Rear Views

   The two blocks of Gladstone Avenue between Metcalfe and Bank share an odd trait in that their north sides are mostly bereft of houses or store-fronts. Apart from the sides of those buildings sited at intersections, this strip of properties displays the backsides of an assembly of late-Victorian and Edwardian houses, as well as those of more recent apartment blocks, all with Frank Street addresses. Here are two of the houses, seen from behind.

306 Frank Street. rear view

314 Frank Street, rear view

   Were they viewed from Frank Street, both buildings would present well-groomed red brick facades. Their derrieres, assessed from Gladstone are a shamefully different matter.

   The above pair of houses is bracketed by #s 322 and 292 Frank, of similar vintage but with backyard annexes reaching back to touch Gladstone's north sidewalk. Here is how Goad depicted all four houses 292, 306, 314 and 322. on the 1912 reprint of his Ottawa fire insurance map, sheet 67. I've shaded those houses and their immediate grounds in pink.

Goad, 1912 reprint, sheet 67

  

   Consider the street widths described. Metcalfe, McLeod and O'Connor (not labeled, to the left) are all 60 feet wide. Frank Street is a bit narrower at 56 feet. And Gladstone? At a piddly 30 feet across, it was at best the de facto back lane for the Frank Street homes, with a row of smaller, cheap and wooden houses on it's south side.

   I've drawn the red line cutting through the block to show the present north side of Gladstone (including the sidewalk, as best as I can tell.) This widening (between Bank and Elgin) began in spring of 1960 and was officially completed by July 22 1965. Expropriations seem to have made up the greater part of the project's costs.

   The four Frank Street properties highlighted on the map lost half of their back yards. 292 and 306 both lost out-buildings, Perhaps the most dramatic impact was felt at 322 Frank, "The Franconna."

   Built in 1903 by Robert Hurdman, the Franconna had a large, boxy, four-storey rear annex imposed upon it early in the 20th century. This discordantly modern appendage doubled the footprint of the original building and likely more than doubled its rentable floor-space. The annex reached right back to the northern edge of the old, 30-foot wide Gladstone Avenue. When The Widening was announced, the Franconna's owner opted to have the southern half of its annex chopped off and re-walled, resulting in one of the oddest looking apartment buildings in Centretown.

   As for the two houses in my photos, 306 and 314 were forced to choose between either smaller back yards or garages. The latter prevailed — their oft-repainted doors are choice targets for taggers, out for late-night, beer-fueled fun.