Earlier this year in a pique of what I can only describe as a mixture of frustration about a lack of data and nostalgia for some of my field’s roots, I began to harvest more data about Ottawa’s development. It may have been a matter of being dissatisfied with the broad, sweeping motions and proclamations we make about the nature of midcentury development or maybe I just wanted to play with spreadsheets and pie charts like previous generations of urban historians did. Whatever the motivation, I got my wish and wrote stories like Ottawa’s Apartments, 1945, Ottawa’s Apartment’s, 1955, Laurentian View’s Apartments, 1955, From East(wood) Park to West(wood) Park, and The Alta-Vista Drive Apartments and the Alta-Vista Shopping Centre (1956).
This September, while in the Ottawa Room conducting research for an unrelated project, I managed to get myself sidetracked into the Building Inspector’s annual reports. Before I knew it, I had collected them for each year from 1925 to 1950. Although these reports are short, they represent a rich source of information about the city’s development. There are, of course, a number of ways that I can slice and dice this information myself and plan to do so at some point in the future. As a stopgap, until I am able to devote the time to it (which will doubtlessly result in far more interesting directions and conclusions), I have reproduced the 1950 list of permits valued at $30,000 or more. As usual, it’s searchable and sortable.
| Owner | Description | Location | Value ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.E. Veitch & Son, Ltd. | Addition to Funeral Home | Parkdale Avenue | 35000 |
| K.J. Greene | New five storey Apartment - 38 suites | Besserer and Chapel Sts | 250000 |
| A.J. Freiman Limited | Alterations to Beauty Salon | Rideau Street | 35000 |
| Gloucester Township | New one storey school | Codd's Road, Quarries | 108000 |
| Public School Board | New two-storey garage and Warehouse | Bell Street | 40000 |
| People's Credit Jewellers | New two storey Store | Sparks Street | 110000 |
| Dominion Government | New one storey Quonset Huts | Lydia Street | 122000 |
| Dominion Government | Alterations to Laboratories | Booth Street | 61000 |
| Landis Realty Limited | New four storey Apartment - 16 suites | Russell Avenue | 112000 |
| Colonial Coach Lines | Alterations to Bus Terminal and Restaurant | Albert Street | 80000 |
| Our Lady of Good Counsel | New Church and two storey Rectory | Bayswater Avenue | 288000 |
| Bessie Finklestein | New Showroom and Office Building | Richmond Road | 35000 |
| Muriel Levine | New two storey Duplex | Laurier Avenue, East | 30000 |
| Dominion Government | New two storey Workshop | Experimental Farm | 58698 |
| Louis Gendron Limited | Five new one storey single residence | Gordon Place | 35000 |
| Louis Gendron Limited | Five new one storey single residence | Vancouver Avenue | 35000 |
| Corp. of the City of Ottawa | Alterations and Additions to Civic Hospital | Carling Avenue | 200105 |
| Thos. Robertson Canada Ltd. | Alterations and Additions to Warehouse | St. Patrick and King Edward Sts. | 51000 |
| Dominion Government | New one storey Header House with basement | Experimental Farm | 76158 |
| Parkdale United Church | New two storey Memorial Hall | Parkdale Avenue | 135000 |
| Public School Board | New one storey School | Eastbourne Avenue | 182947 |
| Cameron Estate | Repairs to Stores and Apartments | Bank Street | 50000 |
| Central Mortgage & Housing Co. | Twenty new Single Residences | Anna Avenue | 137000 |
| Holt Renfrew Co. Limited | New one storey Cold Storage Building | Queen Street | 37000 |
| Leopold Beaudoin | Four Apartment Buildings (6 suites each - 48 Units) | Langevin Avenue - Putman Avenue and Springfield Road | 120000 |
| Chas. Ogilvie Limited | New Elevator Shaft and Elevator | Rideau Street | 60000 |
| New Town Realty Corp. | New two storey Office Building | Laurier Avenue, West | 81000 |
| M.W. Kosub | New two storey Apartment - 6 suites | Churchill Avenue | 36000 |
| M.W. Kosub | New two storey Apartment - 6 suites | Churchill Avenue | 36000 |
| Dominion Government | New two storey Workshop | Experimental Farm | 42000 |
| George Fenton | New two storey Store and Office Building | Bank Street | 48000 |
| Alvin Enterprises Limited | Six Apartment Buildings (8 suites each - 48 Units) | Manor Park Extension | 168000 |
