Norlite.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="404" height="236" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UtFa16GMGA4/YcuQGz9Gb_I/AAAAAAAAcfQ/PiIc5cgwICQp2_Gy9ISjdgp5yYTEbrfxgCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h236/Norlite.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Norlite's creamy white glazed terra cotta also got particularly flamboyant on the upper stories, with six-foot high urns, an arch and spandrel treatment in the middle three bays, fake balconies, and the two end pavilions that explode into towers pierced by open oculi draped with garlanded swags and wreathes. These round holes appear to have performed some sort of air exhaust and ventilation function.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1YJuGGDHmRs/YcuQKgdX1EI/AAAAAAAAcfU/GiTV0tA0Io8F8WYmTMqEvSqC-bO6iSXvACNcBGAsYHQ/P4220046.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1111" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1YJuGGDHmRs/YcuQKgdX1EI/AAAAAAAAcfU/GiTV0tA0Io8F8WYmTMqEvSqC-bO6iSXvACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/P4220046.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In time some of these elements became cracked and unstable. For safety reasons the two large terra cotta urns and the chunky balusters that projected from the top floor windows were removed long ago on the advice of the heritage restoration specialists.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GVK2O8paiLc/YcuQNXeFNvI/AAAAAAAAcfc/bmmqBXazqJEKB9W_kn4ND03NpQfi6WV7QCNcBGAsYHQ/P4220044.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="901" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GVK2O8paiLc/YcuQNXeFNvI/AAAAAAAAcfc/bmmqBXazqJEKB9W_kn4ND03NpQfi6WV7QCNcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/P4220044.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The PWGSC web pages seem to suggest that the building's future role may be uncertain. The Government of Canada expropriated it in 1954. In 1987 FHBRO classified it as a 'Recognized' (the lower category) federal heritage building because it was said to represent the 'evolution of Wellington Street from a commercial banking corridor into a federal precinct'. Although in the case of the Norlite there was no evolution because it was federal from the outset - which makes the Federal Buildings Heritage Buildings Review Office's rationale kind of wobbly.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gvY0XTd5nKM/YcuQQA4KeUI/AAAAAAAAcfg/jjB2U1Lb52Ip_6Ftt285mt6jzRzbk0EPwCNcBGAsYHQ/P8030044.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="704" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gvY0XTd5nKM/YcuQQA4KeUI/AAAAAAAAcfg/jjB2U1Lb52Ip_6Ftt285mt6jzRzbk0EPwCNcBGAsYHQ/w408-h640/P8030044.JPG" width="408" /></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gvY0XTd5nKM/YcuQQA4KeUI/AAAAAAAAcfg/jjB2U1Lb52Ip_6Ftt285mt6jzRzbk0EPwCNcBGAsYHQ/P8030044.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gvY0XTd5nKM/YcuQQA4KeUI/AAAAAAAAcfg/jjB2U1Lb52Ip_6Ftt285mt6jzRzbk0EPwCNcBGAsYHQ/P8030044.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">This is not one of Christo's wrapped building installations. To protect them from further weather damage, and to protect passersby from falling bits of the terra cotta tiles that are above the Indiana limestone clad lower two floors the Norlite has been fitted out with this snug burlap slip covering job.</div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2m5QT93-3rk/YcuQjJS1C8I/AAAAAAAAcf0/dENVwdsidIYahR7NaRlKxg4xRInkiOhbwCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__May_2__1967_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4599" data-original-width="1966" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2m5QT93-3rk/YcuQjJS1C8I/AAAAAAAAcf0/dENVwdsidIYahR7NaRlKxg4xRInkiOhbwCNcBGAsYHQ/w275-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__May_2__1967_.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Norlite Building was renamed the National Press Building in 1967 when Prime Minister Lester Pearson officially opened the ground floor National Press Theatre. News agencies and national radio and television broadcasting services located their Ottawa bureaux in the upper floors. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, May 2, 1967)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qKpOR3_RyG8/Ycu8WGlhhNI/AAAAAAAAcg0/V-kt1nzXijsKF1b5MSlpzJt5OZy5KqGgACNcBGAsYHQ/c96aa790-daa2-4a07-a410-ddc2236804e1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qKpOR3_RyG8/Ycu8WGlhhNI/AAAAAAAAcg0/V-kt1nzXijsKF1b5MSlpzJt5OZy5KqGgACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/c96aa790-daa2-4a07-a410-ddc2236804e1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The building is commemorated with one of the NCC's Confederation Boulevard <a href="https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=150695">interpretive panels</a>, with a symbolic microphone attached at the bottom and a photo of Pierre Trudeau seated at a table on stage in a crowded press theatre on February 16, 1968 announcing his candidacy for Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cYxC2OBZGcE/YcuQvC2kNiI/AAAAAAAAcf8/VmviyV4xRVUWIY8eG-LHLIsf7bmmt6OEQCNcBGAsYHQ/180620_-_justin_trudeau-17.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cYxC2OBZGcE/YcuQvC2kNiI/AAAAAAAAcf8/VmviyV4xRVUWIY8eG-LHLIsf7bmmt6OEQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/180620_-_justin_trudeau-17.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You might even catch a glimpse of today's Prime Minister Trudeau and his entourage entering or leaving the National Press B ilding (the brass sign has lost its 'u').</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BbnU-oFatHY/YcuQ24oDXXI/AAAAAAAAcgE/a1r08CJspzI9AO_SSLWI64McHrsbfi8EwCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Feb_24__1928_-002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3377" data-original-width="4537" height="476" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BbnU-oFatHY/YcuQ24oDXXI/AAAAAAAAcgE/a1r08CJspzI9AO_SSLWI64McHrsbfi8EwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h476/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Feb_24__1928_-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Another look at the doomed NorliteX2+1, which was to stretch westward down Wellington, to join the recently completed Metropolitan Life Building. The new and expanded Norlite was to be 'devoted to offices but will be so constructed internally as to be converted to other purposes when required'. Other purposes? An apartment? A hotel? Getting light into the innermost regions of a building this massive would have been difficult, but the central entranceway and porte cochere suggests that an internal court yard may have been intended.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BX2s_DuvbPg/YcuQ72_A74I/AAAAAAAAcgM/Ero1d0UUOXctEBjrupTDG9ChvlspWN0SgCNcBGAsYHQ/OTTAWA_BLDGS_19_ORME.HALL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1111" height="510" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BX2s_DuvbPg/YcuQ72_A74I/AAAAAAAAcgM/Ero1d0UUOXctEBjrupTDG9ChvlspWN0SgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h510/OTTAWA_BLDGS_19_ORME.HALL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">These were the buildings that were to be demolished for the Norlite Building addition - a Confederation-era stone structure that was then known as the Brock Building, and <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-remaining-half-of-queen-annes.html">F.J. Alexander's</a> rather fanciful Orme Hall. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: NCC library 'Ottawa Buildings')</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ye6vwy95w9Y/Yczq_3QEAdI/AAAAAAAAcg8/IoYSjLuuTHU0QBvindT8LBGQ6RQfGG2JgCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Mon__Oct_5__1953_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3133" data-original-width="4137" height="485" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ye6vwy95w9Y/Yczq_3QEAdI/AAAAAAAAcg8/IoYSjLuuTHU0QBvindT8LBGQ6RQfGG2JgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h485/The_Ottawa_Journal_Mon__Oct_5__1953_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x1pJfja-L6s/YczrD_WLqlI/AAAAAAAAchA/5ho-EXrIwYAomASIIdpQsXx92JbGx7ERgCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Oct_5__1953_%2Bcopy%2B2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3631" data-original-width="4724" height="492" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x1pJfja-L6s/YczrD_WLqlI/AAAAAAAAchA/5ho-EXrIwYAomASIIdpQsXx92JbGx7ERgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h492/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Oct_5__1953_%2Bcopy%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The land for the unrealized Norlite Building addition roared back into the news in 1953, when Garfield Weston's Whittington Investments Limited announced that it would be acquiring the property for a rather striking ten storey modernist office tower, topped by an all glass penthouse that was fearlessly unsympathetic to its surroundings. By the way, in one of those fabled New York City subway series the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the sixth game. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal and Ottawa Citizen, October 5, 1953)</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CsYiXtZ2sbc/YcuRE_MeW1I/AAAAAAAAcgY/ZH0k_Hhy2rgJxUTW9UXgBnlCXqjlpfxwgCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Oct_5__1953_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4815" data-original-width="4724" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CsYiXtZ2sbc/YcuRE_MeW1I/AAAAAAAAcgY/ZH0k_Hhy2rgJxUTW9UXgBnlCXqjlpfxwgCNcBGAsYHQ/w627-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Oct_5__1953_.jpg" width="627" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Very avant garde for its time the building was to be clad in noble materials - polished black granite piers and solid bronze mullions that were eventually meant to match the green of the Parliament Buildings' copper roofs. It probably would have looked fabulous on another site but Ottawa would have to wait two more years for its<a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2010/01/commonwealth.html"> first curtain wall office building</a>. The Abra and <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2015/06/go-tilden-watson-balharrie-in-hut-shell.html">Balharrie</a> design horrified the Federal District Commission, which was responsible for implementing the recently approved Gréber plan's design guidelines for future buildings on Wellington Street, which actually recommended the removal of what it held to be offensively tall buildings, like the Norlite. In order to halt the Weston Building the FDC deployed an exercise of raw power and expropriated the property.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Ottawa Citizen, October 5, 1953)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4OvpR42QNag/YcuRKQ9pghI/AAAAAAAAcgc/oGLFWmXEHAw0odRIaObib0Z6lcAY3NMVgCNcBGAsYHQ/P5090083.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1211" height="598" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4OvpR42QNag/YcuRKQ9pghI/AAAAAAAAcgc/oGLFWmXEHAw0odRIaObib0Z6lcAY3NMVgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h598/P5090083.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">Some yeas later the once disputed site was finally developed as Marani and Morris's 1959-61 addition to the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2016/05/peeling-back-layers-120-years-of.html">Metropolitan Life Insurance</a> Canadian headquarters building, built at a Gréber-approved height.</div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y06MO-xFNWM/YctzKjbyKLI/AAAAAAAAcbw/v_OaO047Xq4-gU71FGAFz7BbmgrzVJAqQCNcBGAsYHQ/SusanRossYork-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y06MO-xFNWM/YctzKjbyKLI/AAAAAAAAcbw/v_OaO047Xq4-gU71FGAFz7BbmgrzVJAqQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/SusanRossYork-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Returning to Beattie's career before and after the Norlite episode... While Superintendent of Buildings he had designed major additions to the Crichton Street Pubic School (1919) and Mutchmor Public School (1920) but the York Street Public School (1922) was his first important stand alone project for the Ottawa Public School Board. It's certainly the best 'Collegiate Gothic' elementary school building in the city. <i>(Photo: Susan Ross)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Yr-8cXAbxoo/Yct04WQJBCI/AAAAAAAAcb8/ajyqdnkT9IMp-g1PpFNNCMv5IecQwFyxwCNcBGAsYHQ/P6120010-001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1089" data-original-width="1600" height="436" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Yr-8cXAbxoo/Yct04WQJBCI/AAAAAAAAcb8/ajyqdnkT9IMp-g1PpFNNCMv5IecQwFyxwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h436/P6120010-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">In the same year he produced the Board's neo-Georgian administrative headquarters on Gilmour Street, which has a spectacular <i>piano nobile</i> trustees' meeting room, detailed in the Robert Adam style.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gJt_wMaHbFI/Yct2paAfdWI/AAAAAAAAccI/h-rNjEzIQOs9mgueSqFzBFAsSYxfKEz_wCNcBGAsYHQ/cornwallis5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="372" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gJt_wMaHbFI/Yct2paAfdWI/AAAAAAAAccI/h-rNjEzIQOs9mgueSqFzBFAsSYxfKEz_wCNcBGAsYHQ/w429-h640/cornwallis5.jpg" width="429" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">W.C. Beattie was also capable of working for entirely commercial ventures, such as the six-storey Hotel Cornwallis in Cornwall, Ontario (built 1927; demolished 1982). </span><i>(Photo: <a href="http://CornwallPostcards.ca">CornwallPostcards.ca</a>)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mHwWpTllI8E/Yct3ZP_EJiI/AAAAAAAAccU/kIFilC6UOxgT4N6_js5VXK0cc3s6qBCcgCNcBGAsYHQ/cornwallis10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="640" height="404" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mHwWpTllI8E/Yct3ZP_EJiI/AAAAAAAAccU/kIFilC6UOxgT4N6_js5VXK0cc3s6qBCcgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h404/cornwallis10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is an entirely gratuitous addition that has nothing to do with Beattie - but that wild neon sign was crying out for attention. </span><i>(Photo:<a href="http://www.cornwallpostcards.ca/second-street.html"> CornwallPostcards.ca</a>)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WBFY8r8BYtc/Yct-95HRKmI/AAAAAAAAcdE/7ABE87C0FOQ2UmZu7vUewlnVDa1yAdaagCNcBGAsYHQ/CA%2B4048_StPats.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="535" height="235" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WBFY8r8BYtc/Yct-95HRKmI/AAAAAAAAcdE/7ABE87C0FOQ2UmZu7vUewlnVDa1yAdaagCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h235/CA%2B4048_StPats.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">For the Oblate Fathers he designed St. Patrick's Roman Catholic College for boys and young men, first with the 1929 wing at the left (in slightly darker brick), to be quickly followed up with the central wing in 1930. For this Beattie returned to Collegiate Gothic.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DoBb45BwT5I/Yct5HLAXP6I/AAAAAAAAccc/5VvSZof28Ts0Ax-TiGjVNMtazN1dHm45QCNcBGAsYHQ/SubStn3a-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="700" height="478" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DoBb45BwT5I/Yct5HLAXP6I/AAAAAAAAccc/5VvSZof28Ts0Ax-TiGjVNMtazN1dHm45QCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h478/SubStn3a-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Ottawa Hydro-Electric Power Commission was one of Beattie's most important clients. Sub-station No. 3 at Carling and Merivale (1929) was his first commission. He invested these utility structures with a sense of grandeur that sported an Art Deco fillip.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RIF_npFtdh4/Yct5MzQYIBI/AAAAAAAAccg/Y7K-fI-Iw2ssRj-bpU0jmphLIPVqME5gQCNcBGAsYHQ/KingEdawardHydro.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1338" height="436" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RIF_npFtdh4/Yct5MzQYIBI/AAAAAAAAccg/Y7K-fI-Iw2ssRj-bpU0jmphLIPVqME5gQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h436/KingEdawardHydro.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Continuing in the same style was Sub-station No. 4 on King Edward Avenue in 1931. The City of Ottawa has undertaken a programme to grant heritage designation to these buildings. </span><i>(Photo: <a href="https://hydroottawa.com/en/about-us/our-company/our-history#gallery-4">Hydro Ottawa - Our History</a>)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xsh_8-ub4Bk/Yct7Lp3BA9I/AAAAAAAAccs/Vm8JogBAEq0DkeT5iwfHsVFarZ5sUpIPwCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Jul_24__1934_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="5324" data-original-width="4710" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xsh_8-ub4Bk/Yct7Lp3BA9I/AAAAAAAAccs/Vm8JogBAEq0DkeT5iwfHsVFarZ5sUpIPwCNcBGAsYHQ/w565-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Jul_24__1934_.jpg" width="565" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Beattie's handling of the Art Deco style was given its freest reign at the Hydro Commission's offices at Bank and Albert (1934-1935). The ground floor of the building was originally a store offering a sampling of the latest in electrical appliances. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 1934)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jbTJ51uWfEk/Yct8249Et6I/AAAAAAAAcc8/E8fSLxb83AMLWHw8tk011gUZnZZBXGIcACNcBGAsYHQ/art-deco-ottawa-presented-by-the-molly-claude-team-realtors-019.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="912" height="466" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jbTJ51uWfEk/Yct8249Et6I/AAAAAAAAcc8/E8fSLxb83AMLWHw8tk011gUZnZZBXGIcACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h466/art-deco-ottawa-presented-by-the-molly-claude-team-realtors-019.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Commission had been formed in 1908 by the City of Ottawa to establish a publicly owned utility that would compete with, and ultimately take over the private power companies. Until this building was constructed it had been operating out of nondescript offices above a store further down Bank Street. </span><i>(Photo: <a href="https://www.claudejobin.com">TeamClaudeJobin</a>)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wqQnc-ODz_8/YcuAhNbTxII/AAAAAAAAcdM/Hx94Qse_8Y4_FbjB8IH5k8VZbwkSzj9ogCNcBGAsYHQ/telus2ndCup.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1111" height="406" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wqQnc-ODz_8/YcuAhNbTxII/AAAAAAAAcdM/Hx94Qse_8Y4_FbjB8IH5k8VZbwkSzj9ogCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h406/telus2ndCup.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On nearby</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> Slater Street was the Burkholder Furs' cold storage warehouse (the boxy beige building) with very slight Deco detailing on its blank front, a 1939 conversion of what had previously been the Essex Apartments. It and the furrier's store which was just around the corner on Bank were demolished for the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2011/01/bank-and-slater-telus-house.html">Telus Building</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vVLogfNz_Rc/YcuHTl35hlI/AAAAAAAAceI/3nGnCO4C82gYts9jjTtJcbiiCEB0UWKIACNcBGAsYHQ/Construction4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="641" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vVLogfNz_Rc/YcuHTl35hlI/AAAAAAAAceI/3nGnCO4C82gYts9jjTtJcbiiCEB0UWKIACNcBGAsYHQ/w581-h640/Construction4.jpg" width="581" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">Beattie's last major work in private practice was in 1941 acting as</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">the consulting local architect for <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-lord-elgin-hotel-part-i.html">Ross and MacDonald's Lord Elgin Hotel</a>. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Jeff Gillin via <a href="http://www.ottawahh.com/">OttawaHH</a>)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ahtHc-_fT1Q/YcuIbDXTSnI/AAAAAAAAceU/hdcjIVtBA0kUFTPYNQnpaSesHLEL67MmwCNcBGAsYHQ/Construction1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="638" height="610" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ahtHc-_fT1Q/YcuIbDXTSnI/AAAAAAAAceU/hdcjIVtBA0kUFTPYNQnpaSesHLEL67MmwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h610/Construction1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From beginning to end construction of the hotel was completed in an astonishing sixteen months (with another special wartime permit to use strategic materials), which may be a tribute to Beattie's organizational skills. </span><i>(Photo: Jeff Gillin via <a href="http://www.ottawahh.com/">OttawaHH</a>)</i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1nNPzAjDS3E/YcuIgbCJZ5I/AAAAAAAAceY/6OUdu1Nh_x0WcX_ITAAtUHkz_GCyou1dgCNcBGAsYHQ/LordElginTitle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="829" height="432" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1nNPzAjDS3E/YcuIgbCJZ5I/AAAAAAAAceY/6OUdu1Nh_x0WcX_ITAAtUHkz_GCyou1dgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h432/LordElginTitle.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">It added the Chateau Style to Beattie's repertoire of faux-historic architectural dress. Notice that in order to avoid visual competition on this postcard the hotel's neighbour First Baptist Church at Laurier and Elgin has been shorn of its tower.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lMUmGvKES04/YcuNi1VfJpI/AAAAAAAAceo/ULPs_t5j5uYZUjgQ4UIRg9v35JkyCxuMACNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Jun_22__1945_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="8302" data-original-width="4382" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lMUmGvKES04/YcuNi1VfJpI/AAAAAAAAceo/ULPs_t5j5uYZUjgQ4UIRg9v35JkyCxuMACNcBGAsYHQ/w339-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Jun_22__1945_.jpg" width="339" /></a></div><br /></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">W.C. Beattie died at his desk in No. 3 Temporary Building on June 22, 1945 while serving as a staff architect for the Department of Munitions and Supply. After the Lord Elgin Hotel he had quit his successful practice to join the war effort. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, June 22, 1945)</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;">NEXT URBSite POSTING: Aiming for January 14, 2022. Happy New Year.</span></b></i></div></span></div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-30521198062603852562021-12-16T07:44:00.002-08:002021-12-18T14:09:30.765-08:00THE ELGIN STREET RAILWAY STATION? WHERE & WHAT WAS THAT?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_gqPPDjBXec/YbUlXNt2XRI/AAAAAAAAcXk/4EQ-ytg8QswFMICVKHmRD8H_bw-zDe4sQCNcBGAsYHQ/CAR%253AElgin1886-002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="622" height="502" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_gqPPDjBXec/YbUlXNt2XRI/AAAAAAAAcXk/4EQ-ytg8QswFMICVKHmRD8H_bw-zDe4sQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h502/CAR%253AElgin1886-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Cheesy click-bait title I know, but it is intriguing to realize that this important little building's location has been so utterly erased from Centretown's collective memory. The Canada Atlantic Railway's Elgin Street station operated from a site near the corner of Catherine and Elgin Streets from 1882 to 1895. During that time it was one of Ottawa's primary passenger depots. For a more thorough history of this place I must guide you to Colin Churcher and David Jeanes' entry in the <a href="https://churcher.crcml.org/Articles/Article2004_1.html">Railways in Canada </a>pages. Railway lore can be arcane and I am bound to get something wrong, so this post is not really for the diehard railfan who will already know all of the Elgin Street station's technical details in minute detail.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gBpDbu-rKDY/YbUlah17ynI/AAAAAAAAcXo/geflpWsBuNkksnyDk7IgXfAZh2xP44jmgCNcBGAsYHQ/a011859-v6Cornwall1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="597" height="569" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gBpDbu-rKDY/YbUlah17ynI/AAAAAAAAcXo/geflpWsBuNkksnyDk7IgXfAZh2xP44jmgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h569/a011859-v6Cornwall1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Elgin Street railway station is all the more mysterious because so few images of it appear to have survived, and in all of those it's semi-hidden and photographed from oblique angles. (Photo: LAC a011859-v6)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l0aKXEQpVVs/YbUlfzz7mdI/AAAAAAAAcXs/crg3DCOBe5Ae4WmHQxbRWvIxpdkw8-HuQCNcBGAsYHQ/MichaelBerryRailPictures.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="784" height="489" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l0aKXEQpVVs/YbUlfzz7mdI/AAAAAAAAcXs/crg3DCOBe5Ae4WmHQxbRWvIxpdkw8-HuQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h489/MichaelBerryRailPictures.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In appearance the Elgin Street station was similar to this much smaller version at the <a href="https://exporail.org/en/activites/rides/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA2NaNBhDvARIsAEw55hiEtEt7Tc1auYB8EvgupIIbcjgMsMK7O_Tm5s0m6jVvqA3a8e6dCk4aAnjpEALw_wcB">Canadian Railway Museum</a> at Delson, Quebec The <i>Ottawa Daily Citizen</i> described the building in their October 7, 1882 </span>'<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Visit to the New Depot at Stewarton* ... The passenger depot is being erected by Messrs. MacLaren and Parkham, who have also constructed all the other stations on the line. The appearance of the building at first glance appears to denote that comfort to the officers of the line and convenience to the public have been considered more than architectural beauty.'</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>*For its first three years the station's location was actually outside Ottawa's city limits, in the village of Stewarton.</i></span></span></div><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">'... Arriving at the place by Elgin street access can be had to the different offices and the cars by a platform 300 feet long which extends westward, and is covered by a roof so as to prevent passengers from bring subjected to the inclemency of the weather.'</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">'... T</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">he building proper is 72 by 24 feet. Off the waiting room, which will be considerably larger than the usual size are a ticket office and a telegraph room'.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: large; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: medium; text-align: start;">'... A large bay window extends from the centre of the building onto the platform with glass on each side as well as in the front, so that the operator, who will have his table placed at the window, may see approaching trains from either direction. This is a decided improvement on the old system where an operator was closeted up in a room and hidden from having any opportunity as to see what was going on around him.' </span><i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;">(Photo</span><span style="text-align: center;">: Michael Berry, </span><a href="http://railpictures.ca/" style="text-align: center;">http://railpictures.ca/</a><span style="text-align: center;">)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k92nZaQY-Hk/YbUmPbpdRMI/AAAAAAAAcYE/JvJpuhL0xVwFbkJIOsl13aBkuqpu39kYQCNcBGAsYHQ/Ottawa02.jpg" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="671" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k92nZaQY-Hk/YbUmPbpdRMI/AAAAAAAAcYE/JvJpuhL0xVwFbkJIOsl13aBkuqpu39kYQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/Ottawa02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Canada Atlantic Railway was formed in 1881 by lumber barons J.R. Booth and W.G. Perley. The original plan was to have the inbound trains turn north once they crossed over the Rideau Canal heading to a station at Elgin and Gilmour. What a different place the Golden Triangle neighbourhood would have been had this happened. This location was briefly reconsidered in 1888 when the CAR was looking for bigger facilities, but discarded again. Eventually they chose a spot on the east bank of the Rideau Canal between Maria Street (Laurier Avenue) and the canal turning basin as a later replacement for the Elgin Street station, which was closed on December 23, 1895. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(LAC RG46 vol1476 file16558-1)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z3ZjSqVkZgE/YbZDLqiw-_I/AAAAAAAAca0/ozDp71A1S0YvUl5obzSBsv5n2h3Zrc5KwCNcBGAsYHQ/ElgStnLayOut-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="608" height="294" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z3ZjSqVkZgE/YbZDLqiw-_I/AAAAAAAAca0/ozDp71A1S0YvUl5obzSBsv5n2h3Zrc5KwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h294/ElgStnLayOut-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></span><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">In 1882 the wiggly proposal was ultimately changed into a straight east-west alignment that deposited passengers in a station that actually fronted on Catherine Street at a point midway between Metcalfe and Elgin.</div></span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lM9GM5WRAIo/YbUuzx7fVGI/AAAAAAAAcac/KYzoodH6_Twe0GjCCdpFWq9zCQTqOSz3gCNcBGAsYHQ/CAR%253A1882-83Map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1105" height="446" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lM9GM5WRAIo/YbUuzx7fVGI/AAAAAAAAcac/KYzoodH6_Twe0GjCCdpFWq9zCQTqOSz3gCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h446/CAR%253A1882-83Map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">Canada Atlantic Railway's line (in darker red) reached Elgin Street from the east in September 1882 and was extended to the industrial activities at the Chaudiere in the following year. <i>(Map: <a href="http://www.kballantyne.ca/geomatics/ottawa-railways/">KBallantyne Geomatics</a>)</i></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The <i>Ottawa Daily Citizen</i> chronicled the station's building: '</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Pushing ahead the city and the Canada Atlantic Railway </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">company may be congratulated on the rapid progress which that last named corporation is making in the vicinity of Elgin Street. The company is now laying its sidings, erecting its water tanks, laying down a turn-table for the use of locomotives, and lining up other works. The frame-work of the engine-house is also in course of construction and will accommodate several engines. On the ground is now to be seen an immense pile of cordwood, about two hundred cords, which came in yesterday by a train of eighteen cars.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: medium;">This shows in one way out of many ways what good the Canada Atlantic will be for the city of Ottawa.'</span><i> (Ottawa Daily Citizen, September 9, 1882)</i></span><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'The people of Stewarton are jubilant at seeing the number of omni-busses from the various hotels arriving and departing with passengers for the trains, which have commenced to run on the Canada Atlantic Railway.' </span><i>(Ottawa Daily Citizen, September 15, 1882)</i></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: medium;">'The work on the station grounds at Ottawa of the Canada Atlantic Railway Company is going on rapidly. The round house to accommodate five locomotives, is fast nearing completion, work on the new depot is being fast pushed ahead, the water tank is being got on with all possible expedition, and from there work on the car shed is going up quickly. A large number of visitors were on the ground yesterday, most of whom were pleasurably surprised at the progress made during during the past few weeks.' </span></span><i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: medium;">(Ottawa Daily Citizen, September 18, 1882)</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: medium;">'The Canada and Atlantic Railway works on Elgin Street are being visited by hundreds of persons every day'. </span><i>(Ottawa Daily Citizen, September 19, 1882)</i><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ORwLWV2g7g8/YbUmUMcosfI/AAAAAAAAcYI/s1345zmXt2k_P3d0DjTRcJIMtwS-PoE_QCNcBGAsYHQ/Map-of-Ottawa-1894.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="778" height="462" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ORwLWV2g7g8/YbUmUMcosfI/AAAAAAAAcYI/s1345zmXt2k_P3d0DjTRcJIMtwS-PoE_QCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h462/Map-of-Ottawa-1894.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After it was opened Baedeker's was able the include the new CAR line and its Elgin Street Station at the bottom of this folding map for travellers to the city. The map also shows that the Ottawa Electric Railway had extended its network by building a new streetcar line down Elgin Street to serve passengers at the railway station. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Baedeker's Map of Ottawa, 1894)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3fcYRYBAvOg/YbUmcuvh7lI/AAAAAAAAcYM/nTTxB7VvaOUIAxb4pCYmKVL7zJ8ythyVACNcBGAsYHQ/Ottawa_Daily_Citizen_Fri__Oct_27__1882_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2552" data-original-width="1232" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3fcYRYBAvOg/YbUmcuvh7lI/AAAAAAAAcYM/nTTxB7VvaOUIAxb4pCYmKVL7zJ8ythyVACNcBGAsYHQ/w309-h640/Ottawa_Daily_Citizen_Fri__Oct_27__1882_.jpg" width="309" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As soon as the Elgin Street station was in service the Canada Atlantic could advertise its great advantage - you could travel directly to the Bonaventure Street Station in Montreal, and thence to many points beyond without having to transfer to another train, or experience delays caused by changes of cars, locomotives or trainmen. (</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Ottawa Daily Citizen, October 27, 1882)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s8MnQn3S9JI/YbUmmP3kA3I/AAAAAAAAcYY/4InSSYMfGz4NlrWbUac6WjhReRsPXnlUgCNcBGAsYHQ/CAR%253AElgin1886.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="622" height="502" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-s8MnQn3S9JI/YbUmmP3kA3I/AAAAAAAAcYY/4InSSYMfGz4NlrWbUac6WjhReRsPXnlUgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h502/CAR%253AElgin1886.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In this 1886 photo the station's distinctive gable end crossed trusses peak above CAR locomotive No. 10 which could haul some mighty long trains. The yard extended two further blocks to the west, closing off Metcalfe and O'Connor Streets. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC-C-25967</i></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xJp8fDIUk74/YbUmrqKs7mI/AAAAAAAAcYc/flsKV35UaA0i4q8S7nqoU1iH7nlXtCt2gCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Sep_20__1901_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1606" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xJp8fDIUk74/YbUmrqKs7mI/AAAAAAAAcYc/flsKV35UaA0i4q8S7nqoU1iH7nlXtCt2gCNcBGAsYHQ/w501-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Sep_20__1901_.jpg" width="501" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is thanks to the Royal Tour of 1901 that there are any reasonable images of the Elgin Street station at all. This was an epic round the world trek, with the Canadian portion lasting more that five weeks. The Duke and Duchess of York and Cornwall, the future King George V and Queen Mary disembarked at the Elgin Street station on September 20, 1901 and there were official photographers there to record the event. (</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Ottawa Evening Journal, September 20, 1901)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0KnNHw_xO6I/YbUmyWwK7tI/AAAAAAAAcYk/fMGrDfNYTlEkCEjGuIFE6ZOyNzNvoc3IQCNcBGAsYHQ/a011856-v6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="600" height="442" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0KnNHw_xO6I/YbUmyWwK7tI/AAAAAAAAcYk/fMGrDfNYTlEkCEjGuIFE6ZOyNzNvoc3IQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h442/a011856-v6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By then the Elgin Street station had been out of service for six years, and its covered platform had been ripped out, but it was determined that this would be the best place to stage the arrival. A temporary flag bedecked tented platform was erected to conduct the Royal couple from their rail car to a waiting carriage. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC a011856-v6)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rFn7emVrzzo/YbUm1nkQ13I/AAAAAAAAcYo/ki0rInvDTPcJ8CkKNAmaGZ3wL85AFh2VACNcBGAsYHQ/a212112-v6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="600" height="430" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rFn7emVrzzo/YbUm1nkQ13I/AAAAAAAAcYo/ki0rInvDTPcJ8CkKNAmaGZ3wL85AFh2VACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h430/a212112-v6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And here is the best view of the station. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC a12112-v6)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W-EwHiUfm2k/YbUm8P-3LDI/AAAAAAAAcYw/zS_dcxCwprM7IiPWzD8j9thzcSsXPdTlwCNcBGAsYHQ/LAC-PA-205956LocoCasselman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="606" height="502" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W-EwHiUfm2k/YbUm8P-3LDI/AAAAAAAAcYw/zS_dcxCwprM7IiPWzD8j9thzcSsXPdTlwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h502/LAC-PA-205956LocoCasselman.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The station's other facilities had included a turntable and five-bay roundhouse (it was later extended to eight) that was situated approximately where the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2017/11/the-tiffany-apartments-distinctly-new.html">Tiffany Apartments</a> stands today. The roundhouse was destroyed by fire in August 1899. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC-PA-2059)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xm_zDtNqj48/YbUnAK4OZuI/AAAAAAAAcY0/JOs4nkLU9JEVq42TtBhDp394uQK_5ORkQCNcBGAsYHQ/LAC-C-25996.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="606" height="509" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xm_zDtNqj48/YbUnAK4OZuI/AAAAAAAAcY0/JOs4nkLU9JEVq42TtBhDp394uQK_5ORkQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h509/LAC-C-25996.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Also east of Elgin, was the 200 by 39 foot car shed, big enough to accommodate two complete train sets. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC-C-25996)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EZlwlIdCIRQ/YbUnEpxfkrI/AAAAAAAAcY8/Uzitxuy3Mjgc6CH6oJeLEAntOycMoQEKgCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Mar_22__1902_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1380" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EZlwlIdCIRQ/YbUnEpxfkrI/AAAAAAAAcY8/Uzitxuy3Mjgc6CH6oJeLEAntOycMoQEKgCNcBGAsYHQ/w432-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Mar_22__1902_.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The car shed was consumed by a 'hot night fire' on the evening of March 21, 1902 which drew onlookers from across the city. Neither the Canada Atlantic Elgin Street car shed nor its roundhouse was replaced, and these operations were shifted elsewhere. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Evening Journal, March 22, 1902)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-223HcKkIhn8/YbUnRUoc2oI/AAAAAAAAcZE/Zp9tJFs_iCEAiEvNO9vZNrHyFYbAcpSmwCNcBGAsYHQ/LAC-C-6317-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="605" height="505" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-223HcKkIhn8/YbUnRUoc2oI/AAAAAAAAcZE/Zp9tJFs_iCEAiEvNO9vZNrHyFYbAcpSmwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h505/LAC-C-6317-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Although it was marked by warning signals, the level crossing at Elgin Street, then the only north south route east of Bank, was both a nuisance and a hazard to Ottawa residents. Here looking south towards the Glebe the first car directly behind CAR locomotive No. 15 is straddling the street. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC-C-63171)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7hCV5mJ70JI/YbUnXPIMskI/AAAAAAAAcZI/lnGZQHCPqJUJu2zvukZEs4HxbplhaNVPwCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Jun_7__1902_%2B%25281%2529%2Bcopy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7hCV5mJ70JI/YbUnXPIMskI/AAAAAAAAcZI/lnGZQHCPqJUJu2zvukZEs4HxbplhaNVPwCNcBGAsYHQ/w320-h300/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Jun_7__1902_%2B%25281%2529%2Bcopy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The solution lay in a grade separation between the street and the rail tracks - the Elgin Street subway (underpass) had been under consideration for some time, but in 1902 when tricky negotiations between the City of Ottawa, Canada Atlantic and the Ottawa Improvement Commission got underway in earnest it looked like this much needed scheme might come to pass. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Evening Journal, June 7, 1902)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xl0NqwQGXHE/YbUnayi1ILI/AAAAAAAAcZM/cdPz9mVSvQw_ZZ69-ZpqPX2lPRNJld_6wCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Apr_26__1904_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1054" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xl0NqwQGXHE/YbUnayi1ILI/AAAAAAAAcZM/cdPz9mVSvQw_ZZ69-ZpqPX2lPRNJld_6wCNcBGAsYHQ/w331-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Apr_26__1904_.jpg" width="331" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The new subway under the CAR tracks at Elgin was finally ready for traffic two years later.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Ottawa Evening Journal, April 26, 1904)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6Or_K5C8O-w/YbUng4vCTYI/AAAAAAAAcZU/oVgvjstcLtAkaRHPKIxQ7jnhWj4QqjuGQCNcBGAsYHQ/elgindogleg1915.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="760" height="504" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6Or_K5C8O-w/YbUng4vCTYI/AAAAAAAAcZU/oVgvjstcLtAkaRHPKIxQ7jnhWj4QqjuGQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h504/elgindogleg1915.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It would be a dog-leg that veered towards the Rideau Canal, and rejoined Elgin's alignment south of the tracks. Elgin was boarded up at Catherine. It's shown here in 1915, during WWI as a military parade comes up from their Lansdowne Park encampment. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rf_Vnlw1hyg/YbUnjnheEkI/AAAAAAAAcZY/Vua5fUfbZVQESzPCih0tLE3f27vwJhV9QCNcBGAsYHQ/ElginSubFireInsur1912.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="567" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rf_Vnlw1hyg/YbUnjnheEkI/AAAAAAAAcZY/Vua5fUfbZVQESzPCih0tLE3f27vwJhV9QCNcBGAsYHQ/w432-h640/ElginSubFireInsur1912.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To get the road under the tracks the ground had to be lowered, resulting in these embankments. