Andrew Wa ldron

The Former Ottawa City Hall (Sussex Pavilion) 111 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario

he Government of Canada is committed to identify and pro­ Ttect its heritage buildings since Cabinet approved the Feder­ al Heritage Buildings Policy in 1982 and Treasury Board issued an administrative policy for its implementation. The policy pro­ vides for protec tion of federal buildings based on their heritage character, which may include a building's historical associations, archHectural values and/ or its symbolic importance. Federal buildings that are forty years old or older, and are proposed to be altered, dismantled, demolished or sold, must be rev iewed on a case-by-case basis by an interdepartmental, inter­ disciplinary committee. The evaluation committee uses a set of ten criteria with numerical scoring to reach a final score by con­ sensus. Buildings that receive a score of 50 points or more are designated by the Minister of Canadian Heritage as federal her­ itage buildings. Two administrative levels exist for federal her­ itage buildings: a federal heritage building that scores from 50 to 75 points is considered "Recognized;" if the building scores more than 75 points, it is considered "Classified." These two levels de­ termine the degree of consultation necessary for proposed inter­ ventions. Based on the committee's reasons for designation, a Her­ Fig. 1. View of the rear fa<;ade of the slab block. {A. Waldron. HSB, 200 1) itage Character Statement is produced to identify and explain a building's character-defining elements. This document provides property managers, design professionals, and also conservation professionals with guidance when assessing the impact of pro­ posed changes to a federal heritage building. The following building report is an example of the docu­ mentation used to assist the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Andrew Waldron is an architectural historian 1uitiltlze Historical Seroices Committee in identifying reasons for designation. It is one of the Bmnclr ~f tile National Historic Sites Directorate, Parks Canada Agency. hundreds of reports produced al1J1ually by architectural histori­ ans for the Federal Heritage Building Review Office. The report is a guide and reference document for the committee and is not intended to prescribe where heritage va lue lies. For that reason, the report strictly adheres to answering the question posed by each criteri on and is not to be a scholarl y discourse on the sub­ mitted building.

]SSAC I ]SEAC 27, n ~ 1, 2 (2002) ; 51-68.

51 JSSAC I JSEAC 27. n ~ 1. 2 C2002l

Fig. 2. View of the front fa <;ade from Sussex Drive . (A. Waldron, HSB. 200 1)

(PWGSC), the new custodian of the former city hall, has requested that the original portion of the building be evaluated by the Federal Her­ itage Buildings Review Committee (FHBRC). 1 The former city hall, located on Ottawa's Green Island, is composed of three buildings: the Sussex Pavilion, the Bytown Pavilion and the Rideau Pavilion (Figures 2-4). The Sussex Pavilion was opened on 20 June 1958 as the new city hall, but it was apparent by the mid-1980s that more office space was necessary for city staff and two other pavilions were completed in 1992.' In June 2001 , the newly formed City of Ot­ tawa had vacated the Bytown Pavilion while the two other pavilions were in the process of being vacated. The Sussex Pavilion (hereafter referred to as the former Ottawa City Hall), is the build­ ing being assessed; it was partly occupied by the city and the fed eral government at that time. PWGSC expected that the transfer of occupancy would be completed by the end of 2001. The design of the former Ottawa City Hall was opened to national competition in June 1955 and awarded to the Montreal firm of Fig . 3. View of the Bytown Pavilion and original slab block from the northwest. across Sussex Drive. Rother / Bland /Trudeau. The award-winning de­ {A. Waldron. HSB. 2001) sign was to replace the city's temporary offices on Rideau Street, which in turn replaced the 1878 city hall at the corner of Albert and Elgin Street (the present location of the National Arts Centre). As the realization of the long-term ab­ sence of a purpose-built city hall in Ottawa, the new civic building on Sussex Dri ve served an important role in the emergence of post-war Ot­ tawa.'

Historical Associations

Thematic Fig . 4. View of the former Ottawa City Hall from the northeast side , across Sussex Drive . Canada was a country of rapid growth and (A. Waldron. HSB. 200 1) economic expansion in the 1950s. Both were sus­ tained by a hi gh birth rate, immigration, and a Introduction growing middle class. Post-war affluence was best seen in rapid­ On 1 January 2001, the regional municipalities of Ottawa-Car­ ly ex panding urban centres across the country, where not only leton were amalgamated by a provinciall y appointed transition new immigrants but also rural Canadians found more prosperi­ board into one ci ty and sold Ottawa's city hall to the federal gov­ ty. To respond to the challenges of rapid urban and suburban ernment. Public Works and Government Services Canada growth of Canadian cities, whose populations demanded the

52 services of a modern lifestyle, government services substantially economy from a manufacturing and industrial one. Although increased. In some cities, new government buildings were con­ not a major sector of the overall Canadian economy in the early structed where none existed before; in other cities, older govern­ post-war years, the employment trend in major urban centres ment buildings were deemed inadequate-to respond both was towards "white-collar" work. In post-war Ottawa, employ­ practically and symbolically to the challenges of post-war urban ment in the manufacturing and resource industries was increas­ and suburban development-and were replaced. At all levels of ingly overshadowed by the federal civil service and other public government, increased public services meant an expanded sector work.' With better wages and secured financing for a new civil/public servant workforce. This increased role was especial­ owner-occupied home, home-ownership's sense of control and ly true in Ottawa where expansion of the federal government in independence attracted many people to cities and their sprawl­ the post-war period resulted in large-scale building pro­ ing suburbs. Indeed, during the 1950s, approximately one mil­ grammes. The former Ottawa City Hall, built in response to a lion single-family dwellings were built across the country in new era of urban and suburban expansion, illustrates the need urban areas. '" for increased management of urban growth and the creation of a Rapid post-war suburban development, because of the de­ modern civic identity of the post-war period. centralizing effect of car ownership, challenged civic manage­ ment. In larger cities, civil engineers and planners responded by Post-war Economic Prosperity and Urban Expansion in Canada constructing expressways throughout cities and their suburbs. Canada's population increased by approximately four mil­ However, decentralization schemes incorporating cui-de-sacs and lion from 1948 to 1957.' During that period, the unemployment loop roads into neighbourhoods created high infrastructure costs rate hovered around two percent, 1.5 million immigrants entered (roads, sewers, water, etc.), and prevented efficient use of capital. the country and new wealth, coupled with a strong birth rate, This modern Garden City planning model was therefore ineffec­ sustained high growth. These aspects of Canadian society influ­ tive in solving urban congestion but satisfied the corporate-led enced the country's unprecedented domestic rates of production suburban developers who sought short-term profits. The result and were largely based on the country's emergence from the war was up-front infrastructure investment by cities until property with a healthy manufacturing sector and new technology. taxes from new suburbanites were collected. This dynamic was Relying on the manufacturing industry and the immense experienced by all major Canadian cities in the post-war era. wealth of recently tapped natural resources, most regions in the Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver saw the most rapid in­ country reaped economic benefits, although class poverty and creases in their population and challenges to their municipal disenfranchisement remained a national condition. In response, services, but other Canadian urban centres also faced pressures welfare state programmes were instituted to alleviate poverty to provide public services and infrastructures. The City of Ot­ and assist in developing a larger stable middle class, particular­ tawa, whose jurisdiction in 1950 expanded to include huge an­ ly in urban areas. Federal and provincial housing acts and poli­ nexed township lands in Gloucester, Westboro, and Carleton, cies, for instance, had the effect of attracting the poorly reflected that situation. In 1951, the population of the Ottawa­ supported rural population to urban centres, and unlike rural Carleton region was 246,298; ten years later, it had blossomed to living conditions, the cities offered opportunities and an im­ 358,410. " For the City of Ottawa, the increased population forced proved quality of life.' Consequently, rural Canada lost approxi­ the city towards deficit spending on municipal services to the mately sixteen percent of its population from the early 1940s to under-serviced, privately-built suburban areas." However calcu­ the early 1960s, with significant losses to Prairie cities." Although lated, the need for increased services due to rapid expansion is urban slums and poor housing remained in the inner-city, de­ evident in the building permits issued by the city. In 1945, 1,038 spite efforts to improve the urban housing stock, overall urban building permits were issued; 3,831 in 1955; in 1958, a peak (from and suburban living standards were clearly better than rural life. 1945 to 1970) of 4,598 permits were issued." For example, in 1951, 885,690 homes in Canada had neither hot Whereas other major Canadian cities increasingly devel­ nor cold running water; of these, 758,950 were rural dwellings.' oped financial, commercial or private sector workforces, Ot­ Understandably, most new immigrants opted to move directly to tawa's principal employment was with the federal government. Canadian cities and avoided rural communities.' The need for increased municipal government was therefore due Post-war urban expansion was also due, in part, to the be­ principally to the number of civil servants retained after the Sec­ ginnings of an economic shift to a consumer and serviced-based ond World War and additional hiring to administer new social

