Murphy-Gamble Limited was a long-time department store

Department store

A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...

 in the City of Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

The store was located at 118 Sparks Street

Sparks Street

Sparks Street is a street in downtown Ottawa, Canada that was converted into an outdoor pedestrian street in 1966, making it the earliest such street or mall in North America....

 in a 1909 building designed by C.P. Meredith, and for years used the slogan "Ottawa's Smart Store". Murphy-Gamble's fifth floor restaurant was known as the Rideau Room.

Sparks Street

Sparks Street

Sparks Street is a street in downtown Ottawa, Canada that was converted into an outdoor pedestrian street in 1966, making it the earliest such street or mall in North America....

 was home to many of Ottawa's department stores during the first half of the 20th century, including Murphy-Gamble, C. Ross and Bryson-Graham. Ogilvy's

Ogilvy's

Charles Ogilvy Limited, or "Ogilvy's", was a department store in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1887. For much of the 20th century, Ogilvy's was one of Ottawa's higher-end department stores....

, Freimans

Freimans

A.J. Freiman Limited, or Freimans, was a landmark department store on Rideau Street in Ottawa, Canada, founded in 1918 by Archibald J. Freiman.Archibald Jacob Freiman was born in Lithuania in 1880, and emigrated to Hamilton, Ontario...

 and Caplan's

Caplan's

Caplan's was a department store in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.Caplan's began as a small dry goods shop in 1897, and operated over time at various locations throughout Ottawa. In 1916, the store moved to Rideau Street, where it grew into a department store and went on to become a retail landmark in...

 were located further east, on Rideau Street. The success of local department stores in Ottawa discouraged the entry of most national chains into the National Capital Region

National Capital Region (Canada)

The National Capital Region, also referred to as Canada's Capital Region, is an official federal designation for the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, the neighbouring city of Gatineau, Quebec, and surrounding urban and rural communities....

 until the 1950s.

Murphy-Gamble was purchased by Simpson's

Simpson's

The Robert Simpson Company, or Simpsons , was a Canadian department store chain, founded by Robert Simpson. The chain was eventually bought by the Hudson's Bay Company.- History :...

 in 1971, and the store continued to operate under the Simpson's banner until 1983. The building is now occupied by a branch of Scotiabank

Scotiabank

The Bank of Nova Scotia , commonly known as Scotiabank , is the third largest bank in Canada by deposits and market capitalization. It serves some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world and offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial,...

. Except for a Zellers

Zellers

Zellers Inc. is Canada's second-largest chain of mass merchandise discount stores, with locations in communities across Canada. A subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company , it has 273 locations across the country....

, there are no longer any department stores operating on Sparks Street.

Although Murphy-Gamble was an Ottawa landmark and retail institution for years, it has largely been forgotten today.