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Leading by example

One heritage volunteer and activist is Linda Hoad, a retired librarian who has an encyclopedic knowledge of Hintonburg’s history and whose research has saved city staff hours of work over the years.

Photo: One heritage volunteer and activist is Linda Hoad, a retired librarian who has an encyclopedic knowledge of Hintonburg’s history and whose research has saved city staff hours of work over the years.

By

Sally Coutts

Buildings and architecture, Community

Published Date: May 06, 2010

Ontario towns and cities have been designating properties under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act since the passage of the act in the 1970s. This fact prompts the inevitable question – what’s left? After the churches, the schools and the historic houses are designated, how does a municipality decide its next steps?

The impetus to look at a community with fresh eyes frequently comes from the public. Residents of a neighbourhood, who love and cherish it, often direct heritage volunteers and professionals toward some of the under-appreciated gems in their community, leading to their designation.

The former École Sacré Cœur has since been converted to condominiums. (Photo: City of Ottawa)

This has certainly been the case with the Ottawa neighbourhood of Hintonburg, located to the west of downtown. Hintonburg is a residential neighbourhood, bisected by a commercial artery, Wellington Street. Mixed in character, it features large turn-of-the-century brick houses, smaller working-class housing, large churches and a large institutional presence around the site of the former Grace Hospital, demolished in 2001. In recent years, the area has become increasingly popular – particularly among those anxious for a downtown lifestyle, but unable to afford Ottawa’s other downtown neighbourhoods. The assets of the community have been noted. In 2007, En Route magazine identified it as one of the top 10 emerging neighbourhoods in Canada. The Ottawa Citizen said that “The changing nature of the neighbourhood is fascinating to watch.”

In the last 15 years, the city has designated four buildings in this area – the former École Sacré Cœur, now converted to condominiums; the Parkdale Fire Station; Devonshire School and a stone commercial structure. All of these designations were the result of requests from the committed volunteers of the Hintonburg Community Association, whose knowledge of the area helped heritage planning staff to understand the significance of the buildings.

One heritage volunteer and activist is Linda Hoad, a retired librarian who has an encyclopedic knowledge of Hintonburg’s history and whose research has saved city staff hours of work over the years. In a recent conversation, Hoad explained that, from its establishment in the early 1990s, the community association deliberately made heritage one of its priorities. Members believed that celebrating the area’s built heritage would foster community pride and help dispel the public’s sometimes-negative perceptions of the neighbourhood. Soon, the newly established group began to identify likely candidates for designation.

Magee House is protected under the Ontario Heritage Act. Today, it houses an architect’s office. (Photo: City of Ottawa)

As community residents and lovers of the neighbourhood, members of the community association were ideally suited to this task. They knew the neighbourhood and were frequently aware when a planning application was imminent or when a building was going to change hands. If they thought that a building was threatened, they would focus attention on it. One of their earliest success stories was the Magee Building at 1119 Wellington Street. A former store, it was on the radar because it was clearly much older than the buildings surrounding it. When it went up for sale, Hoad went to work researching it and discovered that it had been built in the early 1880s as a private house and then converted to a bank in the early 20th century as Wellington emerged as the commercial heart of the area. Within months of Hoad’s contact with the city, the building was protected under the Ontario Heritage Act. Today, it houses an architect’s office.

Hoad has also turned her attention to Hintonburg’s industrial heritage. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the north end of the neighbourhood between Wellington and Scott streets was highly industrialized and was the site of a number of industrial buildings, including Capital Wire Cloth, the Beach Foundry and a railway roundhouse. Capital Wire ceased to operate as a factory in the 1970s, but retains much of its industrial character. City staff are researching this structure and two others – the Standard Bread Company, now an artist’s co-op, and the Bayview yards – to determine if they meet the criteria for designation. If so, this would be the first cluster of former industrial buildings designated in the city.

The Hintonburg Community Association has not limited its heritage focus to designation. In 1993, they published a popular walking tour; they also have an information-packed heritage section on their website. Again, a team of dedicated volunteers accomplished all this. So, if you are wondering where to turn next in your community – ask your neighbour. Leading by example, proud and concerned communities can work with municipal heritage planners to preserve historic architectural landscapes.

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