53 JSSAC I JSEAC 27 . n 1. 2 <2002>

welfare programmes. In total, there were 30,069 civil servants This era of development consisted of a strong federal pres­ employed in 1951. By 1961, the number had grown to 36,945." ence throughout the ci ty's urban and suburban regions. In the Wi th decentralized government complexes established at the pe­ city's outlyi ng areas, satellite government office complexes were riphery of the city, and suburban development soon to follow, it built. The urban core of the ci ty however had less federal build­ was obvious that civic administra tion and expensive public ing activity in the 1950s because FDC planning in the urban core works would likewise increase. was focussed on completing beautifica ti on projects (redirecti on Housing federal departments on ca mpuses at the city's pe­ of roads, elimination of urban rail transit, etc.), while continuing riphery consequently stimulated more commuting. This new to use temporary wartime office blocks for civil servants. '" The type of post-war mobile workforce in Ottawa emerged as these fo ll owing phase of Ottawa's development occurred after the ca mpuses developed from the ea rl y 1950s and onwards. Ea rl y large-scale suburban complexes were built and the federal gov­ decentra li zed sites which fostered this condition included Con­ ernment turned to developing major departmental and cultural federati on Heights, Tunney's Pasture, and the Na tional Research complexes in the core and in Hull, Quebec. Council 's Montreal Road campus. Federal development of the Ottawa region, both in its urban Accordingly, the post-war period of urban expansion in core and its outlying suburbs, substantiall y affected the nature of Canada ca n be characterized by several key factors. The physical municipal control in the ci ty. Preventi on of the ci ty to build its nature of Canada's ci ties expanded and decentralized causing ci ty hall on its former site is a quintessentia l example of federal less price gradients between the urban and suburban areas. This power over the ci ty from the late 1940s until municipal interests decentra lization, supported by an extensive tra nsportation net­ were reasserted in the 1970s. To relate in detail how strong fed­ work, meant industry, business, and public services were estab­ eral control was during the1950s, the debate over the eventual lo­ lished outside the city cores. As a result, urban development ca tion of the former City Hall is examined in depth . expanded city services as increases in infrastructure spending and urban renewal were initi ated .'; "Town vs. Crown": Municipal and Federal Ottawa, 1946-1965 Since the rapidly growing City of Ottawa had neither a Since the emergence of Ottawa as a ti mber town in the proper administrati ve building nor a symbolic marker of its own 1850s, and its being chosen by Queen Victoria as the new capital authority and identity, the construction of a monumental civic of the Province of Canada in 1857, an ongoing and sometimes build ing made it possible to house more services (health and troublesome dynamic between municipal and federal govern­ welfare, public works and planning, recrea ti on, culture, etc.), ments has had a signifi ca nt impact on the development of the and to serve as a modern civic fac ility. The former Ottawa City ci ty. The first comprehensive ca pital plan, inspired by the City Hall is a refl ection of increased civic building construction across Beautiful Movement, was developed in the city's core in the the country in response to post-war urban expansion. ea rl y 20 '" century. Prior to the Second World Wa r, more direct and concerted efforts by the federal government to shape the city into Person/Event a nati onal ca pital initiated an often contentious relationship be­ No persons or events of historical significa nce are directl y asso­ tween the two levels of government. After the Second World ciated with the building under review. Wa r, this jurisdictional dynamic intensified, and was best illus­ trated by the constructi on of the fo rmer Ottawa City Hall on an Local Development island outside the ci ty's core. Construction of the former Ottawa City Hall occurred during an In 1931, Ottawa's ci ty hall at Elgin and Albert Street was de­ im portant peri od of Ottawa's physica l growth as a result of the stroyed by fire and a new city hall was to be erected on the same federal government's increased building programme and its site. But with the dissuasions of both the governments of R. B. strong presence in planning decisions in the Na tional Capital Re­ Bennett and W. L. Mackenzie-Ki ng, the project was delayed in­ gion after the Second Wo rld Wa r. The period between 1946, when defi ni tely. A new city hall was not built in downtown Ottawa be­ the Federal District Commission (FDC) established the National fore the war because of Ki ng's proposal to create a memorial Capital Planning Committee (NCPC), and the mid-1 960s, when square and processional avenue near Parliament Hill. This plan the firs t projects proposed in the capita l were largely completed, for the area would partly be rea li zed in the late 1930s by the of­ is examined to assess the fo rmer Ottawa Ci ty Hall 's role in the ficial French Government planner, Jacques Greber, whom Ki ng context of the city's post-war development. had met in Paris in 1936. Notabl y, Greber 's proposal for Ottawa's

