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CPJPO Box 510, Station B, Ottawa Ontario

Dear Member :

On behalf of the Board of Directors ofHeritage Ottawa I would like to invite you tojoin us at the 11th Annual General Meeting ofthis organization .

We are fortunate to have as guest speakerMiss Judy Oberlander, a graduate in historicpreservation from Columbia University . Judy willspeak to us on the possible restoration of theRideau Convent Chapel which will be installedin the new National Gallery of Canada .

The meeting will take place at the N .R .C .Auditorium, 100 Sussex Drive, on Tuesday, May 29that 8 p .m . There is plenty of free parking available,and the No . 3 bus - and the No . 6 - passes right infrcnt of the door .

We look forward to seeing you there anddiscussing your concerns and sharing your ideasover coffee after the meeting .

Sincerely,

JENNIFER RODDICK

President .

April 30th, 19$4 "

MARCH-APRIL 1984 Vol . 12, No . 2

Jennifer Roddick, PresidentJudy Deegan, Editor (238-8951)

The Rideau Street Convent in 1886

The Chapel interior being carefully dismantledand saved from the wreckers' ball in 1972

ISSN 0808-0506

1-1ERITAGE OTTAWA , 1'. O. Box 510 , Stn . B, Ottawa, Ontario , K1 P 5 P6

ANNUAL GENERAL Mla.'1"ING

All members are invited to HeritageOttawa's 11th Annual General Meeting on_TUESDAY, MAY 29, in the'auditorium of theNational Research Council, 100 Sussex Dr .The meeting begins at 8 :00 p .m .

As mentioned in Jennifer Roddick's letterof invitation, this year's guest speakerwill be Judy Oberlander, who has beenhired as a consultant to look into thecosts and problems of integrating theRideau Convent Chapel into the newNational Gallery building . This is asubject of tremendous importance to any-one interested in Canada's architecturalheritage, and it is by no means certainthat the Chapel will be restored and usedWe hope all members will come out to hearabout the status of this project .

The Annual General Meeting will alsoinclude the official presentation, toGertrude Holt and Barry Padolsky, ofHeritage Ottawa's 1984 awards in recogni-tion of service in the field of heritageconservation ; a report on the past year'sactivities by President Jennifer Roddick,and the announcement of the organization'snew slate of officers for 1984-1985 .

The Mill Dining Lounge '

FRIDAY, MAY-_11 : "FASHIONS OF YESTERYEAR"

A new exhibit displaying 160 years of , ,costumes will open at the Ottawa Hf_storicalSociety's temporary headquarters at540 Wellington Street (at Bronson) . Asmall reception beginning at 2 :OC p .m .will mark the opening of the new display .

111INGS To Do

THE. CRFAT Flltl? OF 1900

The City of .Ottawa Archives presentsexhibit entitled "Ottawa-Hull : TheGreat Fire of 1900" at the Archivesbuilding, 174 Stanley Avenue in NewEdinburgh (1 block east of City Hall) .

The exhibit is open weekdays from 9 :00a .m . to 4 :00 p .m . all through themonth of May .

SATURDAY, MAY 26 : 18th ANNUAL MENNONITERELIEF SALE , New Hamburg, Ontario

ILast year more than 30,000 attended thispopular Mennonite relief sale . The daystarts off with a pancake and sausagebreakfast and continues with a quiltauction, where some 250 handmade quiltswill be offered for sale .

New Aamburg Arena, 251 Jacob Street,New Hamburg, Ontario . ADMISSIONIFREC

JUNE 3-30 : DISPLAY OF ANTIQUE CHINA

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Members of the Canadian Ceramic Circlewill display fine antique china fromtheir collections in three separate<:aues at the Ottawa Public Library,:'20-Metcalf2 .

ISATURDAY, JUNE 16 : FLAMBORO ANTIQUE SHOWAND S ALE, Courtcliffe Park, off Highway 6,halfwey between Hwy 401 and Hwy 403/QEW .

IBilled by its promotors as "Canada'sLargest Antique Show Sale", it runs from8 :00 a .m . to 4 :00 p .m . one day only, andlast year (its first year) boasted 200antique dealers displaying "an enormousrange of high qualm merchandise" /Pro-motors' description/ .