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pnq40oPq2qg/YbUnoTrNV8I/AAAAAAAAcZc/uO0eJm5N3DgKVTpGTcHpYgV83Z5MCES2gCNcBGAsYHQ/doc03893220140117145739_001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1426" data-original-width="2048" height="446" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pnq40oPq2qg/YbUnoTrNV8I/AAAAAAAAcZc/uO0eJm5N3DgKVTpGTcHpYgV83Z5MCES2gCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h446/doc03893220140117145739_001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The OIC took the opportunity to merge the subway with the landscaping that was part of its scenic driveway along the Rideau Canal. This is the section north of the underpass. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Ottawa Improvement Commission Annual Report, 1912)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kkLuLJwZ7_k/YbZIUwGQO9I/AAAAAAAAca8/pPBzd2ADwokV23_OquAXSP4sUrWHNZvtwCNcBGAsYHQ/ElginStYard01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="2544" height="310" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kkLuLJwZ7_k/YbZIUwGQO9I/AAAAAAAAca8/pPBzd2ADwokV23_OquAXSP4sUrWHNZvtwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h310/ElginStYard01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">The Canada Atlantic was eventually taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway. The original passenger station was subsumed into a larger car repair shop.</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8eqzoxQMmsM/YbZJWNhoYXI/AAAAAAAAcbE/fhnC6g2N6XYhrigcc6UkBFxQuUB0jpC4QCNcBGAsYHQ/e010689375-v8-002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1708" data-original-width="2048" height="533" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8eqzoxQMmsM/YbZJWNhoYXI/AAAAAAAAcbE/fhnC6g2N6XYhrigcc6UkBFxQuUB0jpC4QCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h533/e010689375-v8-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The original 1882 station's footprint is clearly discernible in this 1912 fire insurance map of the GTR's car building workshops as a yellow rectangle on Catherine Street marked as 'offices and stores', and looks like it was moved right to the road's edge. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(LAC e10689375-v8)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6GMwQ2UBuGU/YbpHRHiFReI/AAAAAAAAcbM/QR0R9Y4G4dYDMQG_M4p2fK-veH4bHIhTACNcBGAsYHQ/CNRFireIns1948.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="765" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6GMwQ2UBuGU/YbpHRHiFReI/AAAAAAAAcbM/QR0R9Y4G4dYDMQG_M4p2fK-veH4bHIhTACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/CNRFireIns1948.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">As evidenced by the 1948 fire insurance map, the old station building (again being reused as 'offices and stores') was still standing in the late 40s.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iAVd5I0Y81Q/YbpILGjFV-I/AAAAAAAAcbU/xKFu6ijXDpMbvCuRfrjQ35hNcqitgQrfwCNcBGAsYHQ/CNRFireINS1956.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="911" height="412" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iAVd5I0Y81Q/YbpILGjFV-I/AAAAAAAAcbU/xKFu6ijXDpMbvCuRfrjQ35hNcqitgQrfwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h412/CNRFireINS1956.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>By the time that the 1956 fire insurance map was produced the former station, and all of the buildings along Catherine Street had been cleared away. There may be ways to determine precisely when the former Elgin Street station was demolished (in these years as a small outbuilding in the yards it was too insignificant to be individually listed in the Ottawa City Directories) but I have no idea how to search CNR records for such small details - so let's just say that it disappeared some time between 1948 and 1956.<br /><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t4tClfZHK1E/YbUoJW2DklI/AAAAAAAAcZ0/KBnFaPKF4swuMOeXiPvFmSVDSLovW_YLACNcBGAsYHQ/CA035664-W-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="554" height="309" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t4tClfZHK1E/YbUoJW2DklI/AAAAAAAAcZ0/KBnFaPKF4swuMOeXiPvFmSVDSLovW_YLACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h309/CA035664-W-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Billboards blocked the view to the old rail yards </span><span style="font-family: arial;">from Elgin Street's dead end at Catherine in the 1950s.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CA035664)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qCyVUIbVNJQ/YbUoNW8OSiI/AAAAAAAAcZ4/4fVvtO5K0UA5hICCtcO1f1A7yph6oUo6QCNcBGAsYHQ/CA035550-W-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="720" height="488" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qCyVUIbVNJQ/YbUoNW8OSiI/AAAAAAAAcZ4/4fVvtO5K0UA5hICCtcO1f1A7yph6oUo6QCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h488/CA035550-W-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It was certainly a grubby and unloved street, just a place for cars to pass through quickly. For reference the Patterson Motors Ltd. car dealership was on the site of the Ottawa Police Service's Elgin Street headquarters. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CA035550)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ddiN2oq-ttQ/YbUobz01aoI/AAAAAAAAcaA/xOxBCBUJsHsJHGuROlWkHdQ4xS9EizIHQCNcBGAsYHQ/q5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="1203" height="492" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ddiN2oq-ttQ/YbUobz01aoI/AAAAAAAAcaA/xOxBCBUJsHsJHGuROlWkHdQ4xS9EizIHQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h492/q5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By 1961 the yards, still carrying an active line, had been cleared of all buildings as the land was being readied for its future vocation - the Queensway, perhaps Jacques Gréber's worst legacy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wxIl9ZadQZI/YbUokjARMMI/AAAAAAAAcaI/0D3szIWLdZolJqasXDILQVXh4gjEMHjfwCNcBGAsYHQ/Centretown-Aerial-Mid-062.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="901" height="468" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wxIl9ZadQZI/YbUokjARMMI/AAAAAAAAcaI/0D3szIWLdZolJqasXDILQVXh4gjEMHjfwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h468/Centretown-Aerial-Mid-062.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Queensway's concrete overpasses for Elgin, Metcalfe, and O'Connor Streets were soon in place, and the traffic that had been blocked for over eighty years was now permitted to cross the old rail line's right of way via temporary detours that skirted them.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EP4eaeC3Dkw/YbUoqrF_3LI/AAAAAAAAcaM/pksRw3qwBiQTB9P_kzzHvsSLBpwcwb2gACNcBGAsYHQ/CatherineElgin2012.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="935" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EP4eaeC3Dkw/YbUoqrF_3LI/AAAAAAAAcaM/pksRw3qwBiQTB9P_kzzHvsSLBpwcwb2gACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h400/CatherineElgin2012.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now that I know more about the Elgin Street station, whenever I pass by I can't help but think about what used to happen under this grassy mound. Maybe it is a little ghostly. </span><i>(Photo: Google Streetview)</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>NEXT URBSite Posting: December 30, 2021</b></span></i></div></span></div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-55070649896945404372021-12-03T07:29:00.000-08:002021-12-03T07:29:17.185-08:00THE REMAINING HALF OF QUEEN ANNE'S METCALFE STREET TWINSET <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AWGhfDSk8as/YaU1oTDaPbI/AAAAAAAAcTc/bI74oVlb9VEduGOWvAusgNU-psDU9RsSACLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0040-002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1287" data-original-width="2048" height="402" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AWGhfDSk8as/YaU1oTDaPbI/AAAAAAAAcTc/bI74oVlb9VEduGOWvAusgNU-psDU9RsSACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h402/IMG_0040-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A previously unseen (at least by me) grainy photo of an old house on Metcalfe Street that was included in the official souvenir pamphlet distributed at the opening of the Public Service Alliance of Canada Building (Schoeler, Heaton, Harvor, Menendez Architects) on December 21, 1968 peaked my interest and opened up this rather discursive line of inquiry into the fate of such buildings.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xb4t9wCw0_g/YakPRero5NI/AAAAAAAAcWw/cEQg0thXAIkkkN1ql7lxTs2hU-yQ6u5mQCNcBGAsYHQ/P1010179.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="2048" height="444" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xb4t9wCw0_g/YakPRero5NI/AAAAAAAAcWw/cEQg0thXAIkkkN1ql7lxTs2hU-yQ6u5mQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h444/P1010179.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">The site of that old house is now the home of the High Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a powerful reminder that the 1970s produced buildings both good and bad.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FSn06PfGdnc/YaU12A7DqPI/AAAAAAAAcTk/Q3C-GZARA5EqklLpUWKkxQlrlW8VaLVJACLcBGAsYHQ/doc03957620140124152020_001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1608" data-original-width="2048" height="502" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FSn06PfGdnc/YaU12A7DqPI/AAAAAAAAcTk/Q3C-GZARA5EqklLpUWKkxQlrlW8VaLVJACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h502/doc03957620140124152020_001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is what had been previously situated on the south west corner of Lewis and Metcalfe - number 295 Metcalfe Street, a house built in 1889 for the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2019/12/12-days-of-department-stores-3-c-ross.html">Sparks Street department store owner Crawford Ross</a> by architect Frederick J. Alexander. It's nice when one of those old City of Ottawa Rosco street signs can pinpoint the exact location.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-38vSt0i-uNo/YaU2NMOiqWI/AAAAAAAAcT0/AzwPMWfPUQcgOotPbPvd9DSxi42sBL-aACLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0056.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1697" data-original-width="2048" height="530" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-38vSt0i-uNo/YaU2NMOiqWI/AAAAAAAAcT0/AzwPMWfPUQcgOotPbPvd9DSxi42sBL-aACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h530/IMG_0056.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At the same time architect Alexander designed another house on the lot next door for the department store owner - 301 Metcalfe Street, an inverted twin of the house where Ross would live. It's one of the six upper class Metcalfe Street houses that remain today. Their original occupants have long departed and all of them have found new vocations as offices, a club, and a school.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5EzjEvh-X0M/YaU5GbI0GmI/AAAAAAAAcWg/PQgrQIGUJLQUhxn8Mkq0JyWMsTkl4WOsACLcBGAsYHQ/fire1912p54.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="727" height="499" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5EzjEvh-X0M/YaU5GbI0GmI/AAAAAAAAcWg/PQgrQIGUJLQUhxn8Mkq0JyWMsTkl4WOsACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h499/fire1912p54.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The multi-gabled 295 and 301 Metcalfe Street as they appeared in the 1912 Fire Insurance Map. Incidentally the house that completed the Lewis to Waverley block (305) was the noted architect Edgar Horwood's house. And numbers 288 and 296 Metcalfe will also feature in this story.</span> </div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l9TiiYzYLPo/YaU2gkUwkPI/AAAAAAAAcUE/l4woo5ar5O88ANiy7oPgTLPYkXYkVu74ACLcBGAsYHQ/Nigeria2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="744" height="495" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l9TiiYzYLPo/YaU2gkUwkPI/AAAAAAAAcUE/l4woo5ar5O88ANiy7oPgTLPYkXYkVu74ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h495/Nigeria2021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Nigerians purchased an already completed office building for slightly over $1 million in 1978. They had previously operated the High Commission from suites in the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-burnside-building-enters-new-era.html">Burnside Building</a> and <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2021/10/excavation-bigger-dig-for-place-de.html">Place de Ville</a>. At the time they predicted that the new building would serve their needs for the next twenty years, but they obviously like the location because they are still there.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0zBCGDuyVFI/YaU2j-UxGTI/AAAAAAAAcUI/ZsYChy2S3FcmrBKdDrTJg_OGHR2OvQR8ACLcBGAsYHQ/Nigeria2009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1454" height="308" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0zBCGDuyVFI/YaU2j-UxGTI/AAAAAAAAcUI/ZsYChy2S3FcmrBKdDrTJg_OGHR2OvQR8ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h308/Nigeria2009.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The only obvious modifications that have been made are: abandoning the planters that once formed a pseudo podium for the building, removing the ornamental zig-zag spiked fencing, and sacrificing two green ash street trees, probably all in the cause of increased security and visibility. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Google StreetView, 2009)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UIttE_aiz5s/YalKI5XyXgI/AAAAAAAAcXE/Z9F2NjQNfMoZhun3bAG_Mtt2A_S4rfs5ACNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Jul_24__1940_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1683" data-original-width="2048" height="329" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UIttE_aiz5s/YalKI5XyXgI/AAAAAAAAcXE/Z9F2NjQNfMoZhun3bAG_Mtt2A_S4rfs5ACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h329/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Jul_24__1940_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />While Crawford Ross died in 1926, his widow Elizabeth remained at 295 Metcalfe Street until 1940. She died in the house.</span><i> (Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 1940</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2lH8Qh9C_eg/YalKABwG-cI/AAAAAAAAcXA/pdIFkCURPiUtxGoz39Juw1HbLvnPZyYQwCNcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Sep_18__1958_%2Bcopy-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1338" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2lH8Qh9C_eg/YalKABwG-cI/AAAAAAAAcXA/pdIFkCURPiUtxGoz39Juw1HbLvnPZyYQwCNcBGAsYHQ/w419-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Sep_18__1958_%2Bcopy-001.jpg" width="419" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Between 1948 and 1952, 295 Metcalfe Street was home to the national offices of the Civil Service Federation of Canada, which eventually merged with other public sector unions to become the PSAC. When the old Crawford house was finally demolished in 1969 it had endured some ungainly additions and been converted into fifteen rather small apartments.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QmjP4sd9Z4k/YaU26KZNDlI/AAAAAAAAcUY/67WvVCdQSZEeLDiYAE12MEgviV8XQnrlACLcBGAsYHQ/301MetPaintGable.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="1090" height="454" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QmjP4sd9Z4k/YaU26KZNDlI/AAAAAAAAcUY/67WvVCdQSZEeLDiYAE12MEgviV8XQnrlACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h454/301MetPaintGable.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The surviving twin has often been described as being the Queen Anne Revival style. This is a catchall term that encompasses the use heavy projecting gables, profuse ornament that employs floral, fan, and vegetative motifs, fish scale shingling, and picturesque asymmetry. This all requires a considerable amount of regular upkeep, as evidenced by this eleven-year old shot of the house's then decaying wood trim. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: Wayfaring)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c-0G8ydRzFQ/YaU3AV-bPyI/AAAAAAAAcUc/gDCQJlgBwFQXJ69_pcoy_XHi7KXiuz23wCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0040-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1227" data-original-width="2562" height="306" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c-0G8ydRzFQ/YaU3AV-bPyI/AAAAAAAAcUc/gDCQJlgBwFQXJ69_pcoy_XHi7KXiuz23wCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h306/IMG_0040-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The march of time has been arrested by this 2021 restoration job. To be harsh, Queen Anne Revival has nothing to do with Queen Anne and isn't really a revival of anything in particular. Despite the term's confusing origins it has come to be applied to much of the domestic architecture of the final decades the nineteenth century. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CIbZvwX9Q24/YaU3DuLzwBI/AAAAAAAAcUk/ihIhy1XBZfsK4-1Succ4P80RWd-GAnKZgCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0041.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1468" data-original-width="2048" height="458" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CIbZvwX9Q24/YaU3DuLzwBI/AAAAAAAAcUk/ihIhy1XBZfsK4-1Succ4P80RWd-GAnKZgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h458/IMG_0041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Although it's situated in the Centretown Heritage Conservation District, 301 Metcalfe Street has been individually designated as a building of historic and architectural significance, and is plaqued with 'Designed by architect Frederick J. Alexander, the Queen Anne style house was the home of <a href="http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/brymner_douglas_13E.html">Douglas Brymner,</a> first Dominion Archivist and father of prominent painter <a href="http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/brymner_william_15E.html">William Brymner</a>.'</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GAkcsmWNB-k/YaU4ZcGoixI/AAAAAAAAcV8/rNBieK2EKMUzi-ZqOcvl_elI08-kQhakQCLcBGAsYHQ/original.3148.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="599" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GAkcsmWNB-k/YaU4ZcGoixI/AAAAAAAAcV8/rNBieK2EKMUzi-ZqOcvl_elI08-kQhakQCLcBGAsYHQ/w579-h640/original.3148.jpg" width="579" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Brymner lived here for just over ten years. He died in 1902.</span><i> (Photo: LAC)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MrC-f_J_zN4/YaU3Hg3WcCI/AAAAAAAAcUo/ZrGWZMmsTk0nYNIIm9ECK66xg5QPM725ACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Jan_22__1947_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1113" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MrC-f_J_zN4/YaU3Hg3WcCI/AAAAAAAAcUo/ZrGWZMmsTk0nYNIIm9ECK66xg5QPM725ACLcBGAsYHQ/w347-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Jan_22__1947_.jpg" width="347" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On January 18, 1947 the building became Woodsworth House, the National Headquarters of the <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/co-operative-commonwealth-federation">Commonwealth Co-operative Federation</a>, the precursor of the New Democratic Party. It was named for <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/james-shaver-woodsworth">J.S. Woodsworth</a>, the CCF's founder. The party had purchased the building in August 1946 but deferred the official opening until the onset of the Parliamentary Session. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, January 22, 1947)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-shK61HytXTE/YaklAz9bnFI/AAAAAAAAcW4/IxrWJU6Krsc9YlzJPbjlThfy8IzH8A3ygCNcBGAsYHQ/P4220126.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="884" height="495" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-shK61HytXTE/YaklAz9bnFI/AAAAAAAAcW4/IxrWJU6Krsc9YlzJPbjlThfy8IzH8A3ygCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h495/P4220126.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">Looking across the street is a house with a central gable that bears a marked resemblance to the ones at 301 Metcalfe Street. That's because this house was also designed by F.J. Alexander, in 1888 for the leather merchant Samuel Borbridge. In an <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2012/04/sparks-departed-departments-ii-c-ross.html">earlier URBSite post</a> I had misidentified this as the Lewis and Metcalfe house designed for Crawford Ross, so that now stands corrected.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EI5eLzHALWo/YaU3bFybA0I/AAAAAAAAcVA/aN--li45K34FgaBcbNaL7fxFLpU5gyyewCLcBGAsYHQ/a027903.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="556" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EI5eLzHALWo/YaU3bFybA0I/AAAAAAAAcVA/aN--li45K34FgaBcbNaL7fxFLpU5gyyewCLcBGAsYHQ/w613-h640/a027903.jpg" width="613" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">F.J. Alexander had been retained to design the C. Ross department store at Sparks and Metcalfe in 1891. It replaced a building that had been destroyed by fire. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f5DyjIaNE9w/YaU30zWK-GI/AAAAAAAAcVY/T-UWNQ_Amr4vMhGmkWnje1n36Fc-MT0SQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Jan_22__1972_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1763" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f5DyjIaNE9w/YaU30zWK-GI/AAAAAAAAcVY/T-UWNQ_Amr4vMhGmkWnje1n36Fc-MT0SQCLcBGAsYHQ/w552-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Jan_22__1972_.jpg" width="552" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Veteran <i>Ottawa Journal</i> columnist Gladys Blair profiled the Samuel Borbridge house in one of her regular heritage features as one of Metcalfe Street's last surviving 'grandes dames'. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, January 22, 1972)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3ufLAJ8oO7E/YalNqjYcU0I/AAAAAAAAcXY/XCk1ouOWxRcXWlnracMYv_S8w7XmgzWJQCNcBGAsYHQ/a027429.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="465" height="325" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3ufLAJ8oO7E/YalNqjYcU0I/AAAAAAAAcXY/XCk1ouOWxRcXWlnracMYv_S8w7XmgzWJQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h325/a027429.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">F.J. Alexander designed this spectacular exercise at 288 Metcalfe between Lewis and Gilmour in the 'Queen Anne' style for Samuel's brother Henry Borbridge in 1888, demolished in 1912 for the Christian Science Church. </span><i>(Photo: LAC</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6FHmhnDEzrM/YalNEDx14ZI/AAAAAAAAcXQ/rCC7b77jRlYHVa_5vRJoOq5tXjFQVPOuACNcBGAsYHQ/a210588-v6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="596" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6FHmhnDEzrM/YalNEDx14ZI/AAAAAAAAcXQ/rCC7b77jRlYHVa_5vRJoOq5tXjFQVPOuACNcBGAsYHQ/w370-h400/a210588-v6.jpg" width="370" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Frederick James Alexander (1850-1930) left a considerable number of fine hand-coloured architectural drawings which were deposited the Public Archives of Canada (now Library and Archives Canada).</span><i> (Photo: LAC)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kTxPDvhQHPU/YaU4AJsapfI/AAAAAAAAcVg/j5DYQhybgyEgJHwGe1KLwklxfkafvtbMwCLcBGAsYHQ/interior-part-Library-of-Parliament-Buildings-Ontario.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kTxPDvhQHPU/YaU4AJsapfI/AAAAAAAAcVg/j5DYQhybgyEgJHwGe1KLwklxfkafvtbMwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/interior-part-Library-of-Parliament-Buildings-Ontario.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Near the beginning of his career he was credited with being responsible for the ornately carved book stacks in the Library of Parliament, where you will recognize floral patterns that will appear in his later work.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FbBHycw0jhA/YaU4FZNlvmI/AAAAAAAAcVo/D0rlrKaH7mgl77n_OWmsqwgVOldcR4LrACLcBGAsYHQ/fence%2B.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FbBHycw0jhA/YaU4FZNlvmI/AAAAAAAAcVo/D0rlrKaH7mgl77n_OWmsqwgVOldcR4LrACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/fence%2B.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ditto the iron and stone fence around Parliament Hill.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZePgB0y1sFA/YaU4KMou-dI/AAAAAAAAcVw/3g-XrthrJSs6mupjMWptbFt58spJdSTowCLcBGAsYHQ/UnionBank.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="540" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZePgB0y1sFA/YaU4KMou-dI/AAAAAAAAcVw/3g-XrthrJSs6mupjMWptbFt58spJdSTowCLcBGAsYHQ/w363-h400/UnionBank.jpg" width="363" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Although he designed a wide range of structures the Union Bank on Wellington is possibly Alexander's only surviving public building.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fDXYALOGc4g/YaU4oQakQzI/AAAAAAAAcWE/31tgSC6k-mUGShn4HlGslFOzf9DXW_L4gCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0040.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1897" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fDXYALOGc4g/YaU4oQakQzI/AAAAAAAAcWE/31tgSC6k-mUGShn4HlGslFOzf9DXW_L4gCLcBGAsYHQ/w592-h640/IMG_0040.jpg" width="592" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of course 301 Metcalfe Street is suffering from some settlement issues and missing the wrap around porch that once extended along the side of the house, but that it still serves a useful purpose is encouraging</span>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yXUZzfrY_Xs/YaU4twfgQ_I/AAAAAAAAcWM/yl4CG460FBIg9Y8qrX_Z2diSnXBuK_Z7wCLcBGAsYHQ/MetcalfeSomersetNorth.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1436" data-original-width="1996" height="460" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yXUZzfrY_Xs/YaU4twfgQ_I/AAAAAAAAcWM/yl4CG460FBIg9Y8qrX_Z2diSnXBuK_Z7wCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h460/MetcalfeSomersetNorth.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Metcalfe's role as Ottawa's most fashionable address was relatively short-lived. By the 1920s many of the old houses had been turned into doctors' offices and tourist homes. With housing crunches in the 1930s and 40s many more were subdivided into apartments. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-geXv6h0jXHU/YaU4w0_CT8I/AAAAAAAAcWQ/GZRA366gbmARAVFXuG3-3lgyN3i7bqtJwCLcBGAsYHQ/MetcalfeLisgarNorth.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2048" height="478" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-geXv6h0jXHU/YaU4w0_CT8I/AAAAAAAAcWQ/GZRA366gbmARAVFXuG3-3lgyN3i7bqtJwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h478/MetcalfeLisgarNorth.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was a downward spiral and the rich folk fled to more discrete locales. Occasionally plans for a great boulevard connecting Parliament Hill with the Victoria Memorial Museum were floated and then abandoned, leaving the jumbled but interesting streetscape that is Metcalfe today, with the six grandes dames finalists likely to hang on for many more years. </span><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>NEXT URBSite Post: In two weeks (December 17, 2021)</b></span></i></div></span></div></div></div></div></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-76918358311224999302021-11-19T06:50:00.001-08:002021-11-24T13:31:16.617-08:00WELL-AGED PRIME CUTS ENCOUNTER THE LATE MISS HARMON<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WDN62Xsbz-A/YZQaH1TN4GI/AAAAAAAAcTM/WSKKji3HdrcdJykVHuoscSISEVzgMK3swCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0051-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1503" data-original-width="2048" height="470" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WDN62Xsbz-A/YZQaH1TN4GI/AAAAAAAAcTM/WSKKji3HdrcdJykVHuoscSISEVzgMK3swCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h470/IMG_0051-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>This post will attend to some unfinished business while briefly highlighting the changes, both cosmetic and substantive, that have been wrought on that odd compound building at Elgin and MacLaren Streets.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pee6pkNrKuw/YY29Bj6u7jI/AAAAAAAAcSE/FUbmmFUXMaAluDhYgo-5XkMZocCkboptACLcBGAsYHQ/ottfoodjan21.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="564" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pee6pkNrKuw/YY29Bj6u7jI/AAAAAAAAcSE/FUbmmFUXMaAluDhYgo-5XkMZocCkboptACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/ottfoodjan21.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was gratifying to see that details provided in an ancient <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2011/08/miss-harmons.html">2011 URBSite</a> post were cited as a source in the <i>Ottawa Citizen</i>'s article on the restauranteurs Whalesbone Group's decision to locate a high-end steakhouse on this corner, and more importantly for this blog, choosing a name for their new establishment. It will be known as Harmons (no apostrophe) in hommage to the lady, who between 1892 and 1904 had operated a school for young ladies in the oldest part of this building. Owing to my ignorance at the time I missed an important detail - the sad story of her demise. </span><i>(Photo: Ottawa Citizen, January 20, 2021)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q2drDeYV4MI/YY3EY6lZGpI/AAAAAAAAcSU/B6cgGRNgcH8CnJ_zXeDkQmU6Eb4FvT-2gCLcBGAsYHQ/e010938937-v8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1307" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q2drDeYV4MI/YY3EY6lZGpI/AAAAAAAAcSU/B6cgGRNgcH8CnJ_zXeDkQmU6Eb4FvT-2gCLcBGAsYHQ/w491-h640/e010938937-v8.jpg" width="491" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Abby Maria Harmon was born ca. 1839 and came to this city shortly after Confederation to operate a private school for the daughters of the newly minted capital's best families. Miss Harmon had this Topley Studio portrait taken in May1868, a prerequisite for making your introduction to Ottawa society. For those wanting to delve into Miss Harmon's story in more depth I would urge you to visit 'Miss Harmon's Tragic End' at historynerd.ca. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC e01098937-v8)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YtaVZztGfe0/YYxDuVotW4I/AAAAAAAAcPk/5duGQRxiAicgii60z3R5afjd2o0NLSfXQCLcBGAsYHQ/IMGP3631.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YtaVZztGfe0/YYxDuVotW4I/AAAAAAAAcPk/5duGQRxiAicgii60z3R5afjd2o0NLSfXQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMGP3631.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The evolution of a genteel school for girls into this lively but garish slice of Elgin Street nightlife was years in the making. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: <a href="https://centretown.blogspot.com/">Images of Centretown</a>)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mxnV6pXodwg/YYxDw1ybkDI/AAAAAAAAcPo/lEOhwRAZgVc0oIVilevNpkpeBw_d0Rd_ACLcBGAsYHQ/P8120170.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1511" height="394" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mxnV6pXodwg/YYxDw1ybkDI/AAAAAAAAcPo/lEOhwRAZgVc0oIVilevNpkpeBw_d0Rd_ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h394/P8120170.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Long time denizens of the Elgin scene will remember this as My Cousin's Restaurant, then Swagman Jack's, and finally the Fox and Feather all of which were run by the Eyamie family from around 1984-85 until fairly recently.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O7xJJftiYhk/YYxD0xeIuFI/AAAAAAAAcPs/n13izFvN5YIQJQfO3OAAac9cWfRrjqdRQCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0053.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1244" data-original-width="2048" height="388" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O7xJJftiYhk/YYxD0xeIuFI/AAAAAAAAcPs/n13izFvN5YIQJQfO3OAAac9cWfRrjqdRQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h388/IMG_0053.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The corner has cleaned up well, with a brick powerwashing, a fresh three-tone paint job, and the very sturdy rebuilding of the formerly flimsy corner cafes.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fxJf_6XXCjE/YYxD5O_iTZI/AAAAAAAAcPw/4YHnR-eXJk0DQvhCroO28B0hC00qZ3PyACLcBGAsYHQ/MissHarmons-1-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="722" height="504" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fxJf_6XXCjE/YYxD5O_iTZI/AAAAAAAAcPw/4YHnR-eXJk0DQvhCroO28B0hC00qZ3PyACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h504/MissHarmons-1-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The original school building was a commodious two and a half storey brick building set on a high stone foundation. If you fix the elaborate corbelling at the roofline in your mind's eye you'll recognize these sections during the building's later transformations.There were entrances on Elgin and MacLaren Streets and a fenced school yard separating the school from the Grace Epispocal Church next door before the addition of its corner tower. It later became the St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church. Here the school appears shortly after the time of construction. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1Lq0dT3W8r8/YY77HHG_6JI/AAAAAAAAcS4/zaL4n_Cx3ko1dTA1tkvxEUo51wAY_J2EQCLcBGAsYHQ/57109784_2219152478183964_1307133752773705728_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="1200" height="402" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1Lq0dT3W8r8/YY77HHG_6JI/AAAAAAAAcS4/zaL4n_Cx3ko1dTA1tkvxEUo51wAY_J2EQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h402/57109784_2219152478183964_1307133752773705728_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">And a few years later in 1899 when the street trees had leafed out a bit. White clad girls hugged the school's stone foundation while some idle boys gather casually at the corner.</span><i> (Photo: Art in Ottawa, 1899)<br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XfRl9O0ELZo/YYxECnxusiI/AAAAAAAAcP8/Eton_7w6zPgGmin1XHFqa9Hr5YeWofKFACLcBGAsYHQ/HarmonConstruction.001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="1021" height="272" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XfRl9O0ELZo/YYxECnxusiI/AAAAAAAAcP8/Eton_7w6zPgGmin1XHFqa9Hr5YeWofKFACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h272/HarmonConstruction.001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A contract for building the Harmon School was let at the beginning of April 1892, with the very prominent firm of Arnoldi and Calderon as architects. From this list of contractors it would have been furnished with the most up to date heating, plumbing and electrical systems. It was scheduled to be completed and ready for occupancy within a mere five and a half months. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 2, 1892; June 21, 1892)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NW-VFa9r7Tg/YYxEGmujXmI/AAAAAAAAcQE/RgiHgoh8hA8kVtIhUiMlmILZfdigpbYJwCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Mon__Sep_12__1892_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1998" data-original-width="2048" height="390" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NW-VFa9r7Tg/YYxEGmujXmI/AAAAAAAAcQE/RgiHgoh8hA8kVtIhUiMlmILZfdigpbYJwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h390/The_Ottawa_Journal_Mon__Sep_12__1892_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Opening day was set for Thursday, September 15, 1892 'under the tuition of thoroughly competent masters and governesses'. The school had gone through various name changes, but at this point it was known as The Harmon Home and Day School for Young Ladies and Kindergarten for Children'. The 'Home and Day' refers to the fact that she took in both boarding and non-boarding students. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, September 12, 1892)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9QojMS9DXME/YYxESXZrbrI/AAAAAAAAcQQ/kvnv6Rm_nOkhLQzEfl7ixp33EahxO34zQCLcBGAsYHQ/missharmon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="974" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9QojMS9DXME/YYxESXZrbrI/AAAAAAAAcQQ/kvnv6Rm_nOkhLQzEfl7ixp33EahxO34zQCLcBGAsYHQ/w525-h640/missharmon.jpg" width="525" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The school seems to have operated without major incident until the beginning of the fall term in 1904. In describing the sad events which are about to be recounted Miss Harmon was judged by her contemporaries to be deeply unhappy and worn out, having fallen into a downward spiral of frantic worry. We will never know her motives or true state of mind.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NWeJMAj0N5s/YYxEXI00dRI/AAAAAAAAcQU/oPVymcCoLgYfJ54l9LMh2ysW4H8lpkN7ACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Sep_20__1904_%2Bcopy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1584" data-original-width="2048" height="495" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NWeJMAj0N5s/YYxEXI00dRI/AAAAAAAAcQU/oPVymcCoLgYfJ54l9LMh2ysW4H8lpkN7ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h495/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Sep_20__1904_%2Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In a lengthy article the<i> Ottawa Journal</i> recounted Miss Harmon's final hours. 'After conducting the regular morning Bible class yesterday, which was concluded at about 10:00 o’clock, Miss Harmon left the institution. She dressed unassisted, a thing she had not done before for years. No one saw her leave, but no surprise was caused by her absence at first, as it had been her custom to go for a walk. But when she did not return within an hour or so, much anxiety was expressed.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Several of the young ladies at the college were much worried over the disappearance of their principal, and all yesterday afternoon and late into the night they searched different parts of the city, but only with the result that they could secure no clue whatever. Earlier in the evening the authorities at the school became more alarmed over the affair, and they notified the police.'</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Twelve hours after her disappearance eye witnesses reported that after pacing about the bridge for some time she had jumped from the Alexandra Bridge at 11:40 pm. Officials from Hull then searched the Ottawa River for several hours, but her body was not found until the next day when a young man noticed it floating in an eddy near the Hull docks just below the bridge.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><i>(</i></span><i>Ottawa Journal, September 20, 1904)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YTMIYUTxBFw/YYxJUp7wcGI/AAAAAAAAcR8/f251pLW5z9E1y83gwPVNSkwTdzcYt9POwCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Sep_21__1904_%2Bcopy-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1188" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YTMIYUTxBFw/YYxJUp7wcGI/AAAAAAAAcR8/f251pLW5z9E1y83gwPVNSkwTdzcYt9POwCLcBGAsYHQ/w371-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Sep_21__1904_%2Bcopy-001.jpg" width="371" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The <i>Ottawa Citizen</i> concluded ‘That she was temporarily mentally deranged was shown by the message she wrote before making the leap. In a purse in the pocket of her skirt was found a piece of brown paper on which was written: “Dr. McCarthy has killed me with his theory of keeping boarders. Send my body to Rogers’ morgue, Rideau street, and from there to Montreal, to Kate.”’ Miss Harmon was 63.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Dr. George MacCarthy told the paper that she was evidently referring to his recent advice on keeping boarders. He reported that due to the emotional strain from the recently opened school term she had been suffering from insomnia for the past two or three nights. MacCarthy remarked that he ‘attributes her rash act to nervous prostration and mental depression which produced insanity.’</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">Harmon left an estate valued by one account at $9,800 and at $20,000 by another. She had left all of her affairs in order. The lengthy will distributed it to literally dozens of carefully chosen beneficiaries. At the time </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">of her death she was holding an $11,000 mortgage on the Elgin Street building - a considerable sum in 1904. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 21, 1904)</i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Fy541LuE040/YY6faJ9ikGI/AAAAAAAAcSg/ypZOL-WPS0YU0_Hw6n9GIkny4_u9RaYHQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jul_11__1905_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1995" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Fy541LuE040/YY6faJ9ikGI/AAAAAAAAcSg/ypZOL-WPS0YU0_Hw6n9GIkny4_u9RaYHQCLcBGAsYHQ/w390-h400/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jul_11__1905_.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;">A year after Miss Harmon’s death the Toronto General Trusts Corporation listed the former Harmon School as a ‘Valuable City Property for Sale’ and was inviting tenders to purchase ‘that desirable school or residential property in the central part of the city’.</span><span> (Ottawa Journal, July 11, 1905</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4F7KiCEyaYQ/YY73zsckzLI/AAAAAAAAcSw/ZoT7rRBy1BYCycEWMdHeDDLmUmAu4K1SwCLcBGAsYHQ/56485692_10219525481831460_2245735332748197888_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="949" height="274" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4F7KiCEyaYQ/YY73zsckzLI/AAAAAAAAcSw/ZoT7rRBy1BYCycEWMdHeDDLmUmAu4K1SwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h274/56485692_10219525481831460_2245735332748197888_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;">And one year after that Miss Claribel Smith, B.A. advertised the September 11, 1905 opening of her Carleton School for Girls at ‘171 MacLaren Street Formerly the Harmon House and Day School’. This is a 1908 advertisement for the Carleton School. </span><span>(Canada Life and Resources Magazine, November, 1908)</span></div></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5g_UvtKlKfI/YY6gPuJ5m5I/AAAAAAAAcSo/JSAXXypGS7IOBf_D7O6QlnNSAUuG5HCiQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__May_20__1905_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1145" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5g_UvtKlKfI/YY6gPuJ5m5I/AAAAAAAAcSo/JSAXXypGS7IOBf_D7O6QlnNSAUuG5HCiQCLcBGAsYHQ/w357-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__May_20__1905_.jpg" width="357" /></a></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;">Miss Harmon was gone but not forgotten. In May 1905 a committee of wealthy and influential Ottawans was formed to start a new ladies’ college ‘in the near future’ that would continue the work of Miss Harmon. There being a well-established Ottawa Ladies College already in existence which operated out of an impressive stone building on Albert Street (later the site of the Technical High School) - this apparently didn’t come to pass. Although another committee was formed in 1906 to create a Scholarship Memorial to the late Miss Harmon, raising $1,500 which would produce annual awards of $100. It was still being presented in 1911 to the girl with the highest marks in either the public or separate school system.</span> (Ottawa Journal, May 20, 1905)</span></p></div></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2na5LZ55tlY/YYxEgKS4tkI/AAAAAAAAcQc/XealaVDzTX42lZVmCMVXAPBM0K5Y6_OxwCLcBGAsYHQ/e010689352-v8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="530" height="374" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2na5LZ55tlY/YYxEgKS4tkI/AAAAAAAAcQc/XealaVDzTX42lZVmCMVXAPBM0K5Y6_OxwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h374/e010689352-v8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Ottawa Fire Insurance Atlas of 1912 noted that in May of that year an excavation was underway </span></span></i><i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">for a future three storey building having four ground floor stores on</span></span></i><i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> Elgin Street between the former school and the church next door. Meanwhile apartments were being rented around the corner at 171 MacLaren Street, which had been renamed the MacLaren Apartments. </span></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a-cZx7a3UQA/YYxEkiQKW-I/AAAAAAAAcQg/4ApDgpChM0syrTk4589KiN4NWVNZ0NBhwCLcBGAsYHQ/P8130182.