“The Hope Building stands on a narrow site on the north side of Sparks Street in the core of the Ottawa business district. The Hope Building was built in 1910 by Holbrooke and Sutherland, contractors to the designs of W.E. Noffke, an Ottawa architect. The tall, nine-story structure is of steel-frame and concrete slab construction. It is distinguished by its extensive glazing. The principal façade is clad in granite and has a strong vertical emphasis. The top story has an elaborate cap of glazed terra cotta panels.

“The Hope Building was commissioned by the Ottawa bookseller and stationer James Hope primarily as rental accommodation for lawyers, real estate agents and other professionals. Hope was a longtime Sparks Street landowner having disposed of two earlier buildings, he purchased a narrow part lot farther west along Sparks Street and commissioned the Ottawa architect W.E. Noffke to design a combined bookstore for his own use, and an office building primarily dedicated to Hope’s great love, religious publishing. Naming the structure “Bible House,” he ordered the addition of a statue of Hope, a Grecian allegorical female figure which, play on his name notwithstanding, represented the owner’s expectation that his enterprise would contribute to a better world.

“Prominently located next to the postal substation, the Hope Building is the first of the privately owned highrise buildings along the north side of Sparks Street. Its great height compared with its width, its midblock location and the narrowness of Sparks Street make it a difficult building to see in perspective, but its continuing use as a major bookstore contributes to its familiarity locally. For the city, it is a building of heritage interest, and was given an award of excellence for PWC’s efforts at rehabilitation in 1984.”

Information derived from the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Credits and Sources:

Information derived from the Canadian Register of Historic Place