ADMISSION 4$2 .00

THINGS TO DO (continued)

ROM WALKING TOURS

The Royal Ontario Museum presents thefollowing FREE walking tours of "HistoricToronto" from June 5 through September 1 .ALL TOURS BEGIN AT 10 :30 A .M .

TOUR A, TUESDAYS : "Yorkville"

Meeting Plac e : ROM, 100 Queen's Park

Itinerary : Church of the Redeemer,Hazelton Lanes, Heliconian Club, YorkvilleLibrary and Firehall

- TOUR B, THURSDAYS : "Whiskey, Wharf andWindmill"

Meeting Place : Little Trinity Church425 King Street East

Itinerary : Little Trinity Church,Berkeley Street Firehall, Old Gasworks,Gooderham & Worts Complex, Enoch TurnerSchoolhouse

- TOUR C, SATURDAYS : "Bishop Strachan'sToronto"

Meeting Place : Bank of Upper Canada252 Adelaide St . East

Itinerary : Bank of Upper Canada, FirstToronto Post Office, St . Lawrence Market,St . Lawrence Hall, St . James Cathedral

LYNDHURST

If you are in the vicinity of Tarrytownin New York State, it's worth dropping into see Lyndhurst, one of the propertiesowned by the U . S . National Trust forHistoric Preservation . The house is asuperb example of Gothic Revival archi-tecture, set on picturesque lawns, andcontains an impressive collection ofVictorian decorative arts .

Lyndhurst is located at 635 Broadway,Tarrytown, N . Y . Telephone : (914)631-0046 .

Ottawa School of Art

COURSES OF INTEREST

The Ottawa School of Art:, located in anhistoric building on George Street, offersclasses in

- Drawing

- Water Colour - Sculpture- Painting

- Print Making - Multi-Media

All courses are offered at beginning,intermediate and advanced levels for allage groups . For catalogue and full regis-tration information, call 230-7471 orvisit their new Market location behind theBay at 35 George Street .

Public Exhibition Gallery open dailyMonday to Saturday .

HERITAGE TALKS AND WALKS

The University of Ottawa is offering"Heritage Talks and Walks : ExploringOttawa's Architectural Past" , givenby Harold Kalman .

In this introduction to the architecturalhistory of Ottawa, participants willlearn how to "read" buildings and urbandesign to understand the social and poli-tical history of a community . .

Thursday evening lectures will offerbackground and comparative material inthe history of architecture and the dev-elopment of Ottawa, and Sunday afternoonwalks will provide an opportunity for alively look at the city's buildings .

Week I will focus on formal architecturalstyles, and the class will tour theParliamentary precinct . Week II willexamine the vernacular traditions ofLowertown, and Week III will investigatesocial history as reflected in the resi-dential buildings of Sandy Hill .

Lecturer/guide Harold Kalman, Ph .D ., isa consultant in the history and conser-vation of architecture and author ofseveral books, including Exploring Ottawa(in collaboration with photographer JohnRoaf) .

Three Thursday talks (7 : 00-9 : 00-p.m.) : ,

May 10

May 17

May 24

Three Sunk walks (2 :00-4 :00 p .m . ) :

May 13

May 20

May 27

Cost : $75 (seniors $60)

To register, contact :

Continuing EducationUniversity of Ottawa5 Osgoode StreetOttawa KIN 6N5(613) 237.-4263

COURSES (cont'd)

FOR THE MORE ROMANTICALLY INCLINED . .

The Rhode Island School of Design is offer-ing a course in surveying archeologicalsites and preparing measured drawings o£ancient buildings at the InternationalCentre for Conservation in Rome, whereancient Roman architecture will providethe study materials . The course isoffered from June 4 to 30 and costs$1,660 for six credits ($1,600 for non-credit participation) . /-It was unclearwhether this included any expenses .)

The School is also offering one 6-weekcourse (June 24 to August 4) and two3-week courses (June 23 to July 14, andJuly 14 to August 4) in drawing and paint-ing at its Palazzo Cenci studios in Rome .The six-week course is priced at $3,100,including international air fare and allexpenses except food ; the three-weekprograms cost $2,600 .

All prices are in U. S . dollars . Moreinformation is available from MarisaParente, Rhode Island School of Design,Continuing Education Department,2 College Street, Providence, R . I .02903 . Telephone : (401) 331-3511 .