54 core did not include a new city hall on its old site. At the out­ heated City Council debate in August 1950 resulted in Council break of the war, an emergency building programme in down­ remaining in support of the Elgin Street site. 17 town Ottawa postponed further discussions for building a new The debate escalated with the mayoral election of Charlotte city hall. Whitton in 1951. A year later, the defiant mayor met with the Jacques Greber was invited back to Ottawa by King after the Prime Minister arguing that there was no commitment on the 1 war to complete his plan for the capital. To implement the plan, part of the city not to rebuild on the Elgin Street site. ' After two the NCPC was established on 8 March 1946, under the FDC, with years, the situation had yet to be resolved and the FDC proposed 1 Jacques Greber as planning consultant and an executive board other alternative sites, including Pine Hill in Rockcliffe Park. ' In heavily favouring the federal government. A concern for power challenging the federal government's self-appointed authority immediately arose amongst local government as the FDC imple­ over parts of city decision-making, a national competition was mented its plan throughout the region by spending federal initiated by City Council to find an architect to design the new money on improving the national capital region with local pub­ city hall on the contentious Elgin Street site. Both the FDC and lic support for its actions. By the early 1950s, the most vociferous the federal cabinet again vehemently disapproved and proposed FDC board member, who feared loss of municipal control, was one last alternative site: Green Island, in return for title of the ironically Ottawa mayor, Charlotte Whitton. Throughout her Elgin Street site .'u years as mayor, there was often a tirade of criticisms on her part Discussions continued until a meeting in mid-January 1956 against the FDC's so-called undemocratic power, despite federal when Mayor Whitton again met with Prime Minister Louis improvements to the city. St. Laurent, the FDC, and members of Cabinet to finally resolve The relationship between the City of Ottawa and the feder­ the long-standing debate. Returning to City Council, Mayor al government was unique in Canada. Lack of city control over Whitton tabled all of the sites, including the Elgin Street site, but its own planning was possibly due, in part, to the City Council's it was evident from Council's notes that members felt prime­ reliance on the effectiveness of instituting Greber's comprehen­ ministerial pressure to trade the Elgin Street site for another sive plan by the mid-1950s. In actual fact, a give-and-take rela­ one.' 1 Prior to the final vote, even the staunchest council member, tionship between the two levels of government bridged common Mayor Whitton, rationalized that the location of a new city hall interests by making compromises to resolve the city's municipal on Green Island was reasonable "because most [municipal] serv­ needs. Indeed, after 1950, the federal government began to pay ices were paid through other agencies," and that this "greatly the city grants in lieu of property taxes, and the city obviously discounts the argument of inconvenience."" Council voted four­ was not going to interfere with the federal government's land ac­ teen to four in favour of the Green Island site and allowed for quisition programme. Moreover, the city's reliance on federal transfer of the Elgin Street site. planning was reflected in its own lack of organized planning in Eight months later, the federal government renamed the the 1950s, since-despite the large annexation of suburban parts FDC the National Capital Commission (NCC) and unveiled of the surrounding townships in 1950, a construction boom more commitments to redevelop the city's core, including in­ throughout the decade, and demands for more municipal infra­ creased grants, bilingual signage, clean-up of air pollution, and structure-the city did not begin devising an official city plan cost-sharing with the Ontario government for construction of the until1957, seven years after federally-initiated changes. Queensway throughway. Charlotte Whitton hosted the sod-turn­ An important aspect of this unique relationship was a pub­ ing ceremony for the new city hall on 26 September 1956 andre­ lic and often divisive debate over city hall's future location, with tired as mayor three months later.'' A new phase of Ottawa's the federal government eventually determining the outcome. development emerged after the mid-1960s, with a more assertive City Council's leased quarters at the corner of Rideau Street and city government, the creation of the Regional Municipality of Ot­ Sussex Drive were inadequate for the growing city and, in 1950, tawa-Carleton in 1969, and the NCC's shift of interest to cultural it proposed that city hall be rebuilt on the original site. A con­ events in the region. frontation over the site naturally ensued between the two par­ The former Ottawa City Hall reflects FDC influence over the ties. At first, other locations were suggested by the city as city in the post-war period, with the result that unlike other alternatives to the Elgin Street site, but despite financial incen­ Canadian cities, the city hall was built on an island outside its tives from the federal government to opt for their own choice, a commercial and economic core. It is an exceptional example of change in the jurisdictional conception of Ottawa because it rep-

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Fig. 5. Northwest view of former Ottawa City Hall after completion. 1958. (Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 35, 9{Septem­ ber 1958]. 330]

from the traditional ci ty or town hall." Instead of using traditional architectur­ al forms, the former Ottawa City Hall was designed as a group of three mass­ es that each referred to a specific civic role. A civic building type emerged in the late 1950s using this approach, and the former Ottawa City Hall was the most significant design in establishing it. Indeed, the city hall garnered inter­ national attention and was successful as a civic building over its lifetime. From a historical perspective, it con­ tains Modern ideas that led the direc­ ti on Modern architecture was taking in Canada in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Today, as a building which has not suffered major alterations over its lifetime, the architectural ideas reflec t­ ed in its design are still visually under­ stood. The building consists of an eight­ storey slab block of administrative of­ fices with an open ground floor that leads to legislative rooms projecting out over a plaza." That form of civic de­ sign appeared across the country in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was in­ fluenced by three aspects of Modern ar­ chitecture. First, the ci ty hall adopted an open grid plan for the building and Fig . 6. View of front fa<;ade during construction, 1957. (City of Ottawa Archives, CA-20127) the plaza. Second, its articulated mass­ ing of public, legislative, and adminis­ trati ve spaces was derived from the resents one of the most public debates over the direction of its Functionalist school of Modern architectural thought; and third, development as a city and national capital during the post-war the building's design was influenced by post-war concerns to period. After forty-three years, the federal government now create a Modern form of civic monumentality. Those ideas are owns the building and Ottawa's new seat of local government evident in the shape, massing, and details of the present build­ has returned to the downtown core. ing. The wide slab block consists of rectangular windows inset Architecture with fifteen bays and rising eight storeys, punctuated in the cen­ tre by a two-storey legislative space (Figures 5-6). Seven bays Aesthetic Design wide with two flanking balconies, the legislative space is marked The former Ottawa City Hall's design is a synthesis of in the centre with the city's crest (Figure 8). Each of the alumini­ emerging ideas in Modern architecture of post-war Canada, and um window casings, set within the grid-patterned fac;ade of the at the time of its completion its design was a radical departure slab block, is further divided into fo ur windows and offset by a

56 AN DREW WALDRON t :f!l~:liJ:tD:t;:lll:ll

Fig. 7. View from lop floor balcony, 1958. (Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 35 , 9[September 1958!. 330)

Fig. 8. View of present entrance and projecting council chamber. {A. Waldron, HSB, 2001)

examples from the 1950s that visually expose the open continu­ ity of the grid plan. An equally significant design element is the building's visu­ al expression of its internal function. At the time, other building types sometimes visually articulated their specific use into shapes and voids, rather than relying on exterior decoration or more traditional building compositions. Types included indus­ trial headquarters, educational buildings, and Modern religious buildings. One of the best examples of this Functionalist ap­ proach is evident in the former Ottawa City Hall, where all of its uses are distinctive from one another by their massing. A series of Canadian civic buildings likewise adopted that approach, but

Fig. 9. Detail of window. the former Ottawa City Hall is an exceptional example which re­ (A. Waldron , HSB, 2001 ) mains intact (see the functional criterion below). That form of civic building was likely inspired by the idea of sheet of rectangular limestone siding (Figures 1, 9). At the top creating a monumental structure in a Modern idiom. In the early storey of the slab block, a balcony is set within its grid pattern 1940s, after decades of constructing Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical (Figure 7). The slab block and projecting legislative space are monumental buildings, a group of notable modernists proposed both raised on columns and laid out according to the building's a series of points for a Modern form of monumental architecture structural loads. The open grow1d floor is in-filled with nine-foot to challenge earlier nationalist designs. A resonance of their high plate glass, originally allowing for outside views. The points was incorporated into the former Ottawa City Hall's de­ building's symmetrical composition within a grid pattern lacks a sign. visual marker as to the building's entrance. The view that "if it is a monument, it is not modern" was The former Ottawa City Hall's open grid plan had been in commonly held by modernists in the pre-war period. It was use by European and North American architects alike since the thought that Modern architecture was principally concerned late 19'" century. The grid's inherent flexibility and the cost-effi­ with social housing and utilitarian design issues, and not with ciency of its structural skeletal frame were its obvious main at­ reflecting civic pride in large-scale buildings. However, by the tractions. By the 1940s, the open grid plan (and its modularity) mid-1940s a vigorous debate over the issue was reported in the not only appealed to architects such as Mies Van der Rohe, who international architectural journals and published books." In refined it to a high degree, but it was also adopted by a genera­ essence, those critics saw recent monumental buildings as lack­ tion of architects who exploited it to its extreme." Such buildings ing a collective spirit and representation of people's social and as the iconic Lever House and Seagram Building in New York civic life." Some Modern architects felt a need to respond to that City, or the General Motors' Complex in Detroit, are well-known condition.

