494 Albert Street - Ottawa, Ontario
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Weathervane
N 45° 24.990 W 075° 42.487
18T E 444595 N 5029463
The house located at 494 Albert Street, is an excellent small-scale example of the Second Empire style. It is also a rare domestic example of the style in the City of Ottawa. The house was owned by the Donaldson Family.
Waymark Code: WM14DVH
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 06/19/2021
Views: 4
Built circa 1864 and designed in the Second Empire style, 494 Albert Street is a ''L'' shaped, one-and-a-half-storey, brick veneer structure with a mansard roof typical of the style. Symmetrically arranged dormer windows with handsome carved pediments and large scrolled brackets distinguish each facade. The ground floor windows repeat the same motifs; there is a mansard-roofed porch with a small gable flanked by windows with cornices similar to those of the windows above. There are bay windows on the south and west facades. The rear wing, which was added circa 1875, repeats the design motifs of the ori gi na l portion of the building. Fire insurance plans indicate that the building's roof was changed from gable to the more fashionable mansard when the addition was made.
As it exists today, 494 Albert Street is an excellent small-scale example of the Second Empire style. The style's use here demonstrates that the Donaldson family was anxious to appear up-to-date and worthy of a house constructed in the latest fashion. The popularity of the Second Empire waned quickly in Canada, leaving 494 Albert Street a relatively rare domestic example of the style in the City of Ottawa.
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