HERITAGE BUILDINGS

Cattle Castle Plan Approved

In late March, Ottawa City Councilapproved the $9 .9 million cost of trans-forming Aberdeen Pavilion into a skating . �rink and exhibition hall .

`

Renovation costs are to be shared by theOntario Heritage Foundation, Wintario andLottario (together contributing $2 .7 mil-lion), the City of Ottawa ($4 .2 million),and the Minto Skating Club ($943,000) .

Ottawa had earlier set aside only $2 mil-lion in its 1984 capital budget for reno-vation of the Pavilion, and will now haveto come up with an additional $2 .2 million .

The upper level of the 86-year-old build-ing is to contain an ice rink for theMinto Skating Club . The lower level willbe used mainly for exhibition space, butwill also be able to be converted into askating rink.

Merivale Loyal Orate Lodge

An 87-year-old schoolhouse (see below) atSlack and Merivale Roads is the !firstbuilding to receive heritage designationin Nepean (I take it this happened in1983, but it was only r :cently prominentlymentioned in The Citizen) .

'

The one-room stone structure waslbuilt asa school in 1897 and served this purposeuntil the early 1950s, when it was soldto the Merivale Loyal O:cange Lodge, whichuses the building as its headquazters .

iMerivale Loyal Orange Lodge

Barrhaven Heritage Home

Another building received heritage statusin Nepean in January .

Built in 1885 byan Irish immigrant, the house on!JockvaleRoad (see next page) was purchased 35 yearsago by its present owner, who gutted it,installed electricity and plumbing, andlandscaped its 10-acre grounds with trees,rock gardens, a reflecting pool, and acollection of Canadian ferns .

The house replaces an earlier log homeand, although its proportions are a bitawkward, it has elements from both earlyand late Ontario architecture . The 1jstorey house has a central gableiand agabled rear wing .

IUnder the heritage agreement with thecity, the owner cannot change the house'sfacade or three acres of garden withoutpermission .

Jockvale Road Heritage House

Grant for Guigues School

The Ontario Heritage Foundation has givenan $80,000 grant to the Guigues ArtisticCentre to help restore the 71-year-oldGuigues School on Murray Street in Lower-town .

The Centre plans to convert the schoolinto a $1 .9 million francophone arts centrewith an auditorium, art gallery, museum,offices, and rooms for theatre, the visualarts and music .

The Centre has raised about half the moneyneeded for the project . Wintario has con-tributed $550,000 and the City of Ottawahas given $250,000 . Construction isexpected to start in a few months, and theCentre will open in 1985 .

The Guigues School, closed in 1978 becauseof declining enrolment, was the site of a1915 battle between parents and police overFrench-language education rights .

Hull Heritage Building Damaged- by Fire

A minor fire hit one of Hull's oldestbuildings in late February . The one-roomstone house, built in 1826 by FrangoisCharron, is owned by the NCC and is locatedin Jacques Cartier Park, between theAlexandria and the Macdonald-Cartierbridges .

The building was being used for storageby the NCC until renovations were to startlater this year to restore it to itsoriginal state . The fire, which evidentlystarted in cardboard boxes and papers,caused damage to interior walls and theceiling of the building . The blaze wasunder control within 30 minutes .

Frangois Charron, one of the foundingmembers of the early Outaouais community,bought the land from Philemon Wright andbuilt the house 158 years ago .

Fire Destroys Pembroke Landmark

The century-old Windsor Hotel in Pembrokeburned to the ground in mid-March . Theblaze broke out in the attic whileworkers from a local roofing company wereusing a blowtorch to fix the roof .

The exact year the rough-hewn, square-timbered building was constructed is notknown, but records at the local Registryindicate that a building could have beenon the site in 1869 .

The historic hotel had survived thechange from a raucous lumberjack hangoutcomplete with barbershop and strip jointto a sedate establishment with an elegantdining room and a piano bar . The ownerhad redecorated extensively and attemptedto attract new clientele when he tookover the business about two years ago .

(Above)

The Windsor Hotel

(Above)

The Chez Henri

FOR SALE : The Chez Henri Hotel

ATTENTION ENTREPRENEURS! This famous(some would say infamous) landmark indowntown Hull is up for sale . It has 32hotel rooms, a penthouse suitable forthe owner, a Dining Room with seatingcapacity of 172, and a Salon-Bar witha capacity of 186 .