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="1511" height="462" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a-cZx7a3UQA/YYxEkiQKW-I/AAAAAAAAcQg/4ApDgpChM0syrTk4589KiN4NWVNZ0NBhwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h462/P8130182.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On December 3, 1912 the property was legally transferred to Israel Sugarman and F. Diamond for $30,000 as they were developing this three-storey apartment house in Miss Harmon’s former schoolyard, with ground floor stores facing Elgin Street. By March 24, 1913 Sugarman was able to advertise in the <i>Ottawa Citizen</i> that he had ‘4 STORES TO RENT, JUST COMPLETED; Elgin and McLaren, suit druggist, milliner, ladies’ tailor, or good grocer.’ And in fact two of the first commercial tenants in these stores were a milliner and a ladies’ tailor.</span></span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f6ihJB_lsTU/YYxEo43LAzI/AAAAAAAAcQo/vFO4yYHma8YlNrSHrsOdZd2G8r_CbSmCwCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0051.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1503" data-original-width="2048" height="470" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f6ihJB_lsTU/YYxEo43LAzI/AAAAAAAAcQo/vFO4yYHma8YlNrSHrsOdZd2G8r_CbSmCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h470/IMG_0051.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Apart from the ground floor little has changed on the building's exterior, but over time some of the residential units on the second floor were gradually absorbed into the Eyamie family's restaurant business having crept up from the storefront on the right, where it had first established a foothold.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LlPxxDvsdBU/YYxEsQ1xaII/AAAAAAAAcQs/TJclWrBmZY4Q0ddePOmCGTQYSFMBttMYgCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Mon__Aug_23__1915_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1931" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LlPxxDvsdBU/YYxEsQ1xaII/AAAAAAAAcQs/TJclWrBmZY4Q0ddePOmCGTQYSFMBttMYgCLcBGAsYHQ/w377-h400/The_Ottawa_Journal_Mon__Aug_23__1915_.jpg" width="377" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Ottawa City Directories show that the six apartments upstairs were pretty much fully occupied from the outset. In 1915 a 'delightful' five room apartment with bath and heating could be had at the 'Harman Apartments' for $35 a month. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, August 23, 1915)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A86wpnPahGU/YYxEviM0CdI/AAAAAAAAcQ0/cEdgMQISicc5NAxs6qznAbrfQ-0bAkyTQCLcBGAsYHQ/P8130183.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1211" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A86wpnPahGU/YYxEviM0CdI/AAAAAAAAcQ0/cEdgMQISicc5NAxs6qznAbrfQ-0bAkyTQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/P8130183.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But in naming their apartment building the developers had misspelled Miss Harmon's name in the half-moon transom window over the front door.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8utYZCyTI-Y/YYxEyK3DVsI/AAAAAAAAcQ4/g9f45JawgE03635XhB7K9nOoksbnms-agCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0058-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1908" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8utYZCyTI-Y/YYxEyK3DVsI/AAAAAAAAcQ4/g9f45JawgE03635XhB7K9nOoksbnms-agCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h400/IMG_0058-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It disappeared during the recent renovation and one hopes that it was carefully removed and saved.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-caanYAn2kCs/YYxE0pvCh2I/AAAAAAAAcQ8/i9gweoN_m_kCQE09RU1xniVML6XlnCQFgCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0052.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="1029" height="509" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-caanYAn2kCs/YYxE0pvCh2I/AAAAAAAAcQ8/i9gweoN_m_kCQE09RU1xniVML6XlnCQFgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h509/IMG_0052.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Otherwise the new front door is a hip centrepiece to its freshly cleaned red-white brick-and-marble 'bacon-stripe' surround, a motif repeated on the building's corner piers.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2RSfcmup-nQ/YYxE5p2LLwI/AAAAAAAAcRA/a4p7WtVb8xsHegDF_3jzmBggWvY5J5IRACLcBGAsYHQ/Miss-AM-Harmons-Home-and-Day-School-171-MacLaren-Street-Ottawa-Sept-1900.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="760" height="510" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2RSfcmup-nQ/YYxE5p2LLwI/AAAAAAAAcRA/a4p7WtVb8xsHegDF_3jzmBggWvY5J5IRACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h510/Miss-AM-Harmons-Home-and-Day-School-171-MacLaren-Street-Ottawa-Sept-1900.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The MacLaren Street elevation of the former Harmon School taken some time after her death. The determined civility of streetscapes like this, with new concrete sidewalks, macadamized roads, tended lawns and street trees in what was then a very raw city never fails to impress. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O6RMPkbiXg0/YYxE-7mn6iI/AAAAAAAAcRE/fPbmVSelHaMcihDbgkNk32QgqyIlw3engCLcBGAsYHQ/P8120167.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1511" height="460" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O6RMPkbiXg0/YYxE-7mn6iI/AAAAAAAAcRE/fPbmVSelHaMcihDbgkNk32QgqyIlw3engCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h460/P8120167.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In converting the original structure to the MacLaren Apartments the gabled dormers were removed, and the building extended by one floor. To compensate for their loss the designers included brick piers and trims on the newly created third floor, and made much more of the MacLaren Street entrance.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MOMPoSv632c/YYxFDBlSzdI/AAAAAAAAcRM/r0hryrOtdfU03VImMolMlZnkulzegXwwgCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0065.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1399" data-original-width="2048" height="438" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MOMPoSv632c/YYxFDBlSzdI/AAAAAAAAcRM/r0hryrOtdfU03VImMolMlZnkulzegXwwgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h438/IMG_0065.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The ground floor of Harmons will serve as a butcher shop, purveying large slabs of the aged beef that is being served in the restaurant. At first these chunks of mouldering meat were placed on open display racks set in the store's west-facing windows. While these premium viandes looked particularly arresting sitting directly in the blazing midday sun, the owners have wisely reconsidered this design decision. [<i>Update: November 24, 2021 - The meat is back! Go take a look.</i>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AArPPsLsqGg/YYxFG2yEhKI/AAAAAAAAcRQ/zq6Wq6oNyGYKafHjlgzQZxzM59fEuqo8QCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Feb_14__1977_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1457" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AArPPsLsqGg/YYxFG2yEhKI/AAAAAAAAcRQ/zq6Wq6oNyGYKafHjlgzQZxzM59fEuqo8QCLcBGAsYHQ/w456-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Feb_14__1977_.jpg" width="456" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The space that is now Harmon's swank street level cocktail lounge was once Walt's Smoke Shop, for its time arguably the best magazine and newspaper outlet in Ottawa and a great Centretown institution. Walton Smith was the city's largest distributor of the <i>New York Sunday Times</i>, sometimes selling as many as any as 250 copies. Walt's was edged out in the restaurant and bar conversions from what were previously retail and service uses that swept up and down Elgin Street in the mid-1980s. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 14, 1977)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3hh_IgQLxQw/YYxFKfQyUVI/AAAAAAAAcRY/5R-DMqXm2ss1-yG0GYiVikbr4H1oNnorACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Apr_4__1988_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1543" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3hh_IgQLxQw/YYxFKfQyUVI/AAAAAAAAcRY/5R-DMqXm2ss1-yG0GYiVikbr4H1oNnorACLcBGAsYHQ/w483-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Apr_4__1988_.jpg" width="483" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Old foggies will remember when the Elgin strip had but a handful of sleepy restaurants. Initially there were neighbourhood frictions when the street's character suddenly began to change - late night fights, vomit and urine on front lawns, lawless parking. In the <i>Ottawa Citizen</i> coverage the president of the business-oriented Elgin Street Property Owners Association told the paper 'If there are problems on Elgin Street I think they're coming from some exceptionally fussy people'. Al of Al's Steakhouse said 'To close the cafes just because of a few complaints is unjustified. People will laugh at our city'. And the owner of the premises that would eventually become Harmons offered this: 'If people don't like living here they should move. This is a commercial street'.</span> <span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 4, 1988)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qdPU6kyNLYY/YZLIuD8N4zI/AAAAAAAAcTA/ftKorekRtpIWZ5usS9Z9R5M3vWJ3Rw2XQCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0067.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qdPU6kyNLYY/YZLIuD8N4zI/AAAAAAAAcTA/ftKorekRtpIWZ5usS9Z9R5M3vWJ3Rw2XQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_0067.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">Thankfully all of that rancour is a thing of the past. You can safely assume that the well-heeled aged beef aficionados dining at this establishment will not be exhibiting the shenanigans of thirty years ago. Perhaps their behaviour will be moderated by Miss Harmon's sobering story.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>NEXT URBSite Update: DECEMBER 3, 2021</i></span></div></span></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-28987563980616813732021-11-05T06:17:00.000-07:002021-11-05T06:17:59.459-07:00TALES FROM CASTLE CONNAUGHT <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i6TbzWNAcms/YXsq6_zLXxI/AAAAAAAAcJA/gIRfroQgXFwcYhlUMGA8tTThRDZH3_8bwCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0030-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1634" data-original-width="2048" height="510" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i6TbzWNAcms/YXsq6_zLXxI/AAAAAAAAcJA/gIRfroQgXFwcYhlUMGA8tTThRDZH3_8bwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h510/IMG_0030-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Connaught Building is handsome. Out all of Ottawa's revivalist departmental buildings it may be the best at handling pure quotations from the historic buildings that were its inspiration. An unrivalled setting shows all of this off to advantage. But the ease with which this is carried off belies the turmoil that surrounded its creation.<br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nkRonxIe7uI/YXtRCzdkKDI/AAAAAAAAcNc/sBEJofBxBXMK3okdme8dy-R1Z9rvkI_OQCLcBGAsYHQ/Photo495453o%2B%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1492" data-original-width="2048" height="466" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nkRonxIe7uI/YXtRCzdkKDI/AAAAAAAAcNc/sBEJofBxBXMK3okdme8dy-R1Z9rvkI_OQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h466/Photo495453o%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">Most architectural historians consider the Connaught to be Chief Architect David Ewart's finest building. To harvest ideas for his great federal monuments in Ottawa Ewart had made a tour of of Great Britain, looking at the obvious sources for his designs like Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, and St. James's Palace (whose details like the battlement profile and central tower most closely resemble the Connaught Building). Although some of these examples post-dated the Gothic period he felt that a pastiched, lusty Tudor recreation was in the style most harmonious with the craggy neo-Gothic silhouettes on Parliament Hill.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RVuoITn6Wew/YXsrSTcX1PI/AAAAAAAAcJQ/ACpAXcVsiWMSzFeLEvQ0ulUE998xS6NKACLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0033.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1485" data-original-width="2048" height="464" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RVuoITn6Wew/YXsrSTcX1PI/AAAAAAAAcJQ/ACpAXcVsiWMSzFeLEvQ0ulUE998xS6NKACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h464/IMG_0033.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designated the Connaught Building as a national historic site in 1990, and it was duly plaqued. Their primary justification was because 'It is a tangible expression of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's commitment to the enhancement of architecture in the National Capital' (Minutes, HSMBC February 1990). A direct connection between Laurier and this particular building may be more tenuous. While he did declare to the Ottawa Reform Association in 1895 that 'It shall be my pleasure..to make the City of Ottawa the Washington of the North', repeating the sentiment at a rally on Cartier Square in 1896, and then in 1899 establishing the Ottawa Improvement Commission - the Connaught Building wasn't initiated until near the end of his final administration. And that project was particularly fraught. It was left to the Borden government to reshape the plans and then actually build the Connaught. As for its being a 'part of a grand design' some basic research reveals that its relationship to the grandest grand design of its time was rather problematic.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UGgVAd7oMSY/YXyPc9i6-hI/AAAAAAAAcN4/xXrT8ujF11c8c7UR8cJy2lTrLgijk4cFQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Jul_27__1906_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1646" data-original-width="2048" height="321" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UGgVAd7oMSY/YXyPc9i6-hI/AAAAAAAAcN4/xXrT8ujF11c8c7UR8cJy2lTrLgijk4cFQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h321/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Jul_27__1906_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QOqPpGEETA8/YXyPX03oO9I/AAAAAAAAcN0/_FMQUjuQYPohwljcLmEf9MFmFya3-0ICQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Jul_26__1906_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1246" data-original-width="2524" height="198" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QOqPpGEETA8/YXyPX03oO9I/AAAAAAAAcN0/_FMQUjuQYPohwljcLmEf9MFmFya3-0ICQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h198/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Jul_26__1906_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Government of Canada made known its intention to expropriate the entire western side of Sussex from Rideau to Cathcart, and all of Mackenzie Avenue's east side for a pair of monumental departmental buildings in July 1906. It had been under consideration for some time. This would afford the opportunity to greatly widen Sussex into a landscaped boulevard and transform Mackenzie into a scenic drive. The estimated total cost of the land acquisition was in excess of $1,000,000 and Minister of Public Works said that once the properties had been surveyed they planned to ask the architects of Canada to submit competitive designs for the new buildings. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 27, 1906; Ottawa Journal, July 26, 1906)</i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MC2i00psxfI/YXyPlvexBqI/AAAAAAAAcN8/7DM3_YSa4E8NkKMOgIEO4FWJTOLj0mINwCLcBGAsYHQ/SussexStCompetitionSite1906-NAC-NMC-C78961.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1271" data-original-width="1457" height="559" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MC2i00psxfI/YXyPlvexBqI/AAAAAAAAcN8/7DM3_YSa4E8NkKMOgIEO4FWJTOLj0mINwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h559/SussexStCompetitionSite1906-NAC-NMC-C78961.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is the map that illustrated the 'Plan Showing Site and Surroundings of Proposed New Government Buildings, Ottawa'. The section of Sussex that was to be taken was 1,375 feet in length, slightly more than a quarter of a mile, and included the proposed expropriation and demolition of the newly constructed T. Lindsay department store on Rideau at the southern end of the site, later known as the Daly Building. That idea was dropped within the year for being too difficult. </span><span>(<i>Drawing</i> from <i>Crown Assets:</i><i>The Architecture of the Department of Public Works, 1867-1967</i>; JANET </span>WRIGHT, University of Toronto Press, 1997.)</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eJT8WnSUtbk/YXtRPkuTfJI/AAAAAAAAcNg/GoZJuVhgJ-ASwbrxh_0yjy_7KsoBxvlbwCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jul_2__1907_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1684" data-original-width="2048" height="526" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eJT8WnSUtbk/YXtRPkuTfJI/AAAAAAAAcNg/GoZJuVhgJ-ASwbrxh_0yjy_7KsoBxvlbwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h526/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jul_2__1907_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The venture was delayed somewhat when Public Works minister Charles Hyman became embroiled in an unrelated political scandal. There was real progress when the design competition produced 30 submissions in time for the deadline of July 2, 1907. The assessors would be Edmund Burke from the Ontario Association of Architects, Alcide Chausee of the Quebec Association of Architects, and David Ewart, DPW's Chief Architect. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, July 2, 1907)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qlJBFK0c9d4/YXsroawFXdI/AAAAAAAAcJo/wwzLVctO4M4EBmJGs8gaaH5g-n96gk0sQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Aug_30__1907_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2020" data-original-width="2048" height="632" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qlJBFK0c9d4/YXsroawFXdI/AAAAAAAAcJo/wwzLVctO4M4EBmJGs8gaaH5g-n96gk0sQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h632/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Aug_30__1907_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The winning entry and runners-up were announced at the end of the following month. The premium was awarded to Edward and William S. Maxwell Architects of Montreal, perhaps that city's most prolific and respected firm. They also received a first prize of $8,000. The $4,000 second prize went to Darling and Pearson of Toronto, and the third and fourth at $2,000 and $1,000 respectively to Saxe and Archibald, and Brown and Vallence, both of Montreal. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, August 30, 1907)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r3EGOJV8x1c/YXsrzUl5IjI/AAAAAAAAcJ0/O90SYEDCsIYwVPJPDEn9LT6CY8vIU3zHgCLcBGAsYHQ/SussexStBldgsMaxwell%2526MaxwellConstMay1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="585" height="270" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r3EGOJV8x1c/YXsrzUl5IjI/AAAAAAAAcJ0/O90SYEDCsIYwVPJPDEn9LT6CY8vIU3zHgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h270/SussexStBldgsMaxwell%2526MaxwellConstMay1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">With unstinting praise Construction Magazine later wrote of Maxwell and Maxwell's design for the large departmental building, whose over 500-foot long bulk would stand at the southern end of the site. They wrote that 'The design has been commented upon favourably by the most eminent critics on this continent. It is an excellent adaptation of Gothic to modern conditions and would provide a structure that would harmonize well with the dignified old pile on Parliament Hill.' </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Construction Magazine, May 1910)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ikQ7np1hCng/YXsr57Q7QbI/AAAAAAAAcJ4/pf2VZkkuBZskEtI91RyruKzQwio88TCTgCLcBGAsYHQ/SussexStBldgsMaxwell%2526MaxwellCAB1907-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="2682" height="164" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ikQ7np1hCng/YXsr57Q7QbI/AAAAAAAAcJ4/pf2VZkkuBZskEtI91RyruKzQwio88TCTgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h164/SussexStBldgsMaxwell%2526MaxwellCAB1907-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Its mate, the somewhat more ceremonial and exuberant Justice Building for the Supreme and Exchequer Courts sat closer to St. Patrick Street. To compensate for the differing grades on Mackenzie and Sussex both buildings were taller on the east side and shorter on the west. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Construction Magazine, May 1910)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6mNSh01w5U8/YXtRhxLK3JI/AAAAAAAAcNs/my8MLMBVGYUVDtRM38tW2R_SPhuK5dtTwCLcBGAsYHQ/SussexStBldgs-ArchUnidConstMay1910.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="702" height="190" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6mNSh01w5U8/YXtRhxLK3JI/AAAAAAAAcNs/my8MLMBVGYUVDtRM38tW2R_SPhuK5dtTwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h190/SussexStBldgs-ArchUnidConstMay1910.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For its east elevation the Justice Building also sprouted a stout central tower looking over a much more grand Sussex boulevard. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">(<i>Drawing</i> from <i>Crown Assets:</i><i>The Architecture of the Department of Public Works, 1867-1967</i>; JANET </span><span style="font-family: arial;">WRIGHT, University of Toronto Press, 1997.)</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Eb4VljgVBlQ/YXssCMm9TeI/AAAAAAAAcKA/AiZC1iCR4wA-TVwVGpgX56lVZJ2d99ViwCLcBGAsYHQ/SussexStBldgsGeoGouinlockConstSept1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="565" height="249" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Eb4VljgVBlQ/YXssCMm9TeI/AAAAAAAAcKA/AiZC1iCR4wA-TVwVGpgX56lVZJ2d99ViwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h249/SussexStBldgsGeoGouinlockConstSept1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This competition entry, a confection that appears as if it might have been conceived for Ludwig II of Bavaria, was Toronto architect George Gouinlock's submission. His design ranked at 15th place. He also proposed a stone bridge over Entrance Valley joining Major's Hill Park to Parliament Hill, an idea that many Parliamentarians liked. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Construction Magazine, September 1910)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V2-zsLLAOEo/YXssJVPJNpI/AAAAAAAAcKM/QNP-jyb_Ux8Z95WP0N2Vt9ldm093WTunQCLcBGAsYHQ/ConnaughtLargeVersionOttawaJurnal-April6-190.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1371" data-original-width="2048" height="428" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V2-zsLLAOEo/YXssJVPJNpI/AAAAAAAAcKM/QNP-jyb_Ux8Z95WP0N2Vt9ldm093WTunQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h428/ConnaughtLargeVersionOttawaJurnal-April6-190.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To cut a long story short, after three years of dithering (which included the Laurier Liberals' return to power in the 1908 general election) the Government of Canada reneged on the competition results and decided that its own Chief Architect David Ewart would design a single building for departmental purposes only. It was also to be joined to Parliament Hill by an ornamental bridge. At 600,000 square feet this behemoth's dimensions measured 600 feet in length by 200 feet in width. The future Connaught Building's bones are clearly recognizable, but almost double its final size. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Interestingly the rendering places the building directly in the park on top of a retaining wall.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, April 6, 1910)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wzCueA1xZv8/YXstisLEbrI/AAAAAAAAcLI/orN88UuuG-gxSeIq1Fa_QJ5dLNKE1XangCLcBGAsYHQ/SussexStBldgsRAICLetterConstMay1910.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="843" height="470" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wzCueA1xZv8/YXstisLEbrI/AAAAAAAAcLI/orN88UuuG-gxSeIq1Fa_QJ5dLNKE1XangCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h470/SussexStBldgsRAICLetterConstMay1910.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The move was immediately met with excoriating protests from the architectural profession. Ewart's design was labelled as a 'glorified packing box'. In a open letter of April 15, 1910 to Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier the R.A.I.C.'s President Francis Baker fiercely attacked the decision to freeze out the private sector. architects, calling it 'a gross breach of faith'. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Construction Magazine, May 1910)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fDff0LZlA5c/YXssVPqpEVI/AAAAAAAAcKY/vvjrCQTVul0JWWhANKzcWpWaJjauuDAMgCLcBGAsYHQ/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B712014%2B51658%2BPM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="590" height="265" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fDff0LZlA5c/YXssVPqpEVI/AAAAAAAAcKY/vvjrCQTVul0JWWhANKzcWpWaJjauuDAMgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h265/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B712014%2B51658%2BPM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To further this harsh judgment <i>Construction Magazine</i> added that 'the utter lack of character in this design has brought down upon it a severe storm of criticism in Canada and was criticized by a prominent member of the profession as looking like a cross between a fancy jail and a chocolate factory with a dash of high school'. The Department of Public Works weathered these charges but the Laurier Government's defeat in 1911 made sure that it would never be built as planned. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Construction Magazine, May 1910)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SOBaIkYxDDo/YXsspDOUV6I/AAAAAAAAcKs/DgYkaAfZaaAposXZDDPRxuEXO04nyRz9ACLcBGAsYHQ/ConnaughtHorwoodVersionConstSept1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="549" height="297" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SOBaIkYxDDo/YXsspDOUV6I/AAAAAAAAcKs/DgYkaAfZaaAposXZDDPRxuEXO04nyRz9ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h297/ConnaughtHorwoodVersionConstSept1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The revised design would be a storey shorter and just 332-feet in length. Its forecourt would not sit within the park's eastern edge but rest on the roof of an access lane for the customs examining warehouse beneath. Perhaps when judged by this stiff drawing it did look like a dash of Collegiate Gothic high school. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Construction Magazine, 1919)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GvD44VcINQU/YXsstsLEjmI/AAAAAAAAcK0/2ehJptGG-msBfE-Pie0ASbAKlipkk_YWwCLcBGAsYHQ/connaught.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="1024" height="366" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GvD44VcINQU/YXsstsLEjmI/AAAAAAAAcK0/2ehJptGG-msBfE-Pie0ASbAKlipkk_YWwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h366/connaught.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But in truth the Connaught Building proved that office buildings constructed for mundane bureaucratic purposes could also look kind of magisterial.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yh1YSZhxApQ/YXtOET5ZUrI/AAAAAAAAcL8/MFBoSzfRz9oVFo8RtTWFGuSv6NAG0SDlgCLcBGAsYHQ/070921_then-now-david-ewart.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="447" height="382" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yh1YSZhxApQ/YXtOET5ZUrI/AAAAAAAAcL8/MFBoSzfRz9oVFo8RtTWFGuSv6NAG0SDlgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h382/070921_then-now-david-ewart.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">With the defeat of the Laurier Government in 1911 delivering the Connaught Building became the responsibility of the new Conservative government, under Robert Borden. They deferred a decision for two more years - it was likely held up for the conclusion of Herbert Holt's Federal Plan Commission. The launch of construction in 1913 also coincided with an anticipated change of personnel in the office of the Chief Architect David Ewart, who had served in that post since 1897. Although responsible for many important buildings his reputation may have been sullied by the structural disaster of Victoria Memorial Museum tower. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eJ4USNw6f8k/YXtOmxFr3uI/AAAAAAAAcMM/j_m6CbFmoA0Ue708i3nf0XIDnQgA7j8oQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Sep_28__1914_-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1678" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eJ4USNw6f8k/YXtOmxFr3uI/AAAAAAAAcMM/j_m6CbFmoA0Ue708i3nf0XIDnQgA7j8oQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Sep_28__1914_-001.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ewart was eased out in 1914, and replaced by the very successful commercial Ottawa architect Edgar L. Horwood. It was an unusual appointment made via personal fiat from the Manitoba Conservative Robert Rogers, the Minister of Public Works, without any supporting recommendation from the Public Service Commission. Furthermore Horwood was to be paid an annual salary of $7,000 whereas Ewart at his peak had only been receiving $4,000. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 18, 1914)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-toQd4n0sSFo/YXtOGuAta-I/AAAAAAAAcMA/4PxpyA528ZUmB54sFi6jlktqY7XgkE3ngCLcBGAsYHQ/Horwood.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="195" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-toQd4n0sSFo/YXtOGuAta-I/AAAAAAAAcMA/4PxpyA528ZUmB54sFi6jlktqY7XgkE3ngCLcBGAsYHQ/w302-h400/Horwood.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From the Liberals there was a whiff of political inference in this unusual appointment which they alleged could have been made because Edgar's brother Victor Horwood, the Provincial Architect for Manitoba had just been caught in a very messy graft and kick-back scheme that may have also touched Rogers. After Rogers resigned from Cabinet (for unrelated reasons) Edgar Horwood lost his mentor. Later when Horwood's term as Chief Architect was nearing an end and it was quite clear that his appointment would not be extended or renewed, he resigned with the successful completion of the Connaught Building as one of his achievements.</span><i> (Photo: LAC)</i></div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k_iRNGiLWDs/YXtNRGIPrYI/AAAAAAAAcLc/UWqPSrTDxgcMazzwtESvCAq3i2eWcH2iwCLcBGAsYHQ/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B7152014%2B20719%2BPM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="442" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k_iRNGiLWDs/YXtNRGIPrYI/AAAAAAAAcLc/UWqPSrTDxgcMazzwtESvCAq3i2eWcH2iwCLcBGAsYHQ/w515-h640/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B7152014%2B20719%2BPM.jpg" width="515" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Construction Magazine</i>'s opinion of the building had mellowed considerably in the years since the competition had been cancelled. Although their coverage was largely concerned with the building's technical details, the Connaught was praised for 'harmonizing with other fine structures in the capital'. As the article concluded, 'To Mr. E.L. Harwood [<i>sic</i>; he is called this throughout the article], chief architect, Public Works, Ottawa, credit is due for this imposing addition to our public buildings.' In extending the credit not only had the magazine sidestepped David Ewart, the Connaught Building's original architect, they had messed up Horwood's name. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Construction Magazine, 1919)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GSdPRwk9kSY/YXtNWTdPlUI/AAAAAAAAcLo/NqtuTS93uZgZfI5hsP5fAy_NzI7oSdVTQCLcBGAsYHQ/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B7152014%2B20854%2BPM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="526" height="366" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GSdPRwk9kSY/YXtNWTdPlUI/AAAAAAAAcLo/NqtuTS93uZgZfI5hsP5fAy_NzI7oSdVTQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h366/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B7152014%2B20854%2BPM.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">They found that the typical floor plan on all of the office levels made 'a splendid working and well balanced plan, all corridors and offices being well lighted. In the main hall facing Mackenzie Avenue is a spacious marble and bronze staircase which rises to the top.' </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Construction Magazine, 1919)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Jyj_39WhVNA/YYMHT2THs6I/AAAAAAAAcPM/_3HzH4jcZQAzpxeJA1xKAvnFEJPyOOn6gCLcBGAsYHQ/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B7152014%2B20804%2BPM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="229" data-original-width="249" height="294" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Jyj_39WhVNA/YYMHT2THs6I/AAAAAAAAcPM/_3HzH4jcZQAzpxeJA1xKAvnFEJPyOOn6gCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h294/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B7152014%2B20804%2BPM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>All of the corridors and staircases were finished with marble dados</span><i>. </i><span>Windows between the individual offices and the corridors brought more light into the common spaces.</span><i> </i><span>The hallways' sequence of Tudor arches brought a bit of the Connaught exterior's historic flavour to its interior.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i>(Construction Magazine, 1919)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mtMEHE6QVzk/YXtNZBCLpXI/AAAAAAAAcLs/qwqd953ivzkO2U31WAB26rkoe2GoVjmXQCLcBGAsYHQ/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B7152014%2B20941%2BPM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="671" height="333" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mtMEHE6QVzk/YXtNZBCLpXI/AAAAAAAAcLs/qwqd953ivzkO2U31WAB26rkoe2GoVjmXQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h333/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B7152014%2B20941%2BPM.jpg" width="400" /></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Five large boilers stood at the ready to heat the building. The Connaught employed the most up to date fire prevention and suppression technology, as well as a built in central vacuum cleaning system. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Construction Magazine, 1919)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zdQGbgKW_S8/YXyTUBNyp4I/AAAAAAAAcOM/i1CXFFivByMQ015TtwQqFfyqlHvY25kGwCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Sep_1__1922_-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="2048" height="547" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zdQGbgKW_S8/YXyTUBNyp4I/AAAAAAAAcOM/i1CXFFivByMQ015TtwQqFfyqlHvY25kGwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h547/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Sep_1__1922_-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On another technological front the Government of Canada launched its private exchange system of 2,100 Bell telephones on September 2, 1922. The PBX interdepartmental network remained in use for decades. Former civil servants will recall having to dial '9' to get out. Naturally the 'Connaught' exchange, which covered 99% of the territory between the Rideau Canal and the Rideau River, was located in the Connaught Building. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 1, 1922)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bDF_F1KkKZM/YXtPDWPZ9FI/AAAAAAAAcMY/kUgmQ3O6UIUTkpnz1BO3qL-w1FTz2srigCLcBGAsYHQ/Stonecutters14.6.16-003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1180" data-original-width="1527" height="494" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bDF_F1KkKZM/YXtPDWPZ9FI/AAAAAAAAcMY/kUgmQ3O6UIUTkpnz1BO3qL-w1FTz2srigCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h494/Stonecutters14.6.16-003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After a decade of sitting idle the Department of Public Works finally found a use for the balance of the land that they had expropriated in 1906 - an enormous stone-cutting workshop to fabricate the great quantities of dressed stone that would be needed to reconstruct the Centre Bock after the fire of 1916. The recently completed Connaught Building looms in the background. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kyeebZVSDkA/YXtPHUp8yLI/AAAAAAAAcMc/lMPHQ2mTPwYTy9ktvhtFdjUg31bwiZ7HQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jul_14__1928_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1989" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kyeebZVSDkA/YXtPHUp8yLI/AAAAAAAAcMc/lMPHQ2mTPwYTy9ktvhtFdjUg31bwiZ7HQCLcBGAsYHQ/w388-h400/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jul_14__1928_.jpg" width="388" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Although the building wasn't needed for the Centre Block's construction activities after 1918, the Sussex Street workshops weren't demolished until 1928. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 14, 1928)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4v77auaf7OA/YXtP97Nr-yI/AAAAAAAAcM8/2-qREjI7gbgbBMHaqfvBte-LPpZObkF9gCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jan_16__1930_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1804" data-original-width="2048" height="353" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4v77auaf7OA/YXtP97Nr-yI/AAAAAAAAcM8/2-qREjI7gbgbBMHaqfvBte-LPpZObkF9gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h353/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jan_16__1930_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The land now being cleared, the unused section of the 1906-07 competition site was briefly back under consideration for its original purpose at the beginning of 1930, when the <i>Ottawa Citizen </i>was seeking '...news on the proposed building north of the Connaught building on Sussex street, as hinted recently to house the supreme and exchequer courts and different government commissions.' The defeat of the Mackenzie King government later that year ended those plans. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, January 18, 1930)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ut2E7IgxWgU/YXtQHQ-CqpI/AAAAAAAAcNA/n8RzoM6eKZYi0o-MDpB4SKIz0LptfzcvwCLcBGAsYHQ/460_001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="1005" height="235" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ut2E7IgxWgU/YXtQHQ-CqpI/AAAAAAAAcNA/n8RzoM6eKZYi0o-MDpB4SKIz0LptfzcvwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h235/460_001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">With WWII the large empty Sussex-Mackenzie property suddenly became a useful location for two of the government's temporary buildings, Number 6 and Number 9. Here you can get a small peak at the roof of one of these temps in the lower lefthand corner of this erroneously titled post card.</div></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CjWK_CsF6x8/YXtPXnOjNfI/AAAAAAAAcMw/RIVTpSJh-U4s7Mc0RehK5BEMDdMaVzLiACLcBGAsYHQ/1981-106-09.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="1600" height="418" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CjWK_CsF6x8/YXtPXnOjNfI/AAAAAAAAcMw/RIVTpSJh-U4s7Mc0RehK5BEMDdMaVzLiACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h418/1981-106-09.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The site was finally cleared by 1980, but it would no longer be a potential home for another important federal building. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CMHC-1981-106-09)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vWPZIlQHFyY/YYMJFwvzwXI/AAAAAAAAcPU/nLLN3KOWdJ4UdcXF40Rtv0zcvGVuWJ7wACLcBGAsYHQ/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B7152014%2B20831%2BPM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="358" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vWPZIlQHFyY/YYMJFwvzwXI/AAAAAAAAcPU/nLLN3KOWdJ4UdcXF40Rtv0zcvGVuWJ7wACLcBGAsYHQ/w218-h400/Fullscreen%2Bcapture%2B7152014%2B20831%2BPM.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">This a pre-renovation section of the Connaught Building through the central tower looking north. Mackenzie is on the left, Sussex is on the right.</span><i> (Construction Magazine, 1919)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_Pulxp2RAKc/YXtPS3WD8BI/AAAAAAAAcMo/OLYmO8Gthn0bJjN4d_u4VCc1bwPsclNVQCLcBGAsYHQ/Untitled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="659" height="567" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_Pulxp2RAKc/YXtPS3WD8BI/AAAAAAAAcMo/OLYmO8Gthn0bJjN4d_u4VCc1bwPsclNVQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h567/Untitled.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The ground floor of the Sussex elevation was extra tall to accommodate the customs examining warehouse. It is finished with Stanstead granite. The rest of the Connaught is faced with Nepean sandstone chosen when that quarry was still producing some colour variation, contrasting with the smoother Wallace stone trims. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: ORSA)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z-mM4aP0Q-s/YXtQUTZa4uI/AAAAAAAAcNI/x_CXi-jM4ZkyCCLs7AIqBbA-Ia2_BfZFQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Jun_21__1971_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1214" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z-mM4aP0Q-s/YXtQUTZa4uI/AAAAAAAAcNI/x_CXi-jM4ZkyCCLs7AIqBbA-Ia2_BfZFQCLcBGAsYHQ/w379-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Jun_21__1971_.jpg" width="379" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In June 1971 Public Works awarded a $2.778 million contract to Ron Engineering and Construction Ltd. for a major overhaul of the Connaught's interior. The work, which was expected to take a year or so, included suspended ceilings to accommodate the new HVAC, and to implement the emerging 'open plan' concept for workplaces replacing walls with moveable partitions. Plants, drapes, carpets and fabric coverings would form the office 'landscape.' For the duration Department of National Revenue employees were shifted into Temporary Buildings 6 and 9 next door. Completion date was then extended to February 1973 and the budget increased to $3.3 million. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, June 21, 1971)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dds2ZA-OQOI/YXtQbjWoiII/AAAAAAAAcNQ/rvLXBa069_wy4L4lVv3ZRWh09qz5ya_-ACLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0032.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1457" data-original-width="2048" height="456" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dds2ZA-OQOI/YXtQbjWoiII/AAAAAAAAcNQ/rvLXBa069_wy4L4lVv3ZRWh09qz5ya_-ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h456/IMG_0032.