57 JSSAC I JSEAC 27. n~ 1. 2 <2002)

Fig. 10. View of the former Ottawa City Ha ll partia lly constructed . (City of Ottawa Arch1ves. CA-18474 )

Fig. 11 . View of ground floor public foyer. 1958. (City of Ottawa Archives. CA-18489)

Throughout the late 1940s and ea rl y 1950s, international dis­ The main entrance is through a doorway w1der the project­ cussions on the relevancy of a Modern monumentality continued ing council chamber leading to a highl y reflec ti ve narrow foyer with few actual examples created.29 The idea was eventually re­ with load-bearing columns supporting the building's steel-rein­ alized in Canada during the late 1950s when a Modern forced concrete frame:" Attention to reflective materials, includ­ monumentality appeared in new large-scale city halls that avoid­ ing poli shed black Italian terrazzo, Queenston limestone, white ed using a historicist approach. The best-known national exam­ marble, and stainless steel fi xtures, creates an elegant public ple of this Modern civic monumentality was the unique design space. To the south of the entrance is a service shaft, asymmetri­ fo r the New Toronto City Hall awarded in 1958, although the ca lly dividing the foyer into two public areas. These two areas former Ottawa City Hall preceded it by months.10 were used as an open exhibition space and a clerk's counter for The above design characteristics lead to why the former Ot­ the public. Today, the northern portion of the foyer is still used as tawa City Hall was designed to express its function through its an exhibition space, but the southern portion is now enclosed mass and avoid motifs of traditional ci ty hall designs (incl uding with wa ll s for the city's public art ga ll ery (Figures 11, 13, 14, 15). a clock or bell tower, a centralized council chamber, or a lack of As a result, continuity of the ground floor open grid plan, visu­ open public space)." Apparent in other civic buildings of Cana­ ally linking interior and exteri or, has been disrupted by alter­ da's post-war period, a challenge to create relevant public mean­ ations to the ground floor space. ing for Modern architecture led to the development of a form of In contrast to the ground floor, the second storey is less spa­ civic monumentality that was answered in the design of the for­ tially open and uses more muted materials. Laid out wi th a mer Ottawa Ci ty Hall. length wise corridor and a short centra l axis, this truncated "T­ shaped" circulation pattern is used on all of the slab block fl oors. Functional Design The sli ghtly modified plan for the second storey consists of an At the time of the former Ottawa City Hall's construction, its open foyer at the top of an oval stairwell and an entranceway building methods and manner of internal layout were familiar to into the council chamber. Through crest-embl azoned double­ architects since the early 20'h century, when both skyscrapers and doors, one enters the anechoic counci l chamber flanked by the open offi ce plans were increasingly used in tandem with inex­ mayor and aldermen's suites (Figures 12, 16, 17, 18). Each of pensive building materials (Figure 10). " As managers of the proj­ these spaces has lost its original use, but the walnut wood, lime­ ect, the architectural firm contracted Perini Limited of Ottawa to stone-clad walls, and original lighting remain almost completely construct the ci ty hall. The structural engineering was sub-con­ intact (Figure 19). The rooms are at present occupied by the City tracted to th e local firm of de Stein and M'Cutcheon, and the me­ of Ottawa Archives. chani ca l and electrica l engineering was sub-contracted to Wigs, Each storey above the second floor was originally lai d out as Walford, Frost & Lindsay. Modifications to the design were made semi-open offices with a recepti on desk across from the elevators by the architectural firm prior to construction, because of the (Figures 20-21) . The semi-open office plan and T-shaped central new site on Green Island. Changes included moving the HVAC corridor originall y allowed for outside views by staff."' The top to the top storey and raising the building onto a higher plaza.

58 Fig. 12. View of the second fl oor lobby from top of oval stairwell. iA Waldron. HSB. 2001l

Fig. 13. View of ground floor foyer, showing movable wa ll s at the east end of the foyer. (A. Waldron. HSB. 2001)

Fig. 16. View of the second floor lobby with the former council chambers to the right. (A. Waldron . HSB. 2001 )

floor once had a lounge, a cafeteria, and an observation balcony overlooking the Ottawa Ri ver and the Ga tinea u Hills. " At the time of the building's completi on, there were critica l comments about its layout: the ground fl oor foyer was consid­ ered too sma ll because of an overabundance of columns and a Fig . 14 . View of the ground fioor fo yer: stairwell in centre , and the elevators in behind . poorl y placed oval stairwell. One architect could not understand (A. Waldron . HSB. 2001 ) why the observation balcony was ori ented away from the core of th e city." Aside from those comments, one key functional characteris­ tic of the building was the architects' choice to use a slab block for the administra tive offices. Unlike cubic volumes of most con­ temporary office buildings, the narrow slab block took full ad­ va ntage of natural li ght on both sides of its wi dth. The slab block was widely explored by French and Engli sh architects in the 1930s and earl y 1940s, and fully exploited in the post-war deca des." The advantage of its layout led to designs for many large-scale apartment blocks in Canada, but it was also used for office towers; one example of the type attesting to its origin was the British High Commission building in Ottawa, built in 1964 (Figure 22) :" Other Ca nadian city hall s of the period also reflect the slab block's appeal, in concert with a functi onall y expressed mass. More spirited use of materials was made in some cases, but a ll were di vided into separate masses dictated by a project­ Fig. 15. View of ground floor art gallery. (A Waldron . HSB. 2001 ) ing legislati ve space, a slab block administrati ve space and an

59 JSSAC I JSEAC 27 . n ~ 1, 2 <2002l

Fig. 17. Entrance doors to former Fig. 19. Detail of doorway showing council chamber. limestone-clad walls . (A. Waldron, HSB. 2001) (A. Waldron . HSB . 2001 )

open ground floor publjc granite cladding. In con­ space. cept, the former Edmon­ The former Ottawa ton City Hall was slightly City Hall's layout and use more complex in plan of materials have, over than the former Ottawa the decades, remained es­ City Hall, although some sentially unchanged, thus architects criticized its attesting to its exceptional poor orientation on its condition. However, criti­ downtown site and its cal comments raised "fussy" fashionable de­ about the building at the tails." time of its completion are Hamilton City Hall, still valid today. The nar­ which still stands in its rowness of the public original state, but may foyer, with its poorly soon be redesigned, is an­ placed stairwell, remains other contemporary ex­ a circulation problem that ample of the Modern has been aggravated by monumental civic build­ various walls, art objects, ing type (Figures 26-27)." and interior glass walls Like Edmonton City Hall, protecting the fire exits of Hamilton's city hall is the service shafts. Most of slightly larger and more these additions are re­ expressive in design than versible. the former Ottawa City Fig. 20. Original layout of the office floors. after construction , 1957-1958. Hall. Its steel frame was (City of Ottawa Archives . CA-18483) Modern City Halls in faced with marble panels, Canada a mosa ic, and a glass cur­ The former Ottawa City tain wall." Both the slab Hall was an early Modern block and raised project­ city hall to be built in ing council chamber were Canada, but similar ex­ built at an inward angle amples were constructed towards the front plaza. Fig. 18. Interior of former council chamber: at pre­ from the mid-1950s to the However, unlike the for­ sent occupied by the City of Onawa Archives. 39 (PWGSC, 200 1) late 1960s. The earliest mer Ottawa City Hall, example of the Modern Hamilton City Hall has monumental civic build­ had structural problems ing type was the former Edmonton City Hall, constructed during since its completion, in­ the period 1955-1957 (and now demolished) (Figures 24-25). ~' cluding poor construction Fig . 21 . View of second floor offices. (A. Waldron . HSB . 2001) The ten-storey office slab was lozenge-shaped with a raised pro­ of its exterior marble fac- jecting council chamber. At ground level, an open plaza accented in g. +> with reflecting pools, a fountain, and an entrance to a rectangu­ Hamilton City Hall's inexplicably large front entrance lar space serving the public, were elements that intended to em­ columns and overabundance of marble cladding give way to a body the building's civic role. The Edmonton example was more profusion of decorative mosaics, wall paintings, wood panelling, decorative and colourful, as opposed to the restrained design of marble and terrazzo flooring inside. From the entrance lobby, the the former Ottawa City Hall, with an exterior of travertine, pre­ public ha s access to services along one wing of the ground floor cast concrete panels, aluminium accents, and red Swedish and to the council chamber by a spilt step-back stairwell."

