The city of Ottawa has seen fit to pack some spectacular architectural diversity into just a couple of blocks of downtown locations. It is more than many common urban cities capture within an entire metropolitan area. High-Victorian bay-window terraces, Gothic towers built of limestone, and much more, the capital serves as a huge open shop of design solutions that can be simply taken away into an open apartment.
In fact, local renovators often source cut-stone veneers and stained-glass inserts at buildmart Ottawa before tackling a pointed-arch doorway. To do that, this walk-through points out the best bits of detailing on the street and where precisely to purchase or create faithful reproductions for your project.
Victorian Gems Along Elgin Street
The late-19th-century rowhouses of Elgin Street combine red, buff, and charcoal bricks in a stripes and diamond motif, and complete the effect with lace-thin ironwork through the roofline. They seem highly detailed in their ornament, but much of what they are can be recreated with modern off-the-shelf materials.
Signature Facades — Polychrome Brick and Stone Banding
Victorian masons used mixed colors of bricks to separate long walls. To replicate the look, an order of reclaimed polychrome stock has been made at local salvage yards; 2025 prices range circa CA$1.40 to CA$1.80 per brick, again, depending on batch color.
Set a belt of contrasting stone, three courses in all, or headers, glazed, at window-sill height to suit the scheme of original banding. Actually, lime-made mortar will suit this purpose by making a similar surface texture to that of the original work.
Window Bays and Iron Cresting — Sourcing Modern Equivalents
Prefabricated fiberglass bay kits come with insulation built in and are ready to be set-in-brick to brick-cutting site work down to one day. To create the rooftop cresting, the majority of Ottawa metal shops can plasma cut a 3-mm steel scrollwork from a DWG file.
A ten-foot run, primed and powder-coated, would cost CA$480, totaling CA$520. Fasten it in place with the sheathing prior to shingle setting, and you have the identical profile without the maintenance duties of wrought iron.
Gothic Revival on Parliament Hill — Elements to Borrow Today
The limestone cladding panels of the store are already pre-scored with the grout lines, and the glass studio partners agree to small-run production. Moreover, even a condo entrance can promote Parliament-level flashiness.
Arched Doorways and Hood-Molds
Flexible MDF arch kits bend to any curve and are shipped primed; on site, a cedar drip-edge can be added to reproduce the look of historic hood-molds. A replacement set of two pieces to fit a standard-sized 36 opening costs about CA$260 and takes less than an hour to install using pocket screws and construction adhesive.
Buttresses, Finials, and Other Vertical Accents
Decorative fiberglass pilasters mounted at the building corners give a hint of flying buttress. Fiberglass pilasters (decorative) with flight-buttress-like rhythm have been erected at the corners of the building without any structural effort.
The fins are 18-inch-high fiberglass (weighing Trilby), using a screw in blocking at the peak of the gable, no crane, and no flashing finishes.
Stained Glass: Color Leads and Lead-Time Tips
Order triple-glazed inserts with the stained panel sealed between two clear panes; the assembly meets modern energy codes and protects the artwork. Typical lead-time for a three-color, 20-by-40-inch insert is four to six weeks, and prices start near CA$550 once the design file is approved.
Art Deco in the ByWard Market: Five Details That Still Look Fresh
Ottawa’s Art Deco pocket sits between York and George Streets, where 1920s optimism still flashes in chrome and terrazzo. Photograph these features as you wander, then bring the look home with a single purchase or two.
- Vertical fluting—the ridged brick pilasters of the Ottawa School of Art on George can show that texture indoors, MDF fluting kits start at about CA$30 per meter.
- Stepped cornices—at the terraced roofline of the old Metropolitan Life on York, there are high-gloss enamel foam replicas in eight-foot lengths and shipped across the country.
- Grills—the sunburst grills can be found by peeking through the aluminum vents of the Rideau Centre atrium; laser-cut versions of the same design start at CA$110.
- Chrome metalwork detour—William Street; old stores there sell squared pulls which fit into new cabinets in five minutes (ten-packs are around CA$65).
- Geometric terrazzo—the floor in La Bottega (York St.) is a lesson in chip size and color; a pour-over micro-topping on a stair tread is in the range of CA$10 per square foot.
Streamlined Metals for Kitchen Hardware
A white wall with chrome banisters and elevator doors was combined with polished stainless steel in the 1930s. And retrieve rectangular, fluted pulls out of the antique stalls on William, pop round to the Sussex Drive flea market to find matching hinges. Straight lines remind one of stepped cornices; the shiny surface reflects the light in a small kitchen with a galley.
Terrazzo Floors — DIY Pour vs. Prefab Tiles
Pour-in-place kits spread 50 sq ft at approximately CA$500 and require overnight curing—ideal when a slow-speed mixer is already in operation and has spike shoes. Prefab tiles are actually more expensive (approximately CA$18 per square foot) and are laid during a weekend, with no mess. Whichever way, prime with water-based urethane to have the chips of color remain sharp.
Sourcing Period Materials in 2025: Reclaimed Brick, Tin Ceilings, Ornamental Trim
Before clicking “buy,” double-check four things: exact dimensions, a lead-free label for paint or tin, Class A fire rating on panels, and the yard’s smallest-pallet allowance.
Reclaimed Yards Within a 100-km Radius
Victorian brick and salvaged tin ceiling panels are available at Carleton Place Reclaim (70 km west), and about CA$180 of freight costs are saved by picking them up on weekends. Closer in, there is Waterford ReUse, which salvages maple floorboards that date back to school houses in the 1920s, planed and ready to be installed.
Replica Manufacturers That Ship Canada-Wide
As salvage supplies dwindle, Ontario Ceiling supply continues to press new designs in 20 patterns, and Wood-Spec Quebec delivers primed poplar casing all over the country in five days. That’s good for condo renos that simply cannot wait on reclaimed lots.
Ending
Brick Golden Age by Victorian, Gothic arches on Parliament Hill and Art Deco glitz in the ByWard Market—plot these points in Google My Maps, purchase some coffee to gulp during the tour, and pick up design shots on the way.
The implication of those street-level impressions is a weekend investment at home in a couple of strategic purchases at local makers or salvage yards. Measure, stage, and install. Monday morning, you have a room that talks in a low voice to you of places where Ottawa history oozes through the half-open door.