An exercise in late-Victorian asymmetry, this two-and-a-half storey brick-veneered house sits on the southeast corner of Cooper and Lyon Streets. Decorative brick courses relieve the expanse of side walls and shallow-arched window enclosures on the ground floor lend an inviting feel to an otherwise imposing structure. The increasing exposure of the stone foundation from back to front reveals how Lyon's elevation drops from the ridge of Somerset Street towards the valley of Laurier and Slater.
Apparently, the house was not yet built in 1875. Woodburn lists all of six households on Cooper Street that year. "Concession st." is now Bronson Avenue.
Once again, I'm finding that the City Directories lagged behind Goad's maps in listing new addresses. For example, Polk & Woodburn 1890-91 list only "Vacant lots" running up to the Lyon intersection, even though Goad 1888 (sheet 55) depicts this house already built.
My next directory, Might 1901, lists John McLaughlin at #506. I figure McLaughlin as the builder/ first occupant — he owned the Ottawa Stair Works at 286 Bank.
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| Might Directory, Ottawa 1901 |
Shortly after this ad was published, McLauglin moved his business to 989 Somersets Street West, presently the address of "A Fine Thing" antique dealers. See discussion here.
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| Ottawa Journal, February 25 1914 |
Mr. Mclaughlin was still residing at 506 Cooper at the time of his death.
The house seems to in a good state of repair. Google Street View indicates that the front porch was refurbished in 2007, and the present occupants have turned the front yard into an inviting garden.