60 ANDREW WALDRON t;f!l~:ltJ;IIr..l;t:cltJ:II

Fig. 22. British High Commission, Ottawa , Ontario; constructed 1964; W.S . Bryant, architect. {A. Waldron , HSB. 1999)

Fig . 23. Winnipeg Civic Centre, Winnipeg , Manitoba; constructed 1962-1966; Green. Blankstein & Russell , principal architects . (A. Wald ron , HSB. 1998)

Modern monumental civic building in post­ war Canada is the New Toronto City Hall (Figure 29). 49 The building consists of two administrative towers encircling a raised circular council chamber (resting on a 63-foot (19.2 m] sub­ surface concrete Fig. 24 . Fonner Edmonton City Hall; constructed 1955- pylon) with an expan­ 1957; Dewar, Stephenson & Stanley, architects; sive open plaza (Fig­ demolished in 1990. (City of Edmonton Archives EA-20-990) ure 30) . As one of Toronto's eventual Negative comments at the time noted its overbearing "inflated civic landmarks, the scale [producing] the sort of building associated with pre-war impressive design re­ Italy."'" ceived international The aforementioned examples of the monumental civic attention at the time, building type were used in civic complexes as late as 1970, when despite structural a city hall, a theatre, and an apartment block were built in the flaws and a less-than­ downtown core of London, Ontario (Figure 28) ' ' Again, each convenient plan (e.g. space of London City Hall is distinguished by its mass, but with access to the two ad­ a modified layout. As opposed to the functional clarity of the for­ ministrative wings is Fig . 25. Ground and upper floor plans of mer Ottawa Ci ty Hall, the London example is visually deceptive through the ground Edmonton City Hall. (Journal of the Architectural Institute of Canada 35, 5 [May 1958], because it has in- 166-167) verted the council chamber to its rear and projected ~ the mayor's office 1-T§ ~ [j _____ out from the prin­ cipal fa<;ade . There have been no major alter­ ations to the - -- building since its completi on, and its rooftop cafete­ - J~~.-1::..._~ ._. . ~ ria and observa­ -...... ?:? -.:.:"· tion balcony ~·-. remaiJl in use' ' Lastly, the Fig . 26. Ground and second floor plans of Hamilton City Hall. Fig. 27 . Hamilton City Hall , Hamilton, Ontario; construc­ most sophisticat­ (Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 38. 3 (March 1961], 61) ted 1958-1959; Stanley Roscoe, architect. Fleury and Ar­ ed comparable thur, consulting architects . (Journal of the Royal Architecturallnstltule of Canada 38, 3{March design of a 1961\. 56)

61 JSSAC I JSEAC 27 . n ~ 1. 2 <2002l

Fig. 28 London City Hall; Fig. 30 . Section of New Toronto City HaiL constructed 1971 : Philip (Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Carter Johnson and 43, 3[March 1966]. 39} Patrick J. Cole. architects. (http:l/www.tondontoday.neVphotoi buildingslbuildings-photo­ bd00111 .shtJnl)

floor). The two arc­ Despite the vacated legislative ing wings were to spaces and change in use of the be constructed ground floor, the overall functional design and materials remain using cantilevered authentic to the building's era of construction. floors projecting from the exterior Craftsmanship and Materials walls, but these The former Ottawa City Hall employs rich but simple materials were redesigned to create a modern and elegantly restrained design. Its success as with the addition of a post-war Modern civic building is partly due to its low-key centtal supporting monochromatic colour scheme of materials throughout the load-bearing building." Of the few decorative accents used, most depict the columns inside each city's crest. Today, the original materials remain in excellent con­ wing, resulting in dition, and more recent materials, added as the building's needs poorly laid out of­ required, respect the original monochromatic scheme. fice floor plans. Its two recessed wings Exterior Materials and Workmanship on an open plaza, In homage to the materials of past civic buildings, the for­ oriented towards mer Ottawa City Hall's exterior is clad in Queenston limestone. the central business Well preserved today, with no imminent need for re-painting, the

Fig . 29. New Toronto City Ha ll. Toronto, Ontario; district and away exterior inset limestone panels are composed of subtle tonal gra­ constructed 1959-1965; Viljo Revell and John B. Parkin from the residential dations. On both sides of the slab block, extruded aluminium Assoc .. architects. (Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 43, 3 (March neighbourhoods of window frames (which were increasingly used in the post-war 1966j, 37) downtown, created period because of their light weight, thermal conductivity, and an impressive view resistance to oxidation), remain in excellent condition and are in from within the plaza. a similar grey hue as the ex terior stone." On the front fa~ade of New Toronto City Hall was intended to be a dramatic mon­ the projecting council chamber are two balcony awnings accent­ umental building heralding the city's transformation into a ed in cast aluminium relief panels representing the rivers of the modern metropolis. Its design was principally concerned with region (Figure 31). Between the two balconies is the city's crest aesthetic issues rather than effective functional planning or its (adopted in 1954) designed by Canadian artist, Art Price.'' Two presumed symbolic role; when completed, its enclosed arching abstract sculptures flank each side of the projecting chamber monumental form paradoxically oriented itself away from its (Figure 32). Once functioning fountains, welded-aluminium urban civic population. Nonetheless, New Toronto City Hall was plate sculptures by Louis Archambault remain in their place on warmly received by the public as a monumental building sym­ the plaza." Their expressive design originally countered the bolizing "modern" progress."' Moreover, it appeared in commer­ plaza's strict grid plan accented with limestone flagstone." cial advertisements as representative of Toronto's aspiring Essentially, the key characteristic of the building's ex terior is progressive and dynamic image. Today, the building is one of the the material's monochromatic scheme, evident in the care and at­ most significant surviving Modern designs in Canadian archi­ tention to placing the Queenston limestone panels according to tecture and is essentially unchanged in design and function since shade and thus showing the inherent qualities of the materials in its completion. a minimalist manner. To a lesser degree, the building's decora­ By comparison with the above examples, the former Ottawa tive embellishments are also important in adding an artistic City Hall is a very good surviving example of a civic building value to the restrained severity of the building's craftsmanship type which used a layout and massing that appeared in other and materials. civic designs of the period. In contrast with the above examples, the former Ottawa City Hall's layout and restrained palette of Interior Materials and Workmanship materials reflect an exceptional example of creating a link to past Entering the building through nine-foot high plate glass materials while remaining contemporary in its unadorned look. doors into the foyer, one sees the ex terior scheme intensified by

