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• 1 2025-07-28T02:53:16+00:00 Historical Timeline 32 Zaid plain 2025-08-05T23:16:22+00:00

  Timeline Overview

  1902 - 1948: Early Years and Expansion

  Early Years

  In the early 1900s, there were many factors fuelling the rise of industry in Hintonburg. The growing Paper & Pulp Industry, talks of annexation into Ottawa, and a push from government actors to secure this growth all influenced the rise of industrial development. Starting in 1902, the land north of Armstrong Street was purchased by the Capital Wire Factory Company. At this point, the other roads bounding the block were yet to be fully established. Prior to this purchase, the land had been owned by the Ottawa Land Association Company, a consortium or associated group of prominent businessmen and landowners, which included well-known Nicholas Sparks. By 1904, the Hintonburg Village Council had met and petitioned to join the City of Ottawa. This process concluded in 1907, when Hintonburg officiallybecame a part of the city of Ottawa, being known as the ‘West End’ or Ottawa West. On April 5th, 1912, it was reported that the contract for building the Dominion Wire Cloth and Manufacturing Company was approved. At that time, this particular section of Hintonburg was referred to as Mechanicsville, however that name would soon shift to the area north of Scott Street.

  George Ambridge

  Originally from London, England, George Ambridge was a long-time resident of Ottawa, residing at 473 Besserer Street at the time of his death. Between 1885 to 1912 he made a career in Ottawa’s building trade, erecting many large private residences across the city. In 1912, Ambridge was contracted to build the Capital Wire Cloth Factory at 7 Hinton Avenue. As he is stated to have retired from working in 1912, this factory could have been one of the last jobs he undertook. Ambridge passed away in March of 1934 at the age of 81 and is buried in Beechwood cemetery near Vanier.

  J.R. Buchanan and the Publicity Department 

  J.R. Buchanan and J.W. Perazzo were both slated to supervise the work of the new factory. It is evident that J.R. Buchanan served as president of the Capital Wire Cloth Company in its early years, however records on J.W. Perazzo are less common. Having moved from Wisconsin to Ottawa to prepare for the factory opening, Buchanan had Ottawa’s Civic Publicity Department to thank for securing the Wire Cloth industry in the city. The department had played a big part in bringing industry to Ottawa and securing their success.
  
  

  Several of the members [of the Board of Trade] spoke and... emphasized the need of continuing the publicity bureau because it would be to the general advantage of the city to do so. - (The Ottawa Citizen, November 14, 1913, 14.)

  The department was receiving huge praise during 1913, with the Publicity Commissioner, Mr. H.W. Baker, citing the committee as the reason the city was flourishing. Through the efforts of the Publicity Department to bring the Capital Wire Cloth Company to fruition, the factory produced a capital of $50,000 and a payroll of $15,000 in less than a year of operation. By the end of 1915, the Publicity Bureau had supposedly been discontinued. Considering the context of the time, perhaps the First World War influenced the closure of excess spending. This bureau closure was revealed through an assertive but quite fiery letter by J.R. Buchanan to a news editor, fighting claims that “every industry established in Ottawa through the efforts of the bureau had been discontinued”, instead asserting that the Capital Wire Factory was still operating and in fact preparing for expansion due to its current success.
  
  

  Expansion

  Through 1912 to 1948, many expansions of the factory occurred, transforming the Capital Wire Cloth Factory from a minuscule building to an entire functioning block.
  
  

  1948 - 1974: Peak and Decline

  Following its 1948 expansion, the Capital Wire Cloth Factory continued operations with steady success. Between 1950 and 1961, profits rose, with net share values increasing from $5.47 to $9.23. This upward trend culminated in a substantial $197,700.70 increase in surplus profit between 1960 and 1961, bringing the company’s total surplus to $1,265,981.10 by the end of that year. Under the leadership of the company president Robert J. Smallian at the time, 1961 marked the company’s most profitable year.
  
