Heritage & history

Andrex takes pride in preserving and enhancing heritage buildings in our community. This extends beyond restoring our own buildings to sharing approaches and heritage resources with others.
We believe in the importance of sharing the stories of how our built environment has evolved over generations.
Shared heritage
Our history
Reference Library

Shared heritage

In addition to cultural and heritage organizations that Andrex contributes to, featured below are some of our favourite online resources and blogs.
Supporting organizations in the community
Andrex proudly provides financial or other support for these organizations carrying out great work within the community.
Heritage Ottawa promotes awareness, appreciation and preservation of outstanding examples of historic buildings and places in Ottawa and the National Capital Region.

Andrex sponsors its popular Lecture Series, featuring a wide range of speakers and topics central to Ottawa’s history and heritage.

The Ontario Heritage Trust is dedicated to identifying, protecting, renewing and promoting Ontario’s rich and diverse built, cultural and natural heritage that has influenced and continues to shape our society for the benefit of present and future generation.

The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra is an integral part of the Ottawa’s vibrant classical music community and has a lineage dating back over 115 years. It is the only full-size symphony orchestra in region presenting major works of the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Odyssey Theatre creates critically hailed Canadian plays and dynamic adaptations from the international repertoire. Theatre under the Stars summer productions in Ottawa’s Strathcona Park appeal to a broad audience.

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute is Canada’s largest and foremost cardiovascular health centre dedicated to understanding, treating, and preventing heart disease.

Heritage & arts

Historical restoration

Blogs and other sites

Our history

Regeneration of heritage buildings is what we do. Over the years, Andrex has renewed buildings so that they can endure into future generations.
1973
Andrex Holdings is founded by Sandy Smallwood, with the vision to acquire, restore and adaptively reuse historic buildings.
1978
Saving it from demolition, Andrex fully restores the Davidson House at 190 Bronson Avenue.

This 1889 building not only serves as our office space, it stands as an example of what Andrex does best – bringing new life to special buildings.

Andrex / Davidson House.

1987
The Panet House at 189 Laurier Avenue East is acquired by Andrex for conversion into office space. Later, Andrex’s restoration receives national attention.
1990
315 Daly Avenue is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act by the City of Ottawa, recognizing the difficult but highly appreciated work undertaken to preserve a unique piece of architectural heritage.
Award of Excellence from the City of Ottawa for the adaptive reuse of Panet House, recognizing Andrex’s excellent architectural work in keeping with the historical character of the neighbourhood.
Panet House.
1994
Acquisition of Wallis House, saving it from demolition.
Award of Excellence from the City of Ottawa for the restoration and conservation of the Fleck-Paterson House, recognizing Andrex’s excellent architectural work in keeping with the historical character of the neighbourhood.
The Davidson House at 190 Bronson Avenue is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, recognizing its historical and architectural significance.
1995
The Strathcona is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, recognizing the historical and architectural significance of The Strathcona and its importance in Ottawa’s development.
The Strathcona’s designation plaque.
1996
In appreciation of Andrex’s heritage conservation achievements in preserving, protecting, and promoting Ontario’s rich heritage, the Ontario Heritage Foundation presents Sandy Smallwood with a Community Heritage Recognition Program Achievement Award.
1998
Award of Excellence from the City of Ottawa for the restoration and conservation of Wallis House, recognizing the project as contributing to the heritage character of the nation’s capital.
2004
Sandy Smallwood is acknowledged by The Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Ontario Minister of Culture in a speech introducing the province’s new Ontario Heritage Act.

“I would remind the member from Nepean-Carleton about the beautiful heritage property that we’ve preserved in Ottawa. It’s not only because of the politicians, but also because of the developers in our area. I point out again Sandy Smallwood, who is in attendance today and has a lot of positive experience. I wish that you all had one Sandy Smallwood in your community. I wanted to take two minutes to speak about Wallace House[sic]. Wallace House is a success story. This was the first hospital in Ottawa, and it was to be demolished. Sandy preserved it. Now it’s 40 beautiful loft apartments in Ottawa, and everybody enjoys it. Thank you again, Sandy, for doing that.”

Legislative Assembly of Ontario | Debates & Proceedings | Debates (Hansard) | Official Records for 14 June 2004.

2007
The Heritage Canada Foundation awards Andrex with its Corporate Prize for Andrex’s 30+ years as a recognized leader in the redevelopment of landmark buildings. Presented to Sandy Smallwood by The Honourable Norman Kwong, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.

“For more than 30 years, Andrex Holdings Limited of Ottawa, Ontario, has been a recognized leader in the redevelopment of landmark buildings. From acquisition and adaptive reuse to long-term management, the company has been dedicated to providing clients with an unparalleled urban living and working environment. In several instances, the company’s intervention has saved buildings from demolition. Among the examples cited by the awards jury were Wallis House – built as a hospital in 1873 which had fallen into disrepair, Andrex Holdings Ltd., converted it into 40 loft-style condominium apartments, and Davidson House, a stately Queen Anne residence built in the 1890s that the company restored and converted into their own offices. Other significant projects include the restoration of the Panet House and the Fleck-Paterson House – two initiatives which received a City of Ottawa Award of Excellence for Adaptive Reuse.”

The Honourable Norman Kwong – Lieutenant Governor of Alberta & Sandy Smallwood, 2007.

2009
Andrex is recognized by the City of Ottawa for the restoration of The Windsor Arms’ stone and brick parapets. The parapets had previously been dismantled in the 1990s for safety reasons, and the restoration work executed two years earlier by Keystone Traditional Masonry reinstated the building’s original massing and presence.
Reconstruction of The Windsor Arms’s parapets in 2007.
2013

Acquisition of the The Massee Apartments in Macon, Georgia. The Massee is a Macon architectural landmark, with handsome ornamental work surrounding the doorway, wide terracotta tile terrace and wrought iron railings, door grilles and torches completing the stage for its dramatic entrance. Learn more at themassee.com.