62 Fig. 31. View of the mayor's balconyon the front projecting fa~de . (A. Waldron, HSB, 2001 )

a more reflective interior mono­ chromatic space. A connection between inside and outside is evident in the use of limestone­ clad interior columns that are in contrast to the other interior re­ flective materials; these other materials include white marble Fig. 33. Detail of the stairwell's stainless Fig. 34. Present view of the from the Green Mountains of steel balustrade, and marble steps central stairwell. Vermont, covering the service and ri sers . {A. Waldron , HSB, 2001) (A. Waldron. HSB, 2001) shaft (and engraved with the names of the city's past may­ ors), and polished floors of sills and brushed aluminium large-aggregate black Italian ter­ louvers of the air-conditioning ra zzo with white marble bor- Lmits along the south side." ders patterned on the building's In summary, both tradi­ overall grid plan. The impres­ tional and modern materials are sive oval staircase (structurally used together to create the built of reinforced concrete) building's subtle monochro­ Fig. 35. Construction of the main stairwe ll, Fig . 32 . Aluminium founta in; constructed rises eighteen feet (5.5 m) to the matic shading. Traditional ma­ 1958; Louis Archambault. ca. 1957·1 958. (City of Ottawa Archives, CA- 15206) (John Bland Photo Collection, McGill University, ca . SeCOnd floor With marble StepS terials (limestone, marble, 9601 ' and a stainless steel tube walnut) are used in concert balustrade (Figures 33-35). with the modern materials (alu­ Stainless steel, rather than the exterior's less reflective alumini­ minium, stainless steel, terraz­ um, is used throughout the foyer; door handles, crests, and ele­ zo) to convey transitions vator railings all use the highly polished metal (Figure 36). Each between each of the building's of these reflective materials is significant in distinguishing the spatial functions. area as a public civic space. In contrast to the ground floor, second-storey materials are Designer less reflective and present a transition area between public, leg­ The firm of Rother I Bland/ islative, and administrative spaces; the materials are intended to Trudeau was awarded the de­ bridge each change in function. Thus, a smaller black aggregate sign of the former Ottawa City than what is foLmd on the grow1d floor is used outside the coun­ Hall in late December 1955 after cil chamber, while the grey limestone-clad columns visually link a four-month long national Fig. 36. Interior of elevator withembo ssed each floor. Furthermore, walmtt wood and limestone walls iden­ competition. Merged specifical- city crest decorating the walls; Jy for the competition, each the elevators remain intact. tify the legislative areas, but stainless steel fittings are replaced in (Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Cans- the legislative space with brass handles and doorplates to com­ member of the partnership was ds 35. 9{Seprember 1958]. 3271 pliment the walnut facing's softer colour. Overall, the legislative an important Canadian archi- room's woodwork and lighting are remarkably well-preserved tect of the 1950s, considering his success together against the examples of 1950s-era interior design (Figures 37-38).56 other high-calibre entrants. The competition called for a building The office floors of the slab block are the least spectacular in on the old city hall site with 7,311 m' (78,700 ft') of space and un­ terms of their material handling. Nonetheless, the architects used derground parking for 160 cars. The cost was intended to be a similar monochromatic scheme on each floor. Today, despite $2,625,000, exclusive of furnishings and architectural fees." Thir­ the 1992 renovations, there are surviving materials relevant in ty-seven Canadian entries were received by the time judging conveying the building's monochromatic scheme, including grey began in mid-December." When the jury's decision was an­ mosaics on each floor 's elevator walls and the pre-cast terrazzo nounced that Rother/ Bland / Trudeau won the competition, the

63 JSSAC I JSEAC 27. n~ 1. 2 C2002J

Fig. 37 . Mayor's office. 1958. Fig. 39. Northern Electric Research (C1ty of Ottawa Archives. CA-18487) and Development Laboratories. Otta­ wa , Ontario: constructed , 1960-1963: Fig. 38. Present interior of former Bland/LeMoyne/Edwards and Charles mayor's office. Elliott Trudeau, architects. (A. Waldron, HSB, 2001) (Journal of th e Royal Architectural Institute of Can ada 40, 3 {March 1963]. 46) ~. .. .. r l •·I runners-up were some of the most prominent firms working at Harold Spence-Sales, Roy the time."' Since this was the partnership's first significant and E. LeMoyne, Gordon Ed­ nationally prominent design, each career ought to be examined wards, Michel Lacroix, individually. and Tony Shine. John Bland went on to work Vincent Rother under different partner­ Vincent Rother was born in Montreal in 1912." He attended ships over the years, but the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he obtained his rarely received the atten­ B.Sc. in 1934, before furthering his studies at the Architectural tion for his work as he did

Association in London in the mid-1930s. After working until the for his involvement with Fig. 40. Aerial view of Green Island with arrow indi- late 1930s with Knapp Fisher and Jack Ratcliff in London, he en­ his partners in the design eating the location of the former Ottawa City Hall. (City of Ottawa Planning Department. n.d) listed with the Royal Engineers for the Second World War. After of the former Ottawa City the war he returned to practice for a brief period of time in Lon­ Hall. In an interview with don before moving back to Montreal in 1948. From 1948 until John Bland, he considered it the most important work in his pro­ 1956, Vincent Rother had his own firm, principally designing fessional career. .. buildings in the Montreal area. During that period, Rother was one Canadian architect who returned from England to apply Charles Elliott Trudeau Modern ideas to Canadian architecture,.' Not as prominent as his Born in 1922, Charles Elliott Trudeau was the youngest partner John Bland, Rother was respected within the Montreal member of the firm. He studied at Jean-de-Brebeuf College from architectural community and was the architect responsible for 1935 to 1942, before entering Montreal's Ecole des Beaux-Arts managing the former Ottawa City Hall project. Amongst where he received his diploma in 1944. Trudeau went on to Rother's work, the former Ottawa City Hall was his greatest, and graduate from the Harvard School of Design in 1947, and re­ nationally-honoured achievement. Only one year after its com­ turned to Montreal to practise under Vincent Rother from 1948 to pletion he died on 28 November 1959 at the age of forty-seven. 1950. Later, after three years of travelling in Europe, he became a partner in Rother/ Bland/Trudeau, and was principal designer John Bland for several of the firm's most important projects, including being Born in Lachine, Quebec in 1911, John Bland was the most lead designer for the former Ottawa City Hall." In the early prominent partner of the firm. After attending McGill Universi­ 1960s, Trudeau intended to retire from the firm when the unex­ ty and graduating with a B.Arch. (Honours) in 1933, he travelled pected death of partner Vincent Rother prevented him from leav­ to London to study planning at the Architectural Association. ing. He remained with the firm until younger members were Earning a diploma in planning in 1937, Bland stayed in London made full parh1ers. and worked for the London Cow1ty Council's Planning Depart­ ment, while also spending time travelling in France, Germany, Rother/Bland/Trudeau and Austria. He designed a number of commercial, public build­ The brief existence of the partnership between 1956 and 1959 ings and also planning schemes with Harold Spence-Sales, be­ produced approximately nineteen projects in Montreal, Ottawa, fore returning to Canada on the eve of the Second World War. He and Toronto. Most notable projects, aside from the former Ot­ was hired by the Department of Architecture at McGill Universi­ tawa City Hall, were the Georg Jensen Shop in Toronto, Les habi­ ty as interim director, in 1941, until he filled the position the fol­ tations Jeanne-Mance in Montreal, the Royal Montreal Golf Club, lowing year. He served as director tmtil his retirement in 1972, and the Northern Electric Laboratories in Ottawa (Figure 39)."" and eight years later became the school's first emeritus profes­ The former Ottawa City Hall, which garnered national and in­ sor. 63 ternational attention, was the firm's best-known work,.7 Over his career, John Bland was a significant architect and teacher in shaping post-war Canadian architecture (students of his included Doug Shadbolt, Arthur Erickson, and Moshe Safdie). He designed numerous buildings and urban planning schemes across the country with several partners, including

64 ANDREW WALDRON IM!lli:OOnft:IU ~:11

Fig. 41 . Aerial view from early 1960s. (City of Ottawa Archives, CA-2478)

