The Calgarian Apartments, 353-357 Frank Street, Centretown, Ottawa

This is the west side of the Calgarian, as seen from the Staples/ Business Depot parking lot. The rear half of the apartment block has slumped sharply (Leda clay, I assume) since it was built c. 1914-1915. The displacement is easily seen in the brickwork and the 2nd storey window sill in the detail below.

The Calgarian was the first building on its property. Goad 1912 (sheet 56) shows a wide vacant lot directly west of the house at #349 (extant) with no mention of construction on the site. The name first appears in newspapers in the spring of 1915, presaging a flurry of mentions in wedding announcements, "general servant" ads, and "will be receiving" social notes.

Ah, to be garbed in shades of putty ...

the Ottawa Journal, April 7 1915

Here's the building as it currently appears on Google Street View, centre of image. Notice how it's divided into two separate wings, each accessed by its own front door.

I can find no great reason for naming the apartments "the Calgarian" ("Calgary" comes from the Scottish Gaelic phrase, Cala-ghearridh, which translates to "beach of the meadow" or "bay farm")  — however the name was very much in the news through 1914, referring to a trans-Atlantic steamer. The HMS Calgarian was a 17,520-ton ocean liner built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Govan, Scotland, and launched in May 1914 for the Allan Line. She plied a UK-to-Canada route. Thus the name could well have reflected her Scottish construction and honoured the Canadian city.

(via Wikipedia)