Friday, January 4, 2019

The Lululemon/Bodnoff building turns 100 in 2019!

My January 2019 article in the Kitchissippi Times covered the history of one of the four corners of Westboro's most historic intersection, at Richmond and Churchill. Everyone knows the Lululemon building at the southwest corner, and longer-term residents may even remember it as the Bodnoff building. This article has a lot of information jammed in to it, from the earliest houses that appeared on the lot, to the impressive building constructed by and expanded on by Benjamin Bodnoff. Bodnoff was not only one of the key early merchants in Westboro's history, he was also notably Westboro's first Jewish resident.

The article also discusses how the front portion of the building was removed in the 1930s when Richmond Road needed to be expanded. Even better than that, a photograph captures the transition, when the original front portion still remained on the building.

Lots of history and lots of photos packed into this article, and perfectly timed, as the original portion of the building dates to 1919, making it exactly 100 years old in 2019.


Lululemon/Bodnoff Building in 1935
(City of Ottawa Archives, CA-7611)