Talarico and Schwisberg’s law office is one of a kind.
Built in 1899, this Queen Anne Revival style house has been transformed from residential to commercial use while protecting the historic elements, an accomplishment that the city recognized and rewarded.
Queen Anne architecture is best known for its late 1800s look, consisting of bay windows, balconies, stained glass, turrets, porches, patterned shingles, and includes features from earlier and later trends.
Recently, the property at 406 Queen St. was presented with a certificate of merit for “adaptive use” under the annual Ottawa Architectural Conservation Awards, which recognize excellence in the preservation of the city’s architectural heritage.
“I think it’s important to preserve these kinds of buildings,” says owner Ross Talarico. “Queen Victoria was our Queen when it was built. It’s older than a lot of our major landmarks, even a lot of our major government landmarks.”
Talarico says he has always been interested in Canadian history and studied it in his undergraduate years before law school.
When he bought the Queen Street building in the fall of 2008, he decided to do some research before he moved in a few months later.
“I had time to visit the city archives and did a little digging and got some information,” he says.
“I thought it would be interesting – you know it would sort of be a conversation piece as people came into the building.”
The project’s architect, Domenic Constantino, was presented with an award as well.
Constantino says Talarico was interested in maintaining the elegance of the original building. They were successful in keeping everything intact, he says.
“When we go in, we look for elements we want to keep, trying to enhance what we can,” he says. “And everything fit with his program, how he wanted to divide the space as needed.”
Constantino also says it’s important to preserve these sites.
“This a great house . . . over 100 years old. It’s in very good shape, and was considered quite a prestigious house, even at the time when it was built,” he says.
Canadian entrepreneur and inventor Thomas Ahearn built the house in 1899, and it was named after an employee of his, its first occupant James E. Hutchison, as “Hutchison House.”
“This is a real building on Queen Street in the historic register . . . It’s always good to have in any city a semblance of the past, of where you came from.”
The preservation of the site is as important to some community members as it is to the owner and architect.
“Maintaining historical sites provides us with tangible evidence of the past, it is a source of information for students and it is a testament to our heritage and culture,” says Deidre Khes-Kovacs, a Centretown resident.