147 Patterson Avenue

 

 The Patterson Creek area of the Glebe is dense with late-Victorian houses, 20th Century showpieces and the odd modernist box. And then we have this. Until recently, it was half-hidden behind the trunk of a massive maple. 147 Patterson makes me think of a bungalow, crammed sideways into a narrow lot. Or is it the house that makes lot look narrow? Is this infill? On seeing my photo, a friend wondered "Are people supposed to climb in and out of the bottom window?"

 Many houses on this block back directly onto Strathcona Avenue, as does #147. Here is Google Street's view of its rear(?) aspect...

Google Street View, April 2009

 Refer to the little map in the lower left corner to see how the Patterson/Strathcona interval is only one lot deep. 

 Note 147's low, hipped roof, its slender, single chimney, the stucco finish (so much for that brick out front), the two side doors "front" and "back" and those inscrutable window placements. I'm wondering whether this thing wasn't purpose-built as a duplex.

 I have drummed up a handful of facts about this lot, but I'm far from uncovering a definite history. Goad ("reprinted, June 1912" sheet 145) depicts #147 as the only vacant lot remaining on the north side of this block of Patterson — at that time, the south side was still mostly unbuilt. The City Directory for 1916 skips 147 but does list the adjacent 145 and 149. The 1923 Dirctory does list 147, with a single resident, one Samuel Rosenthal*.

 So, a house was built at #147 some time between 1916 and 1923. But was it this one? Was the original house razed or was it modified? This house puzzles me deeply. If I find out anything more about it, I'll be sure to pass it on.

*     *     *

*This may have been the Samuel Rosenthal who became Ottawa's first Jewish aldermen in 1902. He represented Victoria Ward for nine years.

Victoria was one of Ottawa's original wards, encompassing Parliament Hill, Lebreton Flats, Mechanicsville and Hintonburg.

From a biography of his mother, "Samuel became a local sports hero and the first Jew to hold municipal office in Ottawa. Elected as an alderman in 1902, he sat for four terms, was returned again in 1921, and also served as a magistrate."