A Bank, A Spark, and the Fight to Keep Uptown Ottawa (Tinder) Dry

Sparks Street at Bank, looking east. The Rochester-Belmont at foreground right. Undated, but likely 1938. Source: Public Works / LAC Accession 1970-140 NPC, Box RV1-036, CP 677.
Sparks Street at Bank, looking east. The Rochester-Belmont at foreground right. Undated, but likely 1938. Source: Public Works / LAC Accession 1970-140 NPC, Box RV1-036, CP 677.

When I last wrote of Stephens Block on the southwest corner of Bank and Sparks streets, I left off with the purchase of The Belmont Pharmacy, Tea Room, and Rainbow Tea Room by local restauranteur Peter Karson. In this instalment (the third and final), I focus on the various fires, both literal and figurative, which beset Stephens Block and Karson’s Restaurant in particular. It was only after having being forged in these fires that the resulting Embassy Restaurant was able to stand as the well-loved establishment that it was. At least until the need for federal office space proved too potent a foe.

Continue reading A Bank, A Spark, and the Fight to Keep Uptown Ottawa (Tinder) Dry

“The busiest corner on the busiest street.”

POSTCARD.
Postcard depicting the intersection of Bank and Sparks streets, looking south. Stephens Block is the stone building to the right. Undated.

Last week, I wrote a short piece about Spero Andrews’ Embassy Restaurant, which was located at the south west corner of Bank and Sparks streets. As I concluded that story, I noted that there would be more to come, as that particular corner has, unsurprisingly, had a particularly storied history. In this instalment, I explore its history from R.W. Stephens’ purchase of the property to Peter Karson’s purchase of the the Rochester-Belmont Pharmacy, Tea Room, and Rainbow Tea Room.

Continue reading “The busiest corner on the busiest street.”

“from the Nordic Circle, to the Rideau’s waters, this flood was made for you and me.”

“This is a dilly of a pickle!” Flooding of the Nordic Circle and of Bowesville Road was an annual event. This photo is dated April 8, 1954. City of Ottawa Archives, Item CA003837.

Until it was successfully controlled, that the Rideau River flooded each spring was not a surprising fact to Ottawans. Although the degree to which it did varied considerably over the years, that it did at all was largely a sure bet.

Continue reading “from the Nordic Circle, to the Rideau’s waters, this flood was made for you and me.”

The Embassy Restaurant, Bank and Sparks (1953)

The Embassy Restaurant at night. February 1961. Image: Ted Grant / LAC Series 61-1203, Image No. 7.
The Embassy Restaurant at night. February 1961. Image: Ted Grant / LAC Series 61-1203, Image No. 7.

Given the reputation that Ottawa’s downtown has today, it may come as a surprise that it was at one point something of a hot spot in the city. Through the 1950s, 60s, and into the mid-1970s, a number of hotels, restaurants, and taverns kept Ottawans up and lively well into the wee hours of the night. In such venues as the Belle Claire Hotel, you could rub elbows with cabinet ministers, business personalities, and members of the high-flying Ottawa Rough Riders. The Embassy Restaurant and Tavern, though perhaps less well-known, was a popular spot in its own right, and was located right around the corner, at Bank and Sparks.

Continue reading The Embassy Restaurant, Bank and Sparks (1953)

The Alta Vista Drive Apartments and the Alta Vista Shopping Centre (1956)

Reuben Palef's Alta Vista Drive Apartments, 2015. Image: Google Maps.
Reuben Palef’s Alta Vista Drive Apartments, 2015. Image: Google Maps.

I’ve been on a roll lately when it comes to the cluster apartments developments of the 1950s. Since 1965 is my next stop in the apartment list transcription project, it’s most likely going to be the case that what catches my attention in that year will not be the clusters that defined the 1950s. To that end, much like I have done with Doug O’Connell’s Westwood Park, I’ve decided to select a few of these developments that were completed after 1955. In this case, I’ve looked back eastward, towards Alta Vista’s Riverview Park neighbourhood.

