9. Flavien Rochon House
“The sun in the late evening just comes pouring through the windows and bathes everything in this beautiful orange gold, and you see all the old wood just light up with colour. This house is in many ways reflective of the melting and blending ground of Lowertown.” And arguably still is.
Built in 1832, this little gem on St. Patrick Street in Lowertown dates to the year the Rideau Canal officially opened. It is one of the oldest remaining houses in Ottawa and a rare surviving example of typical workingman’s housing in Bytown during the lumbering era.
A simple 1 1/2 storey dwelling, the quality of the craftsmanship is evident in the squared timbers linked by dovetailed keys that constitute the exterior walls — a technique called “pièce-sur-pièce.” It is clad in wood siding with a gable roof. The only ornamentation is the restrained “eyebrow” detailing with decorative carving over the front door. The original interior plank floors remain intact.
By the middle of the 19th century, it was home to Flavien Rochon, a skilled woodcarver whose work included the stalls and sanctuary of the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica across the street and the interior of the Library of Parliament.
The Rochon House was acquired by the National Capital Commission in 1965 and restored in 1980 as part of the NCC’s “Mile of History” project to protect and restore several blocks of historic buildings along Sussex Drive.
In 2021, the NCC undertook some restoration work to reinforce the timber structure, rehabilitate existing windows and doors, and update the building’s interior.
Some hidden artifacts were revealed! Parts of the roof and the exterior of a dormer window had been turned into enclosed attic space where original shingles were found. An antique fork, newspaper clippings dating to 1941 were also uncovered.
The Rochon House was selected as the first of the NCC’s “Capital Culture Lives Here” initiative to host an artist-in-residence program begun in 2022.
The house is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building (designated in 1989) for its historical association with early Ottawa and simple vernacular form, which reinforces the character of the streetscape setting. It is also designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Photo: Pomerleau Construction (Manager of 2021 rehabilitation project)
SOURCES
Quote: Jen Hallsall, then NCC Manager of Residential Construction, to CBC’s Alistair Steele, December 18, 2021.
Heather Thompson, “Capital Culture Lives Here - Historic house restored to become a residence for artists.” Heritage Ottawa Newsletter, Feb. 2022, Vol. 49, No.1.
Heritage Guide Canada. Rochon Residence: https://heritageguide.ca/rochon-residence-ottawa-ontario
