Ontario Heritage Act notices

Notice of intention to designate 343 Bronson Avenue, the Erskine Presbyterian Church, as a property of cultural heritage value or interest, pursuant to section 29 (3) of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18

Dated and published at the City of Ottawa on March 12, 2025

Take notice that the City of Ottawa, on February 26, 2025, established its intention to designate 343 Bronson Avenue, the Erskine Presbyterian Church, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value.

Description of property

The Erskine Presbyterian Church at 343 Bronson Avenue, currently known as the Peace Tower Church, is a stone church constructed in phases between 1901 and 1906 located on the southeast corner at the intersection of MacLaren Street and Bronson Avenue. 

Statement of cultural heritage value or interest

The Erskine Presbyterian Church has historical value through its direct association with the growth of Ottawa’s early Presbyterian community. The Erskine Presbyterian congregation originated in 1870 and constructed their first church in Rochesterville, a former village located in what is now Centretown West, in 1877. Originally known as the Presbyterian Church of Rochesterville, it was the first Presbyterian Church in the west end of Ottawa. Due to the early expansion of Rochesterville and LeBreton Flats, the congregation experienced rapid growth and, in 1887, opened a larger church at Elm and Preston Streets. This church was destroyed by “The Great Fire” in 1900. As a result, in 1900, the Erskine Presbyterian Church purchased the lot at Bronson Avenue and MacLaren Street and opened the original church building in 1901. The site was selected for its proximity to the Somerset streetcar, as well as its location in a growing part of Ottawa. The Erskine Presbyterian Church existed in this building until 2007, when they closed, and the congregation amalgamated with the Westminster Presbyterian Church.

The Erskine Presbyterian Church is a representative example of a Gothic Revival church in Ottawa. The rusticated limestone church was constructed in phases between 1901 and 1906. The church features traditional elements of the Gothic Revival style including pointed arched openings, buttresses, prominent towers, steep gables, and a tall spire. The church displays a high degree of craftsmanship through its decorative stone details, rusticated stone cladding, and the use of coloured, leaded, and stained glass. The church was designed by John Pritchard MacLaren, one of Ottawa’s most prominent architects from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, best known for designing several Gothic Revival churches in Ottawa and eastern Ontario.

The Erskine Presbyterian Church has contextual value because it is important in defining and maintaining the character of the west area of Centretown and Bronson Avenue, both of which experienced early waves of development in the late 19th and 20th centuries. As an important early religious institution in the neighbourhood, the church maintains and defines the historic character of west area of Centretown and Bronson Avenue. As a place of worship, the Erskine Presbyterian Church is historically and functionally linked to the institutional character of this area of Centretown.  With prominent frontage on Bronson Avenue and a tall spire visible from side streets and parks throughout the surrounding neighbourhood, the church is a landmark on Bronson Avenue and in the west area of Centretown.
  
Description of heritage attributes

Key exterior attributes that contribute to the cultural heritage value of the Erskine Presbyterian Church as a representative example of a church designed in the Gothic Revival style include:

• Rusticated stone cladding
• Rusticated stone foundation
• Irregular footprint consisting of rectangular 1901 section and cruciform 1906 addition
• Asymmetrical façades with front gable bays
• Stone buttresses
• Pointed arched and lancet window openings
• Decorative stone elements including sills, voussoirs, hood moulds, stone surrounds, label stops, trefoils, and stringcourses
• Large pointed arched stained-glass windows on west and north facades with lancet and rose tracery  
• Ground level entrances with pointed arched door openings and decorative features including:
  • Stone hood moulds
  • Stone drip edges
  • Stone label stops
  • Transoms with tracery and stained glass
• Tower on northwest corner including:
  • Metal clad spire with turrets, finials, and gable dormers 
  • Regularly spaced and stepped pointed arched and rectangular window openings  
  • Stone buttresses
• 1901 date stone on west façade 

Objections

Please be advised that any person wishing to object to this designation may do so under the objection process set out in Section 29 (5) of the Ontario Heritage Act by giving the Clerk of the City of Ottawa, within 30 days after the online publication of this notice, a notice of objection outlining the reasons for the objection and any other relevant information.

The notice of objection can be submitted via email to:

CityClerk-HeritageObjections@ottawa.ca
 
The notice of objection can also be submitted via registered mail or be delivered in person, by appointment, at the following coordinates:

Caitlin Salter MacDonald, City Clerk
c/o Mélanie Blais, Committee Coordinator
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1J1
mail code 01-71

When an objection has been received, City Council will consider the objection including all relevant information, within 90 days after the end of the objection period. After consideration of the objection, Council may decide to withdraw the Notice of Intention to Designate or to pass a by-law designating the property under the Ontario Heritage Act. 

For further information please contact: Greg MacPherson at greg.macpherson@ottawa.ca 

Notice of intention to designate 1121 Wellington Street West as a property of cultural heritage value or interest, pursuant to section 29 (3) of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18

Dated and published at the City of Ottawa on March 12, 2025

Take notice that the City of Ottawa, on February 26, 2025, established its intention to designate 1121 Wellington Street West under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value.

Description of property

The Tollkeeper’s House, 1121 Wellington Street West, is a two-storey stone and redbrick mixed use building located on the north side of Wellington Street West near Carruthers Avenue in Hintonburg.

