“In the central business district of Ottawa, the Blackburn Building is situated on the north side of Sparks Street. It is a large, ten story, reinforced concrete structure with a stone-facing.

“It was built in three sections between 1911 and 1913, but its design dates to 1907, when the Ottawa entrepreneurs Robert and Russell L. Blackburn commissioned W.E. Noffke to design a seven-story hotel for a Metcalfe Street site. Problems with land title and termination of leases in existing buildings led to delays in construction and, over time, the project expanded to the final result: a ten-story combined hotel, retail and office block which, when finished, was the largest nongovernmental office building in Ottawa. It was the city’s grandest and most ambitious commercial building project, and reflected the prominent place of the Blackburns in the city’s commercial life.

“The historical importance of the Blackburn Building appears to rest with its connection with the prominent local family, the Blackburns, its early date of conception, its great scale in the local context and its role, for most of its history, as a rental office for various federal government departments.”

Information derived from the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Credits and Sources:

Information derived from the Canadian Register of Historic Place