“Cottage” Gas Station in Ottawa, Ontario
Constructed in 1934, this small service station is an architectural rarity. American architect Carl-August Petersen designed the building in the Tudor Revival style. The rounded doorways and windows, steeply-pitched roofs, and chimneys are similar to those found on old English cottages and homes in the surrounding Island Park neighborhood.
It served as one of Ottawa’s first drive-in gas stations during the early boom of automobile ownership in the 1930s. It operated as such until the late 1960s when it became a used car dealership. Since 2014, the building and plot have changed hands between a few property developers, who plan to incorporate the structure into a mixed-use space.
Notably, the former Champlain Oil Company service station was once owned and operated by Charles-Émile Trudeau, grandfather of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The building received Heritage Status in 2015.