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">However 1973's Commonwealth Conference in Ottawa intervened and the newly renovated Connaught was commandeered to serve as the international media centre for the more than 700 journalists expected here, which extended the work and delayed National Revenue's return by another four months. The news media's amenities included a cafeteria, a bookstore, a smoke shop, an infirmary, post office, travel bureau and a theatre showing NFB films. Ninety-eight sound-proof workstations were provided, each equipped with a red Bell Canada Contempra phone and a typewriter. </div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For all of this between 1971 and 1973 the Connaught Building's interior was completely gutted for new floor levels which didn't match existing window heights and an elimination of the old bi-axial plan. In summarizing the extent of the damage in 1987 the Federal Heritage Building Review Office grimly noted: 'Renovations to the interior in 1973 were generally unsympathetic to the heritage character of the property. Every opportunity should be taken to reintroduce a more compatible continuity between exterior and interior, particularly in the lobbies and circulation areas, and to enhance the symmetrical, Beaux Arts intentions of the original design.'</span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V7IkJKzlgXc/YYFrQxilAGI/AAAAAAAAcOw/JV-ss_AM3OAGBKMd0ZBIm-Z_OzTV41wEACLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0031.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1513" data-original-width="2048" height="472" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V7IkJKzlgXc/YYFrQxilAGI/AAAAAAAAcOw/JV-ss_AM3OAGBKMd0ZBIm-Z_OzTV41wEACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h472/IMG_0031.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I can say that having viewed it hundreds of times the Connaught Building never fails to please. It reaches its pinnacle of ornamentation at the top of the central tower. You'll notice that spandrel panels above the gloriously ribbed arched window are emblazoned with two shields bearing the initials 'G' and 'R' in Old English lettering. This was for 'Georgius Rex', the royal cipher for King George V, the monarch under whose reign the Connaught was built. It's s</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">omething that we don't see too much these days, although you can still spot the occasional 'E.R.' on federal buildings around Ottawa and beyond.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>GENTLE READERS:</i> The next URBSite update will be posted on Friday, November 19, 2021.</span></span></div><div><p></p></div>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-54433172778034468312021-10-29T07:12:00.001-07:002021-10-29T07:12:26.356-07:00EXCAVATION: A BIGGER DIG FOR PLACE DE VILLE'S PHASE II <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iOEd3ORb-es/YWy4m9iqBBI/AAAAAAAAcFA/X_QzVAnW8YIzEuoWoMCkYhSkOrY4UGCxACLcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023097-002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1421" data-original-width="2048" height="444" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iOEd3ORb-es/YWy4m9iqBBI/AAAAAAAAcFA/X_QzVAnW8YIzEuoWoMCkYhSkOrY4UGCxACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h444/MiguelezCA023097-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All was revealed on January 23, 1968 - a day when the official opening of the 'Galerie des Boutiques' (Place de Ville's underground shopping mall) advanced Robert Campeau's vision for what was then the downtown's largest full-block mixed-use complex. The roguish developer had to appear before the city's powerful Board of Control and convince them to support his ambitious plans for a second, even bigger phase. There were just two wrinkles. The City of Ottawa would need to sell him a desirable piece of municipally-owned land essential to the project at a good price, and then City Council had to approve a <u>300-foot increase</u> over the existing height limit of 150 feet. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CA023097)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QlkkttKVsgs/YWi0rOSOHcI/AAAAAAAAcCE/BFkB4Ua_iUgv3lnmphDPC1OdctzSkF2vACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jan_23__1968_%2Bcopy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1622" data-original-width="2048" height="507" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QlkkttKVsgs/YWi0rOSOHcI/AAAAAAAAcCE/BFkB4Ua_iUgv3lnmphDPC1OdctzSkF2vACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h507/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jan_23__1968_%2Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The plans included an extension of the Sparks Street Mall between Kent and Lyon, the conversion of Queen Street, which separated the Place de Ville's two phases, into a landscaped plaza, a 200-room annex for the Skyline Hotel, a 700-seat theatre, and a major department store. After studying the details the City of Ottawa's Planning Department and eventually a very pro-development Board of Control gave Robert Campeau most of what he needed. Except for height. Initially the City Council had passed by-law 158-68 which approved the super height, but this was subsequently rejected on an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board. As a compromise Robert Campeau offered to reduce the buildings' height from 450 feet to 375 feet. The Board of Control countered with 342 feet, which was reluctantly accepted </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, January 23, 1968)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fvBHfpfQTKY/YWi00WpJdMI/AAAAAAAAcCQ/4wHOhKAH6Ksxr2NxtZ63UAP_uapoK4yRgCLcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023088.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1786" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fvBHfpfQTKY/YWi00WpJdMI/AAAAAAAAcCQ/4wHOhKAH6Ksxr2NxtZ63UAP_uapoK4yRgCLcBGAsYHQ/w557-h640/MiguelezCA023088.jpg" width="557" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As first presented the project was dominated by two sleek 450-foot high towers that were divided into separate volumes just above the mid-point and topped by drum-shaped penthouses. The department store, rumoured to be an Eaton's would be in the freestanding pavilion at the northeast corner of the block. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CA023088)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QiuVMrIfUQo/YWi04eq2AlI/AAAAAAAAcCU/baN7qRjmqi8GJC1JTlqQephpYNQssk5xACLcBGAsYHQ/Tour_de_la_Bourse_Montreal.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1139" data-original-width="901" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QiuVMrIfUQo/YWi04eq2AlI/AAAAAAAAcCU/baN7qRjmqi8GJC1JTlqQephpYNQssk5xACLcBGAsYHQ/w507-h640/Tour_de_la_Bourse_Montreal.jpg" width="507" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For a design inspiration Campeau may have been looking at Montreal's Stock Exchange Tower on Place Victoria. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Luigi Moretti, 1967)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RI75TK-B82A/YWi1CMo6uCI/AAAAAAAAcCc/IG1qvLvRglsEH03j0CxMCPjdZvSM_vtVACLcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023091.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1549" data-original-width="901" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RI75TK-B82A/YWi1CMo6uCI/AAAAAAAAcCc/IG1qvLvRglsEH03j0CxMCPjdZvSM_vtVACLcBGAsYHQ/w373-h640/MiguelezCA023091.jpg" width="373" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In any event Place de Ville's Phase II towers were to be much more elegant than the bargain basement Miesian results at Phase I's Towers 'A' and 'B'. (</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Photo: CA023091)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x59GvYThvOI/YWi1OV5O7eI/AAAAAAAAcCk/TY3EAYgt95YlqWGkUZcsSulROjlC9XJxACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Jan_23__1968_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2664" data-original-width="1180" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x59GvYThvOI/YWi1OV5O7eI/AAAAAAAAcCk/TY3EAYgt95YlqWGkUZcsSulROjlC9XJxACLcBGAsYHQ/w283-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Jan_23__1968_.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To achieve the Queen Street pedestrian plaza Campeau proposed to put the traffic in a tunnel for one block, at his own expense. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, January 23, 1968)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I9jat6BX4b0/YWi1Ses90YI/AAAAAAAAcCo/lZXZd9F3Ka8D7oiQoWyeV7tX0_8OU-B4QCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Jul_24__1968_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1402" data-original-width="2048" height="438" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I9jat6BX4b0/YWi1Ses90YI/AAAAAAAAcCo/lZXZd9F3Ka8D7oiQoWyeV7tX0_8OU-B4QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h438/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Jul_24__1968_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The battle of the building's height ultimately became snarled in a sequence of hearings, closed door negotiations, multiple by-laws and legal appeals. To complicate the situation, American planning consultants for the City of Ottawa were in the midst of a major study to determine new building height limits for the whole central area. It was the National Capital Commission's successful OMB appeal of the special Place de Ville 450-foot by-law that forced a final decision on how high the Phase II tower could go</span>. <i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 1968)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M8LAoMWJH3o/YWi2WsOm2hI/AAAAAAAAcC4/qHZQnXBrv3MvrxIf_LGdf_wkv7lA6rkTgCLcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023090.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="1001" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M8LAoMWJH3o/YWi2WsOm2hI/AAAAAAAAcC4/qHZQnXBrv3MvrxIf_LGdf_wkv7lA6rkTgCLcBGAsYHQ/w536-h640/MiguelezCA023090.jpg" width="536" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Robert Campeau's next version of Phase II featured a 29-storey office tower, a major hotel and a large movie theatre placed between them, all set atop a continuous three-storey podium that covered the entire site. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo CA023090)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GSo5vLRhEgU/YWmNSrmrzRI/AAAAAAAAcEs/6OvSAXgkHL8lcrNoi2aXDLC5LmK3N81QQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jul_5__1969_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1881" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GSo5vLRhEgU/YWmNSrmrzRI/AAAAAAAAcEs/6OvSAXgkHL8lcrNoi2aXDLC5LmK3N81QQCLcBGAsYHQ/w587-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jul_5__1969_.jpg" width="587" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><i> </i><span style="font-size: medium;">Bob Campeau and one of his executives paused to admire their new model.</span><i> (Ottawa Citizen, July 5, 1969)</i></span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bB18vHMlW3k/YWi7QYAXWjI/AAAAAAAAcDw/9p-bh3j1CDoeGKKH32kx0c7Fnf1PKcdFwCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Oct_2__1969_-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1399" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bB18vHMlW3k/YWi7QYAXWjI/AAAAAAAAcDw/9p-bh3j1CDoeGKKH32kx0c7Fnf1PKcdFwCLcBGAsYHQ/w437-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Oct_2__1969_-001.jpg" width="437" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Campeau Corporation used this version to start promoting the building. But private sector businesses weren't necessary for the project's success. Transport Canada occupied most of the office tower, after they had been booted from their planned Col By Drive headquarters by the Department of National Defence. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, October 2, 1969)</i></span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ml5LCk7UV5A/YWi2oJgVSrI/AAAAAAAAcDE/r9boIXVkP5obdVQ5f7wmVLfDYyK9ZVwOQCLcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023089.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1336" data-original-width="2001" height="428" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ml5LCk7UV5A/YWi2oJgVSrI/AAAAAAAAcDE/r9boIXVkP5obdVQ5f7wmVLfDYyK9ZVwOQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h428/MiguelezCA023089.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The almost final iteration of Place de Ville's Phase II. This time what would become known as Tower 'C touched the ground on <i>pilotis</i>, and was pulled away from the rest of the development. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CA023089)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9cvZmmtexoY/YWmQBfjgEUI/AAAAAAAAcE0/4ByYXjqkBOgJM5P7qqzDywNoPNsiw-LuwCLcBGAsYHQ/P9030231.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1105" data-original-width="899" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9cvZmmtexoY/YWmQBfjgEUI/AAAAAAAAcE0/4ByYXjqkBOgJM5P7qqzDywNoPNsiw-LuwCLcBGAsYHQ/w520-h640/P9030231.JPG" width="520" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The hotel and low-rise block containing the two movie theatres. which both began construction once the office tower was complete, ended up looking like this.</span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ovkYffv23_o/YWi76gpqAGI/AAAAAAAAcD4/Wq6zR97euqsNl2IRox7G4gBEFWz00_1SwCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Oct_17__1970_-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1943" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ovkYffv23_o/YWi76gpqAGI/AAAAAAAAcD4/Wq6zR97euqsNl2IRox7G4gBEFWz00_1SwCLcBGAsYHQ/w608-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Oct_17__1970_-001.jpg" width="608" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">'Our mechanical equipment enables the secretary in the interior office to breathe the same fresh air and enjoy the same climate climate control as the VP by the window.' </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, October 17, 1970)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eqEJXaU5hmw/YWi3R4-b9yI/AAAAAAAAcDU/sL2PPO_irVANYJ29NuR7h1idL_RboolBQCLcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023094.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1931" data-original-width="2048" height="602" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eqEJXaU5hmw/YWi3R4-b9yI/AAAAAAAAcDU/sL2PPO_irVANYJ29NuR7h1idL_RboolBQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h602/MiguelezCA023094.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Positioned at an elevated vantage point that was nearby an <i>Ottawa Journal </i>photographer began to document the progress of the big dig. Here site clearance begins for the 70-foot hole that would contain Phase II's footings and seven level underground parking garage. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CA023094)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XgTs8pTqniA/YWi3WIlqzlI/AAAAAAAAcDc/w_e_ujz7s6cR8GYyRaMyEp-stPXgYkNNgCLcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023093.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1901" data-original-width="2048" height="593" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XgTs8pTqniA/YWi3WIlqzlI/AAAAAAAAcDc/w_e_ujz7s6cR8GYyRaMyEp-stPXgYkNNgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h593/MiguelezCA023093.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The first phase of the excavation required the removal of the site's relatively shallow overburden, some 70,000 cubic yards of earth. Once bedrock was reached there would be a further quarter million cubic yards of solid rock to deal with. Hugh M. Grant Ltd. was the excavation contractor. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CA023093)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iaEDfOzazK0/YWi3dEonxPI/AAAAAAAAcDg/c8i-g6KzFNUiLM80ytsql0aY6NVdY0ITACLcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023092.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1878" data-original-width="2048" height="586" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iaEDfOzazK0/YWi3dEonxPI/AAAAAAAAcDg/c8i-g6KzFNUiLM80ytsql0aY6NVdY0ITACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h586/MiguelezCA023092.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thirty to forty 260-horsepower dump trucks were kept in continuous operation, hauling 6,000 tons of rock a day. To exit the pit they had to climb a vertiginous 30-degree ramp. Clearing the debris away quickly was essential to maintaining a seamless process. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CA023092)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dTu4WyAo-gM/YWi3iK1oMdI/AAAAAAAAcDk/aMg22r5AwGw0yIdAYwDOPMyNFK8j6EzigCLcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023095.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1524" data-original-width="2048" height="476" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dTu4WyAo-gM/YWi3iK1oMdI/AAAAAAAAcDk/aMg22r5AwGw0yIdAYwDOPMyNFK8j6EzigCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h476/MiguelezCA023095.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To get the rock out they drilled a series of 15-foot deep probes into this bed of Gloucester limestone three feet apart, filled them with explosives, and let go with a blast. The excavation was more or less dug out in 20 weeks, while Phase I had taken 16 weeks. However they still had to dig an 85-foot wide tunnel under Queen Street (at the left) to connect both phases, and a truck exit ramp tunnel that would come out near the East Memorial Block (at the right). The photographer's camera foreshortens the actual length of the excavation. As someone living a few blocks away on Albert Street I can attest to the fact that this was one big hole. </span><i>(Photo: CA023095)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kql5egF_zbs/YWi8Y9xFvrI/AAAAAAAAcEA/CxyjXy2W7kEwfppT6w7eJhnhLuuiqoCTwCLcBGAsYHQ/MiguelezCA023097-002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1421" data-original-width="2048" height="444" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kql5egF_zbs/YWi8Y9xFvrI/AAAAAAAAcEA/CxyjXy2W7kEwfppT6w7eJhnhLuuiqoCTwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h444/MiguelezCA023097-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">320 Sparks Street, a two-storey commercial building on the south side of the street, was but a small piece of the land assembly needed for Phase II. After the Campeau Corporation bought it they discovered that they had also acquired a very stubborn tenant - Dieter Schneider of Schneider's Massage and Health Club, who held a valid lease on his premises until 1974. Declining offers to buy him out Schneider simply refused to go. Broking no further delay Campeau then decided to blast and excavate around him, leaving the building teetering on a mound surrounded by the deepening pit. Schneider was finally forced out after city inspectors declared 320 Sparks to be unsafe and unfit for occupancy </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: CA023094)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mCEKqGkgbs4/YWi8giAPhHI/AAAAAAAAcEE/fX_vj46CbcoZSq6aBJk5VKq4tnAZH-YfACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Feb_25__1969_%2Bcopy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1705" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mCEKqGkgbs4/YWi8giAPhHI/AAAAAAAAcEE/fX_vj46CbcoZSq6aBJk5VKq4tnAZH-YfACLcBGAsYHQ/w333-h400/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Feb_25__1969_%2Bcopy.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After Dieter Schneider had thrown in the towel Campeau followed through with the nuisance building's demolition and a week later it was debris being trucked away. When negotiation failed to work there was always naked intimidation. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 25, 1969)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uTjOBkL9ayw/YWjvzxjDU_I/AAAAAAAAcEQ/L9cgMwgQdX0US0MdASaBH6oZSGm6mvtYgCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Nov_21__1970_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1281" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uTjOBkL9ayw/YWjvzxjDU_I/AAAAAAAAcEQ/L9cgMwgQdX0US0MdASaBH6oZSGm6mvtYgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Nov_21__1970_.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">From the deep excavation in bedrock, to erecting an all steel frame, hanging the exterior cladding, and installing the interior services, mechanics and electrics, Tower 'C' was substantially complete in just 18 months and ready for an expected 10,000 employees in the spring of 1971. For aesthetic reasons (plus a complete disregard for energy conservation and the fate of migrating birds) the perimeter lights behind the building's curtain wall were to be kept on twenty-four hours a day. A spectacular addition to the city's night skies, but environmentally reckless. The building management claimed that there had been a considerable cost savings because there had been no need to install light switches. And the black band was for two windowless booster floors of fans, pumps, and transformers. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, November 21, 1970)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cGu2UpgKRDk/YWjv8Rhlt-I/AAAAAAAAcEU/Y7LFy0CMmyUTLEVKEuJMXzxzgCsg4OwcwCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0027.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cGu2UpgKRDk/YWjv8Rhlt-I/AAAAAAAAcEU/Y7LFy0CMmyUTLEVKEuJMXzxzgCsg4OwcwCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_0027.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Tower C's topping off ceremony was held on February 23, 1970, which turned out to be a cold and windy. Ten days before a one ton 30-foot steel beam had been painted white and placed on public display in the Galerie des Boutiques. In exchange for a donation to the Children's Hospital fund passersby were invited to sign the beam, and over 1,000 people did. On the day the beam was positioned at the base of the tower and following a radio signal issued by Robert Campeau it began the 342 foot trip to the top. Swinging wildly in the wind, the journey took six nail biting minutes to complete. After the last piece of steel was wrestled into place the construction workers enjoyed a special party in their honour.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9F0qaxGTVGA/YWjwZe2XlTI/AAAAAAAAcEg/9J3d9wFGOyADiWnpY1qooTPc4bthld2ggCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0028-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2048" height="450" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9F0qaxGTVGA/YWjwZe2XlTI/AAAAAAAAcEg/9J3d9wFGOyADiWnpY1qooTPc4bthld2ggCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h450/IMG_0028-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">On closer inspection Tower C is no Seagram Building. The spandrel panels' original bronze colour finish didn't weather well and had to re-coated in an inoffensive taupe. The contrasting black I-beams are tinny and thin. And rather than standing proud this huge mass squats in dark pit a few feet below grade. Nonetheless it remained Ottawa's tallest building for almost fifty years, until that title was claimed by Claridge Homes' Icon condo on Preston Street.</div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /> <p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-35401685448804255982021-10-22T06:14:00.000-07:002021-10-22T06:14:40.666-07:00THE BURNSIDE BUILDING ENTERS A NEW ERA AND SHEDS ITS HIDE<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--a5AWTkpQ-Y/YW2RWku5S_I/AAAAAAAAcFI/SbTjGzNf368RdvWE9RBN6jSb9B0G8FdLgCLcBGAsYHQ/66a531725f95ca939999ef97b91d07b76c4baf9e.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1349" height="382" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--a5AWTkpQ-Y/YW2RWku5S_I/AAAAAAAAcFI/SbTjGzNf368RdvWE9RBN6jSb9B0G8FdLgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h382/66a531725f95ca939999ef97b91d07b76c4baf9e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Burnside Building at 151 Slater Street is one of four office developments that the Metcalfe Realty Company Limited has built and managed in the block bounded by Slater, O'Connor, Albert, and of course Metcalfe Street. The other three are in chronological order - the Metcalfe Building (now demolished), the Macdonald Building, and the Varette Building. They have also ventured outside of this block for some office buildings on Albert Street east of Metcalfe. The Burnside was named for William Burnside, the Vice-President of Metcalfe Realty, although it is unclear whether after undergoing a total gut rehab makeover it will continue to wear that moniker.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PQPBKQmQr9k/YW2RcPNKd0I/AAAAAAAAcFM/PbbvXPu6u8MPpgHIXWGNuabwKFLp-VTVACLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1355" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PQPBKQmQr9k/YW2RcPNKd0I/AAAAAAAAcFM/PbbvXPu6u8MPpgHIXWGNuabwKFLp-VTVACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMG_0023.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And here it is in a slick new skin, still a tower on a podium which is now demarcated by a thick metal band that I guess you could call a cornice for the 2000s. The floor levels are only readable when pierced by the full sun. For the rest of the day these glass curtain walls just project impenetrable sheets of dark blue reflectivity.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2m1nhc5tf18/YW2Rg-gsPaI/AAAAAAAAcFQ/YctyPMr9fkgKaMgnDXtLe2UWq-A_6-FnACLcBGAsYHQ/Burnside2-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="821" height="364" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2m1nhc5tf18/YW2Rg-gsPaI/AAAAAAAAcFQ/YctyPMr9fkgKaMgnDXtLe2UWq-A_6-FnACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h364/Burnside2-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Burnside was designed in 1965 by Craig and Kohler Architects, and the firm or its antecedents was responsible for three of Metcalfe Realty's four buildings in this block. The two-storey base and the tower's vertical piers that telegraph its bay width were veneered with thin stone tiles in the 1980s. Originally they were the same material as the precast panels of offset, or staggered narrow lancet window openings.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qIRXk7nHIkY/YW2RljVSLoI/AAAAAAAAcFU/CJJdXv-k78AdTg8XTeeViTr8hN4bTN7UACLcBGAsYHQ/QIWHfEph.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qIRXk7nHIkY/YW2RljVSLoI/AAAAAAAAcFU/CJJdXv-k78AdTg8XTeeViTr8hN4bTN7UACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/QIWHfEph.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Those precast panels were carefully removed one at a time, revealing a reinforced concrete frame beneath.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OLPpgOnWLgQ/YW2RzUUE0JI/AAAAAAAAcFk/VexpyPEWCpIFriJWi5NodN6P9qYVJdDWwCLcBGAsYHQ/Burnside1-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="849" height="329" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OLPpgOnWLgQ/YW2RzUUE0JI/AAAAAAAAcFk/VexpyPEWCpIFriJWi5NodN6P9qYVJdDWwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h329/Burnside1-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Once the Burnside was stripped the new glass curtain wall system began to climb up the building floor by floor.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PFijHV_jTV0/YW2R3ebftQI/AAAAAAAAcFs/DjD-au7dWsQnNvCN_cG7D-DDywHK26r9QCLcBGAsYHQ/40937457433_4dbc8b3fe3_b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PFijHV_jTV0/YW2R3ebftQI/AAAAAAAAcFs/DjD-au7dWsQnNvCN_cG7D-DDywHK26r9QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h320/40937457433_4dbc8b3fe3_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The podium was wrapped in a dust screen because it required more drastic interventions. Otherwise the general effect of the makeover is coming into view. This was a 100% buildout and you can see the new plumbing and ventilation runs being installed on the undersides of the floor plates.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-07UTPxrFV3M/YW2R-tdQmgI/AAAAAAAAcFw/bJ6EemKOpSgoH-NysLbPxxNulowsJD91ACLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0025.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1526" data-original-width="2048" height="476" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-07UTPxrFV3M/YW2R-tdQmgI/AAAAAAAAcFw/bJ6EemKOpSgoH-NysLbPxxNulowsJD91ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h476/IMG_0025.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Putting aside its design aesthetic which is decidedly generic, the project did demonstrate more responsible procedures for reviving aging slab buildings, and not wastefully sending all of their embodied energy to the landfill.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sZwEpahZTMM/YW2SN28P8FI/AAAAAAAAcGA/2KXXOEk9OQ04G0Htxo6FoOqzpncpUfUHACLcBGAsYHQ/LACOConSlaterNorth.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="647" height="462" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sZwEpahZTMM/YW2SN28P8FI/AAAAAAAAcGA/2KXXOEk9OQ04G0Htxo6FoOqzpncpUfUHACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h462/LACOConSlaterNorth.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To go back to the beginning - from the <i>Ottawa Citizen's</i> <i>Thursday Notebook</i> of March 4, 1965: 'Tom Fuller's new Burnside Building is to rise 12 storeys on a 99 by 198 foot space, including Joe Finnegan's old Supertest station at the northeast corner of O'Connor and Slater... Mr. Fuller discounted rumours that attempts were made to buy the Bytown Inn at various figures up to $2,000,000.' </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This Department of Public Works photo from the late 1930s shows the aforementioned gas station and inn as they once stood on and near the future Burnside site.. The Supertest station didn't prove to be much of a difficulty for Metcalfe Realty, apart from removing what was likely heavily contaminated soil which was virtually unregulated in those days. The 100-year old inn was another matter. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9zEjQPpZQgo/YW2SgKba2QI/AAAAAAAAcGU/nIfS_0R57ogCn2Gd--67lmhXvSLaro42gCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Apr_1__1965_-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1226" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9zEjQPpZQgo/YW2SgKba2QI/AAAAAAAAcGU/nIfS_0R57ogCn2Gd--67lmhXvSLaro42gCLcBGAsYHQ/w384-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Apr_1__1965_-001.jpg" width="384" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Burnside's excavation seriously undermined the old building's stone foundations cracking the building's south wall, and creating what was claimed to be a significant bulge. As a result on April 1, 1965 the hotel's owners went to the Ontario Superior Court and successfully obtained an injunction to halt the digging. A week later, after a settlement between the two parties was agreed to, work was allowed to continue. This wasn't the first time that one of their projects in this block ran into problems with neighbouring properties. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 1, 1965)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F_7d1FIcccI/YW2SkgxpB1I/AAAAAAAAcGc/77vkG3UXNB4qoMi972CWdCSzczmDl2rOACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Apr_27__1966_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1211" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F_7d1FIcccI/YW2SkgxpB1I/AAAAAAAAcGc/77vkG3UXNB4qoMi972CWdCSzczmDl2rOACLcBGAsYHQ/w379-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Apr_27__1966_.jpg" width="379" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Burnside was ready for occupancy just a year later. The building's first major ground floor retail tenant was the venerable Gerald Preston Limited, one of Ottawa's leading menswear establishments. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, August 25, 1966)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IlCOVbWeHSU/YW2Sogm6lXI/AAAAAAAAcGg/tzyJWtacdnkyOF1J_CcEW0_w3ZP-P7AegCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Aug_2__1967_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1890" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IlCOVbWeHSU/YW2Sogm6lXI/AAAAAAAAcGg/tzyJWtacdnkyOF1J_CcEW0_w3ZP-P7AegCLcBGAsYHQ/w589-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Aug_2__1967_.jpg" width="589" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics Institute was here for decades. It taught you how to speed-read in just eight lessons.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> (Ottawa Citizen, August 2, 1967)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CXGvlZwj2es/YW2SsLWGg-I/AAAAAAAAcGk/BX5vBYluKFAW7TT-8USa1zJs__PcFyIfQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Oct_3__1967_-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1433" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CXGvlZwj2es/YW2SsLWGg-I/AAAAAAAAcGk/BX5vBYluKFAW7TT-8USa1zJs__PcFyIfQCLcBGAsYHQ/w448-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Oct_3__1967_-001.jpg" width="448" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On a more salacious note, from its $200,000 basement level spa at the Burnside, the Canadian Executive Health Club offered the 'Baths of the Pharaohs', the 'Florida Sun-Ray Room', an 'Authentic Scandinavian Sauna' and 'Needle Showers'. Afterwards you could visit the Tropical Lounge, although presumably the mostly male execs weren't forced to wear two-piece bathing suits. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, October 3, 1967)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QFI1pHAWuZI/YW2S0PKirDI/AAAAAAAAcGo/1EC-SqRw_4UlloMSrrT60gPiFMh5jvyvACLcBGAsYHQ/metcalfe5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1437" data-original-width="1356" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QFI1pHAWuZI/YW2S0PKirDI/AAAAAAAAcGo/1EC-SqRw_4UlloMSrrT60gPiFMh5jvyvACLcBGAsYHQ/w603-h640/metcalfe5.jpg" width="603" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Metcalfe Realty's first development in our block was a 10-storey, 100,000-square foot office building at Metcalfe and Slater Streets, and naturally called the Metcalfe Building (Abra and Balharrie, Architects 1952). While it wasn't really ground-breaking for is time it was one of the city's first fully modern post-War stripped down designs. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lLS8X_ZRylQ/YW2S3k0GQnI/AAAAAAAAcGs/vWOWoihDZW8Au1wybf_mgpcdJMeW0r8IACLcBGAsYHQ/Metcalfebldg2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1105" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lLS8X_ZRylQ/YW2S3k0GQnI/AAAAAAAAcGs/vWOWoihDZW8Au1wybf_mgpcdJMeW0r8IACLcBGAsYHQ/w563-h640/Metcalfebldg2.jpg" width="563" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At night the linear bands of windows (1400 of them) alternating with unbroken stripes of smooth limestone spandrel panels were a transparent and luminous landmark on the building's namesake street. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Photo: City Archives)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iBqKdqPwYxo/YW2S70LAPWI/AAAAAAAAcG4/c1ArtSrUS4MPOnJiIznm0gK7jJTGgo_OACLcBGAsYHQ/2012-04-13-06-44-46-123%2BSlater.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1698" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iBqKdqPwYxo/YW2S70LAPWI/AAAAAAAAcG4/c1ArtSrUS4MPOnJiIznm0gK7jJTGgo_OACLcBGAsYHQ/w531-h640/2012-04-13-06-44-46-123%2BSlater.jpg" width="531" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Macdonald Building (Metcalfe Realty's next venture in this block) was under construction by early 1963. The architects were Craig, Madill, Abram and Ingleson - with Mike Kohler, who would later became the firm's leading partner, as the project architect. Like the Burnside, its excavation imperilled one of its neighbouring buildings, when the beauty parlour next door which was owned by Harvey Delorme and Eugene Berthelot was in danger of sliding into the hole. On short notice the city's chief building inspector had to shut down the construction site, empty the beauty parlour of its startled occupants and close Slater Street for five hours until the underlying soil conditions could be tested for stability. Metcalfe Realty had been issued a permit without the city confirming the soil formation. Disaster was averted but according to the <i>Ottawa Journal's</i> coverage of May 24,1963 Mayor Charlotte Whitton was 'breathing fire, blasted the inspections department' and warned that 'heads could roll'.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HV6nSEc6NIE/YW2TEeiMjXI/AAAAAAAAcHA/R0UyXYP_aWQ54UnszI7iSVSfs3gsw5VyQCLcBGAsYHQ/123-Slater-Street-West-Face.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="800" height="528" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HV6nSEc6NIE/YW2TEeiMjXI/AAAAAAAAcHA/R0UyXYP_aWQ54UnszI7iSVSfs3gsw5VyQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h528/123-Slater-Street-West-Face.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Their second development was a lesser copy of the Metcalfe Building, and no beauty to begin with. In recent years the Macdonald Building received this defiantly partial refacing, with bits of contemporary glass curtain wall placed randomly here and there. This may be the remodelling in its finished state. There's lots of very hip co-working and collaborative visioning space in these newer sections.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XEb3-KTNbUc/YW2TJ1ygh4I/AAAAAAAAcHE/CTu5rbuAFcktebKEx0w68lTHJwrR4qFpQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Mar_9__1964_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1511" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XEb3-KTNbUc/YW2TJ1ygh4I/AAAAAAAAcHE/CTu5rbuAFcktebKEx0w68lTHJwrR4qFpQCLcBGAsYHQ/w472-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Mar_9__1964_.jpg" width="472" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Cafeteria Restaurant wasn't kidding when it said that it offered 'pleasant dining at moderate prices' - that was certainly one value menu. And the No Waiting, No Tipping, Self Service deal was open until 9:00 p.m. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, March 9, 1964)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bYVLwpCHT_4/YW2TUygjktI/AAAAAAAAcHI/6her2zB1lJYtFBod0T71Baz97SuAGMmOQCLcBGAsYHQ/D1215.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1080" height="360" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bYVLwpCHT_4/YW2TUygjktI/AAAAAAAAcHI/6her2zB1lJYtFBod0T71Baz97SuAGMmOQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/D1215.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Varette Building (Craig and Kohler, 1968) was Metcalfe Realty's culminating achievement in the block that they had largely redeveloped in the previous sixteen years. It was named for the then president of the company.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CrWCF10tIic/YW7twKwI6sI/AAAAAAAAcIQ/-AUJ6YxE1LQ05F2ev1KZo7jinYAwUs9SACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Feb_7__1968_-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="2048" height="372" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CrWCF10tIic/YW7twKwI6sI/AAAAAAAAcIQ/-AUJ6YxE1LQ05F2ev1KZo7jinYAwUs9SACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h372/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Feb_7__1968_-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When the 210-foot high development was first proposed the revised maximum building height in the central area (it would be something over the old 150-foot limit, but nobody knew by how much) had not yet been established. As well, the Varette directly lined up with views to the Peace Tower which were held to be sacrosanct by some authorities. In the end as it measured out the new building came in at 440 feet above sea level, almost 150 feet below the Peace Tower's 592 feet. This perspective (with the adjacent three storey Bytown Inn still in place) shows the Varette's relationship to its older brother, the Burnside. Had Metcalfe Realty been able to acquire this choice corner property it might have been able to produce a unified three tower complex. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 7, 1968)</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i></i></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xCQ1XvLR9Nw/YW70Qv5fWlI/AAAAAAAAcIY/0G8B8MBC8oMWsXcevmBciDLXOl3k3NyxQCLcBGAsYHQ/parkinglot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1261" data-original-width="1600" height="504" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xCQ1XvLR9Nw/YW70Qv5fWlI/AAAAAAAAcIY/0G8B8MBC8oMWsXcevmBciDLXOl3k3NyxQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h504/parkinglot.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Bytown Inn was eventually acquired by William Teron's Urbanetics for their Carleton Towers hotel</span>.</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tJgsrJZd9aI/YW2Tr7YdlPI/AAAAAAAAcHk/rKjSWrixku8KmCvgrZth8bkgV6Rz5_SLQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Feb_7__1968_%2Bcopy-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1412" data-original-width="2048" height="442" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tJgsrJZd9aI/YW2Tr7YdlPI/AAAAAAAAcHk/rKjSWrixku8KmCvgrZth8bkgV6Rz5_SLQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h442/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Feb_7__1968_%2Bcopy-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">They were able to arrive at through-block solution by using the slice of land between their two previous buildings as Varette's rear plaza connecting Albert and Slater Streets.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 7, 1968)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gpCAFHcGhm4/YW2TYT_jy_I/AAAAAAAAcHQ/3qIzzzC5JzUYngFjojpRmT69Fr8ruktEgCLcBGAsYHQ/2ea1975f10d80648303639d40899f3246439d2d4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1360" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gpCAFHcGhm4/YW2TYT_jy_I/AAAAAAAAcHQ/3qIzzzC5JzUYngFjojpRmT69Fr8ruktEgCLcBGAsYHQ/w424-h640/2ea1975f10d80648303639d40899f3246439d2d4.jpg" width="424" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">The architects undoubtably based the Varette's design on their previous project for Metcalfe Realty but vertically aligned the window openings, and gave the building a delicately pierced crown at the roofline.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aaapvjDZXjU/YW72_FxjiYI/AAAAAAAAcIo/VTNCk_1GLEo1jPAVS6o1PNi6qBk-w9hCwCLcBGAsYHQ/ottawa-architecture-brutalism-heritage-ottawa-tour-presented-by-the-molly-claude-team-realtors-7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aaapvjDZXjU/YW72_FxjiYI/AAAAAAAAcIo/VTNCk_1GLEo1jPAVS6o1PNi6qBk-w9hCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/ottawa-architecture-brutalism-heritage-ottawa-tour-presented-by-the-molly-claude-team-realtors-7.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The precast panels were further elaborated with fluting. </span><i>(Photo: Capital Modern) </i></div></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2XYaWONrxLA/YW2Uou_eUAI/AAAAAAAAcIE/Ykw89kv4FdAYAelhifJZx7vBTR4rLsYQACLcBGAsYHQ/Burnside4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="993" height="519" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2XYaWONrxLA/YW2Uou_eUAI/AAAAAAAAcIE/Ykw89kv4FdAYAelhifJZx7vBTR4rLsYQACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h519/Burnside4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">With its new facing the Burnside is no longer in dialogue with the Varette. The Macdonald was never in on the conversation.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qbgY1p790ww/YW2UZNm5rNI/AAAAAAAAcH8/XJxxijbYkG4vdDb5ekcPpZ5cdOVrGuREACLcBGAsYHQ/P8031058.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1500" height="384" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qbgY1p790ww/YW2UZNm5rNI/AAAAAAAAcH8/XJxxijbYkG4vdDb5ekcPpZ5cdOVrGuREACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h384/P8031058.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">Visit the Varette Building's lobby if you have never be in to take a close look. It's a perfectly preserved slice of ca.1970 corporate glitz.