Daly Building

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The Daly Building was an historic department store and office building in Ottawa, Canada that was demolished with much controversy in 1991.

The building, designed by Moses Chamberlain Edey, was built in 1905 to house the T. Lindsay store, Ottawa's first department store. It was located at the prominent intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive. The building was the only Chicago Style structure built in Ottawa, and one of the few such buildings erected in Canada.

It later became a government office building, and served this role for many decades. Owned by the National Capital Commission, they had the cornice removed in 1964, and the building was left unrenovated. In 1978 the building was abandoned as unsuitable for office work. During the 1980s the NCC tried to find a company that would restore the building, and in 1987 a Montreal firm was given a $45 million contract to restore the structure. However, when the structure was examined it was found that portions were structurally unsound, and if the building were to be restored large sections would have to be wholly rebuilt. Further studies found that if left alone the building posed a danger to the public, and could collapse under winter snow.

The developers did not have the funds the do such an extensive project, and in a controversial decision the NCC chose not to look for a new partner and in September 1991 authorized the destruction of the building. This was the first designated heritage building destroyed in the city since the heritage guidelines were introduced in 1982. It was a hugely controversial decision in Ottawa, that drew much criticism of the NCC both for the years of neglect that let the building decline and for the final decision the demolish it.

The Daly Building site remained empty for more than a decade. There was much discussion of what would be built there; some advocated a park, and for a time there was a scheme to build a national aquarium on the site. Eventually the NCC leased the site to a developer who erected an 11-storey luxury apartment building, which opened in 2004.