From Walk-Up to High-Rise: Ottawa's Historic Apartment Buildings

by Richard Belliveau, Amy MacDonald, Mary MacGregor

Covering the time-frame from 1900 to 1975, this book tells the fascinating story of how apartment living emerged in 20th century Ottawa. Focusing on Centretown, Sandy Hill and Lowertown East, it looks at the demographic and economic pressures that helped shape these new housing forms, the entrepreneurs and designers who created them, and the people who lived in them.

You’ll meet Ottawa builders like Wolf Shenkman, Sam Berger and Bill Teron and the architects they hired to design their buildings—including Cecil Burgess and Werner Noffke in the early 1900s, and Morris Woolfson and Peter Dickinson in the mid-twentieth century—who all left an indelible mark on the city.

You’ll learn how three-story “walk-ups” evolved into “Grandes Dames” inspired by the Queen Anne Revival Style such as The Shefford and The Strathcona, which in turn led to modernist high-rises epitomized by The Juliana and Park Square.

82 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Gabrielle Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice easy read about some of Ottawa's historic apartment buildings. Having lived in a couple of the Centretown buildings mentioned in the book, it was interesting to read about their individual stories, famous residents and renovations. It was also great to learn about the architectural trends of the time, and how building designs evolved to adapt to the changing economic fabric of the city and broader social norms throughout history. Overall a nice leisurely read.

[Jordana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, well-photographed and sourced in-depth look at the history of a number of apartment buildings in Ottawa (among the featured buildings - the Shefford, Blackburn and Juliana), from Heritage Ottawa.