</div></span></div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-37019288328520778162021-10-15T05:25:00.000-07:002021-10-15T05:25:19.282-07:00THE MANY LAYERS OF SAMUEL J. STEVENSON'S WAVERLEY PHARMACY<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WfPdjvmiTiI/YWYBK1AeRnI/AAAAAAAAb-E/cpIE0FhCUKsPMsGJsyNWAJKyjK9JNQYaQCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0088.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WfPdjvmiTiI/YWYBK1AeRnI/AAAAAAAAb-E/cpIE0FhCUKsPMsGJsyNWAJKyjK9JNQYaQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/DSCN0088.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Two winters ago an expanse of battered Vitrolite glass tiles was suddenly revealed at 350 Elgin Street. For perhaps sixty years they had been slumbering under an internally-lit fascial sign for Stevenson's drug store, the business that had served the Centretown community at the corner of Elgin and Waverley for a hundred years - from 1899 to 1999. After careful inspection their weathered surface disclosed some tiny details of the building's history.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FHqH8HDTeL0/YWYBPKvOLoI/AAAAAAAAb-I/Tnl_ktA1da4gE85nmVzjKzXTCOa81vAPACLcBGAsYHQ/Stevensons2-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="532" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FHqH8HDTeL0/YWYBPKvOLoI/AAAAAAAAb-I/Tnl_ktA1da4gE85nmVzjKzXTCOa81vAPACLcBGAsYHQ/w552-h640/Stevensons2-001.jpg" width="552" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In its most recent incarnation it was Pure gelato, a spot where Elgin Street slickers could indulge in a dizzying variety of flavours. They dished out scoops here from 2000 until closing in 2019, apparently the victims of Elgin Street's eighteen month long roadway/sewer/watermain/</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">hydro-line/sidewalk reconstruction and concomitant street closure.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uQBg0c6CS3I/YWYBjIrD7JI/AAAAAAAAb-U/8Bm27do9KbkiFnY3RVI_evKLSn4qOMZTQCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0119.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="2048" height="456" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uQBg0c6CS3I/YWYBjIrD7JI/AAAAAAAAb-U/8Bm27do9KbkiFnY3RVI_evKLSn4qOMZTQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h456/DSCN0119.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And there it stood for some time ready to be transformed into its next stage of life. With the round-headed windows, giant keystones, rhythmic course of corbeling, large roundels, and what was probably a very elaborate shop front this building was more modern and stylish than the average neighbourhood commercial/residential block of the time. It may have been designed by Edgar Lewis Horwood who lived a block away at the corner of Waverley and Metcalfe, and employed this precise motif on several other of his buildings</span>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ggScw37zfW4/YWYCMXUh1MI/AAAAAAAAb-c/5YeXLS4GevoBGKl_v57zu6EsEEhiIourQCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0087.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ggScw37zfW4/YWYCMXUh1MI/AAAAAAAAb-c/5YeXLS4GevoBGKl_v57zu6EsEEhiIourQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/DSCN0087.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Like so many businesses wanting to shed their store's embarrassingly ancient appearance at some mid-century point Stevenson's modernized its street frontage, although they retained what was likely the original Greek key and modillion bracket cornice. They employed the pigmented structural glass panels that had been popular from the 1930s onward. This colour was known as 'Irish green'. Let's take a closer look.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YG_GVDImX38/YWYChrkQsxI/AAAAAAAAb-k/Ei9zTXRfRTgeNRDTk9Z4oKWZmcIGO2VvQCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0090.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1819" data-original-width="2048" height="569" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YG_GVDImX38/YWYChrkQsxI/AAAAAAAAb-k/Ei9zTXRfRTgeNRDTk9Z4oKWZmcIGO2VvQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h569/DSCN0090.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Alternating bands of smooth and rusticated stone quoins stood at the building's corners. They were already heavily encrusted with grime by the time that the green tiles were applied. The circular stains on the lower stone are witness marks of the globs of the mastic adhesive typically used to attach Vitrolite. Those tiny holes suggest that there was once neon or raised three dimensional lettering here.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Bc5T946UUMc/YWYCwlGkvCI/AAAAAAAAb-o/RYv2e9C1SeYMHhWYUYiobKOpby4nWIbSwCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0091.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Bc5T946UUMc/YWYCwlGkvCI/AAAAAAAAb-o/RYv2e9C1SeYMHhWYUYiobKOpby4nWIbSwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/DSCN0091.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There is tantalizing evidence of a painted sign behind the tiles where chunks have broken off. It's near the midpoint of the sign so perhaps this is the 'l' from 'Waverley'. The store was known as the Waverley Pharmacy for its first few decades</span>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tFAfLRygJbI/YWYC6jk88gI/AAAAAAAAb-w/YBC734zfiIo29m2dJ9g_NCzzIyUF66eRwCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0128.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tFAfLRygJbI/YWYC6jk88gI/AAAAAAAAb-w/YBC734zfiIo29m2dJ9g_NCzzIyUF66eRwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/DSCN0128.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This small fragment of a grooved pilaster was uncovered once the tiles were removed. It might have been part of the pharmacy's original storefront. One marvels at the freshness of these old pine boards. They had obviously been sealed over immediately after being nailed up, thereby preventing any further oxidization.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KwIvKB6rNHk/YWYFdhXnvHI/AAAAAAAAb_0/t0m7moFFIrwMAotZAY0ZVXwXH-bViOVCQCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0086.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="2048" height="438" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KwIvKB6rNHk/YWYFdhXnvHI/AAAAAAAAb_0/t0m7moFFIrwMAotZAY0ZVXwXH-bViOVCQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h438/DSCN0086.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The storefront - glass tiles, metal cornice, plate glass and all, rounded the corner at Waverley Street, but stopped at what is a lengthy stretch of raked parging with embedded stone trimming</span>.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pxKxriBoOVA/YWYDJINz40I/AAAAAAAAb-4/golstUQG8EkWcSKRYD9trAIP11Tf-V_UwCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0111.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1246" data-original-width="2048" height="390" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pxKxriBoOVA/YWYDJINz40I/AAAAAAAAb-4/golstUQG8EkWcSKRYD9trAIP11Tf-V_UwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h390/DSCN0111.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What has happened here? The medley of voussoirs and keystones dancing over the lower surface of the side wall suggests that there must be windows and doors buried in that wall.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tplWfiv7tdQ/YWYDXP3s3XI/AAAAAAAAb_A/fgkQYhxXCccCJy4FQq0eu-EXgZKMlJiEACLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="2048" height="406" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tplWfiv7tdQ/YWYDXP3s3XI/AAAAAAAAb_A/fgkQYhxXCccCJy4FQq0eu-EXgZKMlJiEACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h406/IMG_0010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Four of them are now fully opened up and glazed. You'll have to use some heritage conjecture to imagine how this wall may have originally appeared. Its best feature, those three overhanging bay windows, are marvellously well preserved. Photos of the area from the 1970s show all all of the lower section to be covered over, and it was probably closed up much earlier than that.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wDKxkNM8lvU/YWYDixQ3atI/AAAAAAAAb_I/1PDiAcJq36Y1_Gp0VqBHVzmLquMh0OqEgCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0147.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="2048" height="408" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wDKxkNM8lvU/YWYDixQ3atI/AAAAAAAAb_I/1PDiAcJq36Y1_Gp0VqBHVzmLquMh0OqEgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h408/DSCN0147.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This building was under renovation for an interminable length of time and the newly liberated openings had to be boarded over for some time.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FyWa4LXNIjA/YWYDqGC7LlI/AAAAAAAAb_Q/nVkbKzMWTIIvHgkfWkNMDLE_f9rm1xOpwCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0012.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="2048" height="358" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FyWa4LXNIjA/YWYDqGC7LlI/AAAAAAAAb_Q/nVkbKzMWTIIvHgkfWkNMDLE_f9rm1xOpwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h358/IMG_0012.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">They've given the new business a window, both literally and figuratively, on the area's newest public space - Boushey Square, which is what this dead end stub of Waverley is now called. Although it's not really public at the moment because they've chained it off so that it can function as their outdoor patio area.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JTDD6JQzINo/YWYI4uUIxDI/AAAAAAAAcBQ/pam0oPT5VUUYZR6jbRlYDT_buI0WjdnHwCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0089.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1722" data-original-width="2048" height="539" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JTDD6JQzINo/YWYI4uUIxDI/AAAAAAAAcBQ/pam0oPT5VUUYZR6jbRlYDT_buI0WjdnHwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h539/DSCN0089.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">There's a chance that all of Stevenson's storefront was once clad in green Vitrolite, and that the tiles in the upper section were protected from removal simply because they lay hidden behind the pharmacy's sign. Whatever the story the balance of the commercial facade was eventually covered over with sheets of siding that had a fake tile effect. That cladding was then stuccoed over by the gelato shop.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Akf_pNcoWK8/YWYD6mpK1OI/AAAAAAAAb_g/aj3Ovt7zgQEC51ob8rjdQfQdcLyYXinfQCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0160%2B2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1926" data-original-width="2048" height="602" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Akf_pNcoWK8/YWYD6mpK1OI/AAAAAAAAb_g/aj3Ovt7zgQEC51ob8rjdQfQdcLyYXinfQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h602/DSCN0160%2B2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For the most recent renovation, the upper section was boxed in with these board panels and the whole thing painted in a claret/purple.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rvap0mxkBoE/YWYEB98u6rI/AAAAAAAAb_k/KMGXfucvgZoeuHfGxsGKICYouzCCAdQ_wCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0019.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1732" data-original-width="2048" height="541" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rvap0mxkBoE/YWYEB98u6rI/AAAAAAAAb_k/KMGXfucvgZoeuHfGxsGKICYouzCCAdQ_wCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h541/IMG_0019.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is now 'Giulia' (named for an Alfa Romeo car model) that's a high end pizza place. Their logo is a slice topped by what looks like an olive and sprig of fresh herbs. The same restaurant group also runs Datsun and El Camino on lower Elgin Street, and the Riviera on the Sparks Street Mall. If you sense an automotive theme here you're right.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tqTM6UGI2sA/YWYG2SeKasI/AAAAAAAAcAM/yhfvwI_K1C0WXsNjVw5hFZx2ecyW5ioYQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Aug_18__1899_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1517" data-original-width="2048" height="474" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tqTM6UGI2sA/YWYG2SeKasI/AAAAAAAAcAM/yhfvwI_K1C0WXsNjVw5hFZx2ecyW5ioYQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h474/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Aug_18__1899_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Samuel J. Stevenson opened the Waverley Pharmacy in 1899 to serve 'Families living in the south eastern portion of the city'. The store also had a soda fountain. The night bell was to alert the druggist owner who may have lived upstairs. By the 1920s the business was renamed as Stevenson's Pharmacy. S. J. Stevenson died on December 15, 1945 and passed the business on to his son Nelson. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, August 18, 1899)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6KB3XU19-is/YWb8Bu2dKSI/AAAAAAAAcBg/00JPvv2s58QhyIFi2e7cSCSKI4G2_PnLACLcBGAsYHQ/stevenson_sj_waverley_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="958" height="424" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6KB3XU19-is/YWb8Bu2dKSI/AAAAAAAAcBg/00JPvv2s58QhyIFi2e7cSCSKI4G2_PnLACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/stevenson_sj_waverley_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">Early custom moulded glass drug bottles imprinted with proprietor's name. Who knows what dubious elixirs were contained within.</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hEJeo_w92q8/YWYHAaQp0BI/AAAAAAAAcAQ/T38jkkPC2g02l0tsHsWdRtfA0ZxzzRj9QCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Mar_6__1913_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hEJeo_w92q8/YWYHAaQp0BI/AAAAAAAAcAQ/T38jkkPC2g02l0tsHsWdRtfA0ZxzzRj9QCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Mar_6__1913_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hEJeo_w92q8/YWYHAaQp0BI/AAAAAAAAcAQ/T38jkkPC2g02l0tsHsWdRtfA0ZxzzRj9QCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Mar_6__1913_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1968" data-original-width="2048" height="614" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z5CE9Oo2BUc/YWYHXoVnvtI/AAAAAAAAcAg/0PE99C7OKrkxmtpYEXUqouXPcfe4xAFQgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h614/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Apr_4__1987_.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hEJeo_w92q8/YWYHAaQp0BI/AAAAAAAAcAQ/T38jkkPC2g02l0tsHsWdRtfA0ZxzzRj9QCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Mar_6__1913_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sa</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">muel Nelson Stevenson (the son) died at the age of 91 in 2018. Many years before the store was sold and rebranded as Stevenson's Nutri-Chem Pharmacy, which specialized in compounding tablets formulated with alternative and non-standard ingredients for all sorts of ailments. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 5, 1987)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K7K5ZO7fTm8/YWYIEg0L3pI/AAAAAAAAcBA/m6DKSl-gcuQ4C5ciVQHuSmPwip0xfnShACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Nov_27__1992_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1572" data-original-width="2048" height="491" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K7K5ZO7fTm8/YWYIEg0L3pI/AAAAAAAAcBA/m6DKSl-gcuQ4C5ciVQHuSmPwip0xfnShACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h491/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Nov_27__1992_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stevenson's also ran a well-used postal outlet which was squeezed out by Canada Post's profit-driven corporate grasp. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, November 27, 1992)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z1aSrW_iGCA/YWYIKLFKhII/AAAAAAAAcBE/OTb7iZ3kf6kO2t6V9baD5hn5FdnjhMRPwCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jul_29__2000_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1969" data-original-width="2048" height="614" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z1aSrW_iGCA/YWYIKLFKhII/AAAAAAAAcBE/OTb7iZ3kf6kO2t6V9baD5hn5FdnjhMRPwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h614/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jul_29__2000_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Pure's manager Randy Tommy samples one of their 48 flavours of gelato.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 29, 2000)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-91t7JgiDqf4/YWb6dvy-e9I/AAAAAAAAcBY/dg4L3k2MD94m461Z8fKSpxbCF_TJCOtGwCLcBGAsYHQ/CA055381-W-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="393" height="502" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-91t7JgiDqf4/YWb6dvy-e9I/AAAAAAAAcBY/dg4L3k2MD94m461Z8fKSpxbCF_TJCOtGwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h502/CA055381-W-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> there are no quaint horse and cutter shots of the building.This is the oldest image of Stevenson's to have turned up so far. But you can see the Stevenson's sign that was masking those glass titles. And its green background closely matches their colour. Was it coincidence or continuity? The picture comes from a ca. 1990 City of Ottawa quickie 'windshield' photo survey of the street, provided to me courtesy of Christopher Ryan, the History Nerd. </span><i>(CA055381-W)</i></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hEJeo_w92q8/YWYHAaQp0BI/AAAAAAAAcAQ/T38jkkPC2g02l0tsHsWdRtfA0ZxzzRj9QCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Mar_6__1913_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hEJeo_w92q8/YWYHAaQp0BI/AAAAAAAAcAQ/T38jkkPC2g02l0tsHsWdRtfA0ZxzzRj9QCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Mar_6__1913_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="939" height="398" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UQaBA2IY-EY/YWYHrPe7cmI/AAAAAAAAcA0/66FqK6dxLb8sHhKnwRzZgBd6ibSTHUz3gCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h398/Stevensons1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hEJeo_w92q8/YWYHAaQp0BI/AAAAAAAAcAQ/T38jkkPC2g02l0tsHsWdRtfA0ZxzzRj9QCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Mar_6__1913_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">ncidentally according to the Ottawa Fire Insurance Atlas the picturesque building next door was under construction in May 1912. And between them you can see the Stevenson building's south elevation canopy on the second floor which sheltered the entrance to the residences upstairs. They have since been converted to offices.</span><i>(Google StreetView)</i></span></div></div><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hEJeo_w92q8/YWYHAaQp0BI/AAAAAAAAcAQ/T38jkkPC2g02l0tsHsWdRtfA0ZxzzRj9QCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Mar_6__1913_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g8koCvA9DVY/YWYGVx6DTwI/AAAAAAAAcAE/YPUzqS_EXKsAYAgJVmHMeN21OrebPwZSgCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1239" data-original-width="2537" height="312" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g8koCvA9DVY/YWYGVx6DTwI/AAAAAAAAcAE/YPUzqS_EXKsAYAgJVmHMeN21OrebPwZSgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h312/IMG_0022.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What was once a tightly packed block of small neighbourhood shops and services is now a part of Elgin Street's non-stop restaurant row. Pretty, but no longer one of Centretown's multifunctional commercial mainstreets.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /> <p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-89364990267910491092021-10-09T15:10:00.000-07:002021-10-09T15:10:13.010-07:00HENRY J. SIMS' FANCY TINSMITHING<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Cq5WpNtdhkA/YVsv3N_1snI/AAAAAAAAb7U/GZ0n_QBYS505KsuyRlibxSB4rLk9efaXACLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0009%2B2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1569" data-original-width="2048" height="491" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Cq5WpNtdhkA/YVsv3N_1snI/AAAAAAAAb7U/GZ0n_QBYS505KsuyRlibxSB4rLk9efaXACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h491/IMG_0009%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Facsimiles of historic structures will always rank second-best to the preservation of the real thing, that is the restoration and rehabilitation of original building fabric. A recent Sparks Street Mall development has demonstrated the practice of faithful heritage reproduction. It shows a level of skill and craftsmanship that you might have thought had long disappeared.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LE6d92eCddk/YVswAG-3aGI/AAAAAAAAb7Y/IYnm7xNeKEcNG0bEb9AdxFNG_rau_vGLgCLcBGAsYHQ/4a3d81b9-c204-417b-a2dc-7c2e02034457-w.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LE6d92eCddk/YVswAG-3aGI/AAAAAAAAb7Y/IYnm7xNeKEcNG0bEb9AdxFNG_rau_vGLgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/4a3d81b9-c204-417b-a2dc-7c2e02034457-w.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This new/old façade is part of the Mall facing portion of the Re Hotel and condominium development on the NCC controlled property formerly known as the 'Canlands B' parcel. Here it is as presented in a prospective for the project, which was developed by Ashcroft Homes and designed by RLA Architects.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JYDZtXjMSa4/YVswFwRFlLI/AAAAAAAAb7c/ASLe7akH00oyEynzhF1p1ImcANm384F-gCLcBGAsYHQ/sparks3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="577" height="276" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JYDZtXjMSa4/YVswFwRFlLI/AAAAAAAAb7c/ASLe7akH00oyEynzhF1p1ImcANm384F-gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h276/sparks3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It had been their stated intention to retain what was left of this historic wall, which they later determined was too fragile to be repaired.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IRpU4NTc1N4/YVswQIjLLmI/AAAAAAAAb7o/ugGiaJeDbJsVneMmeBAFSQn_cAkt3JbBwCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0006-001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1668" data-original-width="2048" height="521" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IRpU4NTc1N4/YVswQIjLLmI/AAAAAAAAb7o/ugGiaJeDbJsVneMmeBAFSQn_cAkt3JbBwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h521/IMG_0006-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A minor quibble - the first floor cornice running above the storefronts resembles a slightly unfinished bit of flashing, made all the more noticeable because this is what is directly at eye level when viewed from the street. And the sharp eyed may notice that when compared to the historic photo that is to follow, the tops of the third floor window surrounds are missing a tiny detail.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JLYHAWsK7v8/YVswV1jH6sI/AAAAAAAAb7s/J1IG3Y24jH8h4bLJmD1tKMg9LozPRhwGgCLcBGAsYHQ/Sims%252C_Henry%252C_J._%2526_Co.%252C_110_Sparks_Ottawa_Exterior%2B2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JLYHAWsK7v8/YVswV1jH6sI/AAAAAAAAb7s/J1IG3Y24jH8h4bLJmD1tKMg9LozPRhwGgCLcBGAsYHQ/w565-h640/Sims%252C_Henry%252C_J._%2526_Co.%252C_110_Sparks_Ottawa_Exterior%2B2.jpg" width="565" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The building in its prime, ca. 1908, when Henry J. Sims and Co. Hatters and Furriers was the major tenant. Although it occupied only one storefront, the business's workshops and show rooms extended through most of the building's second and third floors. Next door the Murphy Gamble department store was under construction.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UzwPW-bqb_8/YWH0gbpgtKI/AAAAAAAAb9s/RnufwZODs-4iZ888LQe8yPYH-ln94VaAwCLcBGAsYHQ/DSCN0137-001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1613" data-original-width="2048" height="504" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UzwPW-bqb_8/YWH0gbpgtKI/AAAAAAAAb9s/RnufwZODs-4iZ888LQe8yPYH-ln94VaAwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h504/DSCN0137-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The building's history, while well represented, is now only skin deep.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vqv9fnAaTXg/YWH0pj99f0I/AAAAAAAAb9w/ySFSSo1I1lwSHISyZS9BwBT9t8NSiWAmwCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Apr_15__1910_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1688" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vqv9fnAaTXg/YWH0pj99f0I/AAAAAAAAb9w/ySFSSo1I1lwSHISyZS9BwBT9t8NSiWAmwCLcBGAsYHQ/w528-h640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Apr_15__1910_.jpg" width="528" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Henry Sims had apprenticed as a furrier at his father-in-law's business, the R.J. Devlin Company and in 1892 left to open his own establishment at 108 Sparks Street, on the ground floor of the Freemasons' Scottish Rite Chambers. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, April 15, 1910)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DTVzQbc3fSc/YWH0v_9_SZI/AAAAAAAAb90/-dbm-1x2H7M3OlsoqHEmdks3Bgpxm7NLwCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jan_22__1916_-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="1600" height="410" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DTVzQbc3fSc/YWH0v_9_SZI/AAAAAAAAb90/-dbm-1x2H7M3OlsoqHEmdks3Bgpxm7NLwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h410/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jan_22__1916_-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He moved into 110 Sparks Street, the building next door in 1902. Unfortunately Henry J. Sims Co. Ltd. only lasted another 14 years in this location, and went out of business in 1916. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, January 22, 1916)</i></div></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0WWtjtNcm8A/YVswaqB_zzI/AAAAAAAAb7w/4M5gH72c8TQE7lmUc7IRvG865LsvRaplQCLcBGAsYHQ/CA%2B018923.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1553" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0WWtjtNcm8A/YVswaqB_zzI/AAAAAAAAb7w/4M5gH72c8TQE7lmUc7IRvG865LsvRaplQCLcBGAsYHQ/w621-h640/CA%2B018923.jpg" width="621" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Over the years the facade became seriously degraded through an apparent lack of maintenance (the owners expected it to be demolished for a new development). Years earlier the elaborate parapet wall at the roofline had been taken down and replaced with a much simplified cornice. This is how it appeared in the mid 1970s. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(City Archives 018923)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EMu3qMHbdwk/YVswjC3OjmI/AAAAAAAAb70/MXaf4dmFzfE8w6fH0aZuvHSTdwEXtwPHgCLcBGAsYHQ/34094121_1769795803119636_1401941522290573312_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="953" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-EMu3qMHbdwk/YVswjC3OjmI/AAAAAAAAb70/MXaf4dmFzfE8w6fH0aZuvHSTdwEXtwPHgCLcBGAsYHQ/w635-h640/34094121_1769795803119636_1401941522290573312_o.jpg" width="635" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The two most notable mid-century occupants had been Jack Snow Jewellers, who claimed to have embedded the sidewalk in front of his store with diamonds, and the Centre theatre.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PaXCW9pJdWM/YVswv1LMEUI/AAAAAAAAb78/ihP-E83FtGghnFusmrD6IKD8psm1MQn3QCLcBGAsYHQ/murphcent.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1472" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PaXCW9pJdWM/YVswv1LMEUI/AAAAAAAAb78/ihP-E83FtGghnFusmrD6IKD8psm1MQn3QCLcBGAsYHQ/w589-h640/murphcent.jpg" width="589" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In 1916 the westernmost storefront at 118 Sparks Street was converted to a lobby for a theatre which was built in behind on a Queen Street lot.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y7Mt5KYEkIo/YVsw2K5j3SI/AAAAAAAAb8E/wFqUJgwMNFM8LQ6bgU4dzccJNdxt-4hFgCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Oct_13__1915_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1205" data-original-width="2609" height="296" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y7Mt5KYEkIo/YVsw2K5j3SI/AAAAAAAAb8E/wFqUJgwMNFM8LQ6bgU4dzccJNdxt-4hFgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h296/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Oct_13__1915_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">They were certainly right when they advertised on opening day that there were no stairs to climb. The 'graceful incline' was a hairpin double ramp. Another ramp linked the auditorium with the lobby. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, October 14, 1915)</i></span><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nOk0aj4MtN0/YVsw-FTbfXI/AAAAAAAAb8I/ZulGYX5SKoUZEmwqxp7Qtd62xkzE1yD7QCLcBGAsYHQ/e010934826%2B2.jpg" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="517" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nOk0aj4MtN0/YVsw-FTbfXI/AAAAAAAAb8I/ZulGYX5SKoUZEmwqxp7Qtd62xkzE1yD7QCLcBGAsYHQ/w613-h640/e010934826%2B2.jpg" width="613" /></a></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The rear of the Centre on Queen Street, with emergency fire exits, nestled between Murphy Gamble's department store and the Dominion Methodist Church. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(LAC e010934826)</i></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AYZ1XuKzwF0/YVsxRKAOfrI/AAAAAAAAb8Y/XvvYHvsx-o4d1vs25UDIJGsBycMAdqP1ACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jul_11__1968_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1401" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AYZ1XuKzwF0/YVsxRKAOfrI/AAAAAAAAb8Y/XvvYHvsx-o4d1vs25UDIJGsBycMAdqP1ACLcBGAsYHQ/w437-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jul_11__1968_.jpg" width="437" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After significant renovations by the Odeon theatre chain the Centre became the Mall in 1968, promising to feature some hard-charging fare. For example I first saw <i>Easy Rider</i> here in 1969. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen July 11, 1968)<span style="color: #0000ee;"> </span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZsIj0bgzB10/YVsxX4GgV7I/AAAAAAAAb8g/Y2WUpVAEDkg_49-EW-BhPRWF6IHw8ieUQCLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jul_11__1968_%2Bcopy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="2048" height="350" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZsIj0bgzB10/YVsxX4GgV7I/AAAAAAAAb8g/Y2WUpVAEDkg_49-EW-BhPRWF6IHw8ieUQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h350/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jul_11__1968_%2Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Odeon dispatched one of its seasoned employees from Toronto to manage the new venture. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 11, 1968)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZJp7g9l1BQc/YVsxcpnh8gI/AAAAAAAAb8k/698jb463o1IjXWf3vqS7ZPfpliwu-oCEACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Oct_3__1973_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1710" data-original-width="2048" height="535" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZJp7g9l1BQc/YVsxcpnh8gI/AAAAAAAAb8k/698jb463o1IjXWf3vqS7ZPfpliwu-oCEACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h535/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Oct_3__1973_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The theatre was closed five years later in 1973 in advance of an imminent demolition in that was intended to clear the way the Canada Square development which never materialized. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, October 3, 1973)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-maved_gdU70/YVsxmSgyQ6I/AAAAAAAAb8s/inLGo5dG9ug65b8WQzdW2gYS-x9aaouygCLcBGAsYHQ/simsback.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="1254" height="221" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-maved_gdU70/YVsxmSgyQ6I/AAAAAAAAb8s/inLGo5dG9ug65b8WQzdW2gYS-x9aaouygCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h221/simsback.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">However demolition day eventually arrived leaving a vacant lot on Queen Street and the tatty backsides of the Sparks Street frontage. The rear of the theatre lobby (at the left) was simply walled up with concrete blocks.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iXfZiNwAwWI/YVsxvhEpeuI/AAAAAAAAb84/ddpQL5jvl8sJKV9pD9hub3v5fws9fkwUACLcBGAsYHQ/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Mar_8__1974_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1556" height="640" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iXfZiNwAwWI/YVsxvhEpeuI/AAAAAAAAb84/ddpQL5jvl8sJKV9pD9hub3v5fws9fkwUACLcBGAsYHQ/w485-h640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Mar_8__1974_.jpg" width="485" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Ottawa Squash Club briefly considered building a 15-court facility here which was to include a gymnasium, restaurant and lounge. However 'expected to open in late September' never came to pass. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, March 8, 1974)</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mfZPPRapnpI/YVsx4CBI3kI/AAAAAAAAb88/BqPfrwrYtmAICNtG-8R0Zt30rvoGWfvrQCLcBGAsYHQ/sparks2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="806" height="127" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mfZPPRapnpI/YVsx4CBI3kI/AAAAAAAAb88/BqPfrwrYtmAICNtG-8R0Zt30rvoGWfvrQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h127/sparks2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Maintaining the frontage of the Sims building and constructing a new low profile building beside it was stipulated by the development agreement.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hrNRgZb-06Q/YVsx9ZNNW4I/AAAAAAAAb9E/Yx6bBEkbdEY4XO43oEReL-Jtj7AffM2JwCLcBGAsYHQ/P3180006.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="800" height="478" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hrNRgZb-06Q/YVsx9ZNNW4I/AAAAAAAAb9E/Yx6bBEkbdEY4XO43oEReL-Jtj7AffM2JwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h478/P3180006.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">Regrettably the Toronto Dominion's modernist temple bank (designed by Mathers and Haldenby Architects, in1965) was sacrificed for the project. Here you can see the Sims' actual historic wall after it had been cleaned in preparation for restoration, and that when the upper portion had been rebuilt long ago they never bothered with matching brick.</div></span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8FxbiHCxAcw/YVsyNoN3eDI/AAAAAAAAb9Y/n4vaSROzZ-M0GJGtthyIUDYbrzBF_IpVgCLcBGAsYHQ/IMG_0009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1569" data-original-width="2048" height="491" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8FxbiHCxAcw/YVsyNoN3eDI/AAAAAAAAb9Y/n4vaSROzZ-M0GJGtthyIUDYbrzBF_IpVgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h491/IMG_0009.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Although originally dark, in its final years the old building's pressed metal trim had been painted a pale yellow to blend with the brickwork. In a grating and somewhat bilious chromatic contrast it is now a BandAid pink.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0000ee; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d1CE-H6afw8/YVsyTD9-CBI/AAAAAAAAb9c/9z93nEK317QRBQtETwCCf69vIrIvyjTIQCLcBGAsYHQ/HeatherandLittle1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="1552" height="388" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d1CE-H6afw8/YVsyTD9-CBI/AAAAAAAAb9c/9z93nEK317QRBQtETwCCf69vIrIvyjTIQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h388/HeatherandLittle1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">The recreation of the Sims' building's historic peaked cornice and window surrounds was shaped by Heather and Little, one of North America's foremost pressed metal fabricators.</div></span></div></div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-7863155551289242602020-03-27T12:27:00.001-07:002020-03-28T09:58:54.180-07:00FOUR WEEKS IN OCTOBER: THE CITY OF OTTAWA RESPONDS TO THE PANDEMIC OF 1918<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dxSYkskSz6A/Xn5KwGNDGrI/AAAAAAAAbns/h_xkl4F1Gps_qT-0-d7c7TyqlWYJZXb4gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/OCTOBER4TITLE.001%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dxSYkskSz6A/Xn5KwGNDGrI/AAAAAAAAbns/h_xkl4F1Gps_qT-0-d7c7TyqlWYJZXb4gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/OCTOBER4TITLE.001%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">By now we are all too conscious of terms like ‘flatten the curve’, ‘social distancing’ and ‘self-quarantine’. A pandemic’s behaviour has become frightening familiar. In the final days of World War I the City of Ottawa was forced to react to a monstrous public health crisis without the benefit of advanced medical science or mass communication. Yet its response showed some similarity with the actions being taken today.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The history of a local public health system in Ontario predates Confederation. In 1833 the Legislature of Upper Canada approved an Act allowing local municipalities ‘to enact Boards of Health to guard against the introduction of malignant, contagious and infectious diseases in the Province’. The City of Ottawa established its Board of Health in 1865 with the Mayor as the Chair. Part-time Medical Officers of Health were appointed from the city’s pool of doctors. The Province of Ontario’s first Public Health Act was passed in 1873.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfn6S8eg-PQ/Xn5LTLkmTHI/AAAAAAAAbn8/7NKvXzAZSuUK92j5X2AkLxt_Sc9zAEy1ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Oct_24__1918_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfn6S8eg-PQ/Xn5LTLkmTHI/AAAAAAAAbn8/7NKvXzAZSuUK92j5X2AkLxt_Sc9zAEy1ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Oct_24__1918_-001.jpg" width="456" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ottawa had already experienced acute health emergencies in the years that preceded the outbreak of the ‘Spanish Influenza’ in 1918. Communicable diseases like typhoid, tuberculosis and smallpox had previously taken their toll and tested the city’s administration which was forced to hire public health nurses and build isolation hospitals. Without the tardy but dogged leadership of Ottawa’s Mayor Harold Fisher and public health officials in place the impact of modern history’s most devastating global epidemic could have been much worse.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When the Spanish Influenza arrived in September 1918 Ottawa’s newspapers were seized with the details surrounding the last battles of WWI. There was little mention of the growing epidemic in the press until the end of that month. As deaths mounted the Board of Health issued a statement defining the symptoms of the disease and warned the public of its highly infectious nature.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fnKTSwSJbv8/Xn5PZ3593PI/AAAAAAAAbp8/D0y5n9TyYCoalgKDlBz2AtuDZWV1fsCfACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Nov_15__1918_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fnKTSwSJbv8/Xn5PZ3593PI/AAAAAAAAbp8/D0y5n9TyYCoalgKDlBz2AtuDZWV1fsCfACK4BGAYYCw/s400/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Nov_15__1918_-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Undoubtedly the several cases of influenza which have appeared recently in this community are of the type popularly known as the Spanish grippe. This disease of influenza is a virulent form. It is characterized by a sudden onset, with a high fever, but not necessarily chills. It presents at its most pronounced diffuse pains throughout the body which are most severe at the base of the skull and in the small of the back.’ </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, September 26, 1918)</i></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some days later The Journal revealed the severity of the outbreak. On Monday September 30th it reported that eight people had died over the weekend. Twenty-one had died in the previous twenty days. ‘Mayor Fisher said he thought every precaution should be taken to guard against the spread of the disease. He urged people to keep out of crowds when they felt an attack coming on, and that they should keep to themselves as much as possible in their homes.’</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHJeiBlsjeg/Xn5MBiGDcEI/AAAAAAAAboc/QqkSgZ_iIN8CdLzZR5Q4QTfumK3EIZ2UgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Oct_9__1918_%2Bcopy%2B2-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHJeiBlsjeg/Xn5MBiGDcEI/AAAAAAAAboc/QqkSgZ_iIN8CdLzZR5Q4QTfumK3EIZ2UgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Oct_9__1918_%2Bcopy%2B2-001.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the end of the week the situation had become grave. Medical staff in the city’s hospitals were down with influenza. Physicians were pushed to their limits, unable to attend many of the afflicted. Those who were not ill were taking precautionary measures to avoid the disease.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Section 56 of the <i>Public Health Act of Ontario</i> gave the municipality wide powers ‘where any communicable disease is found to exist to use all possible care to prevent the spread of disease or contagion by any means in their judgment most effective for the public safety. The Medical Officer of Health may direct that any school or seminary of learning, or any church or public hall or other place used for public gatherings or entertainment in this municipality shall be closed, and may prohibit all public assemblies.’ They were not be be re-opened without the permission of the Medical Officer of Health.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-duna-hlscqE/Xn5PJBosTOI/AAAAAAAAbps/DJ4Du28q-OYOIY_0zH8jfU7791isUAingCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Oct_5__1918_%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-duna-hlscqE/Xn5PJBosTOI/AAAAAAAAbps/DJ4Du28q-OYOIY_0zH8jfU7791isUAingCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Oct_5__1918_%2Bcopy.jpg" width="472" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On Friday, October 4th the Board of Health convened an emergency session to order the immediate closure of every school, theatre and place of public gathering. Churches were requested to discontinue their service that Sunday, and the owners of the Ottawa Electric Street Railway were directed to ventilate their cars as much a possible until further notice. ‘Such is the drastic action taken by the local Board of Health at a special meeting in the City Hall, which lasted until after midnight on Friday, to check the spread of the influenza epidemic which is reported to be increasing by the hour.’ </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Ottawa Journal, October 5, 1918)</i></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Chief of Police was then delegated to enforce the Board’s orders. Among his actions was to step in and halt a tea dance at the Chateau Laurier and charge the hotel with a ‘Evasion of a Board of Health Order’. The president of the Ottawa Retail Druggists Association announced that it had been decided to keep all drug store open on Sunday, and every day thereafter until 10 o’clock in the evening. Of course they had little to offer except patent medicines.