When the snow finally melted this past spring, I got into the habit of cutting through the parking lots between Cooper and Lisgar on my way to Sobey's. I soon noticed the remains of an old limestone foundation poking up from the unpaved ground behind the Queen Elizabeth Apartments* (201 Metcalfe, see
here and
here).
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| in the background, the Regency Towers to the left, the Queen Elizabeth on the right (both seen from behind) |
The above photo shows what was the east-side wall of a house, with its front end in the lower right — the yellow line runs along the outside of the foundation. The heavy masonry (rough measure using my Chuck Taylors**) is about 20" thick. Here's a stitched view of the west wall, excuse the strong distortion...
The north-west front corner of the house is clearly seen at (1). (2) indicates a small external protrusion, possibly a chimney, incorporates some yellowish stone — sandstone perhaps? (3) is a longer, well-defined protrusion that may indicate a window bay.
It's notable that the east wall extends exactly 6 Chuck Taylors closer to the street than the west does, indicating an asymmetric facade of the sort we see on so many of the Victorian houses still standing in Ottawa. Indeed, a bit of poking about helps us date the building to the late 1800s.
Charles Goad's insurance maps make it clear that, as of 1878, he saw no construction south of Lisgar Street worth documenting. The following decade must have undergone a building boom because by 1888, Goad (and his draftsmen) were drawing little pictures of houses and businesses as far south as Catherine Street and the CAR rail line, now the Queensway.
Here's an image adapted from Goad's 1888 sheet #52...
196 Lisgar (top row of houses, second from the left) conforms perfectly with the size, shape and position of our parking lot find. Its solid pink colour indicates solid brick construction, at a prestigious 2
½ storeys in height. The grey blocks wedged into the southeast corner of the property are a shed and a stable (the latter marked with an "X" on its roof). The very similar house at 200 Lisgar would be replaced by the Queen Elizabeth apartments at the start of WWII, while at a somewhat later date, 215 Metcalfe would make way for the Regency Towers at 261 Cooper.
Relying on my meager collection of city directories, I find no 1885 listing for a 196 Lisgar. Jumping ahead to 1901, we find "196 Douglas Clifton A". Mr. Douglas would reside at #196 until his death in February of 1916, earning the house (I would think) the title of "Douglas House."
A death is not a cheery thing, but finding an obituary is like finding gold. Here are the nicer things we learn about Clifton Douglas from the
Ottawa Journal, February 14 1916, page 4...
Mr. Clifton A. Douglas, for many years one of the best-known real estate and financial men in this city, died at his home, 196 Lisgar street, on Saturday. Deceased was in his 64th year and had been a resident of Ottawa for the past 35 years.
Born at Bellefontaine, Ohio, on March [unclear] 1853, the late Mr. Douglas came to Canada to engage in mining in the Ottawa Valley in 1875 and five years later settled here permanently. In that year he established the real estate and insurance business of C. A. Douglas & Co., and about ten years later, the Home Building and Savings Association of Ottawa, of which he has been managing director ever since.
Deceased was a charter member of the Ottawa Board of Trade and held the office of secretary-treasurer for many years. He was also vice-president of the Copeland, Chatterton, Crain Co. and a director in many other business enterprises in the city.
As a member of the Scottish Rite and Dalhousie Lodge, the late Mr. Douglas was prominent in Masonic circles, and he was also prominent in benevolent and philanthropic work, being at one time president of the Protestant Home for the Aged and a life director of the Protestant General Hospital.
In religion the deceased was a Methodist and attended Dominion Methodist church, of which he was a trustee.
The widow and four daughters, Mrs. W. Muir Edwards, of Edmonton; Mrs. G. F. Reinhardt, of Boston Mass.; Mrs. Kenneth P. McDonald, of Ottawa, and Miss Marjorie Douglas, of Ottawa, survive him.
The funeral took place at 3:00 this afternoon from the family residence, 169 [sic] Lisgar street, to Beechwood cemetery, Rev. Dr. Sparling conducting the service.
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| 1906-6-28, Ottawa Journal |
GeoOttawa's aerial photos show the Regency Towers being built in 1965. The Douglas house disappeared some time between that year and 1976.
In this view from early 1965, the Regency Towers building (RT) nears completion. The morning sun casts a shadow from the northwest wing of the new structure onto the roof of the older, shorter Queen Elizabeth (QE). Notice the construction crane still in place. Douglas House, not yet demolished, sits within the blue circle. Note its complex roof and the "summer kitchen" extension to the rear. "E" indicates the old red-brick house presently being used as the Czech Embassy.
The Recency Towers began renting in the summer of 1965. Here is an ad from exactly 52 years ago...
Apartments for
rent? What a novel idea!
*I was having trouble getting my head around the idea of calling a building the "Queen Elizabeth" in 1939, when "our" Queen would have been some 12 years old and certainly not yet Monarch. Of course, the apartments were named for the Queen Mother, herself an "Elizabeth." The naming commemorated the 1939 cross-Canadian visit by King George VI and his wife (played by
Helena Bonham Carter, best supporting actress) in the same year that Britain declared war on Germany.
The following year, George and Elizabeth would visit the New York World Fair as part of an effort to garner American assistance in "the European War." An intriguing article about a bombing at the Fair (
Marc Wortman, Daily Beast) is well worth the read.
**Vans, Nikes, whatever — each shoe should be 12" long.
