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| The northeast corner of Kent and McLeod — it'll be a shame to see that Boston Ivy go. |
I took a walk down to the LCBO at Bank and McLeod this afternoon, and was paying for my bottle of Pelee Island Pinot when my nose decided to bleed. I left the store with what grace I could muster and ducked west along McLeod to avoid the staring crowds — which is how I came across this duplex.
Now I don't know what everyone else calls a pair of houses thus-conjoined, but my father, who sold concrete to the major developers of his day, and my mother, who worked for Campeau, would have both said "duplex" and that's what I'm saying too. You can go on saying "double" if you like.
The City of Ottawa sign gives us the heads-up that someone plans to build a four-storey residential block on this site, a project that would include the old houses at 443 and 447 Kent, directly behind this lot. The proposal has not been well-received.
I'm having trouble reconciling Goad and the City Directories to arrive at a construction date. The official heritage assessment is similarly vague (source)...
The following was extracted from the Heritage Survey and Evaluation Form produced by Julian Smith during his review in 1996 (with a few updated notes): 423-425 McLeod Street (constructed 1879-1901): 2 storey, flat-roofed, double residence with decorative brick veneer, decorative wood porches and cornice. Vernacular Italianate style building largely retaining its heritage integrity. Very good example of turn of the century residential design.And there you somewhat have it. My nosebleed stopped after about five minutes, the wine was a bit sweet but it did the job.