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bsjhbh5xPpY/Xn5MmoBULUI/AAAAAAAAbo8/-FpMOsmz-qA1lQ9_Hm_Jls0lxlRYEi0LACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Oct_19__1918_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bsjhbh5xPpY/Xn5MmoBULUI/AAAAAAAAbo8/-FpMOsmz-qA1lQ9_Hm_Jls0lxlRYEi0LACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Oct_19__1918_-001.jpg" width="359" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Should the City of Ottawa have taken action weeks earlier? In hindsight it is easy to say yes, but many believed that this was the regular flu and not the Spanish type which was beginning to spread in large American cities. Once it recognized the scale of the emergency Mayor Fisher established a command centre at City Hall to track the spread and coordinate the public and private resources needed to fight the epidemic. The Mayor sent a memorandum to all heads of city departments: ‘The only important business we have in the City Hall at present is the work in connection with the epidemic. People do not cease to be sick at five o’clock. There are therefore no office hours.’</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">His first battle was to cancel major planned public gatherings like the Ontario Plowmen’s Association International Plowing Match at the Experimental Farm set for October 16t-18th. It’s an event that carries considerable political clout even to this day. Fisher’s chief opponent was Dr. J.W.S. McCullough, Chief Health Officer for Ontario who wrote ‘I have no hesitation in approving of the meeting of farmers and implement manufacturers on this occasion, as the danger from the so-called Spanish Influenza is reduced to a minimum by meeting in the open air.’ </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Ottawa Citizen, October 12, 1918)</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BFfY7LLTd_w/Xn5Oj436rdI/AAAAAAAAbpY/T8ytF7F-q9gPux6RNnReCVcyFSWscGz9wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Oct_12__1918_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BFfY7LLTd_w/Xn5Oj436rdI/AAAAAAAAbpY/T8ytF7F-q9gPux6RNnReCVcyFSWscGz9wCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Oct_12__1918_.jpg" width="453" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Alarmed that the match would attract hundreds of competitors and thousands of spectators from across the province Fisher appealed directly to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture to withdraw permission to use the Farm. Unsurprisingly unable to find a farmer willing to risk hosting it the organizers cancelled the event ‘for the safety of human life which must receive first consideration’ </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Ottawa Citizen, October 15, 1918)</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">. Several business conventions expected to arrive in the city were postponed indefinitely.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To respond directly to the outbreak temporary emergency hospitals were opened in the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park and in several of the vacated public schools. A platoon of Red Cross ambulances was organized to deliver patients to them. Ottawa’s Boy Scout troops were recruited to deliver 27,000 notices to city households on how to protect themselves against the Spanish Flu. An appeal to retired and married nurses (who were older and less likely to catch the disease) for assistance to the homes of the effected was somewhat successful. They were provided with hand-made protective caps and aprons sewn by other volunteers. Masks and gowns called ‘pneumonia jackets’ were fabricated in a sewing room at City Hall to fill the large orders placed by the hospitals.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZG3nffj16F0/Xn5P9mEmZcI/AAAAAAAAbqI/qT0SWbpXvbwtfdb6wbugSYoLpGnymEQCACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Oct_12__1918_%2Bcopy-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZG3nffj16F0/Xn5P9mEmZcI/AAAAAAAAbqI/qT0SWbpXvbwtfdb6wbugSYoLpGnymEQCACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Oct_12__1918_%2Bcopy-001.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In light of today’s actions the chief failure was not close nonessential commercial businesses and the city’s places of work. With a pre-digital and work-from-home civil service supporting the Government of Canada still in the teeth of a World War this was a challenge.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a result each department was stripped of hundreds of staff members. Business establishments like the Eaton’s Shoe Store on Sparks Street improvised. They advertised ‘For the Prevention of Spanish Influenza we will have a man in attendance continually disinfecting our establishment to prevent the spread of this epidemic.’</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Seeking to capitalize on the epidemic quack remedies abounded. The Ottawa Electric Company pushed the Branston Violet Ray Ozone Generator Inhaler. Abby’s Effervescent Salt, a mild laxative and internal cleanser was a safeguard against the danger of getting the disease. Milburn’s Heart and Nerve Pills ameliorated the after effects.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MhIWasPJvgc/Xn5QkwDQPnI/AAAAAAAAbqU/yv8PfGW4q3MgFFI8wNWHU84yMGtnWjC7QCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Oct_5__1918_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MhIWasPJvgc/Xn5QkwDQPnI/AAAAAAAAbqU/yv8PfGW4q3MgFFI8wNWHU84yMGtnWjC7QCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Oct_5__1918_.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The mortality rate continued to jump until the fourth week of October when a drop in new cases began to appear. Home nursing assistants were still caring for over 2,500 flu victims, doctors had at least 1,000 patients, and the hospitals were beyond capacity. On Monday, October 21st Mrs. A.J. Freiman who had been coordinating the effort at Lansdowne Park reported that there had been no new deaths the previous day.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the end of the month Ottawa's official death toll from Spanish Influenza stood at 540 people, a relatively small proportion of the nation's total of 55,000. However on some days almost twice as many deaths were said to have simply died from ‘pneumonia’ or ‘la grippe’ - so the total number may haven much higher. The epidemic began to depart the city as quickly as it had come, with much smaller rebound outbreaks echoing in 1919 and 1920.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-odtkj1WdAZg/Xn5LruobdFI/AAAAAAAAboI/YjC_FwAnerMNkaP--slqQK77NFzO045QQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Harold_Fisher_Statue_Ottawa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-odtkj1WdAZg/Xn5LruobdFI/AAAAAAAAboI/YjC_FwAnerMNkaP--slqQK77NFzO045QQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/Harold_Fisher_Statue_Ottawa.jpg" width="504" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were lessons learned. In 1919 Harold Fisher launched a relentless campaign to build the new Ottawa Civic Hospital - an institution that was once called ‘Fisher’s Folly’. And the Federal Government created a new branch - the Department of Health.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 16px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>All clippings: <b>The Ottawa Evening Journal </b>and <b>The Ottawa Daily Citizen</b>, September and October 1918.</i></span></div>
Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-62539156590453010862020-02-19T07:11:00.003-08:002020-02-19T07:11:46.057-08:00SCRUBBING UP THE HUNTER BUILDING: IT'S A (SAND) BLAST<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sDJeKnmRfLs/Xkx9xb8ERNI/AAAAAAAAbgc/EqtVV1lvcu46AGETgP3mPTNQ1yWS02dTACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/MiguelezCA023176-001%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="506" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sDJeKnmRfLs/Xkx9xb8ERNI/AAAAAAAAbgc/EqtVV1lvcu46AGETgP3mPTNQ1yWS02dTACK4BGAYYCw/s640/MiguelezCA023176-001%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you're under 55 or so you probably won't remember this building at all. In its final days the Hunter Building was a grimy hulk that loomed over three street frontages. Its mass was emphasized by a very deep heavily-guarded basement window well along O'Connor Street. This functioned as a dark and seemingly bottomless moat. The whole building oozed with a certain grimness, but in its way it was a significant milestone. The Hunter Building has been dealt with in two previous posts (<a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-hunter-builing-part-1.html">Part 1</a> and <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-hunter-building-part-2.html">Part 2</a>) but here is some freshly discovered additional material.</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fFJNeIyjPqI/Xkx92kcn3rI/AAAAAAAAbgk/kML08rfrLskprqGTaLaTTK58oHkke50igCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/MiguelezCA023175.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fFJNeIyjPqI/Xkx92kcn3rI/AAAAAAAAbgk/kML08rfrLskprqGTaLaTTK58oHkke50igCK4BGAYYCw/s640/MiguelezCA023175.jpg" width="516" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thirty-five years after it was first put into service the Public Works Department (for which the building was constructed) attacked the grime problem by experimenting with some abrasive action. The <i>Ottawa Journal</i> said that 'Not only is the blackened grime of years blasted off the stone; the new clean lily-white surface is given a special stay bright and light treatment.' In fact the proprietary name for the high-pressure sand-blasting was the 'Stay-Bright' treatment. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: CA023175)</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-36jBS_Jfig4/Xkx97qGIzcI/AAAAAAAAbgs/bqil5z6kX4gxuIDJbcgmCQE0ZPc0Mab_ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Apr_21__1954_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-36jBS_Jfig4/Xkx97qGIzcI/AAAAAAAAbgs/bqil5z6kX4gxuIDJbcgmCQE0ZPc0Mab_ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Apr_21__1954_.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Hunter Building was much bigger than your average guinea pig. The DPW's Deputy-Minister General Young promised that 'If it works as well as we expect and we will know in a couple of years, then we will blast down the grimed walls of other Government buildings, including the East, Centre and West Blocks.' Today cleaning buildings using high-pressure sandblasting is considered to be irreparably damaging to historic building fabric and its practice is shunned by preservationists. The Parliament Buildings were spared. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, April 21, 1954)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sQzSV42sXcw/Xkx-FHEDfiI/AAAAAAAAbg4/7yifET44etYMEPnznwEm_Emf-t-hRiWQACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/LACHunterDrawing.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sQzSV42sXcw/Xkx-FHEDfiI/AAAAAAAAbg4/7yifET44etYMEPnznwEm_Emf-t-hRiWQACK4BGAYYCw/s640/LACHunterDrawing.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The tripartite division of the Hunter Building's façade into the classically inspired elements of a column - base, shaft and capital, was a typical design device for office buildings hoping to look important. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tYzVGTWh4is/Xkx-Jcs3cmI/AAAAAAAAbhA/jcERkBVle7sZWS3Hngfc2lKlDKcsKUWIwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/HunterConstJan20-1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tYzVGTWh4is/Xkx-Jcs3cmI/AAAAAAAAbhA/jcERkBVle7sZWS3Hngfc2lKlDKcsKUWIwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/HunterConstJan20-1.jpg" width="544" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The newly completed Hunter Building was featured in the January 1920 issue of <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/construction-a-journal-for-the-architectural-engineering-and-contracting-interests-of-canada/oclc/1042538478">Construction Magazine</a>, a Canadian trade publication for architects, engineers, and contractors that is a good source for information on construction activity in the early Twentieth Century. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: Construction Magazine, January 1920)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XEtP1DNGK8I/Xkx-NVNfvyI/AAAAAAAAbhM/haH1KoXKaCw0DxYuzgoYnhVxi0k3hofXwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/LACHunterAlbertEast.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="528" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XEtP1DNGK8I/Xkx-NVNfvyI/AAAAAAAAbhM/haH1KoXKaCw0DxYuzgoYnhVxi0k3hofXwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/LACHunterAlbertEast.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For over thirty years the Hunter Building was Ottawa's largest government office building. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SMNA4HOE67M/Xkx-UV4J2TI/AAAAAAAAbhU/bSAxGo_1JJkmrdn0RMza7hdCIAYATyPCQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/HunterConstJan20-2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="544" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SMNA4HOE67M/Xkx-UV4J2TI/AAAAAAAAbhU/bSAxGo_1JJkmrdn0RMza7hdCIAYATyPCQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/HunterConstJan20-2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Hunter Building's principal entrance was on O'Connor Street (bottom). There were subsidiary entrances on Queen and Albert Streets. </span><i>(Construction Magazine, January 1920</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1-ADGgMeqFw/Xkx-ZwQKYrI/AAAAAAAAbhg/CYulNk_ZnuAjDkKoXXXzHHJ9UqnjkaYmACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/HunterConstJan20-5.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="546" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1-ADGgMeqFw/Xkx-ZwQKYrI/AAAAAAAAbhg/CYulNk_ZnuAjDkKoXXXzHHJ9UqnjkaYmACK4BGAYYCw/s640/HunterConstJan20-5.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The entrance halls were utilitarian - the only concession to the building's official purpose being marble-clad walls. The floor covering was a more modest battleship linoleum. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Construction Magazine, January 20, 1920)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-02Xsl4XAkIk/Xkx-fI_3x6I/AAAAAAAAbho/TrQGjAp5dDsNhmFU5ZFeVwGp_XL924HegCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/HunterConstJan20-6.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="544" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-02Xsl4XAkIk/Xkx-fI_3x6I/AAAAAAAAbho/TrQGjAp5dDsNhmFU5ZFeVwGp_XL924HegCK4BGAYYCw/s640/HunterConstJan20-6.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Two elevator cars with floor indicators served each lobby. The single call button was oddly distant from the doors. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Construction Magazine, January 1920)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ULfW8DMm1gw/Xkx-pzW1hjI/AAAAAAAAbh4/R9cd9m_3LxkZswc4vEJWBnQb3Ur4Q_-tACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/HunterConstJan20-3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="508" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ULfW8DMm1gw/Xkx-pzW1hjI/AAAAAAAAbh4/R9cd9m_3LxkZswc4vEJWBnQb3Ur4Q_-tACK4BGAYYCw/s640/HunterConstJan20-3.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The typical floor plan was a continuous open space for clerks and draftsmen circling around the building's perimeter. Judging by the size of the two restrooms at opposite corners of each floor (for a total of eighteen stalls and and ten urinals) there must have been a large workforce toiling away in an unsubdivided sea of desks. An inner ring of rooms faced the large central light court. The building was essentially a big square doughnut. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Construction Magazine, January 1920)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kcTcRfLk6Mg/Xkx-1cli_5I/AAAAAAAAbiE/S1bOnxc4wuQcCJLaQJyR6Ef3kTR7VmcWwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/HunterConstJan20-7.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="516" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kcTcRfLk6Mg/Xkx-1cli_5I/AAAAAAAAbiE/S1bOnxc4wuQcCJLaQJyR6Ef3kTR7VmcWwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/HunterConstJan20-7.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Hunter's seventh floor, the executive level, was divided into separated exterior-facing offices. The Minister occupied the largest one, a suite at the building's south-east corner. It was adjoined by a slightly smaller version for the Deputy-Minister (John Hunter) with equally sized rooms for the Assistant-Deputy nearby at the south-west corner. Storage and examination rooms for the Public Works Department's plans, records and scale models were stretched along the west wing.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Construction Magazine, January 1920)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p20SJn-jt-c/Xkx-7DXectI/AAAAAAAAbiQ/CNZL3HYXgVsar6mvYcGIKW9Ofa_dmLYZQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Sep_1__1922_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="544" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p20SJn-jt-c/Xkx-7DXectI/AAAAAAAAbiQ/CNZL3HYXgVsar6mvYcGIKW9Ofa_dmLYZQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Sep_1__1922_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Hunter Building was at the hub of an early technological innovation, the Government's private telephone exchange network which was put into operation on September 1, 1922. Direct calls to any department could be placed without having to be routed through the Bell Telephone's public exchanges. Those who have worked for the public service will remember having to dial '9' to get out to a public line. With the Hunter exchange at its heart the Government's initial P.B.X system was divided into eight sub-exchanges named for the buildings in which they were located - the Centre Block, Hunter, Experimental Farm, Victoria Memorial Museum, the Woods Building, the Connaught Building, the Printing Bureau and Rideau Hall. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 1, 1922)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qnyaPTTIP2Y/Xkx_GkWbd9I/AAAAAAAAbic/MmIf250MXCoiicZS4X4jUR1wpZozlmEoACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/MiguelezCA023174.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="486" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qnyaPTTIP2Y/Xkx_GkWbd9I/AAAAAAAAbic/MmIf250MXCoiicZS4X4jUR1wpZozlmEoACK4BGAYYCw/s640/MiguelezCA023174.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The building was capped by a deeply overhanging cornice, with banded elevator and mechanical penthouses peeking above it. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: CA023174)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AIcVsgr7O8s/Xkx_KzBTF7I/AAAAAAAAbio/nQUDmBV-F2IeW2hcNlM9SV4Lzo9sfoxkQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/MiguelezCA023177.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AIcVsgr7O8s/Xkx_KzBTF7I/AAAAAAAAbio/nQUDmBV-F2IeW2hcNlM9SV4Lzo9sfoxkQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/MiguelezCA023177.jpg" width="514" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the time that this window-washers stunt photo was taken in the mid-1950s the cornice had been removed for reasons of public safety (they tended to deteriorate and fall onto the sidewalk) or a gesture to modernization. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: CA0231177)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tNNY-VYfBig/Xkx_Sog17tI/AAAAAAAAbiw/O1E0Tf4-6HYz0fscdJ1uoQzf6ieWkW75gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/MiguelezCA023176.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="506" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tNNY-VYfBig/Xkx_Sog17tI/AAAAAAAAbiw/O1E0Tf4-6HYz0fscdJ1uoQzf6ieWkW75gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/MiguelezCA023176.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The lower floors of the Hunter Building were faced with panels of Tyndall limestone from Manitoba. It has been used in interior applications like the Centre Block, and exterior situations like the Canadian Museum of History and Ottawa City Hall. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: CA0231075)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eJACXC1FQBM/Xkx_bddYG5I/AAAAAAAAbi8/2K7FQfJ93-kLIgp-hunkpKQamyaGlw80gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/cll-ortho.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eJACXC1FQBM/Xkx_bddYG5I/AAAAAAAAbi8/2K7FQfJ93-kLIgp-hunkpKQamyaGlw80gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/cll-ortho.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The stone is from a friable (crumbly) bed of ancient marine critters who have left their slithering trails and some of their carcasses in the primordial mud. It's especially absorbent, likely to be damaged by air pollution, which is accelerated by aggressive cleaning with abrasive materials.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UwmJfuUBQBc/Xkx_iwst12I/AAAAAAAAbjE/tdOWsoG0WHUS6mlqHVir2fczlk1gHxDbgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jan_30__1982_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UwmJfuUBQBc/Xkx_iwst12I/AAAAAAAAbjE/tdOWsoG0WHUS6mlqHVir2fczlk1gHxDbgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jan_30__1982_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This grimy Tyndall stone pilaster shows the folly of the 1954 sandblasting. The 'Stay-Bright' treatment didn't work as well as DPW expected. The current standards for the cleaning of delicate historic masonry ranges from applications of enzyme goop that only eats the dirt to laser wands that vaporize it. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, January 30, 1982)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7-1akiHDet4/Xkx_nfD55FI/AAAAAAAAbjM/5mt8HGNwCc0GquUpTWllwz64cTNMwvRtgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Mar_21__1981_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7-1akiHDet4/Xkx_nfD55FI/AAAAAAAAbjM/5mt8HGNwCc0GquUpTWllwz64cTNMwvRtgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Mar_21__1981_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Public Works Canada put the Hunter Building up for sale in 1981. It was bought by the Metropolitan Insurance Company of Canada for a two-tower complex. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, March 21, 1981)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nw_p-hnXpRY/Xkx_vO0OmjI/AAAAAAAAbjY/-0Bo64qlDCETqBmfWWt_NVZ-U2_ui7wnQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/MiguelezCA023075.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nw_p-hnXpRY/Xkx_vO0OmjI/AAAAAAAAbjY/-0Bo64qlDCETqBmfWWt_NVZ-U2_ui7wnQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/MiguelezCA023075.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Excavation for the first tower (99 Bank Street) with the Hunter Building and the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-few-of-arthur-lebaron-weeks-buildings.html">Bryson Building</a> still in place. Behind it is the Bell Canada switching station. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i>(Photo: CA023075)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MK3cjKkxHFo/Xkx_0Mmqf7I/AAAAAAAAbjk/byIGFK-HepQvVxZk-RFt8LH7NPHVRee3ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Mar_28__1961_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MK3cjKkxHFo/Xkx_0Mmqf7I/AAAAAAAAbjk/byIGFK-HepQvVxZk-RFt8LH7NPHVRee3ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Mar_28__1961_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Not germane to the Hunter, but I wanted to fit this in. The Bell Telephone Albert Street annex was built in two parts a two-storey building built in 1961-662 and four additional storeys added in 1966-67. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, May 28, 1961)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qwHmkOaeRGQ/XkyABxx5j0I/AAAAAAAAbj8/Lu0rHrrpGgEWFeEZ_HqZkHo0CRonxdmMgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/HunterAerial85.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="516" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qwHmkOaeRGQ/XkyABxx5j0I/AAAAAAAAbj8/Lu0rHrrpGgEWFeEZ_HqZkHo0CRonxdmMgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/HunterAerial85.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bell's two-storey stage is visible in the lower portion of this 1965 aerial of the district. The size of the Hunter Building's central light court is also evident. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(geoOttawa 1965 Aerial)</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D7v3EeEq6eM/XkyAF4yelbI/AAAAAAAAbkI/oKV9QYJfLzg7874JbtbaFrcypNa7ABUNACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Oct_11__1918_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D7v3EeEq6eM/XkyAF4yelbI/AAAAAAAAbkI/oKV9QYJfLzg7874JbtbaFrcypNa7ABUNACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Oct_11__1918_.jpg" width="355" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When Deputy-Minister Hunter laid the cornerstone for the building named after him on October 10, 1918 he also sealed in a time capsule. It was a copper box containing coins, newspapers, stamps and a list of the departmental officials responsible for the project. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, October 11, 1918)</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vuD9btE78tU/XkyAJ9K962I/AAAAAAAAbkQ/jPNnrCe7_9UXTpK1ZH3WPz0s6O5Vjf5OgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jul_22__1982_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vuD9btE78tU/XkyAJ9K962I/AAAAAAAAbkQ/jPNnrCe7_9UXTpK1ZH3WPz0s6O5Vjf5OgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jul_22__1982_.jpg" width="382" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was unearthed by the demolition workers in April 1982. The contents were in good condition. They put the artifacts away and forgot to inform Metropolitan Life of their discovery. One suggestion was to house the objects in a permanent display in the lobby of their new building. The battered copper box was put into a safe at the Met Life office, and its current whereabouts is unknown. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 22, 1982)</i></span>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-56300713751536724152020-02-05T12:01:00.002-08:002020-02-05T12:01:47.271-08:0012 DAYS OF DEPARTMENT STORES #12: SOME EXCELLENT REASONS FOR SHOPPING AT OGILVY'S<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mXjqONl0TUk/XgWGLyL7S_I/AAAAAAAAbRM/RZhOf4qw12MOf0L4PgIDDaMU66biC6YmACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/485208_544713165579288_1974267356_n-003.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mXjqONl0TUk/XgWGLyL7S_I/AAAAAAAAbRM/RZhOf4qw12MOf0L4PgIDDaMU66biC6YmACK4BGAYYCw/s640/485208_544713165579288_1974267356_n-003.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is the final instalment in twelve days of department stores. Charles Ogilvy Limited was a sentimental favourite for many people. Although in its later years Ogilvy's traded on a traditional Scottish name with a daily ritual of kilt-wearing bag-pipers serenading shoppers, in its heyday Ogilvy's was an ever evolving enterprise that pursued an ambitious programme of modernization.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ecwSjwa-hD4/XgWGPGH2L3I/AAAAAAAAbRU/5HzIU0SVy8c0E4pGie4KezCIIe31IaA8gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/e010869304-v8-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="634" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ecwSjwa-hD4/XgWGPGH2L3I/AAAAAAAAbRU/5HzIU0SVy8c0E4pGie4KezCIIe31IaA8gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/e010869304-v8-001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At its peak Ogilvy's was held to be Canada's largest independently-owned department store, employing close to 1,000 people at its Rideau Street store and two suburban branches. However its final days were a long painful goodbye to decades of WASPish rectitude. Its memory has more recently been revived with some artful architectural history veneering and a public space commemoration. </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Photo: LAC e010869</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">304)</span></i><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ExGsuOD-ieg/XgWGUYKOUQI/AAAAAAAAbRc/uyZ6_pcamUoHC8ypM7mSl2a7w3oSiu85wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__May_12__1906_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ExGsuOD-ieg/XgWGUYKOUQI/AAAAAAAAbRc/uyZ6_pcamUoHC8ypM7mSl2a7w3oSiu85wCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__May_12__1906_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ogilvy had started in 1887 in the flat-roofed building at the right of this drawing. The 1906 Charles Ogilvy Limited store at Rideau and Nicholas combined steel and concrete framing for open expanses on the sales floors. Pressed buff brick and Indiana limestone detailing clads the upper two floors, while the ground level is continuous glazing. Architect W.E. Noffke added two flourishes - rooftop cresting over the main entrance and a pressed metal plaque on the store's rounded corner.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> (Ottawa Journal, May 12, 1906)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sdlv1fahgOw/XgWHtpLfl-I/AAAAAAAAbSg/RQisQnQtPXQC7HHUP6Obr3SLcHyPTfbnACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__May_10__1917_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="572" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sdlv1fahgOw/XgWHtpLfl-I/AAAAAAAAbSg/RQisQnQtPXQC7HHUP6Obr3SLcHyPTfbnACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__May_10__1917_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Noffke had designed a matching seven-bay expansion southward along Nicholas Street in 1913-1914 but the onset of WW1 postponed the project. After a three-year delay Charles Ogilvy proceeded with the extension. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, May 10, 1917)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcU8h8mZCYI/XgWGbr8vVTI/AAAAAAAAbRo/Hj6h5SjMZ-otwx2QvKdSa_RSpkQP85WCwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__May_9__1957_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcU8h8mZCYI/XgWGbr8vVTI/AAAAAAAAbRo/Hj6h5SjMZ-otwx2QvKdSa_RSpkQP85WCwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__May_9__1957_-001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">By then on-street parking had become a concern.</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XSDH6O6nQ6E/XgWHC_TCd6I/AAAAAAAAbSI/qrFSc9YF6SAfjZOiAZ9UGCojONyK70HvgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/7706923.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="462" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XSDH6O6nQ6E/XgWHC_TCd6I/AAAAAAAAbSI/qrFSc9YF6SAfjZOiAZ9UGCojONyK70HvgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/7706923.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This view highlights the deep relief 'Greek key' spandrel panels between the second and third floors, and a chunky cornice supported by modillion block brackets.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XQhW0W8fZqg/XgaIyIsxR_I/AAAAAAAAbYk/UTF1LYVq1lQ-W7oh-oW0GzUgxhoiaV75ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/601537_533371750046763_327247135_n-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XQhW0W8fZqg/XgaIyIsxR_I/AAAAAAAAbYk/UTF1LYVq1lQ-W7oh-oW0GzUgxhoiaV75ACK4BGAYYCw/s400/601537_533371750046763_327247135_n-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6mBEze08ia4/XgaI1ir9fzI/AAAAAAAAbYs/HOoXIFziGkAXTI143RXecOjE6Uod4RGPACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__May_5__1931_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6mBEze08ia4/XgaI1ir9fzI/AAAAAAAAbYs/HOoXIFziGkAXTI143RXecOjE6Uod4RGPACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__May_5__1931_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Architect A.J. Hazelgrove removed the heavy cornice and added a streamlined third floor for Ogilvy's home appliance department in 1931. Its unadorned roofline suggests that something more was to come. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, May 5, 1931)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FUPPOD9IAgY/XgWIJ60hOEI/AAAAAAAAbSs/xVlU_D2E1AE35Ug5Z3fznig_S0j3nKx2wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/485208_544713165579288_1974267356_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="528" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FUPPOD9IAgY/XgWIJ60hOEI/AAAAAAAAbSs/xVlU_D2E1AE35Ug5Z3fznig_S0j3nKx2wCK4BGAYYCw/s640/485208_544713165579288_1974267356_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hazelgrove boosted Ogilvy's to five floors in 1934. The corner plaque disappeared during the construction of this addition.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tFkElq_LfCA/XgWIQzTs4xI/AAAAAAAAbS0/-F1DBRdHgt8hL-X4zDajp0m7sUMC2eM_ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__May_9__1957_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tFkElq_LfCA/XgWIQzTs4xI/AAAAAAAAbS0/-F1DBRdHgt8hL-X4zDajp0m7sUMC2eM_ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__May_9__1957_.jpg" width="524" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Charles Ogilvy was born in 1861 on New Year's Eve in Edinburgh Scotland, and came to Canada as an infant. As a young man he worked for twelve years at Elliot and Hamilton Dry Goods. In 1887 at the age of 25 he struck out one his own. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, May 9, 1957)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dxb4JNSocns/XgWIkenzDAI/AAAAAAAAbTE/JZ0lT1GFD1YXUUvgRAdpM8jlxD_trDdCwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Ottawa_Daily_Citizen_Fri__Nov_18__1887_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dxb4JNSocns/XgWIkenzDAI/AAAAAAAAbTE/JZ0lT1GFD1YXUUvgRAdpM8jlxD_trDdCwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/Ottawa_Daily_Citizen_Fri__Nov_18__1887_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ogilvy's first store was a small shop with one clerk and a parcel boy. His wife Elizabeth did the books. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, November 18, 1887)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O7HDG2lP5VY/XgWIw2tAtqI/AAAAAAAAbTM/HDMMJaMBUwMwwZHrJfalLYA9R5VtvqaywCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jan_22__1977_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O7HDG2lP5VY/XgWIw2tAtqI/AAAAAAAAbTM/HDMMJaMBUwMwwZHrJfalLYA9R5VtvqaywCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jan_22__1977_-001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was next door to the S. and H. Borbridge saddlery into which Ogilvy would eventually expand. The image was retouched for the 90th anniversary advertising. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, January 22, 1977)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-39raY_rJMlE/XjO3azCSo1I/AAAAAAAAbfw/_1zAqG3qS1QYReUv5T40_v139aP5IvCIQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a027713.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="550" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-39raY_rJMlE/XjO3azCSo1I/AAAAAAAAbfw/_1zAqG3qS1QYReUv5T40_v139aP5IvCIQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/a027713.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He would expand into these buildings at 94-6-98 Rideau Street as well. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC a027713)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uGq9n9NtUTU/XgWJFMQaSDI/AAAAAAAAbTU/5xqXrV3N3P0hlyTqV4kDXQOJ3Raz6N9iACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/OgilvyAnniversary.001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uGq9n9NtUTU/XgWJFMQaSDI/AAAAAAAAbTU/5xqXrV3N3P0hlyTqV4kDXQOJ3Raz6N9iACK4BGAYYCw/s640/OgilvyAnniversary.001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Expansion was steady and celebrated at the fortieth and fiftieth anniversary sales. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, November 14, 1927 and November 27, 1937)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_hrqk4ZVHjM/XgblJpox81I/AAAAAAAAbbA/plyklaWvDZEJsZ-GN7ihyVl3JykabK8OACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Oct_21__1937_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_hrqk4ZVHjM/XgblJpox81I/AAAAAAAAbbA/plyklaWvDZEJsZ-GN7ihyVl3JykabK8OACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Oct_21__1937_-001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bUbtbifuwSY/XgblSKlxIUI/AAAAAAAAbbI/AseDun5fOSwwJmmzVQeqnFyYlTy9RQHaACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Oct_21__1937_-002.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bUbtbifuwSY/XgblSKlxIUI/AAAAAAAAbbI/AseDun5fOSwwJmmzVQeqnFyYlTy9RQHaACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Oct_21__1937_-002.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VucUD5bl87g/XgblWu28LHI/AAAAAAAAbbQ/jum87CwXI94zrND-7GUUb-Xsu7qmwDJTgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Oct_21__1937_-003.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VucUD5bl87g/XgblWu28LHI/AAAAAAAAbbQ/jum87CwXI94zrND-7GUUb-Xsu7qmwDJTgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Oct_21__1937_-003.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Golden Jubilee was especially important. In 1937 Charles Ogilvy marked this step in his march of progress with a store wide remodelling designed by E. Paul Behles and Associates of New York and Baltimore, specialists in modern retail design. The makeover made the store brighter and sleeker. The shoe salon (upper left) was furnished with smart green Art Deco chairs and a luxurious green carpet. The basement level (lower left) was opened for a new sporting goods department. The china department (centre) was given rich walnut fittings. Scarves, gloves, and foundation garments (centre right) were given glossy white display counters. And the fur salon (lower right) lines with sinuous louvred walls.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, October 21, 1937)</i></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EnDS-jz8F7A/XgaJSqrvmQI/AAAAAAAAbY8/EEigAkoTBxIQtCnz23evzFPXqqCnnipawCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Oct_29__1937_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EnDS-jz8F7A/XgaJSqrvmQI/AAAAAAAAbY8/EEigAkoTBxIQtCnz23evzFPXqqCnnipawCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Oct_29__1937_.jpg" width="444" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the attractions at Ogilvy's 1937 restyling event was 'Tatiana's Palace', Sir Nevile Wilkinson's gigantic dollhouse containing over 4,000 pieces of miniature furniture. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, October 29, 1937)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JZvEjZ1Ju04/XgWJ1EvddLI/AAAAAAAAbTw/sPk5BP3SH6kTN_WV7vOL_Nh0Q1z9l5kRwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/579721_543797925670812_670432947_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JZvEjZ1Ju04/XgWJ1EvddLI/AAAAAAAAbTw/sPk5BP3SH6kTN_WV7vOL_Nh0Q1z9l5kRwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/579721_543797925670812_670432947_n.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The photos used for the 1937 advertising offers more detail of the store's redesign - the sporting goods department in the basement, accessed by a chrome staircase.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8XQUQaOoDM/XgWJ6bd5uKI/AAAAAAAAbT4/mJCXjcqnh2YKwWAeqO-pc8PPQSxBUcH4ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/CA022613-W-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8XQUQaOoDM/XgWJ6bd5uKI/AAAAAAAAbT4/mJCXjcqnh2YKwWAeqO-pc8PPQSxBUcH4ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/CA022613-W-001.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ladies' wear. (Photo: CA022613)</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rQ8nO255REw/XgWJ_dbmGSI/AAAAAAAAbUA/wtxWdUV2HEcRYN3IC0Lm0MRujk_fWZRywCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/486430_532834673433804_98506864_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rQ8nO255REw/XgWJ_dbmGSI/AAAAAAAAbUA/wtxWdUV2HEcRYN3IC0Lm0MRujk_fWZRywCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/486430_532834673433804_98506864_n.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The china department.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9AdGGCN6OgQ/XgWKP4Ls_FI/AAAAAAAAbUQ/StnhjR6ZdDwTc__hrnmRFTvr_RoQsCTKQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/e010934943-v8.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9AdGGCN6OgQ/XgWKP4Ls_FI/AAAAAAAAbUQ/StnhjR6ZdDwTc__hrnmRFTvr_RoQsCTKQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/e010934943-v8.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After expansion of the Rideau and Nicholas building was complete Charles Ogilvy purchased property at the southeast corner of Nicholas and Besserer (on the right) with the intention of creating a customer parking lot. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC e010934943)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gGGRDFqhFlQ/XjR1elIt2xI/AAAAAAAAbf8/zBj_WxGe2joYZ5jXToNzfm4zfINhKOPuQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Apr_12__1950_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gGGRDFqhFlQ/XjR1elIt2xI/AAAAAAAAbf8/zBj_WxGe2joYZ5jXToNzfm4zfINhKOPuQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Apr_12__1950_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The building was converted into Ogilvy's Sportsman's Lodge selling all types of recreational gear. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 12, 1950)</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XeK4Jp6odHQ/XjsdK52SMLI/AAAAAAAAbgI/kSupKovJEOMivUqA4kkOCQvC8VKlsG6jwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jul_25__1950_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XeK4Jp6odHQ/XjsdK52SMLI/AAAAAAAAbgI/kSupKovJEOMivUqA4kkOCQvC8VKlsG6jwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jul_25__1950_.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">With the Gréber Plan in the news Ogilvy's tied the construction of their new Besserer Street annex to 'harmonize' with the National Capital Plan. 'The picture on this page illustrates a theme that has long been a part of the policy of Charles Ogilvy Limited: that city planning is a concern of everyone in the community. As one of the older businesses in Canada's Capital, Ogilvy's has endeavoured through the years to assume its share of responsibility in planning for an attractive city.' They pictured the Mackenzie King Bridge in the background, although this actual view would have been impossible. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, July 25, 1950)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Abobva7JVXo/XgWK1oG-3GI/AAAAAAAAbUo/FNyeJy9YhTcoK5QfGfvkz33BhLQlhJzqwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/27369135_1647521698680381_6831209937006958425_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Abobva7JVXo/XgWK1oG-3GI/AAAAAAAAbUo/FNyeJy9YhTcoK5QfGfvkz33BhLQlhJzqwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/27369135_1647521698680381_6831209937006958425_o.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hazelgrove and Lithwick's late Moderne Besserer Street building for Ogilvy's was primarily dedicated to home furnishings. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: CA)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZGNEuLObKU/XgWK9ZL4T-I/AAAAAAAAbUw/OooZX7xplFsLizH-cuwkQ-K3KL4NUgIHACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/CA034548-W-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZGNEuLObKU/XgWK9ZL4T-I/AAAAAAAAbUw/OooZX7xplFsLizH-cuwkQ-K3KL4NUgIHACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/CA034548-W-001.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The same firm's modernization of the Rideau Street main store was more regrettable, stripping away Noffke's 1906 bronze-framed windows for faux-gra</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">nite panels. