Retail & Commercial – historynerd.ca

Restaurants and Lunch Counters in Ottawa, 1930

Above is a map of restaurants and lunch counters, as listed in the 1930 Ottawa City Directory.

Blog: “For Best Service”: John Lissee’s Appliances on Ossington

Once the dispensary was removed, the sign for John Lissee’s appliance shop was revealed. Image: C.Ryan, September 2018.

Kathleen and I recently took a quick vacation to Toronto (as well as Hamilton and locations across Manitoulin Island) and while walking around, noticed this well-preserved and recently-revealed sign on one of the empty commercial properties along Ossington Avenue.

Not (D)workin’ Anymore

Customers crowd in for Dworkin's fur sale, February 1954. Image: City of Ottawa Archives CA043229. — Customers crowd in for Dworkin’s fur sale, February 1954. Image: City of Ottawa Archives CA043229.

In 2012, Dworkin Furs announced that it would liquidate its stock and close up business after 111 years. Although sales of fur have continued to fluctuate on a global level, changes in how what was once a staple of the Canadian economy is understood means that it is unlikely that the long-established Rideau business would have ever seen the sorts of lines that it did in the 1950s.

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Let’s Go Shopping

Evans Shopping Centre, 1961/2. Image: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 213, Series 1464, File 4, Item 21.

The Evans Shopping Centre, located at Evans and Bestobell in Etobicoke, was constructed around 1955.

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Toronto-Dominion Sparks a Conversation

A view of what was lost. August 8, 1956. Source: City of Ottawa Archives CA039900.

When I wrote about the recently demolished TD Bank branch on Sparks Street, I had noted that the one-storey midcentury gem necessitated the demolition of existing buildings. Here is a view of the facades taken on August 8, 1956. It’s all academic now, but I still prefer Mathers and Haldenby’s work to what it replaced.

Borrowing The Mall

Following the success of the in-mall Carlingwood Branch, the Ottawa Public Library decided to replicate the success at Elmvale. Source: City of Ottawa Archives CA024723. — Following the success of the in-mall Carlingwood Branch, the Ottawa Public Library decided to replicate the success at Elmvale Acres. Gosh, I love that lettering. Source: City of Ottawa Archives / Peter Brosseau CA024723.

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Sugarman & Diamond commission a Toast to Miss Harmon

The "Harman Apartments" serve as a tribute to the late Miss Harmon. Source: Christopher Ryan, December 2013. — The “Harman Apartments” serve as a (misspelled) tribute to the late Miss Harmon. Source: Christopher Ryan, December 2013.

About a year ago, when I wrote about the tragic experience of Ottawa’s Miss Harmon, I intended to continue and write about the subsequent development of this busy corner of Centretown. As it would turn out, the use of 171 MacLaren for educational purposes did not end with Miss Harmon’s suicide.

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Then & Now: Brewers’ Retail

Located at 1860 Bank, the Brewers’ Retail warehouse and retail outlet was completed in 1958 and its design is credited to John B. Parkin & Associates.

As the organization’s warehouse and distribution centre, it was served by CP Rail’s Prescott Subdivision.

Then somewhat isolated along Bank St. and south of Walkley, the facility was sometimes an attractive target for theft.

Not a well-replicated shot, but the idea is there.

It remains a Beer Store outlet to this day, while the warehousing facility has since been moved out to 2750 Swansea Cr.