To / Destinataire Chair and Members, Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee

File/N° de fichier: G06 37 11- 11 02

From / Expéditeur Melody Duffenais

Coordinator, City Clerk and Solicitor

Subject / Objet Review of 5158 Cecil Rowat Lane Date: 01 November 2011

At its meeting of 3 December 2009 Heritage planning staff wrote a memo to the Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee regarding 5158 Cecil Rowat Lane, which had just been purchased by the City mainly for parkland and to provide access to emergency service vehicles to the residential properties on Nicoll’s Island.

The committee was informed that that the City of Ottawa had no intention to re-use the building, and that its associated lands would become parkland. Staff provided a Heritage Survey and Evaluation form for the building on the site and noted that it did not meet the minimum requirements for designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. Staff also indicated at that time that that if the building did not receive heritage designation, it would be torn down.

Members agreed to refer the item to the Designation Subcommittee, and suggested arranging a visit to the property, contacting Heritage Ottawa, and receiving a condition report to explore the issue further and subsequently approved the following motion:

That the review of building on the property 5158 Cecil Rowat Lane be referred to LACAC Designation Subcommittee, for further study.

Unfortunately there was a turnover in membership before the next scheduled meeting of the OBHAC and it appears the Designation Sub-committee ceased to exist and was never re-formed. Consequently, this item of business is now being referred back to OBHAC for consideration. The committee may now choose to:

· recommend designation of the property under the Ontario Heritage Act

· recommend that a commemorative or interpretive plaque be installed to describe the history of the site in the context of the lock station receive this memo for information and make no recommendation; or

· develop another option

The extract of Minutes from the OBHAC meeting of 3 December 2009 are appended for committee’s information, along with the memo submitted on that date by Sally Coutts, Heritage Planner, and a copy of the Heritage Survey and Evaluation form for the property as prepared in December 2009.

Melody Duffenais

Attach: 3

cc: Heritage Ottawa

Councillor Scott Moffat

Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee Minutes 33 3 december 2009

Comité consultatif sur la Conservation de l’architecture locale Procès-verbal 33 le 3 décembre 2009

REVIEW OF 5158 CECIL ROWAT LANE, LONG ISLAND, MANOTICK

EXAMEN DE 5158 CECIL ROWAT LANE, LONG ISLAND, MANOTICK

Rideau-Goulbourn (21)

Sally Coutts, Heritage Planner, provided a memo to members for information on the City’s recently purchased property of 5158 Cecil Rowat Lane. A copy of the memo is kept on file in the City Clerk’s Office pursuant to the City of Ottawa’s Records Retention and Disposition By-law. Ms Coutts presented a map of Long Island, outlining the location of the property in relation to Nicoll’s Island and described the reason for the purchase, namely to provide access to emergency service vehicles to the residential properties on Nicoll’s Island. She told LACAC that the City of Ottawa has no intention to re-use the building and land, which will become parkland. Parks Canada, the owner of the Rideau Canal, which is adjacent to the property, also has no interest in the building.

Ms. Coutts also provided a heritage survey and evaluation form for the building that currently sits on the property. A copy of the survey and evaluation form is kept on file in the City Clerk’s Office pursuant to the City of Ottawa’s Records Retention and Disposition By-law. Ms. Coutts told LACAC that the building did not meet the minimum requirement for designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. Ms. Coutts went into some detail about the house’s cultural heritage value, and she described the alterations made to the building over the years. Ms. Coutts also told members that she requested a condition report for the building, but that it was not completed at the time of the meeting. Finally, Ms. Coutts explained to members that if the building did not receive heritage designation, it would be torn down.

Members had questions regarding potential uses for the building, to which Ms. Coutts replied that no options explored to date were viable. Members also had a brief discussion on alternate points of access to the Nicoll’s island. Ms. Coutts told members that while access to Nicoll’s island via the property in question was imperative for emergency service vehicles, the City would also grant access to the island to other service vehicles as well.

Members agreed to refer the item to the Designation Subcommittee, and suggested arranging a visit to the property, contacting Heritage Ottawa, and receiving a condition report to explore the issue further.