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: CA034548)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oqvTxMo6jbU/XgWLjjSLJ5I/AAAAAAAAbVI/5KRoBTSrGGEZLHTZTJl8OnhKlhAnIWD1gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/OGILYAddition.001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oqvTxMo6jbU/XgWLjjSLJ5I/AAAAAAAAbVI/5KRoBTSrGGEZLHTZTJl8OnhKlhAnIWD1gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/OGILYAddition.001.jpg" width="578" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1960 Charles Ogilvy Limited built a three-storey extension clad in white metal panels, replacing the nineteenth century buildings at 94-98 Rideau with a sleeker building designed by Hazelgrove, Lithwick and Lambert, and Burgess and McLean (top). This was heavily damaged by fire a few years later and rebuilt with a buff brick and pink granite façade (bottom).</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2sd2uKWeZ4M/XgWLonD_-EI/AAAAAAAAbVQ/1ppsxzOwt0sscvluoCW8c32Ka_CVnRPNACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Mar_1__1961_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2sd2uKWeZ4M/XgWLonD_-EI/AAAAAAAAbVQ/1ppsxzOwt0sscvluoCW8c32Ka_CVnRPNACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Mar_1__1961_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The 1960 extension was a precursor to a much more dramatic remodelling that would have wrapped the entire 1906-17-31-34 building in white steel sheathing. This was happily postponed because of Ogilvy's suburban projects. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, March 1, 1961)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b0R2qg2QA5M/XgWMKoUq-_I/AAAAAAAAbVg/QfxJmk_WvUgyGv2ZnOCbgm8AAEHy0efogCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/OgilvyWestEnd.001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b0R2qg2QA5M/XgWMKoUq-_I/AAAAAAAAbVg/QfxJmk_WvUgyGv2ZnOCbgm8AAEHy0efogCK4BGAYYCw/s640/OgilvyWestEnd.001.jpg" width="510" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ogilvy's first suburban branch was opened at Richmond and Winona in 1955 (Hazelgrove and Lithwick Architects). The Westboro Branch building is still in use. Next door is another Ogilvy-realted building - Ogilvy's unfinished furniture factory established in the 1920s. (</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Drawing: Ottawa Citizen, February 10, 1955; Photo: Google Streetview 2012)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9dFveyXrdNY/XgWMYxBZUwI/AAAAAAAAbVo/YQTsfT4-YsQdYhWdVOtE7ts72G5c0W8TACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Nov_15__1961_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9dFveyXrdNY/XgWMYxBZUwI/AAAAAAAAbVo/YQTsfT4-YsQdYhWdVOtE7ts72G5c0W8TACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Nov_15__1961_.jpg" width="526" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The largest suburban branch was located at the Billings Bridge Plaza. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, November 15, 1961)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RXhuiC_CU-w/XgWM0ANn_vI/AAAAAAAAbV4/QcOmtF5NyV8NDlvopzaQDbFXXZ550XNTwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/OgilvysBillings.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RXhuiC_CU-w/XgWM0ANn_vI/AAAAAAAAbV4/QcOmtF5NyV8NDlvopzaQDbFXXZ550XNTwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/OgilvysBillings.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Shoppers at the Billings Bridge Walmart (formerly Target, formerly Zeller's) are experiencing the wide open spaces created by Hazelgrove, Lithwick and Lambert.</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a4ypw0r9KOs/XgWM4O5Ba6I/AAAAAAAAbWA/N0EcAGlAezkIrEOrBwlFm6L4ZT9X7xkhgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Jun_27__1967_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a4ypw0r9KOs/XgWM4O5Ba6I/AAAAAAAAbWA/N0EcAGlAezkIrEOrBwlFm6L4ZT9X7xkhgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Jun_27__1967_.jpg" width="626" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The lower right lobe in Ogilvy's Centennial symbol hints at the Lincoln Fields location, the last suburban outpost. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, June 27, 1967)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G90wMpy4KVM/XgWNPgFQ5rI/AAAAAAAAbWQ/h4kdzW9bSN4K8NZtTz32HBTagK0Rq8VoACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMGP08828.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G90wMpy4KVM/XgWNPgFQ5rI/AAAAAAAAbWQ/h4kdzW9bSN4K8NZtTz32HBTagK0Rq8VoACK4BGAYYCw/s640/IMGP08828.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ogilvy's did not play a major role in the planning and development of the Rideau Centre. By the time of its construction in the early 1980s the store was beset by financial problems and waited until the final design of the centre was completed before announcing that it would construct an extension to join the mall with an awkward link at the Besserer Street dead-end. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: Centretowner)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E45mmIJuIaY/XgWNWcxj3SI/AAAAAAAAbWY/Ej7y6TKhm-woSF4cIQIxWFp1vGOykO11QCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/OGILVY%2BCOURT.001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E45mmIJuIaY/XgWNWcxj3SI/AAAAAAAAbWY/Ej7y6TKhm-woSF4cIQIxWFp1vGOykO11QCK4BGAYYCw/s640/OGILVY%2BCOURT.001.jpg" width="456" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the early notions for the Rideau Centre pictured a covered courtyard over Besserer Street which has actually come to pass with the Simons Court at the centre.</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GNPGJDlLTZk/XgWN_0DiuvI/AAAAAAAAbXE/3PH4vae_a7ANWAmPzhl7zRpLzscAxgW4wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Sep_7__1989_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GNPGJDlLTZk/XgWN_0DiuvI/AAAAAAAAbXE/3PH4vae_a7ANWAmPzhl7zRpLzscAxgW4wCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Sep_7__1989_.jpg" width="424" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Shortly after the expansion Ogilvy's was acquired by the Hamilton-based Robinson's in 1984. They renovated the store, converted the third floor to a Bretton's, and flipped the business to a national holding company. They dropped the name of Ogilvy in 1989, closed the store in 1992, and applied to demolish the Rideau Centre connection extension. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 26, 1989)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mSC9iYWbkjU/XgWNjBTJC7I/AAAAAAAAbWk/gaF-JzafWPs9CXJWB1twmQX6QTJgNPlGwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__May_26__1993_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mSC9iYWbkjU/XgWNjBTJC7I/AAAAAAAAbWk/gaF-JzafWPs9CXJWB1twmQX6QTJgNPlGwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__May_26__1993_.jpg" width="378" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Less that ten years after it was constructed the building was demolished leaving a gaping hole that would sit empty for a further decade. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, May 26, 1993)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0wzPL_b83YQ/XgWNzCD688I/AAAAAAAAbW0/-szkiKV-i7g5_e4HQ3ESrXMvBsZ4c-vbACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/4172824091_960278e5d6_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0wzPL_b83YQ/XgWNzCD688I/AAAAAAAAbW0/-szkiKV-i7g5_e4HQ3ESrXMvBsZ4c-vbACK4BGAYYCw/s640/4172824091_960278e5d6_o.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The oldest portions of Ogilvy's survived demolition in the hope that it could be rehabilitated some day.</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LpSpZ5ti5-0/XgaIHn6l5QI/AAAAAAAAbYA/F_ppQr0_bpgZqDsmECJTt4kvBtDqsjUmgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/P2060050.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LpSpZ5ti5-0/XgaIHn6l5QI/AAAAAAAAbYA/F_ppQr0_bpgZqDsmECJTt4kvBtDqsjUmgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/P2060050.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For a time Ogilvy's entirely disappeared.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L3keQO3JQo0/XgWN5wsTaCI/AAAAAAAAbW8/90ti9EIuKJwKS5B-qKQsePYc0Wmat1EFwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2014-07-30%252Bat%252B6.33.12%252BPM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L3keQO3JQo0/XgWN5wsTaCI/AAAAAAAAbW8/90ti9EIuKJwKS5B-qKQsePYc0Wmat1EFwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/Screen%252BShot%252B2014-07-30%252Bat%252B6.33.12%252BPM.png" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The north and east walls were reconstructed using reclaimed brick and carefully recreated details designed by Barry Padolsky Associates Inc, Architects, his third Rideau Street department store project.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-whARGLD-6Hk/XgWOS_zkr-I/AAAAAAAAbXU/MMtim2GfI68yvWuWVipzZHZ3RZpoVJX6QCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/hatboxogilvys.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-whARGLD-6Hk/XgWOS_zkr-I/AAAAAAAAbXU/MMtim2GfI68yvWuWVipzZHZ3RZpoVJX6QCK4BGAYYCw/s640/hatboxogilvys.jpg" width="524" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Ogilvy's-Freiman's rivalry dominated Ottawa's department store scene for years. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: Liz MacKenzie)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8EQ8EhAc0g/XgWOarNSb3I/AAAAAAAAbXc/A4Abt3zKZr4OZ6fgo6X4fCLijZ3iqLttgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Charles-Ogilvy-1901.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8EQ8EhAc0g/XgWOarNSb3I/AAAAAAAAbXc/A4Abt3zKZr4OZ6fgo6X4fCLijZ3iqLttgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/Charles-Ogilvy-1901.jpg" width="562" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Charles Ogilvy died in 1950, having departed the store's day-to-day operations for some time. He left the business to his employees. Twenty-five years after Archibald Freiman was honoured with the renaming of Mosgrove Street, a block of Nicholas Street was officially renamed Ogilvy Square.</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S0rU8S5NzkM/XgWOgJA13WI/AAAAAAAAbXk/tUfEtdk5GIoPUmuOOB08KWz7ZmpFdHM8ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/P1010159-001.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S0rU8S5NzkM/XgWOgJA13WI/AAAAAAAAbXk/tUfEtdk5GIoPUmuOOB08KWz7ZmpFdHM8ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/P1010159-001.JPG" width="640" /></a>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-27922030088928694762020-01-29T08:57:00.001-08:002020-01-29T08:57:30.357-08:0012 DAYS OF DEPARTMENT STORES #11: ARCHIE FREIMAN'S GREAT, GREATER, GREATEST EXPANSION(S)<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t1EurF3WPqQ/XgaJvX3AEHI/AAAAAAAAbZI/9CNAPS-xQs44v7f9SW5Rx5ql1O2BSk44ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/FreimansCrop.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t1EurF3WPqQ/XgaJvX3AEHI/AAAAAAAAbZI/9CNAPS-xQs44v7f9SW5Rx5ql1O2BSk44ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/FreimansCrop.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyone who followed the interior deconstruction that preceded the 2015 makeover of the Rideau Street Hudson's Bay Company would have witnessed a perplexing array of architectural skeletons unearthed. The brief re-emergence of thick brick walls, old stone foundations, wooden floor joists, and some ancient iron and concrete was evidence that the former Freiman's department store was made from many parts. In the 'Teens and 'Twenties it was a perpetual expansion machine, and it's the last store in this series that's still standing. About those men in busby hats... typical retail stagecraft at which Freiman excelled.</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-waiuG97G6Vc/XfMV9pg4wWI/AAAAAAAAbOY/Dtjc-bIpDmskxWrXuFAq5greN1EFxih7gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Nov_27__1936_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-waiuG97G6Vc/XfMV9pg4wWI/AAAAAAAAbOY/Dtjc-bIpDmskxWrXuFAq5greN1EFxih7gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Nov_27__1936_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Department stores were called the 'P.T. Barnums of the business world'. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They traded in advertised come-ons, mammoth expansion sales and showmanship. In 1936 Santa Claus landed his gyroplane in the middle of Cartier Square, heading up a parade aimed for Freiman’s where he would open that season's Christmas window display contest. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">(</span>Ottawa Journal, November 27, 1936)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U9_xwu6fhZk/Xgpj_7erE0I/AAAAAAAAbcY/k5x19wYvYIgYdIAOprOtAtWrXpUpFPXrgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/FreimanSantaClausTrain-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U9_xwu6fhZk/Xgpj_7erE0I/AAAAAAAAbcY/k5x19wYvYIgYdIAOprOtAtWrXpUpFPXrgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/FreimanSantaClausTrain-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Twenty years later he would arrive by helicopter at Vars, Ontario and board the Freiman's Santa Claus Mystery Special bound for Ottawa's Union Station where he was greeted by a marching band, majorettes and a special proclamation read by Mayor Charlotte Whitton in full regalia.</span><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Photo: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">CSTM CN 52638)</span></i><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></i>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AsD_W80SmTE/XgajuG312nI/AAAAAAAAbaY/gDgJGv-C-Kg7TdhrKZnY2LxP9ivlEbP9gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Jun_17__1912_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AsD_W80SmTE/XgajuG312nI/AAAAAAAAbaY/gDgJGv-C-Kg7TdhrKZnY2LxP9ivlEbP9gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Jun_17__1912_-001.jpg" width="498" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1900 at the age of twenty A.J. Freiman, in partnership with Moses Cramer, established a small store at 223 Rideau Street known as the Canadian House Furnishing Company, expanding into 221 the following year. In 1904 he moved to 73 Rideau Street, steadily enlarging into premises at 75, 71, 69, and finally 81 and 83 in 1912 when he added his own name to the business. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, June 17, 1912)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-myimAh9wl_o/Xe8fGTLTehI/AAAAAAAAbF4/J85wMxfGlrQuoh1WWYaXIMH5iHw_JVyIQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Feb_24__1920_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-myimAh9wl_o/Xe8fGTLTehI/AAAAAAAAbF4/J85wMxfGlrQuoh1WWYaXIMH5iHw_JVyIQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Feb_24__1920_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">WW1 halted the pace of growth. In late 1919 he announced another big expansion which got underway the following year. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 24, 1920)</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TjczQCH0jNI/XgapslWoy_I/AAAAAAAAba0/orR6ft0VvsQ0ByBVs9GDBcW7fGtJqOKXwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Feb_24__1920_%2Bcopy-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TjczQCH0jNI/XgapslWoy_I/AAAAAAAAba0/orR6ft0VvsQ0ByBVs9GDBcW7fGtJqOKXwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Feb_24__1920_%2Bcopy-001.jpg" width="470" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The new 'Big Store' squared off his block of properties bounded by Rideau, Mosgrove and George Streets.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> (Ottawa Citizen, February 24, 1920)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9SdjaVFMPZc/XfMTL5SqyVI/AAAAAAAAbOM/F1clywic4p41wBQDjCP46Rl2_Iav0cQZQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Canada-Ottawa-1922-AJ-Freiman-Birthday-Sale-Token.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9SdjaVFMPZc/XfMTL5SqyVI/AAAAAAAAbOM/F1clywic4p41wBQDjCP46Rl2_Iav0cQZQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/Canada-Ottawa-1922-AJ-Freiman-Birthday-Sale-Token.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To celebrate its twenty-two years in business the store issued a 22nd birthday token that would save you a barrel of money.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sMIgUtjC5ss/XgaZKygeYOI/AAAAAAAAbaE/I6CwmfCDPVIq6RgthcMRJwsL9HV5pK_8gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Nov_14__1923_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sMIgUtjC5ss/XgaZKygeYOI/AAAAAAAAbaE/I6CwmfCDPVIq6RgthcMRJwsL9HV5pK_8gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Nov_14__1923_-001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After years of consolidation Freiman's tidied up the various storefronts to give them a uniform appearance. <i>'23 Years of Public Service - From a modest beginning in 1900 to Ottawa's Greatest Store in 1923 is the achievement of A.J. Freiman, Ltd. In the year 1900 the Freiman business established in a small store at 221 Rideau Street, with 700 square feet of selling space. Today... 23 years later it occupies three floors and basement at Rideau, Mosgrove and George Streets, over two and a half acres of selling floor space housing 28 departments.'</i> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, November 14, 1923)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rVur5oxxMbg/Xe8fWuPwM2I/AAAAAAAAbGQ/QxiL2Qq4FYEZTAnloTFf3DP3Z805DMSVQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Jun_1__1923_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rVur5oxxMbg/Xe8fWuPwM2I/AAAAAAAAbGQ/QxiL2Qq4FYEZTAnloTFf3DP3Z805DMSVQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Jun_1__1923_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">These continuous alterations provided the opportunity for never ending expansion sales. </span><i>(Ottawa Citizen, June 1, 1923)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7EHUpJxU2DQ/Xe8fb35a0fI/AAAAAAAAbGY/VtIE07g0TAYAf7MSmyxEgSEOu0OCZ4ETACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Sep_14__1925_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7EHUpJxU2DQ/Xe8fb35a0fI/AAAAAAAAbGY/VtIE07g0TAYAf7MSmyxEgSEOu0OCZ4ETACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Sep_14__1925_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">'Freiman's Greater Expansion' would take place in 1925 after the acquisition of the six storey Stewart Building. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 14, 1925)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ORyO-43akb4/Xe8fj5o04JI/AAAAAAAAbGk/bBckr8uszlEcTKl1bUEGSfE84s74JFSYwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Sep_14__1925_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ORyO-43akb4/Xe8fj5o04JI/AAAAAAAAbGk/bBckr8uszlEcTKl1bUEGSfE84s74JFSYwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Sep_14__1925_-001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">With that Freiman's footprint was almost complete, but it could still be expanded upward. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 14, 1925)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aPtKRjOHGAI/Xe8fpXaQOVI/AAAAAAAAbGw/J7lVj9S2p6Y3ZdEGoxKXqJpLVNpIrrMXwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/AETM00010067-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="490" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aPtKRjOHGAI/Xe8fpXaQOVI/AAAAAAAAbGw/J7lVj9S2p6Y3ZdEGoxKXqJpLVNpIrrMXwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/AETM00010067-001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">'An Enlarged Store To Render Better Service. This addition makes it possible for us to greatly enlarge almost every department of the store; thus tremendously increasing shopping facilities. Come and see the enlarged Freiman's, and profit by the special values we are offering as inducements during this Expansion Sale.' </span><i>(Ottawa Journal, June 26, 1925)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ka66ncBwK70/Xe8fv4m090I/AAAAAAAAbG4/cZx6lJrEKpIC2pzYhvr9Kg4bwiqCHlJNQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Sep_29__1926_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="514" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ka66ncBwK70/Xe8fv4m090I/AAAAAAAAbG4/cZx6lJrEKpIC2pzYhvr9Kg4bwiqCHlJNQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Sep_29__1926_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1925-26 the collection of three storey Rideau Street store fronts was rebuilt in limestone with classicized details (J. Albert Ewart, Architect). 'The entire Rideau Street front and Mosgrove Street side of the building have been reconstructed. Imposing white cut stone walls now take the place of brick, and new windows flood the store with daylight. On the Main Floor, Rideau Street front, all-glass arcade windows have been installed practically doubling the window display space and greatly enhancing the appearance of the store. The arcade provides a sheltered promenade, from which the window displays may be viewed.Besides the two former entrances on Rideau Street new doorways have been installed in the centre of the arcade for the convenience of shoppers.' A final chunk on George Street at the rear of the former Stewart Building was also added. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 29, 1926)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mB5yiKIEwlE/XgaQPVOZOII/AAAAAAAAbZU/mApbmMiJN9sZR8hWG8V0CN40hFi5TffHQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/P1010141.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mB5yiKIEwlE/XgaQPVOZOII/AAAAAAAAbZU/mApbmMiJN9sZR8hWG8V0CN40hFi5TffHQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/P1010141.JPG" width="504" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1983 pieces of the Mosgrove Street façade were carefully removed and reinstalled in the store's interior as part of The Bay's expansion.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sL1lmSC57jk/XgapSXhsOrI/AAAAAAAAbao/8DPCTAj42JgGX7O7QgjLfoCyC4PV6vtmQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/tspa_0107564f-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="544" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sL1lmSC57jk/XgapSXhsOrI/AAAAAAAAbao/8DPCTAj42JgGX7O7QgjLfoCyC4PV6vtmQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/tspa_0107564f-001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Freiman's pure white stone and monogrammed awnings were a fairly suave addition to Rideau Street's predominately nineteenth century architecture. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: Toronto Public Library)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q42HvI5hRhU/XjG0p4NHk7I/AAAAAAAAbfU/j3y91nP9sDkNkkG0Uo9l4ipHGkU_2VKuQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__May_11__1955_%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q42HvI5hRhU/XjG0p4NHk7I/AAAAAAAAbfU/j3y91nP9sDkNkkG0Uo9l4ipHGkU_2VKuQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__May_11__1955_%2Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The final phase of the Freiman story although this rendering is a stretch, lengthwise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WufQm0PbP28/XjG112GZQiI/AAAAAAAAbfg/P0yJpdDm-i8BZ99v9jFVp7lCYFAENR5QwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/rideaufreimans.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WufQm0PbP28/XjG112GZQiI/AAAAAAAAbfg/P0yJpdDm-i8BZ99v9jFVp7lCYFAENR5QwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/rideaufreimans.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">With the last extension it was Ottawa's largest store.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--m7LuzEj3wI/Xgpq7U8zZzI/AAAAAAAAbck/MIM5dUfPzO0t89cIXyDxfo-OUeevFmqYQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Dec_31__1928_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--m7LuzEj3wI/Xgpq7U8zZzI/AAAAAAAAbck/MIM5dUfPzO0t89cIXyDxfo-OUeevFmqYQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Dec_31__1928_-001.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A.J. Freiman rounded out the 1920s with a really big expansion bringing the store to five acres of floor space, still two acres smaller than the A.E. Rea department store of 1913. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, December 31, 1928)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hzYpwu1uumc/Xe8f7f7pipI/AAAAAAAAbHU/EWUEiSsVGno0wNp4WoOzfuZpOwPjKuTvwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Aug_29__1929_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="568" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hzYpwu1uumc/Xe8f7f7pipI/AAAAAAAAbHU/EWUEiSsVGno0wNp4WoOzfuZpOwPjKuTvwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Aug_29__1929_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This was the most complicated project to date, manoeuvring two floors of steel on top of the melange of older buildings while maintaining normal business operations. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 29, 1929)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-29Gdy7D9ZME/Xe8gB4B906I/AAAAAAAAbHg/rgy-3c6kgucEf57nXoBGYNSae7KUOT0pACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jan_1__1929_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-29Gdy7D9ZME/Xe8gB4B906I/AAAAAAAAbHg/rgy-3c6kgucEf57nXoBGYNSae7KUOT0pACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jan_1__1929_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Freiman's New Year's Day wishes of 1929 had hinted at the final outcome. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, January 1, 1929)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-guxAzsKZORg/Xe8gLz-Ss2I/AAAAAAAAbHw/9sGVduDl71YuP15iTwud5Q16S1X5BQo4ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__May_19__1939_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="572" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-guxAzsKZORg/Xe8gLz-Ss2I/AAAAAAAAbHw/9sGVduDl71YuP15iTwud5Q16S1X5BQo4ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__May_19__1939_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In May of 1939 the store was being readied for the excitement and increased customer traffic that would attend the upcoming Royal Tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, May 19, 1939)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ARwxzL3vrto/Xe8iwTMLWFI/AAAAAAAAbIQ/lzZUnk8ChysrQPqT9NYob2CxSp0AiubeQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/AETM00010065.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ARwxzL3vrto/Xe8iwTMLWFI/AAAAAAAAbIQ/lzZUnk8ChysrQPqT9NYob2CxSp0AiubeQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/AETM00010065.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Most of Ottawa's public and large commercial buildings were decorated for the occasion, but to say that A.J. Freiman pulled out all the stops would be an understatement.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> (Photo: LAC)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1h_82SRJIfU/XfLPrjE9QnI/AAAAAAAAbK8/NJPUoe5zRRomy-ukXIf5zTTsLDTLI0tCgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/MusgroveRideauNorth.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1h_82SRJIfU/XfLPrjE9QnI/AAAAAAAAbK8/NJPUoe5zRRomy-ukXIf5zTTsLDTLI0tCgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/MusgroveRideauNorth.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Mosgrove Street side of Freiman's disappeared with the HBC's expansion of the early 1980s. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1l8GwLvq8RA/XgfwFTzzKEI/AAAAAAAAbbg/FLldBMQx5r0i7JF6IhLNvs61uBCeZ3e3wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/freiman_mall_ottawa_rideau_centre_street_2013_1376751543.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="438" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1l8GwLvq8RA/XgfwFTzzKEI/AAAAAAAAbbg/FLldBMQx5r0i7JF6IhLNvs61uBCeZ3e3wCK4BGAYYCw/s640/freiman_mall_ottawa_rideau_centre_street_2013_1376751543.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A matching shot from pastottawa.com provides a more up to date view.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1rMgEBLuPpc/XfLVmgojqCI/AAAAAAAAbNc/tKZd_kZ1bn4F4abftlpg81g0MxkQ7zj5gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/P1010139-001.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1rMgEBLuPpc/XfLVmgojqCI/AAAAAAAAbNc/tKZd_kZ1bn4F4abftlpg81g0MxkQ7zj5gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/P1010139-001.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The stone facing of the 1926 and 1929 remodelling is still in good shape, but the window frames and cornice are in need of repainting.</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KynjiYxbyK8/XgaQf7vR3bI/AAAAAAAAbZg/MRS-QB0mZUU5rqN7C4jPG6URrxNhAf9OgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Jan_5__1949_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KynjiYxbyK8/XgaQf7vR3bI/AAAAAAAAbZg/MRS-QB0mZUU5rqN7C4jPG6URrxNhAf9OgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Jan_5__1949_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Full range grocery departments had been a mainstay in most Ottawa's largest department stores until the 1920s when national grocery chains like Loblaw Cos. and the Dominion Stores arrived. A.J. Freiman reintroduced the concept by teaming up with the Montreal based Steinberg's to open a grocery store in Freiman's basement. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, January 5, 1949)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5LNI8eLMLzo/XfLRdevoa6I/AAAAAAAAbL0/ND_Dsa2eztUbkCVX37I6cvsLMH_15ejqwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/927-01.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="498" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5LNI8eLMLzo/XfLRdevoa6I/AAAAAAAAbL0/ND_Dsa2eztUbkCVX37I6cvsLMH_15ejqwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/927-01.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Judging by the pre-Christman rush of 1949 when the check-out lines were running full bore it was quite popular. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: Malak)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P8zTzjKHAnI/XgaQ237f-yI/AAAAAAAAbZs/3IMxZA11pVU5pXQf6SYn66sQ6RKnB_C9ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jul_24__1958_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P8zTzjKHAnI/XgaQ237f-yI/AAAAAAAAbZs/3IMxZA11pVU5pXQf6SYn66sQ6RKnB_C9ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jul_24__1958_.jpg" width="620" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1958 Freiman's Supermarket took over the operation. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 1958)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1HIj10VUTWQ/XgrQCbMcIgI/AAAAAAAAbcw/wJ8YbH5A-3sm9LMjCfia7C8FjR2Z7LiuQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jan_22__1959_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1HIj10VUTWQ/XgrQCbMcIgI/AAAAAAAAbcw/wJ8YbH5A-3sm9LMjCfia7C8FjR2Z7LiuQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Jan_22__1959_.jpg" width="552" /></a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You could phone in your grocery order, have it filled by supervised shoppers, delivered to your home, and charge it to Freiman's Charga-Plate. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, January 22, 1959)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AqsfKj474hI/XfLRhPL5WxI/AAAAAAAAbL8/-54aeUNeVQEWn9N_RfF7uXZ8soxKpUeYQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/CA004548-W-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AqsfKj474hI/XfLRhPL5WxI/AAAAAAAAbL8/-54aeUNeVQEWn9N_RfF7uXZ8soxKpUeYQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/CA004548-W-001.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They also built a new travertine lined stairway down to the lower level grocery store. The Freiman's Supermarket experiment only lasted a few years. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: CA994548)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l0GI4tehaDE/XfLRnRWcj9I/AAAAAAAAbME/xRkPIszbtLYvfEXYSnbZ69CO2Xdta_ahACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/P1010158.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l0GI4tehaDE/XfLRnRWcj9I/AAAAAAAAbME/xRkPIszbtLYvfEXYSnbZ69CO2Xdta_ahACK4BGAYYCw/s640/P1010158.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It remains remarkably unaltered to this day - one of the last Freiman artefacts in the store.</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NZ3nGV1HpzM/XfLWiO_IzEI/AAAAAAAAbOA/GkBfcPAm1gASWmdzgLihepEgAke4dmNsgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/P1010060.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NZ3nGV1HpzM/XfLWiO_IzEI/AAAAAAAAbOA/GkBfcPAm1gASWmdzgLihepEgAke4dmNsgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/P1010060.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Their antique escalators are another. 'A building permit has been granted at City Hall for the installation of an electric escalator in the department store of A.J. Freiman, Limited at a cost of $150,000. Work has already begun on the moving stairway which will have landings at the first, second and third floors. Plans submitted at City Hall include the future extension of the escalators to the fourth and fifth floors. The escalators are being supplied by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation and the steel by the Dominion Bridge Company.' </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, August 31, 1951)</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> It wasn't Ottawa's first. That honour went to the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2015/05/metropolitan-stores.html">Metropolitan Store</a> across the street.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vSueOmAeeFo/XfLP5UZc3TI/AAAAAAAAbLE/4ewr7wfSofICe5kld4HNkJT4P5i0xk20wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/CA038060-W.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vSueOmAeeFo/XfLP5UZc3TI/AAAAAAAAbLE/4ewr7wfSofICe5kld4HNkJT4P5i0xk20wCK4BGAYYCw/s640/CA038060-W.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Freiman's would usher in a first in another area of shopping convenience. In 1956 plans were developed for a partially enclosed parking garage at the Freedman property on George Street in partnership with the City of Ottawa Parking Authority. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: CA038060)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m8SMeBxU8ls/XfLP9xa4CnI/AAAAAAAAbLQ/uukvaBRxYzAt2El7SzPx3bOVPJdgSoF3wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a4parkinggarage25april1956.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m8SMeBxU8ls/XfLP9xa4CnI/AAAAAAAAbLQ/uukvaBRxYzAt2El7SzPx3bOVPJdgSoF3wCK4BGAYYCw/s640/a4parkinggarage25april1956.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The garage as conceived by architects Smith, Hinchman and Grylis of Detroit would stretch through to York Street.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Ottawa Journal, April 25, 1956)</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C6vvl2yL244/XfLQB0251PI/AAAAAAAAbLY/9OiVRC5mBAI6ktdhlxmy3UmPvBy9Rj2eACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a9BayParkade.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C6vvl2yL244/XfLQB0251PI/AAAAAAAAbLY/9OiVRC5mBAI6ktdhlxmy3UmPvBy9Rj2eACK4BGAYYCw/s640/a9BayParkade.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After the Freedman proposal was abandoned Freiman picked up the ball and built its own parking structure designed by J.P. Thompson of Windsor.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0EsfkOpXhuY/XfLQtSaQ_jI/AAAAAAAAbLo/FEGB4fw2bSMhHKdu9Yu09VP3tq_FIvO1ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/P1010058-001.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="592" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0EsfkOpXhuY/XfLQtSaQ_jI/AAAAAAAAbLo/FEGB4fw2bSMhHKdu9Yu09VP3tq_FIvO1ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/P1010058-001.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was connected to the store by a long winding tunnel under George Street. Here is one of the last known sightings.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JRK43PO-bCw/XfLSBdbEkHI/AAAAAAAAbMY/4Aue0thoL8ImTZQIBmyojO_XcYU6Pfa0wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Freimans65.001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JRK43PO-bCw/XfLSBdbEkHI/AAAAAAAAbMY/4Aue0thoL8ImTZQIBmyojO_XcYU6Pfa0wCK4BGAYYCw/s640/Freimans65.001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On January 23 the 'Up Tempo Girls' announced a new look for Freiman's which we called Up Tempo for '65. We said we had begun a 'bold and dashing programme' and that 'on completion Freiman's will be one of the most exciting stores in Canada.' Phase One (the store for Men) now complete will give you an idea of 'how exciting a men's store can be.' The bold new look in merchandise and decor is unrivalled. <b>Architects and Consultants: John B. Parkin Associates, Toronto, Welton Becket and Associates, Los Angeles, Daniel Schwartzman, New York.</b> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 2, 1965)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IeKmOLYt9tc/XfLSJpe_9JI/AAAAAAAAbMg/mFVWdsQIuLki5fARjo5a5XAtXwJ67ScnACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sun__May_1__2005_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IeKmOLYt9tc/XfLSJpe_9JI/AAAAAAAAbMg/mFVWdsQIuLki5fARjo5a5XAtXwJ67ScnACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sun__May_1__2005_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They had promised a top to bottom makeover designed by two of North America's most important architectural practices, but during the 1960s Freiman's improvements were largely incremental, an upgraded department here and there.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7wWefF0BUDQ/XgaVu5VHKeI/AAAAAAAAbZ4/75rAmvdCjG0VQb7updK4BmykNOPT6EbdgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Dec_31__1971_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="528" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7wWefF0BUDQ/XgaVu5VHKeI/AAAAAAAAbZ4/75rAmvdCjG0VQb7updK4BmykNOPT6EbdgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Dec_31__1971_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the beginning of the 1970s there was a major corporate change. As of January 1, 1972 Freimans would become part of the Hudson's Bay Company which retained the Freiman name on the store for a further two years. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, December 31, 1971)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iCdJHZa67to/XfLSPyy704I/AAAAAAAAbMo/NDC7_UP3vQ0qG6k67pMAARubN1X64cxyACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/doc04281520140228135355_001-1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iCdJHZa67to/XfLSPyy704I/AAAAAAAAbMo/NDC7_UP3vQ0qG6k67pMAARubN1X64cxyACK4BGAYYCw/s640/doc04281520140228135355_001-1.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The ground floor would eventually be swallowed up by the Rideau Transit Mall's covered sidewalk which were really just rank sheds, not the lacy pavilions that were promised. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: OPL)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S2oTsbrVYQ0/XfLSUJ4QbdI/AAAAAAAAbM0/TdYmptIZ7mYyqLAbCnyCXe19FpWhM98TQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/P3060071.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S2oTsbrVYQ0/XfLSUJ4QbdI/AAAAAAAAbM0/TdYmptIZ7mYyqLAbCnyCXe19FpWhM98TQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/P3060071.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Rideau Centre brought other additions, with two holes punched into the store for the covered skywalks.</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MKQnoP_eYIY/XggrNLttwdI/AAAAAAAAbbs/ARy6eRNHiA4ZnzcWBau2-DsBCWlAmlfAgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/P1010082_01.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MKQnoP_eYIY/XggrNLttwdI/AAAAAAAAbbs/ARy6eRNHiA4ZnzcWBau2-DsBCWlAmlfAgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/P1010082_01.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When the HBC was updating its signage they uncovered parts of the Freiman 'Ottawa's Greatest Store' sign painted on the side of the Stewart Building which had escaped the Bay's brown paint.</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sG5TARHxSh4/XggrXCT1ONI/AAAAAAAAbb0/VhIAqKhZR6c3R_FVO5-FYsTk0iJaHqbxACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/CA037018-W.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sG5TARHxSh4/XggrXCT1ONI/AAAAAAAAbb0/VhIAqKhZR6c3R_FVO5-FYsTk0iJaHqbxACK4BGAYYCw/s640/CA037018-W.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It had been buried by this large illuminated sign. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: CA037018)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Quk0FHEqqr0/XjGzIVPKdvI/AAAAAAAAbfI/H-hS1vrrTdgfxlp1WQ7Ep9HfM7TqV2dNgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/e011074422-v8-002.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="462" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Quk0FHEqqr0/XjGzIVPKdvI/AAAAAAAAbfI/H-hS1vrrTdgfxlp1WQ7Ep9HfM7TqV2dNgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/e011074422-v8-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Seen here at night.</span> <i>(Photo: LAC Malak e11074422)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dRd__0vYCa8/XfLSZSg4yoI/AAAAAAAAbNA/qRggFHRQGQw0nM52R3JAZgt9C9HVTj0QgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/FreimansStreet18.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dRd__0vYCa8/XfLSZSg4yoI/AAAAAAAAbNA/qRggFHRQGQw0nM52R3JAZgt9C9HVTj0QgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/FreimansStreet18.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once removed the Rideau Centre's elevated walkway scar was nicely patched with matching limestone. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Google Streetview, 2019)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XsE_OfvkJi8/XfLV3Lc3a3I/AAAAAAAAbNo/GLQN9Z00vlYNgv88kmvPdFQQR6sQFJ0qwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/hatboxfreimans.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XsE_OfvkJi8/XfLV3Lc3a3I/AAAAAAAAbNo/GLQN9Z00vlYNgv88kmvPdFQQR6sQFJ0qwCK4BGAYYCw/s400/hatboxfreimans.jpg" width="393" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Freiman's signature duck egg blue - a throwback to a colour used by stores like Tiffany and Co, and Fortnum and Mason.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q59ainop_dM/XgkGvesKpXI/AAAAAAAAbcM/E7kgfNRr1lgYByYjF9SsRPeW72sUxqSKQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Sep_13__1920_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q59ainop_dM/XgkGvesKpXI/AAAAAAAAbcM/E7kgfNRr1lgYByYjF9SsRPeW72sUxqSKQCK4BGAYYCw/s400/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Sep_13__1920_-001.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the leader of Ottawa's Jewish community, President of the Canadian Zionist Organization, and Vice-President of the Canadian Jewish Congress A.J. Freiman and his wife Lillian were tireless philanthropists. Until his death the store was closed for the High Holidays. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 13, 1920)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ljlat4UoBuo/XfLVOuj_QXI/AAAAAAAAbNQ/UtTgfKrIz3QbrSUr53sSuriOIpaIV5ZxACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/FreimanPlaque.001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ljlat4UoBuo/XfLVOuj_QXI/AAAAAAAAbNQ/UtTgfKrIz3QbrSUr53sSuriOIpaIV5ZxACK4BGAYYCw/s640/FreimanPlaque.001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The former Mosgrove Street road allowance which now runs through the store was leased to the HBC and re-named the Freiman Mall in 1983.</span><br />
<br />