| Alvin Enterprises Limited | 29 Apartment Buildings (12 suites each - 348 Units) | Manor Park Extension | 1218000 |
| Alvin Enterprises Limited | 16 Apartment Buildings (6 suites each - 96 Units) | Manor Park Extension | 336000 |
| Westboro United Church | Addition to Church and Sunday Building | Churchill Avenue | 91000 |
| Dominion Government | New three storey Applied Chemistry Laboratory | Montreal Road | 706100 |
| Carleton College | Addition to College | Lyon Street | 105000 |
| Separate School Board | Addition to School | Larose and Champlain Streets | 35000 |
| Dominion Government | Foundation and Footings only for Office Bldg. | Tunney's Pasture | 180000 |
| Norlite Realty Company | New Elevator Shaft and Elevator | Wellington Street | 90000 |
| Dominion Government | New two storey Insecticide Laboratory | Experimental Farm | 99233 |
| H.C. Brennan | New four storey Stores and Office Building | Bank Street | 135000 |
| Leslie C. Colbert | New two storey Apartment Building - 6 Units | Churchill Avenue | 35000 |
| Dominion Government | New two storey Mechanical Shop and Store Bldg. | Rochester Street | 400000 |
| C.J. Booth | Alterations to Office Building | Rideau Street | 30000 |
| M. Shainbaum | New one storey Store | Albert Street | 34000 |
| Metropolitan Stores | New Escalator | Rideau Street | 30000 |
| Dominion Government | New Boiler Room | Experimental Farm | 151000 |
| Charles Ogilvie Limited | New four storey and Basement Store | Besserer and Nicholas Sts | 237000 |
| Hobbs Glass Limited | New Warehouse | Cooper Street | 32000 |
| Dominion Government | New seven storey D.V.A. Office Building | Wellington-Lyon-Sparks Sts. | 5185000 |
| Dominion Government | New two storey Storage Building | Tunney's Pasture | 450980 |
| Morrison-Lamothe Bakery Ltd. | New Storage Garage | Greenfield Avenue | 60000 |
| H. Fine & Sons | New Warehouse | Mann Avenue | 82783 |
| Metcalfe Realty Co. Limited | New ten storey Office Building | Metcalfe Street | 760000 |
| Ottawa Plumbing | New one storey Office and Warehouse Building | Somerset Street, West | 35000 |
| Jos. Feller | New two storey Single Residence with Garage | Island Park Drive | 35000 |
| Dominion Government | Construct Footings-Foundations-Structureal Steel only for new Laboratory | Montreal Road | 118000 |
| Grey Nuns of the Cross | Seven storey Addition to General Hospital | Bruyere Street | 2400000 |
| Principal Investments | New two storey two Stores | Rideau Street | 37500 |
| Minto Skating Club | New Skating Rink | Henderson Avenue | 73000 |
| Dominion Government | Alterations to Uplands Airport Buildings | Uplands Airport | 571500 |
| R.L. Crain Limited | Addtion to Printing Plant | Richmond Road | 310000 |
| Estate D. O'Connor | New two storey Store and Office Building | Laurier Avenue, West | 165000 |
| Ottawa Transportation Comm | New Addition to Storage Garage | Albert Street | 62000 |
| J.W. Mobley | New two storey Apartment - 6 suites | Riverdale Avenue | 30000 |
| Brewers Warehousing Co. | New one storey Retail Store and Warehouse Bldg. | Dalhousie and Cathcart Streets | 45000 |
| The Girls of Wisdom | New six storey Hospital Building | Montreal Road | 1500000 |
| Dominion Government | Renovation of R.C.A.F Messing Hall | Rockcliffe Airport | 106000 |
| Central Mortgage & Housing Co. | New three and four storey Office Building | Montreal Road | 1400000 |
| Ottawa Humane Society | New one storey Animal Shelter | Bayview Road | 40000 |
| Max Gold | New two storey Apartment - 6 suites | Frank Street | 31500 |
| Max Gold | New two storey Apartment - 6 suites | Waverley Avenue | 31500 |
| Prescott House & Co. | Additions to Hotel | Preston Street | 45000 |
| Dominion Government | Alterations to Office Building | Wellington Street | 35000 |
| James R. Beach | Construct part of eight storey Apartment Bldg. Ground - 1st - 2nd floors only - 30 units | Lisgar Street | 135000 |
| Dominion Government | Construct Heating Plant an Heating Tunnels | Tunney's Pasture | 616000 |
| Grey Nuns of the Cross | Five storey Addition to St. Vincent Hospital | Cambridge Street | 2500000 |
| Albert Quesnel | New two storey Apartment - 6 suites | Hilson Avenue | 35000 |
| Central Mortgage & Housing Co. | New one storey School | Rockcliffe Airport | 500000 |