Skip to main content

Eastview aka: Castle Heights/Overbrook

Located north and south of Donald Street, west of St. Laurent, is a pocket of early MCM houses. The area was once part of an area called Eastview, but is now know as Castle Heights or Overbrook.

Below is a map of Ottawa new home developments from 1956 showing Castle Heights as a part of Overbrook.


Interestingly, although both Campeau and Minto built in the area, I have not been able to find too much information on their developments. This map of Campeau developments from a 1959 brochure does not even show Eastview/Castle Heights...how odd.



Located closest to St. Laurent is the area that was built by Campeau during the 1950s. Below is an article that mentions the first house that Robert Campeau built for himself and then sold for profit in Eastview.


Many of the houses have more traditionally-inspired architecture, yet hint at the mid-century modern trends that were emerging in the architecture world.
The best hint at this modernism is with the corner windows seen on the left house below. This pushing of the windows to the corner of the house - only separated by the structural post - is decidedly modern. The large picture window also set the houses apart from earlier designs.

 
Three main types of houses were built in the area: the 2-storey foursquare, the 1 1/2 storey house (sometimes called a Cape Cod style house), and bungalows.

Pictures windows on mid-century suburban housing are common. While they may hint at some sort of pastoral 'suburban' view, often they just look right back at the picture window on the house across the street!

Another house with a corner window is pictured above. In the past, houses were designed with more symmetry and regularity in window placement. The stretch of blank wall, and corner windows makes this house thoroughly modern.


Located in the middle of the area south of Donald Street is a pocket of postwar houses that were probably Victory Houses built for returning veterans after WWII. They are all 1 1/2 storey designs. None of the houses have ever gone up for sale, and I have not been able to find out who owns them. I presume they are all rentals. 

When looking at this area of Victory Houses from the air, their unique placement is apparent.

Located north of the Victory Houses is a pocket of detached and semi-detached houses built by Minto.


The corner window arrangement is also found on the houses built by Minto - so it was clearly en vogue at the time.


Above is an ad for the Brook Gardens area built by Minto, which is actually located on the other side of St. Laurent, but shows the same design that was built in Castle Heights.

Semi-detached houses on Donald Street possibly also built by Minto.

Across the south, the houses are mostly multi-family units, including this row of of semi-detached houses with a unique wavy placement.

 

Above is an ad for houses which where built by E.R. Tremblay on Queen Mary Street. Their advertisement mentions that their show home was located on St. Laurent between Donald Street and Queen Mary Street. The semi-detached houses below are the only residences currently on that strip. Were there more that have been demolished and replaced with the strip malls?




Scattered throughout the area are custom built-houses in a variety of styles. Here is a nice pair with angle stone details and picture windows. A few of the houses in the area were built from CMHC plans.

Located just outside of the subject area, to the north, are a series of U-shaped townhouse courts like this one. I quite like the modern simplicity of the flat-roofed houses. Better landscaping would soften the severity of the modern architecture, and make them look less institutional.


Labels:

Comments

  1. lilynymphJanuary 23, 2012 at 6:46 PM

    Thanks for giving some info about my hood! I have had a hard time finding out any tangible info about it as well. I do know that the old victory homes are now with the City of Ottawa for their housing program. One of our friend's mother is in one and she loves it! That could be why they have never been for sale. Not sure how that would have been worked out back in the day but these may be things we shall never find out :) I believe those last apartments that you show with the weird banks of earth in the courtyard are also city housing, there is a fair amount in the neighbourhood. We have always been intrigued by them too, especially the earth mounds! I am dying to know where Campeau's first house is located, do you have any idea?? Thank you for giving me new mysteries to solve :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SaulJanuary 27, 2012 at 8:07 PM

      I wish I knew which was Robert Campeau's first house. As you put it...more mysteries to solve!

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJune 3, 2013 at 11:02 PM

      I just found a link from the Ottawa Citizen store selling a photo of the first house that Robert Campeau built at 462 Guy Street in Vanier. Are you able to find out any more information about this house, and confirm if it is indeed the first Campeau house? Here is the link, it is a great photograph:
      http://store.ottawacitizen.com/products/campeau-homebuilder

      Delete
  2. marc duboisJanuary 7, 2013 at 1:06 PM

    Regarding the duplexes built by Tremblay on St Laurent. Indeed, on the west side of St Laurent between McArther and Donald there were duplexes of the same sort that you show in teh picture above. This would have been in the 70s.