Environment of roads surrounded by the residential Ottawa communities of Lowertown and New Edinburgh. Site The present character of the area now consists of large-scale As mentioned under the Local Development criterion, the buildings and a denser network of roads along Sussex Drive to former Ottawa City Hall was originally to be built on a site in the Rideau Falls. Open parkland and several memorials exist in downtown Ottawa. The new building site on Green Island re­ the vicinity of Rideau Falls. The most visually imposing building sulted in some modifications because of concerns over water in the area today is the Lester B. Pearson Building (built 1968- table levels. The transferred federal property consisted of a por­ 1973) that houses the federal government's Department of For­ tion of Green Island and a small lot on its western end, delineat­ eign Affairs and International Trade. Further west, the ed by two early 20'" century bridges (Figure 40). Macdonald-Cartier Bridge, which opened in 1965, brings traffic The original landscape design for the building was rolling along its network of roads between Ottawa and Gatineau. parkland, which visually offset its strict linearity and right The former Ottawa City Hall is one of several imposing angles. Raised on a plaza with an encircling railing, the building buildings within the landscape of the area. However, the two re­ appeared as a sculptural monumental mass on the island (Fig­ cently built pavilions may affect the assessment of the former Ot­ ure 41). That raised plaza had two flanking fountains and two tawa City Hall's influence on its setting. The newer prominent flagpoles in the forecourt. At the rear of the building, the plaza features include a tall unfinished tower at the rear of the site, a extended out one bay-width from the building, with a central large cone segment formerly used as the city's council chambers, stairwell leading to an open rear parking lot. Vehicular access to and a steeply pitched pyramid inset within a cube abutting Sus­ Sussex Drive was situated north of the building. sex Drive. Aside from the tower frame, the other pavilions are at In 1992, the two other completed pavilions significantly al­ a lower elevation than the original building's slab block. From tered the landscape of the site and the building's sculptural qual­ most surrounding vantage points, the original building remains ity. The original site lines on the property were partially an impressive edifice within the open landscape and its sur­ obscured by a new public entrance accented with a glass pyra­ rounding structures (Figure 42). mid motif that appeared throughout the newer portions of the Landmark complex. The surrounding plaza was also substantially altered to accommodate the other pavilions by adding a new side entrance The former Ottawa City Hall received international atten­ to the underground parking lot. The level plaza remains, but the tion when it opened in 1958. Within the architectural profession, original gridiron layout has been modified with angular lines it was a respected civic design that won a Massey Medal. To the and small offset gardens. On both sides of the building, the City of Ottawa and its regions, the former Ottawa City Hall was raised plaza was eliminated in order to accommodate the new a notable and publicly recognizable building-both physically structures. The rear of the site was also dramatically altered after along Sussex Drive, and symbolically for the city's civic identi­ construction, and the old parking lot and open grounds were ty. 69 On a broader level, the former Ottawa City Hall has, over the eliminated to make way for two wings of office and legislative decades, been identified as an important piece of architecture, space. These recent structures were not intended to be contextu­ and has appeared as an example of Modern design in the archi­ al with the original city hall. Instead, they introduced new fea­ tectural literature.'" tures that were the antithesis of the original site and have Construction of the two other pavilions in 1992 once again become the principal visual focus of the site today. brought public attention to the former Ottawa City Hall. How­ ever, this time, it was less an interest in civic symbolism, but a de­ Setting sign exploration by an internationally known architect that Built facing Sussex Drive, the former Ottawa City Hall is garnered public attention; it was an important architectural surrounded by prominent federal buildings and residences with­ work, rather than a reflection of popular concern for civic repre­ in a landscaped setting of parkland and watercourses. At the sentation. time of the city hall's construction, the National Research Coun­ Today, the building's landmark status in the newly estab­ cil Laboratory Building (built 1930-1932), and its powerhouse, lished City of Ottawa has begun to alter since its transfer to the were to the west of the site, and the French Embassy to the east.'" federal government. The former Regional Municipality Building Originally, the area was open land with a less complex network on Ottawa's Laurier Street is now the new city hall, but because

65 JSSAC I JSEAC 27 . n" 1. 2 <2002l

Fig. 42. View of the former Ottawa City Hall from the Gatineau side of the Ottawa River. {A. Waldroo . HSB, 2001 )

Fonner Ottawa City Hall NRC Llboratorles

spending. Bothwell: 100, 311 . by the city was Cartier Square, 13. Taylor: 215. across from the Elgin Street site where temporary Roya l Canadian 14. Keshen : 398. Navy buildings were loca ted. 15. Filion, Pierre et al. , 2000, "City Hall Aru1ounced: Carti er ,, Cities and Transition: Changing Square," The Even ing Citizm, 20 the transfer of ownership is still proceeding and some depart­ Patterns of Urban Growth and April 1954. The FDC however had ments still occupy parts of th e building, the former Ottawa City form in Canada , , In T. Bunting their own list of proposed sites and P. Filion (eds.), Canadian Citie> Hall may be mistakenly assumed by the regional population as including the one noted, a site at ir1 Transition: The Twenty-First Cen­ Lansdowne Park, one between the seat of the newly amalgamated city's government. tury, 2"" ed., Toronto, Oxford Un i­ Princess Street and Lisga r Road (in versity Press, p. 17. Rockcliffe Park), and another at NOTES ing population had decl ined to 16. An exception was the con­ the (former) Ottawa Transi t Com­ 11.4%, 19% li ved in rural homes, struction of the West Memorial mission's terminal beh'Veen Queen 1. According to the Treasury and 69.6% of the popul ation were Building for the newly established and Albert street. "Report on Site Board Heritage Buildings Poli cy, urban dwellers. Census of Cana­ Department of Veteran Affairs. by FDC: City Hall in Rockcliffe?" The Evening Citizen, 18 October all federally owned buildings 40 da, 1941 and 1961. 17. The northwest section of the years of age or older are to be 1954. 6. See Dasgupta, Satadal, 1988, Central Experimental Farm was evaluated for their heritage value. Rural Canada: Structure and suggested by a city sub-committee 20. Green Island was the site of a The policy also states that a feder­ Change, Lewsiton/Queenston, in ea rly 1950. Federal response temporary government building al department may arrange for Edwin Mellen Press, p. 23-26. was one of surprise. "Farm Site and older industrial buildings, all buildings less than 40 years old to Rejected: Ca nnot build City Hall housing National Research Coun­ 7. Bothwell : 141. be evaluated . Ln this case, the orig­ there," Tl1 e Evming Citizen, 2 Feb­ ci l laboratories at the time. inal building only will be assessed 8. See Finkel, Alvin, 1997, Our ruary 1950. As the federal cabinet "Ottawa City Hall," Joumal of the by the FHBRC, in consideration Lives: Carwda after 1945, Toronto, later noted, "The Central Experi­ Royal Architecturallnstitute of Cana ­ that the other two pavilions are James Lorimer, p. 47-56. mental Farm should remain an da 35, 2 (September 1958), 326. only eight yea rs old at the tin1e of 9. The private service sector open area in perpetuity." Canada, 21. "The Rt. Hon. Prin1e Minister this evaluation. Precedence for played a minor part in the pre- Archives nationales/ Na ti onal stated that it was his judgement this approach to assessment has 1951 Ottawa economy, but there­ Archives, RG 2, Series A-5-a, Cabi­ and he believed that of the cabi­ been set in the case of the Centre after rapidly became as important net Conclusions, 19 March 1954, net... it would be a cause of disap­ Block and Library of Parli ament as the civil service. Taylor, 19. pointment and lessening enthusi­ within the Parliamentary Precinct. John H., 1986, The History of Cana­ By June 1950, City Council opt­ asm in plans for the Capital's 2. The former Ottawa City Hall dian Cities: Ollawn, An lllustrated ed for a si te at Sparks and Lyons development were the City to was renovated when the other History, Toronto, James Lorimer, street, but "thi s site [did] not con­ erect the Ci ty Hail on this site ... pavilions were designed by p. 213. form to the plans for the Na tional stretching from the War Memorial Moshe Safdie Associates, princi­ 10. Bothwell : 156. Capital the board [learnt] follow­ to the Canal and Bridgeheads." pal architect, and Murray and "Report of Mayor Whitton," Min­ 11. Taylor : 214. ing a meeting with the Prime Min­ Murray Associates, associate ister." Instead, the PM proposed utes of the COilllcil of the Corporation architect. 12. The City of Ottawa post­ giving financial aid to the city if of f/1e City of Ottawa, 30 January 3. The former Ottawa City Hall poned maintenance and upkeep "members of the Board of Control 1956, 165. projects during the war to run a is a designated munici pal proper­ will give their support to the ico­ 22. Ibid. balanced ty under part IV of the Ontario budget. Spending on las Street si te .. . " (This was a site 23. It was Mayor George H. Heritage Act. improvement projects was faced which had been proposed by in the early post-war period. Nelms who laid the cornerstone of 4. Bothwell, Robert, Ian Drum­ Jacques Greber.) See "Board Keshen, Jeff, 2001, " World War the former Ottawa City Hall on 1 mond, and John English, Canada Switches to Nicolas Street Site," Two and the Making of Modern August 1957. since 1945: Power, Politics, and The Evening Citizen, 17 June 1950. Ottawa », In Jeff Keshen and Provincialism, Revised Edition, See also, "Site for City Building 24. Civic bui lding construction Nicole St-Onge (dir.), Con struire in central Ca nada began in ea rnest Toronto, Uni versity of Toronto Approved Following Hea ted Ses­ 1111e capitale Ottawa Making a Capi­ in the mid-19th century after the Press, p. 141. sion," The Evening Citizen, 9 tal, Ottawa, University of Ottawa August 1950. Baldwin Municipal Act was 5. In 1941, 27.1 % of Canada's Press, p. 388. A number of federal passed by the Parliament of the 18. "Mayor Sees PM About City population lived on rural farms; and provincial housing policies United Canadas in 1849, and the Hall," The Evening Citizen , 25 Sep­ 18.4% lived in rural non-farming and acts supported home-owner­ Municipal Loan Fund in 1852. tember 1952. homes, and 54.5% were urban ship, and assisted in alleviating These gave nnmicipalities more dwellers. In 1961, the rural farm- some municipal in fras tructure 19. One potential si te suggested