For more information, call Marcel Joly,Immeubles Joly Inc ., at 663-1762 .

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FOR SALE : The Frechette House (shownabove)

Built in 1877 by Annie MacKay Keefer,daughter of Thomas MacKay (founder ofNew Edinburgh, builder of Rideau Hall,and one of the prime builders of theRideau Canal), the house was later ownedby Achille Frechette, first officialtranslater in the House o£ Commons, andhis wife, Annie Howells Frechette, anearly feminist .

The house is High .Victorian, withthree storeys and'an impressive gabledroof . It has high ceilings, oak floors,generous hallways, mouldings, medallionsand marble fireplaces . The living roomand library overlook the GovernorGeneral's garden . There are five bed-rooms (the master bedroom has an _ensuitebathroom) and 3 12 bathrooms ; the thirdfloor has a nanny's apartment .

The house was on the IODE house tour inthe late 1970s . Its value was given as$445,000 in a recent Citizen article on"High-priced Spreads" .

Anyone who dares may call Mrs . Heeneyof Sampson & McNaughton at 745-5177 or237-2607 .

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It's now official

At the end of April the City of Ottawaofficially designated 310 Cooper Street aheritage structure, citing especially itsornately cut bargeboard trim, its one-course corbelled brick decorative band,and its many other Victorian elements .

Despite some objections, the provincialConservation Review Board agreed that the105-year-old Victorian house should bedesignated a property of architecturalvalue . Local architect Barry Padolskytold the Board that the building was oneof the few of its type_ left in-tthe .area .However, Geoff Wasteneys, executivedirector of the Property Owners Associa-tion of Ottawa, testified that~the housewas not at all unique, and accused theCity of inappropriately using theOntario Heritage Act as a planning tool .The owners of the house did not send arepresentative to the hearing .

Chalk one up for our side!

The Hintonburg Pining Station

Hintonburg Pumping Station to becomeRestaurant

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iThe limestone building on the bank of theOttawa River was erected about 90 yearsago as the water pumping station for theVillage of Hintonburg . Hintonburg wasannexed by the City of Ottawa iri 1907,and the Pumping Station became redundantand ended service in 1912 . With the

I

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Regional government is considering aproposal to convert the picturesque Hin----tonburg Pumping Station into a restaurant .Regional officials will not identify whohas made the proposal, but theylsay therestaurant will be "a class place" /highor low is also not specified/ .

Hintonburg Pumping Station (cont'd)

completion of the Lemieux Island WaterPurification Plant in 1932, the buildingwas altered to become a residence andfound a new life as the gatehouse to thePlant .

The City of Ottawa on March 31 gavenotice of intention to designate thebuilding, listing as some of its reasons :

"The Pumping Station is a 1i-storey cutlimestone structure with a pitched roofand an open verandah on the south andeast facades . The unique features ofthe building include a circular turretwith a conical roof and a large half-round window on the north and southfacades."

A decision on its heritage status isexpected soon . Regional officials sayit would take about a year before thebuilding would be ready as a restaurant .

Jones & Lee will be Missed

Jones & Lee, a designer fashion retailerwhich occupied a number of heritagebuildings in the Market area over a 17-year period, went out of business inlate January .

Bankruptcy trustee Claude Gingras saidthe store's sales plummeted to $109,000in 1983 after having climbed from$309,000 to $538,000 between 1979 and1982 .

Jones & Lee had needed more space butcouldn't expand in their previous SussexDrive location . They moved from theirSussex address with its excellent displaywindows (the present site of Justine's)around the corner on George in the out-side of the Courtyard . (But to a shopwith rather poor display space . Howmuch this affected their walk-in businessis hard to say : I think Jones & Lee hada substantial following of regularcustomers.)

Market merchants were shaken by the store'sclosing, which many attributed to thegeneral drop in business caused by con-struction for the Rideau bus mall, compe-tition from the Rideau Centre, andinadequate parking . Two other closureshave left the "Market Mall" (the newbuilding closer to Dalhousie on George)with 9 out of 26 stores vacant . Teron's$14 million "Atrium on the Market" isstill looking for most of its proposed 20tenants .