Andrex restores the main entrance doors of The Windsor Arms. The original exterior leaded stained glass panels are brought back to life by Northern Art Glass. At the same time, the panels of the inner entrance doors – damaged and removed decades earlier – are recreated based on the design of the exterior doors.
Entrance to The Windsor Arms with restored doors, 2013.

2014 & 2015

The floors of the Strathcona & Windsor Arms are restored to their original lustre.

Reference library

Andrex maintains a library of various resources to assist in the restoration and maintenance of heritage buildings, mainly geared toward heritage apartments and commercial buildings. Our reference material is located in Ottawa and is accessible at no charge to accredited persons and groups.

Architectural books & magazines

  • Abbotsford: Personal Relics and Antiquarian Treasures of Sir Walter Scott (London, 1896)
  • An Introduction to Gothic Architecture | John H. Parker (London, 1906)
  • Architecture of Country Houses, The | A.J. Downing (New York, 1856)
  • British Home of Today, The | W. Shaw Sparrow (London, 1904)
  • Brooks Designs for Cottage and Villa Architecture (London, 1840)
  • Bungalows | Henry H. Saylon (New York, 1913)
  • Domestic Architecture | R. Brown (London, 1842)
  • East of Fifth: The Story of an Apartment House | Alan Dunn (New York, 1948)
  • English Country Houses: One Hundred-Plate Folio (Boston, 1898)
  • English Domestic Architecture | Bunny, Michael, Field, and Horrace (Clevelan, 1928)
  • English House Design, 16th to 20th Centuries | Ernest Willmont (London, 1911)
  • Good Practices in Construction | Philip Knobloch, AIA (New York, 1931)
  • Half-Timbered Houses and Carved Oak Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries (London, 1894)
  • House Desireable, The | P.A. Barron (London, 1929)
  • How to Build a House | E. Viollet-Le-Duc (London, 1874)
  • In English Homes | Charles Latham (London, 1904)
  • Liverpool Architectural Sketchbook, The (London, 1911)
  • Modern Housing in Town and Country | James Cornes (London, 1905)
  • New York, New York: How the Apartment House Transformed the Life of the City, 1869-1930 | Elizabeth Hawes (New York, 1993)
  • Radford American Homes, The: 100 house plans (Illinois, 1903)
  • Shaw’s Civil Architecture | Edward Shaw (Boston, 1852)
  • Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art, The (London, 1813)

Social reference

  • Burke’s Peerage (1883)
  • Canadian Men and Women of Their Time | Morgan (1889, 1912)
  • Canadian Who’s Who (1910, 1938-39, 1949-51, 1953-54, 1955-57, 1961-63, 1967-69, 1970-72, 1973-78, 1979, 1986, 1996, 1997)
  • DAU’s Blue Book: Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec (1913)
  • Debrett’s Peerage (1957)
  • Montreal and Ottawa Blue Book (1930)
  • Social Register of Canada, The (1958, 1959, 1960)
  • Who’s Who in Canada (1927, 1938-39, 1962-63)

Inventory of historic building material (mainly residential)

  • Elevator controls, signs and gates (assorted material)
  • Enterphone apartment entry systems (assorted material)
  • Hardware, including cast-iron radiators (assorted material)

City of Ottawa directories & telephone books

  • Mitchell & Co. Directory (1864-65)
  • Cherrier and Kirwin Directory (1872-73)
  • A.S. Woodburn Directory (1888-89)
  • R.L. Polk / A.S. Woodburn Directory (1890-91)
  • Might Directory (1897-98, 1898-99, 1900, 1901, 1903, 1906, 1911, 1917, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1937, 1942, 1943 ,1945, 1947, 1949, 1959, 1988-89)
  • Official Telephone Directory of Eastern Ontario (1900, reprinted 1920’s or 1930’s)
  • Lyon Handy Phone Blue Book (1938)

Technical reference books & catalogues

  • American Builder and Building Age (June 1931)
  • Halliday Co. Ltd. – Factories Distributor Catalogue #66 (Factory Distributors, 1920)
  • MacLean Builder’s Guide, Ontario Edition (February 1928)
  • MacLean Builder’s Guide, Toronto Edition – Volume V (1927-28)
  • MacLean Building Catalogue, Ontario Edition (1942)
  • Practical and Technical Electricity: House Wiring – Wolber and Rose (Chicago, Goodheart Wilcox Co., 1951)
  • Sweet’s Architectural Catalogue, 19th Edition (1924-25)
  • Sweet’s Architectural Catalogue, Volume ‘C’ (1930)
  • Sweet’s Catalogue of Building Construction (1915)
  • Sweet’s Indexed Catalogue of Building Construction (1906)
  • Thomas Robertson and Co. – Catalogue ‘D’ (Montreal, 1910)
  • Walworth Valves and Fittings – Catalogue # 42 (1942)

Related reading – re: The Strathcona

  • The Life of Lord Strathcona and Mont Royal | Beckles Willson (October 1915)

Related reading – re: Winterholme

  • England and Canada, A Summer Tour | Sandford Fleming (1884)
  • The Inter-Colonial, An Historical Sketch | Sandford Fleming (C.E. Dawson Brothers Publishing, Montreal, 1876)

Experience the Andrex lifestyle

Andrex is a recognized leader in the regeneration of landmark buildings. From acquisition to long-term management, we provide unparalleled living environments.

Enjoy the finer points in life

Andrex wants you to experience the luxury of a way of life rarely seen today. We offer the finest heritage accommodations in the most sought after neighbourhoods.