Boyd Block Houses

A blog reader gave me the suggestion for this post on Boyd Block houses in Ottawa (thanks A.H.). These are the historic houses that were built in the Ottawa area out of cement blocks that have a stone-like finish and were made by the Boyd Brothers Concrete Company.

From Radford's Cement Houses c. 1909

Upon further research, I found that there were already some good resources on the history of Boyd Blocks:

https://www.boydbrosconcrete.ca/history/

http://magickcanoe.com/blog4/?p=1

https://oldottawasouth.ca/history-project/2009/09/30/boyd-block-house/

Given the information already available, I want to add some additional notes of interest.

The "heyday" for the Boyd Block houses was during the first two decades of the twentieth century. This time period in architecture was one where styles such as the American Foursquare and Edwardian houses were common in Ottawa. These were less ornamental in style compared to the Victorian period and thus lended themselves to the use of Boyd Block in the construction of these squarish houses.

The period was also one where mail order kit houses could be purchased, and some of these companies actually promoted the use of concrete in house construction. In 1909 William A Radford published a book on cement houses, along with sample plans: Cement Houses and How to Build Them

These books were common at the time. Both builders constructing multiple houses, and individuals building their own house, would have used these books as inspiration, and even may have ordered the plans. The image below shows books available at an Ottawa bookstore, including "Cement Houses" and "Radford's Bungalows".

Ottawa Journal March 12, 1913

Below are some newspaper articles for some further reading on Boyd Block houses in and around Ottawa:

Ottawa Citizen. February 27, 2000

Ottawa Citizen. June 14, 2006

Ottawa Citizen. August 12, 2013

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