Some retailers feel that the public'scontinuing perception of the Market asa congested area has also contributed toa general change in shopping habits .Merchants also fear that rising rents(brought about by construction of theRideau Centre) will force farmers andsmall retailers out and attract expensiveboutiques to the Market area .

Some of the above views expressed byMarket retailers are contradictory .The period of adjustment to the RideauCentre is far from over, and it's aneasy target on which to place blame .

The last time I was in Jones & Lee Iwas startled by a $300 price tag on ablouse . Perhaps in these economic times,there just aren't that many $300-blousebuyers out there .

BOOKS AND THINGS

The Public Archives offers the follow-ing posters and publications :

C . Baillairge - Architectural Drawings ,poster 45 .5 x 61 cm . FREE

Dreams of Empire , poster 61 x 45 .5 cm .FREE

From War to Winterlude :

150 Years onthe Rideau Canal , poster 61 x 45 cm.FREE

aF Treasures of the National Map Collection ,poster 45 .5 x 61 cm . FREE

All of the above are availablefrom the Public Archives .

From War to Winterlude :

150 Years onthe Rideau Canal . Ottawa 1982, 164 pp .28 x 21 .5 cm . $6 .95/$8 .35

Availablefrom Supply and Services Canada .

Samuel de Champlain published this draw-ing of the first permanent settlement inNew France . "(Poster mentioned above isquite different, but is very attractive .)

BOOKS (cont'd)

Historic Inns of OntarioInns and Manoirs of Quebec

Two key reference books to keep in yourcar library are Historic Inns of Ontarioby Marvin Fremes, and Inns and Manoirs of_Quebec by Pauline Guetta .

Reasonably priced at $8 .95 each, bothbooks describe accommodation and diningin historic buildings throughout the twoprovinces, and provide -information onhours, prices -and - credit cards accept(The Ontario book was published in mid-1983 : some prices may be slightly higherfor the 1984 season ; the publication dateof the Quebec book is not given .)

A special treat for anyone at least asinterested in the surroundings as in thefood are the generous descriptions ofthe architectural and historical importance,as well as the culinary specialties, ofthe establishments in the books .

Historic Inns of Ontario and-,Inns andManoirs of Quebec are both published byDeneau`-Publishers of Ottawa, and can befound?"tin most Ottawa bookstores .

Hotel du Capitaine, La Baleine,Ile-aux-Coudres, Quebec (fromInns and Manoirs of Quebec)

Manoir St-Andre, Route 132,Saint-Andre, Quebec (fromInns and Manoirs)

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MISCELLANEOUS

LATE LISTING

DON'T FORGET TO JOIN US AT THEANNUAL MEETING MAY 29 :

13 Russell Street:, teamington, Ontario(from Historic Inns of Ontario)

At the Canadian Ceramic Circle's May 2meeting at the Billings Estate, HilaryRussell of Parks Canada gave an interest-ing and light-hearted talk onithe diningetiquette of Canadians in the~mid- to

About half the inns listed in the books

late 19th century, and pointed out how

are illustrated with line drawings (the

useful the "How to" books of that period

drawings in the Ontario book are gene-rally

are for collectors of old china and

much better than* in the Quebec book) . But

furnishings . The manuals often contain

don't think that the half not shown is the

hints on colour use, table-settings and

unattractive half : the Prince of Wales

furniture arrangements .

Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake is written up

This notice is to pass on the 'above hintbut not illustrated,-and it's a delightful

tothose who are_

_

interested in faithfully` - " -restoring their older houses to their

original periods . It is also to saythat Hilary Russell is most interested inold photographs of ordinary Canadiansdoing very ordinary things . She's up toher ears in official shots of Sir John A .and Laurier, but if you have old photosof Aunt Bess in her 1890s kitchen, or thefamily celebrating a birthday years ago,don't throw them away . HilaryIwould bedelighted to have them, and can be reachedat 994-2566, in the HistoricallResearchDivision of Parks Canada . Shel~uses oldphotos as an aid to accurate restorationof the properties owned by Parks Canada .

The Capital Antique Show : CongressCentre, Ottawa, may 25 -27

A major antique show offering for sale adiverse selection of antiques and collect-ibles . Admission $2 .50 (cbildr~en 750) .

10 p .m.10 p .m .6 p .m.

HoursFriday, May 25 11 a .m. toSaturday, May 26 11 a .m . toSunday, May 27 11 a .m . to