Committee approves designation of Former RCAF Officers’ Mess

The Built Heritage Committee today moved to designate the Former Royal Canadian Air Force Officers’ Mess at 158 Gloucester Street a heritage property.

The three-storey brick building was constructed in 1919 and was first used as the primary meeting hall for the Orange Order in Ottawa. It is best known for its use as an Officers’ Mess for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The property is owned by the Department of National Defence and meets six of nine criteria for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. It is currently vacant and is being considered for disposal by the Government of Canada.

The property is a rare example of an early-20th-century fraternal hall building with elements of Edwardian Classicism in Ottawa. The building is directly associated with the Orange Order, an organization that played a significant role in the political landscape of Ottawa in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It also has direct associations with Canada’s military history, the role of the military mess and the history of women's service in the RCAF. The property is the work of Robert Holmes, a designer and builder responsible for several notable buildings in Ottawa. His work includes 200–206 Sparks Street, and he acted as the construction supervisor for the Connaught Building at 555 Mackenzie Avenue and the Murphy-Gamble Building at 118 Sparks Street.

Committee approves designation of former Vernon Schoolhouse

The Committee approved designation of the former Vernon Schoolhouse at 8682 Bank Street. The property includes a one-storey, front gable, red brick building on the west side of Bank Street. It now serves as the Vernon Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, and the property meets four of nine criteria under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The building is representative of the rural, one-room schoolhouse typology from the late-19th century, found in villages across Ottawa. It has direct associations with the theme of rural public education in the Ottawa area and reflects the provincial educational reforms in the mid-19th century. The building is historically, functionally and visually linked to the settlement and growth of the rural village of Vernon. It provides insight into the pioneer families who settled nearby and whose children attended the school. The site remains an important community space today.

Committee designates 6654 Notre-Dame Street

The Committee moved to designate Lauzon House at 6654 Notre-Dame Street which meets four of nine criteria. The property contains a detached house, constructed of concrete block around 1920 for the Lauzon family.

The Lauzon House is one-and-a-half storeys with gable roofs and an open veranda that spans the front of the building, facing Notre-Dame Street. The property has design value as a rare remaining example of a 20th century concrete block farmhouse in the Orléans area. The high degree of craftsmanship and artistic merit in its ornate, concrete-block construction is rare for houses in Ontario. It has association with 19th century settlement in the former Gloucester Township, and with farming in general. It also reflects a larger historic trend of French Catholic migrants coming to the Orléans area in the 19th and 20th centuries.

City Council will consider the recommendations from today’s meeting on Wednesday, September 24.

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