Moved by V. Sahni:

That the review of building on the property 5158 Cecil Rowat Lane be referred to LACAC Designation Subcommittee, for further study.

CARRIED

ACTION: Staff to follow up with Designation Subcommittee. Coordinator to re-insert the item in a subsequent LACAC agenda for review.

Memo submitted in December 2009

Heritage Survey and Evaluation Form

HERITAGE SURVEY AND EVALUATION FORM
Address	5158 Cecil Rowat Lane				Building name			Rowat House
Construction date	1860s				Original owner			Rowat Family
PHASE ONE EVALUATION
Potential significance		Considerable		Some			Limited		None
Design							1
History				2
Context				2
Phase One Score		5 / 9
Phase Two Classification		1	2			3				4

Design or Physical Value	prepared by: Sally Coutts
	month/year
Architecture (style, building type, expression, material, construction method)
One and a half storey, wood frame house with a medium pitched gable roof. Originally constructed with a central gable, no veranda, but altered in late 19^th/ early 20^th century when a two storey veranda and summer kitchen were added. Simple centre hall plan with central staircase, kitchen wing at the rear.
Craftsmanship/Artistic merit
Plainly constructed house, few stylistic references. Interventions have obscured 19^th century character.
Technical/Scientific merit
N/A
Summary
As constructed, the Rowat House was a simple vernacular centre gable structure. The front veranda and a summer kitchen were added later. Aluminum siding has replaced the original clapboard sheathing.
Sources
Parks Canada web-site, Rideau Canal National Historic Site, Long Island Gloucester Historical Society, “Memories of the Lockstations, Long Island” Melvin Rowat
Historical and Associative Value		prepared by: Sally Coutts
		month/year
Date of construction (factual/estimated)		1860s

Themes/Events/Persons/Institutions

Associated with the history of the Rideau Canal and the Long Island Lock Station. William Rowat, the original owner of the land, arrived in the area in 1853, initially operating a store to the east of the Canal in what was laid out as the village of Long Island. He purchased 40 acres on Long Island in the 1860s and built his house shortly after his arrival. Later, he bought an additional 100 acres to the east of the canal. He had 11 children, but two did not survive. Both farms were eventually sold off incrementally. The last member of the family, George MacFarlane grew up in the house and sold it to the city of Ottawa in 2009.

Community History

The Long Island locks were constructed as part of the Rideau Canal in 1827 by two contractors, Thomas Phillips and Andrew White. The lands associated with the Long Island Lock Station, were laid out as the village of Long Island after the completion of the locks but by the mid-19^th century when William Rowat arrived, the village was in decline. Eventually many of its buildings were moved to Manotick, which was thriving. After the decline the area around the lock station was farmland, with a small cottage community emerging by the late 19^th century.

Designer/Architect

Not known. Probably built by first owner, or by a local work crew.

Summary

The Rowat House on Long Island is associated with the Rowat family, long time residents of the area. It is representative of the small community that grew up around the lock station, where members of the family occasionally worked.

Sources

See above

Contextual Value	prepared by: Sally Coutts
	month/year
Community Character
The Rowat House is one of two dwellings at the north end of Long Island. To the south, the lands have become parkland, except for one residential lot. The building is across the dam from the community of Nichol’s Island where in recent years many cottages have been converted to year-round use. The Long Island Lock, station masters house, the swing bridge, and stone dam create a bucolic setting typical of the Rideau Canal.
Context/Links to Surroundings
The Rowat House sits within the context of the Rideau Canal and the Long Island Lock Station cultural heritage landscape and makes a contribution to the setting of that station. The house makes a minor contribution to this landscape.
Landmark
The Long Island Lock Station is well known within the context of the Rideau Canal as one of the lock stations located within the City of Ottawa but the Rowat House is not a landmark within the landscape, as it is surrounded by trees and has had a private use for many years.
Summary
The open spaces associated with the Rowat House contribute to the unique cultural heritage value of the Long Island Lock Station, however, the Rowat House plays a minor role within this cultural heritage landscape.