    I love your blog, very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownAugust 13, 2013 at 9:28 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownAugust 13, 2013 at 9:31 AM

    Campeau's first house was built on Guy St., in Castle Heights. That area was never part of Eastview. It was part of Gloucester Township until 1950, when it was annexed by the City of Ottawa. Eastview (later known as Vanier) became part of the amalgamated City of Ottawa on Jan. 1, 2001.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Most viewed posts

Campeau in Alta Vista

One of the biggest builders in Ottawa during the 1950s and 1960s was Campeau Construction, a name still known today, even though the builder is no longer active. Many of the houses in Alta Vista were custom built, but Campeau was one of the first builders to construct tract homes in the area. Approximate locations of areas where Campeau built Beginning in the 1950s Campeau began building houses southwest of Kilborn Avenue and Alta Vista Drive, north of Randall Avenue. At the time, bungalows and one-and-a-half storey houses were most popular. Many of the “Victory Houses” built by Wartime Housing Ltd. for returning veterans after WWII were one-and-a-half stories, and the style soon became very popular for all builders. Below are some of Campeau's one-and-a-half storey plans built in the area: With time, the one-and-a-half storey house became less popular, and bungalows and split-level houses became the norm. An easy way to determine the age of houses on a street in
57 comments
Read more

The small Post-War 1 1/2-Storey House - Part One

 The small Post-War 1  1/2-Storey House The 1  1/2-storey house is common in certain areas of Ottawa built during WWII and the era immediately afterwards. These houses can be found throughout the city, but larger concentrations include the following areas: Carlington, Courtland Park, Carleton Heights, Meadowlands/St. Claire Gardens, Alta Vista, Overbrook, Eastview, Vanier, Elmvale Acres and Queensway Terrace.  The 1  1/2-storey house actually has older roots in European architecture and early North American housing. The style was re-born by Wartime Housing Limited during WWII to fill a need during a housing shortage and were meant to be temporary. The design is economical to build, versus a full 2-storey house, and in some cases the second floor can be left unfinished for future expansion. Here is a link to a NFB short film on the wartime houses:  Wartime Housing   Below are the 3 basic plans Wartime Housing Limited built in communities across Canada - one of which was a 1  1/2-storey
Post a Comment
Read more

Modern Mansard - The Neo-Mansard Roof

Throughout the mid-century, the Mansard roof was popular in Ottawa housing design.  First popularised in France during the 17th century, and then revived in the 19th century, the roof style re-appeared in Ottawa during the 1960s. At first the roof was used on historically-inspired houses, but was eventually altered in a variety of ways to have a more modern take on tradition. Campeau was the builder who used the roof the most in the mid-century, but other builders also followed suit. A traditional use of the Mansard roof. Playfair Park North/South, Russell Heights, c. 1965. This plan had a traditional Mansard option as well as 2 Dutch Colonial options with a Gambrel roof. Beacon Hill and South Keys, c. 1967. Here is a great example of a modern take on the Mansard roof. Instead of protruding dormer windows with arched tops, these houses have an inset window and an asymmetrical facade. From the side, the roof actually has more of a Gambrel-style silhouette.
1 comment
Read more

Costain in Ottawa - Part One: Blackburn Hamlet (Detached Homes)

Some of my long-time readers may remember that I did a series of posts on Costain a few years ago. For some reason, a few of my older posts have vanished from my blog - for reasons unknown to me. So, I have re-created this post on the builder Costain due to interest from some of my readers. On the positive side, I have been able to get my hot little paws on some new floor plans and marketing material, so there is more material in this post compared to the original (now lost) post! In the mid-1960s the builder Costain (originally from England, but with an impressive global portfolio) came to Ottawa to develop a new hamlet in the eastern greenbelt called Blackburn Hamlet.  Today Blackburn Hamlet is very lush with mature trees and extensive parkland, surrounded by the NCC Greenbelt. The west side of Blackburn Hamlet has 3 neighbourhoods separated by parkland, Westpark, Southpark and Centrepark. The Northpark and Eastpark neighbourhoods
15 comments
Read more

