Story kiosk location
- Corner of Sussex and Murray
Important dates
- (1961) – The year that the National Capital Commission saved the Tin House façade, which was built by Ottawa tinsmith Honoré Foisy in the early 1900s at 136 Guigues Street, just two blocks away.
Audiofile
- No
Who lived here?
- Many have lived in the Sussex courtyards, but Honoré Foisy was not one of them. However, many of the wealthier homes in this area would have featured highly decorated tin ceilings and walls.
Just past the building on your right is a lovely little park known as the Tin House Court. You are looking at photos of the Tin House...
…but why not walk around the corner into the Court and see the real thing?
The Tin House, photograph ©NCC
The original Tin House was designed and built by Ottawa tinsmith Honoré Foisy in the early 1900s and stood at 136 Guigues Street in Lower Town. Constructed from prefabricated aluminum elements in a Queen Anne Revival-style, the facade was likely intended to showcase Foisy’s skills and the products he offered.
Tin House Installation Pic M8000-122 53-#17001 2014-08-01 ©NCC
When it was to be demolished in 1961, the National Capital Commission saved the notable facade. Ten years later, Canadian sculptor and artist Arthur ‘Art’ Price restored the facade using both original and newly fabricated materials. It was installed in its present location, the so-named Tin House Court, in 1973.
Dancing Bear by Pauta Saila.. Photo: Ian Mackenzie, “Dancing bear.” Flickr. Image Taken on June 21 2006.
Tin House Courtyard is one of four courtyards along Sussex under the custodianship of the National Capital Commission. Pauta Saila was a prolific Inuit artist known for his dancing polar bear sculptures evoking the dance of Inuit Shamans. The Dancing Bear sculpture was installed in at Jeanne d’Arc Court in 1999 and was the first public art piece in Ottawa created by an Inuit artist.