Ogilvy's store on Rideau Street in Ottawa was built as a three-story building in 1907 and expanded by one floor each in 1931 and 1934
Ogilvy's opened a new store for home furnishings at the corner of Besserer and Nicholas Streets across from the main store in 1951
126 Rideau Street (at Nicholas)
Ottawa, Ontario
CE 6-4511
DOWNTOWN STORE DIRECTORY
Downstairs
Housewares • Small Appliances • Paint • Wallpaper • Home Improvement • Luggage • Book Corner • Needlewoman's Shop • Circle of Beauty Salon
Street Floor
Jewellery • Silverware • Cosmetics • Perfumes • Handbags • Small Leather Goods • Gloves • Accessories • Scarves • Neckwear • Hosiery • Lingerie Bar • Wig Box • Laura Secord Candy • White/Elna Sewing Center • Yard Goods
The Men's Shop Men's Furnishings • Men's Clothing • Men's Sportswear • Gift Bar
Rideau Street Shops
120 Rideau Street Young Colony Shoes
118 Rideau Street Men's Shoe Shop • Boy's Shoes
114 Rideau Street Radio & Appliance Shop
112 Rideau Street Stationery • Book Shop
110 Rideau Street Camera Shop
Mezzanine
Shopping Service • Gift Wrapping • Bridal Service • Personalized Items
Fashion Floor - The Second
Shoe Salon • Ladies' Sportswear • Ladies' Dresses • Ladies' Coats • The Salon • Bridal Salon • Fur Salon • Millinery • Lingerie • Foundationwear
Young Colony Dresses • Coats • Sportswear
Third Floor
Boys' Shop • Girls' Shop • Children's Wear • Children's Shoes
Fourth Floor
Linens • Bath Boutique • China • Crystal • Giftware • Paintings • Mirrors
Fifth Floor
Offices
Home Furnishings Building - Nicholas at Besserer
Downstairs
Outdoor Furniture • Bedroom Furniture • Mattresses • Televisions • Appliances • The Sportsman's Lodge
Street Floor
Living Room Furniture • Dining Room Furniture • Occasional Furniture • The Sportsman's Lodge
75 Besserer Street Power Tool Shop • Toys
Second Floor
Carpeting • Rugs • Draperies • Decorative Fabrics • Hoovers
BRANCH STORES (1962-1972)
Billings Bridge Plaza (1962)
Bank Street and Riverside Drive
Lincoln Fields Shopping Center (1972)
2525 Carling Avenue
I have recently come into possession of Charles Ogilvy's desk dating back to 1907. Post comment here if you wish to discuss and I will send you an email. I'm interested in any information you might have re the history of Charles Ogilvy Ltd. and look forward to hearing from you. I'll check back in the comments every week or so.
ReplyDeletethanks,
Daniel
Daniel,
DeleteIf you live in Ottawa area, I had seen an anniversary book of C. O at the Charlotte Room of the City of Ottawa on Sussex in the 600s
Of what I had understand, Charles was the son of James of Montréal who start the Ottawa branch. I presume the separation in the 20s. Nesbitt the broker bought the Montréal store.Before the malls, a branch exist in Westboro/Richmond Rd. They had operated a woodworking shop in the same area. Thanks to the dutch and HBC for the bullshitting!
Many other independent stores had exist in Ottawa. One of the last to fall was Caplan on Rideau Street, without branches. Now a tower.
DeleteI just know the name of Slover who had a branch at Billings Bridge.
My grandma had shopping at Larocque who was at Rideau/Dalhousie.
Fournier became Eaton's and closes in 1965 at Bank/Laurier.
Eaton's just return in Ottawa in 1973 at Bayshore Mall
BAC,
ReplyDeleteoh, I see that comments aren't visible until approval by yourself, the site host. In that case here is my email address:
dancel44@yahoo.ca
thanks,
Daniel
i uaed to work at ogilvys first in the warehouse on nelson st then at the store on nicolas .were they sold furniture and rugs etc i was the shipper and rec.for the longest time i have a few storys .met a lot of nice people there
ReplyDeleteThis is the jewel gem store of Canada. No other elegant store comes close. Thanks for posting it
ReplyDeleteHello, I had a relative who served as President of the company after his passing....
ReplyDeleteI am interested in determining the age of a hope chest, made by Charles Ogilvy, that I have just inherited.
ReplyDeleteCan you suggest a place to track this down?
Dear Elly:
ReplyDeleteOgilvy's advertised profusely in The Ottawa Citizen. It would be painstaking, but you could search and browse through that paper at google newspapers to see if they ever advertised it.
Good luck.
BAK
Hello, Both my father and mother worked at Charles Ogilvy Limited. That is where they met, fell in love and married. My father worked there from 1955 up until Robinson's took over. He was the Manager/Buyer of the Ladies Shoe Dept. My Uncle also worked at the Lincoln Fields Store. I do have some pictures of the people that worked in the Shoe Dept. Unfortunately, my father passed away in 2005. He could have given you a book full of stories. Thanks for keeping my memories alive. PM
ReplyDeleteDear PM:
ReplyDeleteThank you for adding your memories - I, too regret that your parents are no longer with us, to give us a window into this fine store and what it meant to them.
My own mom suffered a stroke when she was 58 years old, and could not speak afterwards. To this day, I feel a loss over all of the details of her great generation which were lost to me as a result.
