25. The Poulin Building

The elegant, three-story brick commercial building located at 156-158 Sparks Street in Ottawa is best known historically as the Poulin Building, home to Poulin’s Department store from 1889 to 1929. An Ottawa landmark, Poulin’s was known for excellent value, courteous service, good prices and innovative advertising. One prominent early customer was reportedly Lady Macdonald, wife of Sir John A. For nearly 150 years the building, located in the heart of the Capital’s business district, was home to a succession of dry goods and department stores, notably Poulins and Zellers (1931-2013).

The building was constructed in 1871-72 to a design by prominent architect, William Hodgson. Hodgson came to Canada from England as a young man and settled in Ottawa in 1859. During the 1870s, he designed at least nine retail outlets on Sparks, Sussex, Wellington and Rideau streets. A quiet man, who shunned the spotlight, Hodgson nonetheless had a Who’s Who list of prominent patrons, including Sir John A. Macdonald, the Hon. E.H. Bronson, Judge L. Tilley, J.R. Booth, C.B. Powell and other leading citizens of 19th-century Ottawa. Hodgson’s design was Italianate in inspiration; its characteristic features include rows of tall, round-headed windows, the pronounced stone string courses delineating each storey, and the bracketed cornice. Carved stone details include eyebrows and roundels above the third-storey windows, and elaborate keystones and capitals decorating those on the second floor.

The building came under threat in the spring of 1981 but upon hearing a demolition permit had been applied for, Heritage Ottawa swung into action, launching a public awareness campaign and writing the Mayor and Council. Despite these efforts, the city approved demolition but, in the fall of 1983, the building owners (Hudson’s Bay Company) submitted a revised proposal, which was approved in March 1984. The new proposal permitted construction of a 14-storey tower facing Queen Street with a setback to minimize shadowing on the Sparks Street Mall, and the sympathetic restoration of the Poulin/Zellers building to plans by conservation architect Julia Gersovitz. The building had been altered over time, most notably by Zellers, which modernized its street-level appearance, incorporating black “Vitrolite” panels and an aluminium awning in a streamlined Moderne style. Supervised by Gersovitz, the original 1872 storefronts and bracketed cornice were reinstated, and the 1929 corner entrance restored.

The building is designated by the City of Ottawa for its architectural significance under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act as “in its overall exterior appearance above the ground floor it is an excellent surviving example of Ottawa’s retail architecture during the Confederation era.” Its Italianate design, with repetitive, narrow windows and ornate decorative detail, is also highlighted. The Poulin building was also designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act as part of the Sparks Street Heritage Conservation District (HCD). Sparks Street is an important historic commercial street in the core of Ottawa.

Sources

G. Mercer Adam, Prominent Men of Canada. Toronto: Canadian Biographical Publishing Company, 1892, pp. 252-254. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/prominentmenofca00adam/page/252/mode/2up

Heritage Ottawa, 50 Years, 50 Stories, “Poulin’s Dry Goods/Zellers Department Store,” https://heritageottawa.org/en/50years/17-poulins-dry-goods-zellers-department-store

R. Hill. Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950. “Hodgson, William,” Hodgson, William | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

The Historical Society of Ottawa. “Poulin’s: Ottawa’s Store of Satisfaction,” https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/important-public-and-private-buildings-in-the-city/poulins-ottawa-s-store-of-satisfaction

City of Ottawa. Individually designated properties, https://ottawa.ca/sites/default/files/documents/individually_designated_properties_en.pdf