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Riverside Park East

The area around Riverside Drive and Walkley Road has a cluster of distinct neighbourhoods that are a part of Riverside Park. This posting will focus on the North-Eastern section of the area, and in particular the houses built by Campeau in the early 1960s (c. 1961-1964). This period of designs by Campeau includes some striking mid-century modern houses. 


In 1961 Campeau released a brand new series of plans, and in particular I will focus on these designs. The same plans were also built in parts of Queensway Terrace. One of the most striking changes from their 1950s designs is that the houses were no longer full brick. 

Various examples of the all-brick designs exist side-by-side with the newer plans.


A 1962 article from National Builder, showing which plans were the best-selling at the time.

Below is a selection of plans and present-day images of the houses in this area. Most plans had two exterior options, and I have picked only one to display in this posting.
The huge picture windows are such a common element on suburban houses of the time.
The same design as the plan above, but with a different facade option. The sprawling horizontal silhouette is classic mid-century suburban. 


I have always admired the straightforward lines on exterior of this design. It is traditional, yet minimal. The almost square living room is also a nice aspect of the plan.

I adore the colour-scheme on this one. Notice the carport has been enclosed as a garage.

Above and below are 2 other versions of the plan - also with great colour-schemes.


Notice that the bathroom has two access points - one from the bedroom area and the other from the side entry.

A modern facade option for the plan above - without the carport.

This angle shows the exposed rafters on this modern design
With the carport.
Another great modern design with exposed rafters. The plan is the same as the B-51, only turned on its side.
The bottom right image from this 1961 National Builder article is the interior of the B-50.




It appears that the carport was enclosed and the front bedroom made into the entry of this house.

The planter as a divider in the hall is very cool. I am not sure which I like better, the decorative brick or the trellis on the carport.


Here is the decorative brick on the carport wall.

There are a few houses in the area where the carport has been enclosed as a porch.


This design is one of the most changed in the neighbourhood. The covered front porch has been enclosed on many houses, such as the example below.


For some reason, the front bedroom window was replaced with a smaller one. The porch has also been enclosed.
Again, the window was made smaller - clearly to match the window on the enclosed porch.

These two designs are interesting in that the kitchen extends behind the carport. There are not many of these plans built in the area. The above plan has no dining room, while the plan below converts one bedroom into a dining room, but results in a two bedroom house.

The small front porch has been enclosed on this B-82.

This plan and the one below are from a handful of modern designs that Campeau built at the time. The post and beam construction with exposed beams is striking.


The brickwork and transom windows under the roof line are beautiful modern features of this design.

This duo of designs makes a great modern statement. The B-50 is on the right.
 
A great flat-roofed carport compliments the architecture of this house.
I quite like the design of the side addition.
Side-splits are less common in the neighbourhood - but the above design has a great roof line.




High-ranch designs are quite common in the area.


This house looks to have many of the original details intact, including the windows!







I have always found the detailing on this design to be interesting - since the sides are in brick, and the front and back are siding.

Hidden behind these two updated facades with add-on garages (above and below) are most-likely Campeau high-ranch designs.


Another house that has been altered with a large garage and updated brick facade.

Above and below are bungalows that have had second floors added on.


Filling out the area are a cluster of houses by a builder that I am unsure of (Economy Home Builders? Capital Quality Homes? Knight Homes? Maybe some by each?). 

Riverside Park West and South also have some great modern designs. Some are the same, while others are different. Keep an eye out for an upcoming post on those areas.

Comments

  1. Thank you Saul. Excellent post. Pictures circa 2012 side by side original concepts and your comments... really enjoyed it. All around an awesome blog that I only discovered two weeks ago. I'm looking forward to reading your past posts.

    Gabe
    Courtland Park
    Ottawa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi i wrote on another post. I was looking at this one, and one of the photos of the high ranch with the garage built in front of it was right next door to the house I grew up in as a child. I lived on Cromwell Drive and the homes there were built in the early 1960s. I found some pictures of when my parents bought and the dates on them were 1964. Thanks for this website. It connects me to home.
    marta in Fredericton, NB.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm sorry about the lap top and car issues. :( This is a great blog space. I come here a lot. Thank you, again. Marta in Fredericton.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Saul,

    Great site. Do you happen to have floor plans for apartments at 373 Laurier Avenue East?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alas, I only have 1 floor plan (for unit type 3A - the largest plan with 3 bedrooms & den) as well as a structural floor plate design for the building. I will share them in an upcoming post.

      Delete
  5. Great blog, Saul. I love seeing the history of our city and neighbourhoods in Ottawa! We live in a 1 1/2 story "Cape Cod" style in East Riverview Park - can HARDLY wait until you have a look at our neighbourhood and maybe see the original plans for our house!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am glad you enjoy reading my blog! I will work on researching your neighbourhood for an upcoming post!

      Delete
  6. My family moved into a newly built side-split in Riverside Park East in early 1962 - I gather from one of your other posts that it was a B-17.

    But I remember as a kid I envied my friend Sandra's S-32 down the street. I thought it was WAY cooler! What I did like about our floorplan was the little open-space den on the same level as the garage and laundry room.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Saul, great post as always. Do you have the basement/lower level floor plan(s) for Campeau's S-40? Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!

      Unfortunately, Campeau did not include basement/lower level plans with most of these plans - except for the high-ranches and some of the back-splits - so what I posted is all that I have.

      ~Saul

      Delete
    2. Hi Saul. Turns out the S-40's lower levels are pretty predictable, given the upper floors' layout: at ground level, the garage runs under the two left-most bedrooms, there's another washroom under the upstairs one, and there's a den/office under the third upstairs bedroom. The basement level has a rec room lining the back of the house under the kitchen and dining room, with the HVAC and a workshop under the living room, and a storage room under the main foyer/entrance.

      Delete
  8. Love the Campeau built houses in the Riverside areas, particularly the S32 model. Any idea how you can get the plans for this one?
    Thank you for your passion of 60/70 era house!! Ruth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Ruth. This is the only version of the plan I have for the S32 plan. If you are lucky enough to find one of the original owners, they may still have an original blueprint.

      ~Saul

      Delete

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