Quote:
Originally Posted by matt602
Interesting to see that they chopped the upper floor addition off to restore it back to it's 1916 look (aside from the glass addition). Nice building.
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Actually, it was a complete demolition.
The original 1908 building was 5 bays on Rideau and 6 bays on Nicholas. The 1916 expansion added 7 bays on Nicholas. Subsequent expansions in 1931 and 1934 added the 4th and 5th floors. In the 50s, they replaced the 1908 peers with flat brick and removed the medallion for a more streamlined, modern look. A few other additions were added west of the old building.
In the 80s, Ogilvy was bought up by Robinsons, which eventually went bankrupt in the 90s. The Rideau Centre owners of the time bought the property and demolished the post-war expansions of Ogilvy for a parking lot.
They had applied for complete demolition of the original 5 storey building, however, the City rejected the application, rightfully arguing the structure heritage. Somehow, the City eventually gave the green light for demolition, as long as a replica of the original 1908 store was included in the expansion of the Rideau.
The result is the heritage wall we see today, which is mounted on a brand new expansion of the Rideau Centre. They saved the 1908 windows, the 1916 bricks, some of the detailing (mix of 1908 and 1916, depending on how damaged the originals were). The cornice, medallion and stone peers on the first floor are all newly created replicas of the original.