Statement of cultural heritage value or interest

Originally built as a Tollkeeper’s residence in 1888, 1121 Wellington Street West has historical value through its direct associations with the ByTown & Nepean Road Company and the former Richmond toll road, one of the most significant road routes in the 19th and 20th century capital region which connected Ottawa with rural villages and agricultural production west of the city. Richmond Road served as a key driver in Ottawa’s outward expansion, supporting the growth of Hintonburg from rural subdivision to suburban village and contemporary urban neighbourhood, therefore associating the property with the theme of Ottawa’s growth and development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The property has additional historical and associative value for its associations with Dr. Israel G. Smith, the first doctor based in the Village of Hintonburg and Hintonburg’s first Medical Officer of Health, who practiced from the building from 1896 to 1907.
 
1121 Wellington Street West has physical value as a unique example of a former Tollkeeper’s residence located on the former Richmond toll road. Altered over many years to function as a commercial building, the property has design value as a representative example of the vernacular mixed-use buildings characteristic of Wellington Street West in Hintonburg, and because of its high degree of craftsmanship and artistic merit displayed by the ground-floor leaded stained glass windows with mortar and pestle design.

The property has contextual value because it supports the character of Wellington Street West in Hintonburg. Located within a cluster of other historic village buildings including the Iona Mansions, Magee House, and the Rosemount Library, its irregular footprint and siting on the lot align it with the curve of Wellington Street West and adjacent properties. Its history as a toll keeper’s residence links it functionally and historically to its location directly on Wellington Street West.

Description of heritage attributes

Key attributes that contribute to the heritage value of the Tollkeeper’s House as a unique example of a Tollhouse and representative example of a traditional commercial building on Wellington Street West include:

• The building’s two-storey massing
• The stone ground floor front façade
• Storefront windows on ground floor topped with curved stained glass windows featuring mortar and pestle design
• Recessed commercial entrance on Wellington Street West.
• Red brick cladding on side elevations.
• Second storey window openings with stone sills
• Second-storey parapet wall with cornice

Key attributes that demonstrate its contextual value include:

• Its irregular footprint angled to the curve of Wellington Street West
• Its prominent siting on Wellington Street West, near Carruthers Avenue

Objections

Please be advised that any person wishing to object to this designation may do so under the objection process set out in Section 29 (5) of the Ontario Heritage Act by giving the Clerk of the City of Ottawa, within 30 days after the online publication of this notice, a notice of objection outlining the reasons for the objection and any other relevant information.

The notice of objection can be submitted via email to:

CityClerk-HeritageObjections@ottawa.ca
 
The notice of objection can also be submitted via registered mail or be delivered in person, by appointment, at the following coordinates:

Caitlin Salter-MacDonald, City Clerk
c/o Mélanie Blais, Committee Coordinator
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario  K1P 1J1
mail code 01-71

When an objection has been received, City Council will consider the objection including all relevant information, within 90 days after the end of the objection period. After consideration of the objection, Council may decide to withdraw the Notice of Intention to Designate or to pass a by-law designating the property under the Ontario Heritage Act. 

For further information please contact: Greg MacPherson at greg.macpherson@ottawa.ca.

Notice of intention to repeal by-law designating 6295 Fourth Line Road as a property of cultural heritage value or interest pursuant to section 31 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.0.18

Dated and published at the City of Ottawa on March 12, 2025. 

Take notice that the Council of the Corporation of the City of Ottawa intends to repeal By-law 80/83 which designates the property, known as the Presley House, to be of cultural heritage value or interest pursuant to Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.
 
Description of property 

6295 Fourth Line Road is a rural property in North Gower which currently contains a barn structure. The property also previously included a one-and-a-half storey wood frame farmhouse, known as the Presley House, which was lost in a fire on December 12, 2021. 

Statement of cultural heritage value or interest

The property was designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act on October 4, 1983 by the Township of Rideau. The designating By-Law 80/83 includes the following Reasons for Designation: 

This is an extraordinarily well detailed wood frame farmhouse in Classic Revival style enhanced by features of Gothic Revival design. Accordingly, it is considered to be of architectural interest. Constructed circa 1870-77, this outstanding 1.5 storey residence is distinguished by its handsome molded eaves, cornerboards and by its front entrance with rectangular transom and sidelights surmounted by a double gable window.

Statement of reason

The City of Ottawa initiated the process to pass a by-law to repeal the designating By-Law No. 80/83 given that the main heritage building at 6295 Fourth Line Road, known as the Presley House, was completely lost to fire. No heritage attributes described in the Statement of Cultural Heritage Value above remain as the building was unsalvageable.

Objections

Please be advised that any person wishing to object to the proposed repealing by-law may do so under the objection process set out in Section 31 of the Ontario Heritage Act by giving the Clerk of the City of Ottawa, within 30 days after online publication of this notice, a notice of objection setting out the reasons for the objection and all relevant facts.
 
The notice of objection can be submitted via email to:

CityClerk-HeritageObjections@ottawa.ca

The notice of objection can also be submitted via registered mail or be delivered in person, by appointment, at the following coordinates: 

Caitlin Salter MacDonald, City Clerk 
c/o Mélanie Blais, Committee Coordinator
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario  K1P 1J1
mail code 01-71 

When an objection has been received, City Council will consider the objection including all relevant facts, within 90 days after the end of the objection period. After consideration of the objection, Council may decide to withdraw this notice of intention or pass a by-law repealing the designating by-law(s).
 
Additional information

For further information regarding the repeal application, please contact:

Sara Wehbi 
Heritage Planner
Sara.Wehbi@ottawa.ca
613-580-2424 extension 21589