Continue reading The Alta Vista Drive Apartments and the Alta Vista Shopping Centre (1956)

Update! The Governor Metcalfe (1959)

https://www.instagram.com/p/-r5iRhtvmW/

As it looms over Jack Purcell Park1I really don’t care that the racquet art was inspired by the wrong Jack Purcell., the Governor Metcalfe Apartments at 330 Metcalfe has been witness to a considerable number of changes that have taken place in its front yard, including the construction of the park itself in 1967 and its popular dog run in 2011. Continue reading Update! The Governor Metcalfe (1959)

Notes

Notes
↥1 I really don’t care that the racquet art was inspired by the wrong Jack Purcell.

From East(wood) Park to West(wood) Park

Westwood Park (now Byron West) Apartments, 950-980 Byron Avenue.
Westwood Park (now Byron West) Apartments, 950-980 Byron Avenue.

If you will remember my “Ottawa’s Apartments, 1955” piece a few days ago, you’ll probably remember that Doug O’Connell was a busy man during the 1950s and 1960s. Whether it be alone, or with his brother in law Allan Witt, O’Connell had his fingers in a tremendous number of pies through those years. As part of my own efforts to untangle the seemingly anonymous development the apartment clusters in Laurentian View, I was able to put a name to the cluster of 7 ten-unit apartments along Byron that lies between Sherbourne Road and the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral.

Continue reading From East(wood) Park to West(wood) Park

Laurentian View’s Apartments, 1955

Eastwood Gardens. Image: June 2015.
Doug O’Connell’s Eastwood Park Apartments. Not a Laurentian View apartment, but a similar model in many ways. Image: June 2016.

A few days ago, I posted a lengthy story about cluster developments of apartment buildings in suburban neighbourhoods during the 1950s. While I made every attempt to be as complete as possible, I had found that information pertaining to the three clusters (two of which were complete and listed in 1955) in the Laurentian View area was somewhat difficult to come by. There were few reports quickly found in either the Journal or the Citizen, and Might’s Directory, being what it is, was less than useful in learning names and ownership at the time. To that end, since it’s just so conveniently located, I headed out for the Land Registry Office.

Continue reading Laurentian View’s Apartments, 1955

Brevity is the Soul of Witt

The Croydon Apartments, as seen from the Museum of Nature's east parking lot. Image: July 2015.
The Croydon Apartments, as seen from the Museum of Nature’s east parking lot. Image: July 2015.

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” At least, so the popular saying goes. The market for apartment buildings in the early 1960s was hot. Really hot. It was during this time that such large builders like Mastercraft, Assaly, Minto, and numerous others started looking upwards as much as they were outward into the greenfield development they had been through the 1950s. The action wasn’t limited to the larger players, however.

Continue reading Brevity is the Soul of Witt

Ottawa’s Apartments, 1955

J.R. Beach's 1950 apartment at 196 Metcalfe. Image: June 2016.
J.R. Beach’s 1950 Beach Apartments (now Algonquin Annex) at 196 Metcalfe. Image: June 2016.

Back in March, I transcribed the list of apartment buildings from the 1945 Might’s Directory of the City of Ottawa and ran some minor analysis of the proportion of apartment buildings in each of Ottawa’s neighbourhoods. I decided to jump ahead to 1955, as a massive transition in the Canadian housing market was well underway.

Continue reading Ottawa’s Apartments, 1955

A Six Pack of Wolves in Centretown (Wolf Shenkman’s Cluster Development of Apartments, 1929-35)

Wolf Shenkman. Source: Ottawa Jewish Archives.
Wolf Shenkman. Source: Ottawa Jewish Archives.

By the late 1920s, if you were to press an Ottawan to name a builder of apartments, there is a good chance they would name Wolf Shenkman. Shenkman arrived in Ottawa in 1904 and quickly began to buy and sell investment properties as well as construct homes. His first apartment building was completed in 1911.1Well, appears to be have been completed in 1911. The first instance of him being associated with apartment construction in the Contract Record is located in the April 5, 1911 edition. It is at the corner of Stewart and Cumberland in Sandy Hill, but have not verified this. See: “Residences,” Contract Record, Vol. 25, No. 14, p. 56.

Continue reading A Six Pack of Wolves in Centretown (Wolf Shenkman’s Cluster Development of Apartments, 1929-35)

Notes

Notes
↥1 Well, appears to be have been completed in 1911. The first instance of him being associated with apartment construction in the Contract Record is located in the April 5, 1911 edition. It is at the corner of Stewart and Cumberland in Sandy Hill, but have not verified this. See: “Residences,” Contract Record, Vol. 25, No. 14, p. 56.