The original portion of the Bell Canada Switching Station, original known as the Bell Telephone of Canada Exchange was completed in 1937 to the designs of noted Montreal architect Ernest Barott.  The late 1920s and early 1930s were the most success years of Barott’s career with the construction of Bell Beaver Hall Hill, Montreal , Aldred Building, Montreal and the Bank of Montreal Head Office, Ottawa each generally displaying Art Deco tendencies with the exception of Bell Beaver Hall Hill that was more Neoclassical, but still shares characteristics with the other buildings.

Originally, the building was anchored the corner of O’Connor and Albert at four storeys in height with fine streamlined Art Deco detailing with a clear vertical emphasis.  Finished in some of the finest exterior materials available in this period, the building’s base is finished in Stanstead granite, while the upper stories are finished in Queenston limestone.  This is the same material arrangement of Barott’s Bank of Montreal located a short distance north on O’Connor Street.  Crowning the building was a subtly articulated limestone cornice providing a clean termination to the composition.

Unfortunately, Barott’s building was expanded in the 1960s with the addition of a three stories, requiring the removal of the building’s top and eliminating the finely proportioned architectural composition.  Further modifications included replacing the windows and filling the ground floor windows creating an anti-public building.  Further up Albert Street the building gained a large 7-storey extension housing switching equipment.  The switching extension is clad in precast concrete panels with articulated aggregate above a granite base.  The ground floor has no windows, clearly demonstrating its purpose: it is less building and more infrastructure.

Given the important role the building’s contents play in the functioning of Ottawa’s downtown core it is likely the building is here to stay for the foreseeable future.  It is difficult to impossible to create any viable street animation with a building of this scale and severity, especially within its context which is generally inward looking.  Hopefully, this will change in the coming years as the downtown portion of the Transitway is removed from above grade and shifted slightly north to under Queen Street to the new LRT system.  Located just off of Bank Street and surrounding by multiple office high rises and nearby residential condominiums this street is poised for a shift in activity that the Switching Building may hinder