I appreciate your comments along with the contribution of your family!
BAK
PM:
ReplyDeleteI remember your dad Andy, from when I worked at Ogilvy's in the mid '70s. He was a very nice man. He always had a joke or a witty story to share when I saw him.
My mother was the Buyer/Manager of the Ladies Coat Department which was located on the second floor near the Ladies Shoe Dept. She worked at Oglivy's from 1961 until the day it closed.
I worked full time in shipping and receiving for a year, and part time on and off for three years while I was going to school. I actually worked for Andy on Saturdays for a while, stocking and sorting the shoes in his stock room. One of Andy's staff, Mary I think her name was (a very nice lady) promptly honoured me with the title of "Vice President in Charge of Empty Boxes".
It was the best and friendliest place I have ever worked at in my whole life, my mother and I still talk about it today.
Cheers,
Peter D
I worked with Andy B. on the 2nd floor in the Ladies Shoe department in 1984-1985. His assistant Manager was "Muriel" - what a card she was! Mr. B took incredible pride in customer service and it was here and because of the team there that I learned patience with older customers. Some people used to preface their dealings with me by saying: "I've been shopping here since 1930...." HOLEE CRAP! That's customer loyalty. I used one of those drawstring shoe bags for a lunch bag forever. It was a different retail experience for a young person, becasue you really were being mentored by the masters of their craft. Kids today are talking on their cell phones or texting at the cash...NO customer service geez. Ogilvy's was to "go to" place for a lot of things. I saw it shrivel and die when Robinson's bought them out. Not happy times for the "Lifers." Thanks Andy B. You were a Prince.
ReplyDeleteHi: One never knows what one will find on the internet. My mother worked at the store from about 1930 to 1937, when she got married (women had to retire from working then - she is still alive and turns 100 in eight weeks and still talks about her days at Ogilvy's and about Mr. Ogilvy and about the first Mrs. Ogilvy and he second Mrs O.). She had a close friend who worked at Ogilvy's until she was almost 80 (I think). When she died, I got several company photos and newsletters she had in her possession. I treasure these. BTW, one of the illustrations on your site is for the store on Richmond Road in Westboro, which is a short distance from Mr. Ogilvy's home on Edison Avenue. This store is not listed in your branch sites. The building still exists. Hopefully, the recent decision to dismantle the Rideau store and put it into storage for another day, does not mean it is gone forever from the city urban landscape.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the interesting information about this store. I visited there in the early 1980s, so I have a few brief memories.
ReplyDeletePlease wish your mom a heartfelt Happy 100th Birthday for me! What a milestone, what a blessing!
I have no pictures of Ogilvy's branch stores, though I do hope I can find some one day. If any images of the stores could be scanned and sent to bakgraphics@comcast.net I would certainly post them.
Best wishes,
Bruce
It would have been really cool to see what kind of paintings they had in those buildings. This is really a neat piece of history.
ReplyDeleteHello folks,
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to determine a value for a piece of furniture that has the Ogilvy brass plate on it (as far as I can tell, this was only done for a little while in the life of the store, perhaps in the 1930s). Could anyone help in assessing it or offer advice on how to go about determining value/collectors?
Here is the antique: http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-art-collectibles-Charles-Ogilvy-Ltd-Antique-wooden-table-with-cupboard-W0QQAdIdZ496456845
Many thanks,
Choleena
I'd be interested in seeing if there are any pictures of the clothing that was sold at Ogilvy's! I have a big project on Ottawa retail stores and the types of clothing citizens would see and buy between 1850 and 1980. If anyone knows where I could find some pictures, please let me know! Thanks
ReplyDelete- Stephanie
I worked at the Lincoln Fields location in Ladies wear back in 1982 for a few years and then part time while going back to school. Always one of my favorite jobs.. lots of good memories.
ReplyDeleteMy mom worked in shipping at the Billings Bridge location for several years in the 1970s. Her name was Anna.
ReplyDeleteI proudly worked there in the late '60s under Clay Kingsbury, Elmo Murray, Irene Dunnet, Cy Hill, Jack Summers, Betty Bonner, Phil Conquer, Accts Rec/Payable, etc. Betty Abernathy in charge of the elevators was a real Hoot!
ReplyDeleteWhile vacant for a number of years, the building is now home to another iconic Canadian department store, Simons.
ReplyDeleteSimons is still family run and used to only operate in Quebec.
I came across this interesting site when doing research into my fathers work history for a Notary in Quebec...my father Eric Beardsley (1924-2010)worked at Ogilvy's during it's expansion to Billings Bridge and Lincoln fields and yes there was a Westboro store as well.....as a kid I loved going to the Ogilvy's camp ground on the Rideau River called Echo Lands....My father was instrumental in rebuilding the main store after the great Rideau fire which started in Trudels hardware....at the time it was the costliest insurance claim (14 million) in Canadian history resulting from damages to a retail sore that never did incur any fire only smoke and water damage. I worked along with my friend Jim Dent at Ogilvy's parking lot during the evenings and weekends while going to college...that property is now Novatel. I remember my father saying that Mr Hyndman President would never leave the company before it was sold....I also remember Bill Tait who was a fitness and health buff retired and shortly after retirement was running along Carling in front of the Civic hospital was struck and killed by a out of control car very sad....Charles Ogilvy was instrumental in setting up the Union Mission for men who were coming into Ottawa from the train station next door.
ReplyDelete