East Port Cove in Convent Glen

In this final instalment of the series on Convent Glen, I present East Port Cove. Located in the middle-north section of the area, this pocket is sometimes referred to as Hiawatha Park, and was not a part of the original Convent Glen master plan.

Much like the The Neighbourhood in Convent Glen/Eastwood Park, this area was subject to the ups and downs of the real estate market during the 1990s. I have included more newspaper clippings than normal to show the changes. It is clear that the builders were struggling and it took about 8 years to sell this relatively small pocket of homes.

In 1990 East Port Cove was launched with a consortium of builders on the project. Over time some of the builders went out of business. The final homes in the area were built by Woodfield Homes and includes a number of custom designs.

The Ottawa Citizen. March 3, 1990.

The Ottawa Citizen. March 24, 1990.

The Ottawa Citizen. March 31, 1990.

The Ottawa Citizen. April 14, 1990.

The Ottawa Citizen. April 24, 1990.

The Ottawa Citizen. April 28, 1990.

The Ottawa Citizen. May 12, 1990.

The Ottawa Citizen. October 30, 1990.

The Ottawa Citizen. June 15, 1991.

The Ottawa Citizen. August 31, 1991.

The Ottawa Citizen. September 24, 1991.

The Ottawa Citizen. November 2, 1991.

The Ottawa Citizen. June 6, 1992.

The Ottawa Citizen. March 20, 1993.

The Ottawa Citizen. March 30, 1993.

The Ottawa Citizen. May 25, 1993.

The Ottawa Citizen. September 11, 1993.

The Ottawa Citizen. June 18, 1994.

Very few of the Sage Homes were actually built before the company went bankrupt. Some of these plans were built in "The Neighbourhood in Convent Glen" area.

The Cartier

The Muirfield Homes:

The Woodlea Homes:

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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in Ottawa during the 1950s and 1960s was Campeau Construction, a name still known today, even though the builder is no longer active.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...

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 -...

Modern Mansard - The Neo-Mansard Roof

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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 atr...

Amberwood Village - Stittsville

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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 stair...

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The Beacon Hill North area, east of downtown, has some great examples of MCM houses. Map of Beacon Hill North The two main builders in Beacon Hill were Minto and Campeau. For the most part, the Minto-built homes are in the centre of the community (in an area that was also marketed as Beaconwood), and the Campeau-built homes act as book-ends on the western and eastern sides. Simpson Homes also built a handful of large houses in the northwest portion. In addition, there are a few pockets of houses built by other builders, including MacDonald Homes, as a part of the H.O.M.E. Plan (Home Ownership Made Easy) – particularly on the east side. The Campeau houses in the southwest portion of the area were marketed as being in Rothwell Village, due to their location bordering Rothwell Heights. The houses built in this area were Campeau’s larger two-storey and split-level models. One of the Campeau designs in Rothwell Village. The same design was also built in Arlington Woods. ...

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