Campeau in the late 1950s and early 1960s

Below is a collection of floor plans that Campeau built in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I quite like the first plan with its blank front facade to the right of the front door. It gives the house a modern take on the Cape Cod-inspired 1 1/2 story style. I do not believe that many of this design were built, though. I also quite like this design below, with its blank facade and large wall of windows in the Living Room. Too bad my only copy of the plan is cut off at the top.
Post a Comment
Read more

CMHC house designs from the mid-century

Between 1947 and 1974 the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), formerly Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation, published regular floor plan books of small houses suitable to be built in Canada. Blueprints could be ordered for the architect-designed plans, and examples of the built houses can be found throughout Ottawa. There are so many interesting plans that were available through the CMHC, so this is only the first posting with some of my favourites. If you recognise any of these designs that have been built in Ottawa (or elsewhere in Canada), please feel free to share the location with me! I have always been a fan of the butterfly roof! Although there are no front facing windows on the above design, the cedar shake cladding makes for a very interesting facade. The architect was based out of Kanata, and I could easily see this house fitting into the natural landscape of Beaverbrook - although I don't think it was actually built there.  The central atrium h
Post a Comment
Read more

Amberwood Village - Stittsville

Another blog post by request!   Located south of Hazeldean Road east of Stittsville Main Street is a very special "adult-lifestyle" neighbourhood begun in the late 1970s. The original phases of Amberwood Village consist of a series of houses built in clusters along the edges of the Amberwood Golf Course.   The development was originally built by a company called Jaric Developments Ltd. The architect of this original portion of the area was W.G.Mohaupt - who also designed the "courtyard singles" in Hunt Club (see my old post  Favourite Plans South and scroll down to see these designs) - and also used to design houses for Minto.   The clusters of attached houses are grouped on dead-end lanes and units are attached is a variety of arrangements. Some designs have an attached garage, while others have detached garages clustered together with others. The result is a very interesting streetscape with a lot of open space between units. Image courtesy of
1 comment
Read more

The bungalow staircase

California spearheaded the popularity of the bungalow (or ranch home), in mid-century North America. In California, basements are rare. During WWII and immediately afterward, some Ottawa houses were built without basements to save costs. But, the appeal of having a basement as extra room for storage and expansion space, meant that the basementless house did not last long. Having a basement meant that California-inspired designs had to be adapted to allow room for a staircase down. The placement of the basement stairs in bungalow design is sometimes a challenge. With a two-story house, often the staircase is located in the front hall, but this is not the case with many bungalows. While a staircase up leads to finished rooms on the upper floor, the staircase down to the basement was historically linked to service spaces. Basements in older houses were more utilitarian, so there was no need to have the basement stairs on display like the stairs to the upper floors. A staircase down also
3 comments
Read more

California Modern in Ottawa

During the mid-century era, California became the epicentre of modern design. From the architect-designed case-study houses, to the mundane tract house, all eyes were on California. In Canada, books and periodicals on architecture filled with Californian design would have sparked the imagination of Architects and designers. W hen one thinks of Mid-Century Modern (MCM) California tract housing, the name ‘Eichler’ often comes to mind. Perhaps one of the most famous MCM tract builders, Joseph Eichler, defined MCM design in the United States. His widely-published designs even captured the imagination of Canadians. Any designer/architect in the know would have seen an Eichler plan. In Ottawa, there are a few examples of houses built in the 1960s with floor plans that could have been influenced by those being built by Eichler. The most famous Eichler-built designs are those with an open-air atrium at the centre. One of the floor plans built by Teron in Beaverbrook during the 1960s feature
7 comments
Read more

MCMC - Mid-Century Modern Condos

Do you love MCM design, but are looking for a condominium apartment to call home? Ottawa has a good selection of MCM buildings where your Eames chair will feel at home. While some may find the plain exteriors of many MCM condos too severe, they usually have very spacious units inside - especially compare to the tiny condos built today. The simplicity of some of the plans may seem boring, but upon closer inspection, the well-proportioned rooms and abundance of natural light is quite appealing. MCM condo apartments were built in the later half of the period, as the first ever high-rise condo building in Canada was built in 1967. The Horizon House is located in Ottawa, and was built by Minto in Parkwood Hills. There were buildings built earlier in the mid-century, but they are rental apartment buildings. This particular posting will focus only on condo buildings. Horizon House - located at Meadowlands Drive and Chesterton Drive in Parkwood Hills. Built in the mid 1970s,
7 comments
Read more