<br />Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7864909542623421011.post-91384326031915913742020-01-22T08:27:00.000-08:002020-01-22T08:27:07.044-08:0012 DAYS OF DEPARTMENT STORES #10: THE DALY BUILDING'S DILEMMAS AND DISASTERS<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aJiHCa155-0/Xe2TabswXhI/AAAAAAAAbEY/FEAWKJ6LRzQqpB20jmwNWScvKVF-2ixFgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/19535590740_57cb9ba7f9_b-003.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aJiHCa155-0/Xe2TabswXhI/AAAAAAAAbEY/FEAWKJ6LRzQqpB20jmwNWScvKVF-2ixFgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/19535590740_57cb9ba7f9_b-003.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The city's longest running heritage debate. A building that was admired by some people and hated by more. Its origins are bound up with the stories of three hard charging entrepreneurs whose careers ended in death or disgrace, sometimes both. The building was then dragged through decades of bureaucratic manoeuvres and bickering over planning directions for the national capital. The Daly Building is a grey ghost that hangs over Ottawa to this day. For the first fourteen of its eighty-six year lifespan this sturdy stone and glass box was the city's greatest department store bearing the personal stamps of Herbert J. Daly, Andrew Edward Rea, and Thomas M. Lindsay.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0heV4S-26RI/Xe2Te36oHTI/AAAAAAAAbEg/uewhAczA3zs_w1cdRsHX4Am1C1i8ZAnYgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/15-e1464611421615.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="556" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0heV4S-26RI/Xe2Te36oHTI/AAAAAAAAbEg/uewhAczA3zs_w1cdRsHX4Am1C1i8ZAnYgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/15-e1464611421615.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1889 Thomas Lindsay opened a business in Uppertown in partnership with H.H. Lang, trading under the name of Lang and Lindsay at the northwest corner of Wellington and Kent Streets. They were general dry goods merchants. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i>(Photo: LAC e1464615)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fWKV2TQo0xo/XerNuKWpnvI/AAAAAAAAbCI/0vH6dlvGqTYYKLt_DMqO7tKMEdMG7AISACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/16-e1464611437879.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="546" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fWKV2TQo0xo/XerNuKWpnvI/AAAAAAAAbCI/0vH6dlvGqTYYKLt_DMqO7tKMEdMG7AISACK4BGAYYCw/s640/16-e1464611437879.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The partnership dissolved amicably after three years. The new T. Lindsay Co. grew steadily, expanding into most of this row which became known as 'Lindsay's Corner', pictured here in later years. By the turn of the century he was running out of space. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC e164616)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_y4MBjaGCc/XeqXQiFqO7I/AAAAAAAAa6k/R71AOlOjNb4-xKRHFPoIfjqRsek8qvMkgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Feb_9__1901_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4_y4MBjaGCc/XeqXQiFqO7I/AAAAAAAAa6k/R71AOlOjNb4-xKRHFPoIfjqRsek8qvMkgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Sat__Feb_9__1901_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1901 Tom Lindsay hired Moses C. Edey to design a new department store that would have extended the whole block on the east side of Bank from Sparks to Wellington. 'As may be seen the proposed building is of mammoth proportions and of handsome design, intended to be at once an architectural ornament to the busy and important site, now the centre of the business part of the city, and large enough to accommodate the business transacted therein - the Eaton Departmental Store of Ottawa.' The T. Eaton Co. franchise did not materialize and Lindsay shelved this ambitious plan. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, February 9, 1901)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4LANmEMV_5E/XeqXUGqnW2I/AAAAAAAAa6s/0F9uOBmZ_GciA3IzVpiIlRF5Z9wUuzfcgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jun_21__1904_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4LANmEMV_5E/XeqXUGqnW2I/AAAAAAAAa6s/0F9uOBmZ_GciA3IzVpiIlRF5Z9wUuzfcgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Tue__Jun_21__1904_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lindsay's next move was more fruitful when he was attracted to a speculative real estate venture on a block of Rideau between Sussex and Mackenzie being developed by the Clemow-Powell estate. After the investors' plan for a railway hotel on the property was scooped by the Canada Atlantic Railway (for the future Chateau Laurier) they seized on the idea of a department store and joined forces with Lindsay, who brought Edey into the project. The architect's initial scheme was a heavy mass that dealt uneasily with its steeply sloping site. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, June 21, 1904)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2UJm-7H0wW4/XeqXXe4-4lI/AAAAAAAAa60/G-GiHgTA9fEDItWuB7H25XGj5MIbrygcQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Mon__Jul_25__1904_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2UJm-7H0wW4/XeqXXe4-4lI/AAAAAAAAa60/G-GiHgTA9fEDItWuB7H25XGj5MIbrygcQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Mon__Jul_25__1904_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">While some adjustments to the drawing had magically adjusted the grade problem Edey hadn't improved the store's stodgy architectural style. Expectations were raised when William Powell, the Clemow estate's trustee, visited the new R.H. Macy store on Herald Square, New York and returned to Ottawa promising that the new T. Lindsay Co. would be modelled on the biggest, most modern department store in the world. It would be a palace he said. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Journal, July 25, 1904)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UWQlk7u-wPo/XeqXfqXXz0I/AAAAAAAAa7I/3xbPIK6Ysz8mBTWgDREtR4t3wOUP6uJugCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Ogilvy_store_St_Catherine_%2526_Mountain_Montreal_1906.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="528" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UWQlk7u-wPo/XeqXfqXXz0I/AAAAAAAAa7I/3xbPIK6Ysz8mBTWgDREtR4t3wOUP6uJugCK4BGAYYCw/s640/Ogilvy_store_St_Catherine_%2526_Mountain_Montreal_1906.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For its architectural inspiration James Ogilvy's department store in Montreal was a closer source. Montreal's earlier 'stone skeletons' with heavy masonry facing applied to the structural frame leaving openings for large plate glass to admit natural light were a pioneering format for future commercial buildings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C-RxH0EreFI/Xe2cSK5DUTI/AAAAAAAAbFE/tGzRgtAtlZ4p3Dn9HssgHjI62P_F4AmxgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a042327-v8.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C-RxH0EreFI/Xe2cSK5DUTI/AAAAAAAAbFE/tGzRgtAtlZ4p3Dn9HssgHjI62P_F4AmxgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/a042327-v8.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was a style that <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2016/04/more-moses-chamberlain-edey-to-daly.html">Edey</a> would return to again when designing a printing plant on Sparks Street shortly after the T. Lindsay store was opened. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC a042327)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8gsKvaJ39Qc/Xeqy3spD2-I/AAAAAAAAbAE/kRMq1aF3woYdDAYuu9WfggnGQkILD4JfgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jun_10__1905_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8gsKvaJ39Qc/Xeqy3spD2-I/AAAAAAAAbAE/kRMq1aF3woYdDAYuu9WfggnGQkILD4JfgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Jun_10__1905_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lindsay and his backers turned the sod for 'Ottawa's new palatial store' on September 10, 1904. It was ready to open nine months later. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, June 10, 1905)</i></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AQO_25wJsrg/XeqhNZtn9UI/AAAAAAAAa_4/wg2kjQtCfNQPPO82_Jh-02HTkQZMF_vIgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/t.lindsaydeptstore.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AQO_25wJsrg/XeqhNZtn9UI/AAAAAAAAa_4/wg2kjQtCfNQPPO82_Jh-02HTkQZMF_vIgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/t.lindsaydeptstore.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The sheer nakedness of its concrete-encased steel column and beam framing system was startling. With transparent exterior walls that seemed to disappear the department store's design was commonly derided as the 'bird-cage' style of architecture. However there were luxurious appointments inside. Those large tripartite windows with pivoting side panels that could be swung out for ventilation were mahogany veneered. The flooring was highly polished birchwood, and custom made display counters were of figured walnut. In addition to all of the expected departments - men's, ladies' and children's wear, jewellery, hats, furs, home furnishings, hardware and a grocery store there was a drawing room on the second level for customers needing to put their feet up, with an adjoining ladies' lounge and writing room. Elsewhere a restaurant and tea room catered to the peckish. Public restrooms were located on every floor.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oGaZZ9xr51w/XerOAG-JAlI/AAAAAAAAbCU/4xd4zxJikrcHUhwV77yOk1bWVJx95f2eACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Aug_3__1909_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oGaZZ9xr51w/XerOAG-JAlI/AAAAAAAAbCU/4xd4zxJikrcHUhwV77yOk1bWVJx95f2eACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Aug_3__1909_.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the Summer of 1909 Thomas Lindsay became seriously ill and started negotiations with a potential buyer to assume control of the business. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, August 3, 1909)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nymVQ3eTW_A/Xeq0Uu5aDFI/AAAAAAAAbA0/QXrJZh1N4sAuQ1YqV8CrF_NEd4CXR6-4wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Sep_15__1909_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nymVQ3eTW_A/Xeq0Uu5aDFI/AAAAAAAAbA0/QXrJZh1N4sAuQ1YqV8CrF_NEd4CXR6-4wCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Sep_15__1909_.jpg" width="425" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The take-over deal was being concluded at the time of his death. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 15, 1909)</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3N-QhPzLz1E/Xeq1w6Tv6_I/AAAAAAAAbBY/msbffEIqZAkOUozbEq8XXQHADQ4-NNNJwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/AEReaBio-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3N-QhPzLz1E/Xeq1w6Tv6_I/AAAAAAAAbBY/msbffEIqZAkOUozbEq8XXQHADQ4-NNNJwCK4BGAYYCw/s400/AEReaBio-002.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Successful Toronto business magnate Andrew Edward Rea was 36 when he assumed control of Lindsay's store.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aFzull2XpU0/Xeq10qB4qII/AAAAAAAAbBg/Lc7fb_h4drsSQhmpGDY7oSFrasGwj7enwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Dec_24__1909_%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aFzull2XpU0/Xeq10qB4qII/AAAAAAAAbBg/Lc7fb_h4drsSQhmpGDY7oSFrasGwj7enwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Dec_24__1909_%2Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1900 he established a white wear clothing factory in Toronto, then invested in heavy machinery and oil companies, and acquired Crosley's large department store in Montreal, shown here as something closely resembling his future Ottawa store. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, December 24, 1909)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FDpoV9VZZrU/XhQPKL1yvpI/AAAAAAAAbdw/bajVegA42Dw0d22Vs4Q5lcjYiJ_32MASQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/ConstMagAugust1911.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="630" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FDpoV9VZZrU/XhQPKL1yvpI/AAAAAAAAbdw/bajVegA42Dw0d22Vs4Q5lcjYiJ_32MASQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/ConstMagAugust1911.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This was another of A.E. Rae's Montreal stores, designed by A.F. Dunlop and operated as Goodwin's Limited.</span> (Construction Magazine, August 1911)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wkXmr0Bgsd4/XifF7qHiFmI/AAAAAAAAbeA/B3fp1FsUOXc6a_TZDBCY2BGDScvgQpp8ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Dec_24__1909_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="558" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wkXmr0Bgsd4/XifF7qHiFmI/AAAAAAAAbeA/B3fp1FsUOXc6a_TZDBCY2BGDScvgQpp8ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Dec_24__1909_.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After his arrival in this city Rea took ' the opportunity of thanking the public generally for the courtesy shown us in putting up with the many inconveniences on account of our lack of space. But to show our appreciation of the patronage accorded us, we have decided to build a store that will meet the demands of the public' and offered this illustration of 'what the new building will look like, which will be completed and ready to receive Santa Claus on a much larger scale next year'. The forecast was somewhat optimistic. It would be a further five years before the A.E. Rea store would actually look like this. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, December 24, 1909)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IR7ulwHy4fw/XewhP6TAZTI/AAAAAAAAbCs/TgbWlDzsqDgmoDaKmI6WgcB0F60x0sTwACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Oct_16__1991_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IR7ulwHy4fw/XewhP6TAZTI/AAAAAAAAbCs/TgbWlDzsqDgmoDaKmI6WgcB0F60x0sTwACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Oct_16__1991_.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once in Ottawa his first duty was re-name the Lindsay store and erect an electric sign on the roof with the company's signature logo, a gigantic 'R' set in a flaming sunburst. <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was aimed westward so that at night it blazed out over Connaught Place</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: small;">.</span> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC a045642)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IOnTR2Y25-I/Xe2FqcfKD-I/AAAAAAAAbEM/OvhD5gajsPcarIEHfxf-JA5gfMSTWExRgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/DalyFeatherHat-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="578" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IOnTR2Y25-I/Xe2FqcfKD-I/AAAAAAAAbEM/OvhD5gajsPcarIEHfxf-JA5gfMSTWExRgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/DalyFeatherHat-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the years leading up to World War 1 Rea's dressed the city's wealthiest women, selling couture designs that could cost as much as half the annual salary of an average worker.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fCZG4q7rN00/XewoU_uVwuI/AAAAAAAAbDc/MrFDeXeJmRYkTvupfMLLHh8aJAP6NsiMQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Oct_8__1913_-003.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fCZG4q7rN00/XewoU_uVwuI/AAAAAAAAbDc/MrFDeXeJmRYkTvupfMLLHh8aJAP6NsiMQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Wed__Oct_8__1913_-003.jpg" width="432" /></a><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica;">
<span style="font-size: large;">On September 22, 1914 when WW1 raged on the Western Front A.E. Rea warned his customers that this season of Paris fashions might be the last for some time to come. 'When you inspect our imported gowns from London and Paris do not forget that many of the houses that designed them such as Paul Poiret and Bechoff-David have lost their leading spirits, are now at the front to fight for their country. Both Jean and Jacques Worth of the famous Rue de la Paix house and Doeuillet of Place Vendome have joined the volunteers. A display like this is an opportunity that you cannot miss.'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1ywk9D3hTkA/Xe2D-HaGTjI/AAAAAAAAbD8/fQi4tn1wCo4BbpjFMZ4jN9qrnbBeyJ0iwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Jul_10__1914_-2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1ywk9D3hTkA/Xe2D-HaGTjI/AAAAAAAAbD8/fQi4tn1wCo4BbpjFMZ4jN9qrnbBeyJ0iwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Fri__Jul_10__1914_-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">While A.E. Rea was proud of its luxury goods the store offered the widest possible range of goods. 'Much credit is due to the women of Ottawa for their inclination to shop.. to market. It is an evidence of thrift, the proof of the great value of economic housewives. Here you see women shopping for personal apparel, for household necessities, for food. Here you see women with the market basket in our grocery and meat departments, saving the shilling. What a convenience to have each floor filled with the representative products of the world and all under one roof, food, clothing, fads, fancies, everything from everywhere.Think what a burden it would be to saddle the expense of our unapproachable meat market on some small shop. Think what a failure a store would be with only one or two lines to select from. And again, the credit is due to the women of Ottawa, for they have made this store possible.’</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> <i>(Ottawa Journal, October 8, 1912)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><i><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0A5KhniPBmg/Xe2cEKJ0qKI/AAAAAAAAbE8/-cLncHZj1gQmxZCzX8a2JlYbwhMvYYY0gCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a009116-002.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="516" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0A5KhniPBmg/Xe2cEKJ0qKI/AAAAAAAAbE8/-cLncHZj1gQmxZCzX8a2JlYbwhMvYYY0gCK4BGAYYCw/s640/a009116-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the Chateau Laurier was nearing completion A.E. Rea was poised for expansion. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC a009116)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HJRU5QAR2JI/Xeq03ocIkLI/AAAAAAAAbBI/ix0gNbSWob8dag4EIzSuo5jRUeCrLbHcQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Nov_21__1913_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HJRU5QAR2JI/Xeq03ocIkLI/AAAAAAAAbBI/ix0gNbSWob8dag4EIzSuo5jRUeCrLbHcQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Nov_21__1913_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When Santa's special train pulled into Ottawa's railway station on his way to Rea's toyland the store was featuring a much larger building in its advertising. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, November 21, 1913)</i></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TFTdJbzBq-A/XeqX0mXTqeI/AAAAAAAAa74/TV0HSSt_AYgQOSI5eglF-kzd73GUqY7FQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Dec_24__1909_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="558" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TFTdJbzBq-A/XeqX0mXTqeI/AAAAAAAAa74/TV0HSSt_AYgQOSI5eglF-kzd73GUqY7FQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Dec_24__1909_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A.E. Rea had come to the Ottawa market in 1909 with plans to enlarge the Lindsay store. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;">The half-million dollar expansion would create one of the largest deptartment stores in Canada, with 7 acres of floor space. When construction finally got underway in 1913 the <i>Ottawa Journal</i> revealed the details of the Ross and Macdonald plan:</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;">‘The new building will be modernly equipped in every particular, and will be a model in design for merchandizing purposes. There are six passenger and two freight elevators. For the comfort of the public waiting rooms and rest rooms will be provided. Another innovation will be a lecture room, the use of which will be given free to various organizations during business hours.’ </span><i>(Illustration: Ottawa Journal, December 24, 1909)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eg1P7aFAUUI/XeqzJDrqYAI/AAAAAAAAbAQ/4j6TFM5cCqQwCQcatSCrVBPDvbon8rSBgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Jul_7__1913_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="404" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eg1P7aFAUUI/XeqzJDrqYAI/AAAAAAAAbAQ/4j6TFM5cCqQwCQcatSCrVBPDvbon8rSBgCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Mon__Jul_7__1913_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Construction began in the Summer of 1913 and by the end of that year the frame for the additional two storeys and the rear extension were substantially completed. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, July 7, 1913)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1uXag1vZFCQ/XeqX4D4jLdI/AAAAAAAAa8E/zFY8EbZPSRQW24M-RYOfXrcYB9pvRZ1IwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a033978.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1uXag1vZFCQ/XeqX4D4jLdI/AAAAAAAAa8E/zFY8EbZPSRQW24M-RYOfXrcYB9pvRZ1IwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/a033978.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On occasion stone blasting for the extension caused flying rocks to sail across Mackenzie Avenue and through the windows of the Chateau Laurier Hotel, where A.E. Rea now maintained a permanent address. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC a033978)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--9Yxm0POi10/XeqX7ZPuZDI/AAAAAAAAa8M/IX2A70Oiy0ouoflOTvXSDyqlR7I_-p6HQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a042739-v8.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="516" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--9Yxm0POi10/XeqX7ZPuZDI/AAAAAAAAa8M/IX2A70Oiy0ouoflOTvXSDyqlR7I_-p6HQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/a042739-v8.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once the building's 'mighty rear wall' from three to six feet thick was removed, and the rest of the building partitioned off from construction activities pouring the frame began in August 1913. A sequence of Topley photographs documented the progress. Deliveries were by horse-drawn cart and the formwork and shoring required a degree of craftsmanship from the workers. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC a042739)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tVKAZtE7Sq0/XeqX_CrdTFI/AAAAAAAAa8U/i5ECKPE7Ce0Naa62AtCn8xVoasd7Hi6oACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a042719-v8.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="518" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tVKAZtE7Sq0/XeqX_CrdTFI/AAAAAAAAa8U/i5ECKPE7Ce0Naa62AtCn8xVoasd7Hi6oACK4BGAYYCw/s640/a042719-v8.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Gloucester limestone facing followed, although the rear wall pierced by multiple small window openings was clad in more utilitarian brick. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC a042719)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-39WcYtET7pw/XeqYCddaPTI/AAAAAAAAa8c/tPyVe3oeWPshxaPSc9Twm6gz1xuvZWwfQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a042997-v8-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-39WcYtET7pw/XeqYCddaPTI/AAAAAAAAa8c/tPyVe3oeWPshxaPSc9Twm6gz1xuvZWwfQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/a042997-v8-001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The store's loading dock was located at the northeast corner of the new addition. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC a042997)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q-Nir_aZY9g/XeqYHlI9y4I/AAAAAAAAa8o/vok6BeOuA_wyoWxWPhlsguUcYEAHNqLAQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a042734-v8%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q-Nir_aZY9g/XeqYHlI9y4I/AAAAAAAAa8o/vok6BeOuA_wyoWxWPhlsguUcYEAHNqLAQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/a042734-v8%2Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Before the renovations A.E. Rea had continued to use the Lindsay store's corner entrance. Those who knew the building in its later years may remember that the alternating boulder-faced limestone panels on the expansion were dressed in a smaller unit size from that employed in 1905. All of the stone on the 1913 addition (more consolidated and less subject to fissures and spalls than that used for the older section) was from a different quarry. Edey's failure to specify a strong stable stone would come to be part of the building's undoing many decades later. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC 042734)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2UwKC1hrOIU/XeqYLy91EnI/AAAAAAAAa80/ZVWFh8OXxBIzFxnjKs1IlS4onxEuUDAnwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/a042721-v8-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2UwKC1hrOIU/XeqYLy91EnI/AAAAAAAAa80/ZVWFh8OXxBIzFxnjKs1IlS4onxEuUDAnwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/a042721-v8-001.jpg" width="512" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The original main entrance at Rideau and Mackenzie was enclosed and some of the display windows extended down to sidewalk level. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC a042721)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c6wecnS47_M/XeqYQVDz7OI/AAAAAAAAa88/myI8tIBCips2I9zsxMF343Qo1n_adQF_QCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/1908131_920078234758068_2427826527250114924_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c6wecnS47_M/XeqYQVDz7OI/AAAAAAAAa88/myI8tIBCips2I9zsxMF343Qo1n_adQF_QCK4BGAYYCw/s640/1908131_920078234758068_2427826527250114924_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At a third of a million square feet this was not only Ottawa's largest department store when it re-opened in 1914 - it would remain the largest of all time. A.E. Rea never got to fully expand into its new space. It was the sunset of Rea’s golden years. By 1915 the Department of the Naval Service occupied the upper floors with its offices, using the new door on MacKenzie Avenue. That year Rea’s went into receivership and was reorganized under new directors.</span></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cvk3k7m8haw/Xex-NI9mLoI/AAAAAAAAbDo/VEmRbrzHd0M7vPDWVjnmP9Tqgq86tf_LACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__May_2__1914_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cvk3k7m8haw/Xex-NI9mLoI/AAAAAAAAbDo/VEmRbrzHd0M7vPDWVjnmP9Tqgq86tf_LACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__May_2__1914_.jpg" width="508" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rea's regular full page advertisements on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays were crammed with items ranging from suits, dresses and millinery just arrived from New York, to molasses from Barbados by the gallon, and kits for portable summer bungalows. They offered fancy needlework classes, ran a lending library where the latest books could be borrowed for two cents a day, and they opened a car dealership. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, May 2, 1914)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FXdYSW98EoI/Xeqzf0nFtXI/AAAAAAAAbAc/EiG50-ixpwAi4nBt1LeTWUgpTdlIrYUbQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Feb_8__1918_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FXdYSW98EoI/Xeqzf0nFtXI/AAAAAAAAbAc/EiG50-ixpwAi4nBt1LeTWUgpTdlIrYUbQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Fri__Feb_8__1918_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Despite brave expressions of confidence in the press A.E. Rea struggled through 1917. The store declared insolvency and a Toronto syndicate stepped in to reorganize the company re-incoporating it as 'The Rea Store' which cleared out the its predecessor's stock. The Toronto consortium included Herbert J. Daly, a stock market whiz who had already successfully piloted several corporate buy-outs. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 8, 1918)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vTmCgwVoc0Y/Xeqzt9IOQtI/AAAAAAAAbAk/9TMJLIcH_Dctapk2n70GR5BHeVP4fkyeQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Feb_28__1918_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vTmCgwVoc0Y/Xeqzt9IOQtI/AAAAAAAAbAk/9TMJLIcH_Dctapk2n70GR5BHeVP4fkyeQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Journal_Thu__Feb_28__1918_.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Within a year Daly wrested control from the investors' group and formed the new H.J. Daly Company Limited. In addition to this he had just been made the Union Government's Director of Reconstruction and Repatriation in charge of handling the successful reintegration of military personnel returning to Canada and managing the future of the country's post-War economy. He announced his entry into Ottawa's business arena on February 28, 1918, promising that there would be a remarkable difference. It would be a new kind of department store with a new kind of service. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 28, 1918)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pjPyfG24t28/Xeqa4rYCY4I/AAAAAAAAa9U/hmw8XCDRxbMBRS_vUT4ZY-Fxlrwu4pRYQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/DalyOffice.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="462" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pjPyfG24t28/Xeqa4rYCY4I/AAAAAAAAa9U/hmw8XCDRxbMBRS_vUT4ZY-Fxlrwu4pRYQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/DalyOffice.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After the Daly Co. went uptown to <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2019/12/12-days-of-department-stores-6-arcades.html">Sparks Street</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> in 1919 the Government of Canada occupied the entire building in. The Income Tax Department was its first major tenant - which might explain the Daly Building's enduring unpopularity. In 1921 the Public Works Department completed the purchase from H.J. Daly for $1 million to be paid in yearly instalments of $100,000. Members of the public began to complain about the sloppiness on display in the windows, and DPW obliged by painting the frames apple green. In 1926 when the Canadian National Railway was planning the Chateau Laurier Hotel's new Mackenzie Avenue wing Ottawa's Board of Trade and the Town Planning Commission urged the CNR to build in on the Daly site - thereby eliminating an eyesore and preserving views to the Gatineau Hills. In the press the Daly Building was frequently referred to as squat, a blot, a blob, and hideous. As for H.J. Daly he was held responsible for Canada's largest bank failure and his empire was brought down in a flurry of criminal charges. Daly escaped conviction by taking sick and dying.</span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MuRUQdABF90/XeqaxjfCjUI/AAAAAAAAa9M/I8DgSwJBVwko4gGMlY3eGSrz3_E-61FTQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/e010934850-v8.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MuRUQdABF90/XeqaxjfCjUI/AAAAAAAAa9M/I8DgSwJBVwko4gGMlY3eGSrz3_E-61FTQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/e010934850-v8.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The new Federal District Commission's first comprehensive plan of 1927 for the National Capital was insistent on its removal. Ten year later Jacques Gréber hated the Daly Building and it was fixed firmly in his sights from the moment he arrived in Ottawa in 1937. Up until then the Government of Canada had mixed feelings about it. Some Public Works officials wanted to get rid of it while others recommended modernizing it and adding a few more floors. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: LAC e10934850)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WXVzHZTHaEk/Xeqa-FaA7KI/AAAAAAAAa9c/E6WpUGZGelsQjy7Hf5FXKvtkGouPTfUIACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/19535590740_57cb9ba7f9_b-003.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WXVzHZTHaEk/Xeqa-FaA7KI/AAAAAAAAa9c/E6WpUGZGelsQjy7Hf5FXKvtkGouPTfUIACK4BGAYYCw/s640/19535590740_57cb9ba7f9_b-003.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1922 the Public Works Department had agreed to the City of Ottawa's request for cutting a pedestrian passageway under the building's southeast corner at Rideau and Sussex.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hwjS8iNKbx4/XeqcvLcmOaI/AAAAAAAAa-g/HiCO0TCr5NQMfixtDebcRbZXCBdoHw92QCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/DpbwomTVAAAO0z0.jpg-large.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hwjS8iNKbx4/XeqcvLcmOaI/AAAAAAAAa-g/HiCO0TCr5NQMfixtDebcRbZXCBdoHw92QCK4BGAYYCw/s640/DpbwomTVAAAO0z0.jpg-large.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the late 1950s it had served a multitude of government departments with minimal maintenance. The ground floor was stuccoed over leaving display windows for by the National Design Centre, the Queen's Printer, and the National Capital Commission's History and Public Information Division.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_dokfTUw_lM/XeqbPoMzb7I/AAAAAAAAa9w/UJI_CGvau4o-4I_l22NB1wcOLCVRYYblwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/s0975_fl2424_id34551-9_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="492" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_dokfTUw_lM/XeqbPoMzb7I/AAAAAAAAa9w/UJI_CGvau4o-4I_l22NB1wcOLCVRYYblwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/s0975_fl2424_id34551-9_edited.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Daly Annex Temporary Building was added in the 1940s. The Daly Building's grim interior was divided by a warren of gerry-built partitions and floored with battleship linoleum. The only surviving feature was a grand staircase. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Photo: Toronto Public Library)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DANHQAO0T6Y/XeqcFJ3UiLI/AAAAAAAAa-I/qeL_Zh7WxZ858l-qsyrcTcoVZ7c8Ib74wCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/20-21.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DANHQAO0T6Y/XeqcFJ3UiLI/AAAAAAAAa-I/qeL_Zh7WxZ858l-qsyrcTcoVZ7c8Ib74wCK4BGAYYCw/s640/20-21.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tenders for the removal of the Daly's sheet metal cornice were called by DPW on November 8, 1963 because it was declared to be a hazard for pedestrians walking beneath. A replacement was deemed unnecessary because the building was scheduled for imminent demolition. The following year the NCC's Chief Architect John Leaning had the plain panels that covered the empty gap gussied up with grey stripes, and added a dash of colour on the upper floors, as part of the Sussex Drive Mile of History project. It was a portend of a turf war between the two agencies on the building's fate.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d5Ml4e1n2qY/XeqbU1s_9-I/AAAAAAAAa94/wEz1VV_oh6szXG-xYsJ0lrLwwcvlTc0RwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Apr_22__1989_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d5Ml4e1n2qY/XeqbU1s_9-I/AAAAAAAAa94/wEz1VV_oh6szXG-xYsJ0lrLwwcvlTc0RwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sat__Apr_22__1989_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It would take a thousand words to recount the controversy that surrounded the Daly Building's demise. A struggle ensued between its owner the Department of Public Works (which hated the building and wanted it demolished) and the National Capital Capital Commission, which was a proponent for the building's restoration because of its architectural significance. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, April 22, 1989)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sxsrFJJOD30/XeqeTUXxdYI/AAAAAAAAa_g/5TO2VcVtYuco5TFPSN5NpF8sCtiDuFP2ACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Nov_23__1988_%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="556" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sxsrFJJOD30/XeqeTUXxdYI/AAAAAAAAa_g/5TO2VcVtYuco5TFPSN5NpF8sCtiDuFP2ACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__Nov_23__1988_%2Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pressure from heritage activists forced the DPW to reconsider and it floated a proposal call to redevelop the building that produced no bidders. The Daly was then transferred to the National Capital Commission, which held an architectural competition of its own. There were three finalists - Ottawa's Katz Webster Associates Architects, A.J. Diamond and Partners of Toronto, and the winning competitor. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, December 24, 1986)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IpStUqIY2VY/XifS8L6qlyI/AAAAAAAAbeU/SgUnEs6jDdQEhXy0MeguVv3nnTqJCr0PACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Feb_8__1990_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="578" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IpStUqIY2VY/XifS8L6qlyI/AAAAAAAAbeU/SgUnEs6jDdQEhXy0MeguVv3nnTqJCr0PACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Feb_8__1990_.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1986 the NCC chose Montreal-based consortium of developers Duroc-Multidev-Coubec who promised a Desnoyer-Mercure-Panzini designed boutique hotel, a mixed commercial-office centre, an aquarium and an underground parking garage within and beneath the Daly's old shell. It was beset by delays and the developers didn't begin stripping out the building until 1989. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 8, 1989)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G7R1G4yd4Wg/XifTWd9Fs_I/AAAAAAAAbek/ZmS3lVy3y4k_RFY6T--Fn3voR3QlNVgCQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Nov_21__1989_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="546" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G7R1G4yd4Wg/XifTWd9Fs_I/AAAAAAAAbek/ZmS3lVy3y4k_RFY6T--Fn3voR3QlNVgCQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Tue__Nov_21__1989_.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Crude and dangerous demolition work damaged the steel structure. Falling stone endangered the public, and the plan was soon mired in controversy. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, February 8, 1990)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wudoJgz-a-0/XewiQDqSCNI/AAAAAAAAbC4/UoNasjZxeiEsOaVbQTeJA3D0VHchDaJaACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Sep_5__1991_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="558" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wudoJgz-a-0/XewiQDqSCNI/AAAAAAAAbC4/UoNasjZxeiEsOaVbQTeJA3D0VHchDaJaACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Thu__Sep_5__1991_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Facing public criticism for mismanaging the project, the National Capital Commission dismissed the developers and took the decision to demolish the Daly Building. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 5, 1991)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vktDLScLKe4/XeqdoJ4su5I/AAAAAAAAa-0/f3pARth1lGQbAEytZ1RyY5aPFX9sgityQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sun__Sep_8__1991_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vktDLScLKe4/XeqdoJ4su5I/AAAAAAAAa-0/f3pARth1lGQbAEytZ1RyY5aPFX9sgityQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Sun__Sep_8__1991_.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Of course there was another preservation problem to deal with - the never ending heritage drama that was the Aberdeen Pavilion. Editorial cartoonist Alan King suggested a transplant from Lansdowne Park to the Daly site. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, September 8, 1991)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2bTL8_6oHYM/Xeq5Af10NnI/AAAAAAAAbBw/gOyNQfbBa5cm_XGfvWBCY99upierYuGRwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/doc05155320140707172008_001%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="596" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2bTL8_6oHYM/Xeq5Af10NnI/AAAAAAAAbBw/gOyNQfbBa5cm_XGfvWBCY99upierYuGRwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/doc05155320140707172008_001%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 1961 the NCC's Chief Architect John Leaning had suggested a ten-storey office block linked to a new arts and convention centre. This would be the view south along Sussex.</span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MX_fCqMbmBc/Xeq5GtgfoWI/AAAAAAAAbB4/f-G-PlY3Kx0_-Yn4ImDv43LAgbn_LpTPQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/doc03133020131028124203_001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MX_fCqMbmBc/Xeq5GtgfoWI/AAAAAAAAbB4/f-G-PlY3Kx0_-Yn4ImDv43LAgbn_LpTPQCK4BGAYYCw/s640/doc03133020131028124203_001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Removal of the Daly was a given in all of the Federal Government schemes since before it even opened in 1905, when the Government of Canada first moved to expropriate the property for a complex of monumental buildings to be erected on Sussex. Much later the <a href="http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2014/02/rideau-centre-history-part-3-parkin-plan.html">Parkin Plan</a> of 1962 recommended removal and replacement with sunken gardens.</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9WoWpJun3Tc/Xewio6o2B2I/AAAAAAAAbDE/duQ1IWWr7XccnwoYu3sz5WaFCLjNLMMHACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__May_6__1992_-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="608" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9WoWpJun3Tc/Xewio6o2B2I/AAAAAAAAbDE/duQ1IWWr7XccnwoYu3sz5WaFCLjNLMMHACK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__May_6__1992_-001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rJD-uistdWc/Xewis3pCvEI/AAAAAAAAbDM/GZPsYOLnChQrCWdDwxAOm6QW5FOhAC2AwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__May_6__1992_%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="616" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rJD-uistdWc/Xewis3pCvEI/AAAAAAAAbDM/GZPsYOLnChQrCWdDwxAOm6QW5FOhAC2AwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/The_Ottawa_Citizen_Wed__May_6__1992_%2Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When the demolition order for the Daly Building was issued the <i>Ottawa Citizen</i> cheered and said that its supporters had 'given heritage a bad name'. The newspaper then led a fierce campaign to turn the empty site into a permanent public park. They were unsuccessful. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(Ottawa Citizen, May 6, 1992)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ixbi1XXEkIU/XihxQu3VEBI/AAAAAAAAbe8/nmuzP7KuiiI1EgA7zBf5vWNILapBvxjRwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/700Sussex.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ixbi1XXEkIU/XihxQu3VEBI/AAAAAAAAbe8/nmuzP7KuiiI1EgA7zBf5vWNILapBvxjRwCK4BGAYYCw/s640/700Sussex.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sensing that the citizens might become too attached to 'a gracious space downtown' the National Capital Commission kept the site vacant and inaccessible until this could be built.</span> <span style="font-size: large;">700 Sussex by Dan S. Hanganu <i>architectes</i> for Claridge Homes was not well received, but it is probably a better building than most people think it is</span>. <i>(Photo: Google Streetview)</i></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lS6pwc97fnQ/XihsStRPtDI/AAAAAAAAbew/JNpzXrn41-ENJLnlO6ZJvU0u3hCzMmsJACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/daly4_1921.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lS6pwc97fnQ/XihsStRPtDI/AAAAAAAAbew/JNpzXrn41-ENJLnlO6ZJvU0u3hCzMmsJACK4BGAYYCw/s640/daly4_1921.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Opinions on the merits of the Daly Building are still divided. Those of us who have only seen it in its final days of decrepitude still mourn its loss.</span>Midcentury Modernisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13640780453580295198noreply@blogger.com1