  
  By 1964, the factory employed over 200 people. However, this period of prosperity was short-lived. By 1974, the growing popularity of plastics in the wire cloth industry made it increasingly difficult for the company to compete. As a result, Capital Wire Cloth ceased manufacturing operations at the Ottawa facility in July 1974. Smallian stated that production would continue at other company plants located in Westminster, B.C., and Romauld, Quebec.
  The summer of 1974 marked the beginning of a gradual phase-out of the Ottawa site. Although manufacturing ended, the facility remained in use for several years as a base for marketing, engineering, technical, and sales staff. Additionally, the building continued to function as a regional warehouse and shipping depot for the Ottawa area.
  
  
  Check out these sources for more information Hinton St. and The Beach Foundry, a nearby factory.
  • Allston, Dave. Street Profiles: The History of Hinton Avenue,The Kitchissippi Museum, January 24, 2018.
  • Allston, Dave. The Beach Foundry: A Kitchissippi landmark, The Kitchissippi Museum, March 17, 2015.

  1974 - 1983: The Quiet Years & Proposal

  The 1977 Proposal

  Following the closure of manufacturing facilities in 7 Hinton Avenue, the space was still used by the Capital Wire Cloth Company for some time. After a ‘Ottawa West Neighbourhood Study’ was conducted at some point in the mid-1970s, there was a recommendation to redevelop and revitalize certain areas bounded by Holland Avenue, Scott Street, Parkdale Avenue and Wellington Street. This coincided with the closure of industry in the area, such as The Beach Foundry, which was directly north of the Wire Cloth Factory. The City of Ottawa turned their eyes to the Capital Wire Building, as it ceased manufacturing operations, and proposed it become a site of a year round indoor/outdoor market building.
  
  This plan was named the Indoor / Outdoor Parkdale Market Architectural Feasibility Study, and was conducted by Stephen Katz associates. The plan delves into imagined possibilities of the space, but also offers an analysis of the existing building.
  
  

  What Next?

  Following the proposal to revitalize the space, no action appeared to have happened in regards to developing the Parkdale Market in this space. Between the mid 1970s until 1983, it is unclear who exactly inhabited the space. While the Capital Wire Cloth Factory had been using the building for other operations outside of the manufacturing, the extent or duration of the presence is unknown. In August of 1982, an advertisement for the company BIO LOGICALS, a BioTechnology Research company, began searching for research assistants using the 7 Hinton Avenue address. 
  
  
  
  Delving into the corporate history of this company, the name BIO LOGICALS has been in use between March 1979 to June 1987 before changing to ENSCOR INC. While the main office for this company was in Toronto, it is possible that 7 Hinton Avenue was used as a research space in the 1980s as the company appears at this address in directories as late as 1986.
  
  

  1983 - Now: Modern Use

  In 1983 Metcalfe Realty Compact Limited acquired & Hinton Avenue, and has owned the land ever since. That same year, Barry Padolsky, a heritage architect, led the rehabilitation of the entire site, preserving almost all external features of the previous Wire Cloth Factory. With almost 6,400 sq. Ft. of warehouse space, there was ideal space for a showroom of light manufacturing, retail, and office space, as advertised in 1984.
  
  
  The history of 7 Hinton Avenue and its occupants is less documented following 1983. Most famously, The Hintonburg Animation Studios, which produced the "Racoons" cartoon series, inhabited the space sometimes in the mid 1980s. During this time as well, it can be assumed that BIO LOGICALS had been a tenant during the period on 1982-1986. By 1992, three confirmed tenants: Armstrong Intersects, Lacewood Animation Studio, and Vogue Brassieres Inc. called 7 Hinton their home. In 1993, Wildlife Habitat Canada and their French counterpart Habitat Fanique Canada, started renting space at the address. By 2000, Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, Habitat Faunique/Wildlife Habitat Canada, Wetlands International, and Vogue Brassieres Inc. used the space.