66 ANDREW WALDRON IW:I:lll:IIWI:l:oli:U

financial control, allowing them to for monumentality, joy, pride, and 34. AJI these floors have been n.ipeg City Hall », The Cmwdian borrow money at low rates. de excitement to be sa tisfied ... Monu­ altered to suit present needs. Tem­ Architect 10, 1 (January 1965), Caraffe, Marc, 1987, << With Our mental architecture will be some­ porary walls, divi ders, and sepa­ p. 51-55. Tax Money: The Thorny Problem thing more than strictly functional. rate private offices have replaced 40. Dewar, Stephenson & Stan­ of Town Hall Construction » , In It will have regained its lyrical val­ the more open interior of the orig­ ley, architects; constructed 1955 to Marc de Caraffe et al. (eds.), Toum ue. In such monumental layouts, inal layout, but the 'T-shaped' cir­ 1957, demolished in 1990. Halls of Ca nada, Ottawa, Environ­ architecture and city planning culation pattern remains. 41. For example, aluminium hor­ ment Canada, p. 173. could attain a new freedom and 35. The top fl oor was renovated izontal louvers on the southern develop new creative possibilities, 25. For further reference, consult in 1992 and is now offi ce space. side of the office slab were consid­ such as those that have begun to the John Bland Archi ves, The observa tion dec k is now ered to be built too wide and an be felt in the last decades in the Bland / Rother / Trudea u CAC closed off. expressive manneri st corrugated fields of painting, sculpture, 41.06, Project number 521, Canadi­ 36. « Ottawa City Hall » , The concrete shell accented the cafete­ music, and poetry." Giedion, an Architectural Collection, Black­ Canadian Architect 4, 11 (November ria-penthouse level was not well Siegfried, 1958, Architectu re: You ader-Lauterman Library, McG ill 1959), p. 32. received. « Edmonton City Hall », University. A copy of the original and Me, Cambridge, Mass., Har­ 37. For example, work by Tecton Jo11 rnal of the Royal Architectural drawings is located in the City of va rd University Press, p. 48-52. in London, Le Corbusier's Unite Institute of Canada 35,5 (May 1958), Ottawa Archives. Plans of Ottawa 29. Rare exa mples of pre-war d 'habitation, and the London p. 165-170. City Hall- Green Island, C.2 D.ll- Modem monumental arc hitecture County Council 's concrete slab 42. Stanl ey Roscoe, architect; 1, City of Ottawa Archives. include Le Corbusier's unbuilt block apartments at Roehampton. Fleury and Arthur, consulting 26. Including well-known Cana­ League of Nations project from 38. A la ter federal example, architects; constructed 1958-1959. dian follower of Mies, John B. 1927 and his 1930 Projet de Pavil­ which has not been submitted for 43. The ex terior decorati ve Parkin. The Ortho Pharmaceuti­ Ion Suisse a Ia Cite Universitaire, review by the FHBRO, is Ag ricul­ mosaic was designed by John Hall, cals, Don Mills, Ontario; construct­ Paris. ture Canada's Si r john Carling artist and professor of art, Univer­ ed, 1958, is an example of his 30. The realization of a Modern Building; constructed 1962-1 965; sity of Toronto. approach. monumental civic building type in Hart Massey, architect. 44. The marble fac ing was poorl y 27. Giedion, Siegfried, 1944, Canada was best ca ptured when the winning entry for New Toron­ 39. From the ea rl y 1960s and attached to the building and soon « The need for a New Monumen­ onwards, many civic buildings after its completion began to fa ll tality », ln Pa ul Zucker (ed.), New to City Hall was linked compara­ were designed, or in the case of the off. Cllltllral Landmarks of Hamilton­ Architecture and City Plan ning, a ti vely with the recently completed former Ottawa Ci ty HaJI re­ Wentworth: Hamilton City Hall. On­ Symposium , New York, Philosophi­ Ottawa City Hall in The Canadian designed, as complexes. The earli­ line. Ava il abl e: ca l Lib rary. Other Modernists Architect. Giedion, Siegfried, 1959, est example of the civic complex http://www. hpl.hamilton.on.ca / associated with the debate includ­ « Reflections on Monumentality », was the Winnipeg Civic Centre, Collecti ons/ landmark/ cityh. shtm ed artist Fernand Leger, and archi­ The Canadian Architect 4, 4 (April), Winnipeg; Green, Bl ankstein & I. 15 June 200 1. tect, Jose-Luis Sert. p. 44-49. Russell, principal architects; con­ 45. Interview, Anne Gi llespie, 28. "Monuments are human 31. For further historical back­ structed 1962-1966. The original Heritage Planner, Ci ty of Hamil­ landmarks which men have crea t­ ground, see de Ca raffe et al. Town Halls of Canada . plan called for the construction of ton, 11 july 2001. ed as symbols for their ideals, fo r two buildings-one for council, the 46. At 141,000 ft, Hamilton City their aims, and for their ac tions. 32. The overall functional quali ty other for the admin istration, each Hall is onl y slightly larger than the They are intended to outlive the of the building re mains in good separated by a courtya rd but con­ former Ottawa City Hall's 120,000 period which ori ginated them, conditi on because it has been well nected by a walkway. Work began ft. « Hamilton City Ha ll », The and constitute a heritage for future kept over its lifespan. Its steel­ on the city hall in 1962 and was Canadian Architect 6, 3 (March generations. As such, they fo rm a reinforced concrete frame and completed at a cost of $8.2 million. 1961), p. 43-46. link between the past and th e original materials remain intact. Shortly therea fter, the scope of the future ... A new step lies ahea d. Mechanical works were replaced project was enlarged to incl ude 47. The fi rst accepted proposa l Postwar [sic] changes in the whole in 1992 beca use of environmental another service building and was submitted to the City of Lon­ economic structure of nati ons may conditions and the age of their parkade. On 21 December 1964, don in 1964 by Gordon S. Adam­ bring with them the organization parts. See Wong, J. « Investiga tion City Council awarded a contract son Associates, but the final pro­ of community life in the city which Report: Ottawa City Hall », for the construction of the new posal was designed in 1970 by has been practica ll y neglected up PWGSC internal doc ument, Public Safety Building (housing Philip Carter johnson and Patrick to date. .. The people want the December 2000-January 2001. the Winnipeg Police Service and J. Cole, architects. buildings that represent their 33. Width-length reinforced con­ the Emergency Response Service) 48. Interview, Christine Nelson, socia l and co mmunity li fe to give crete 'T' beams are used for the and a parkade on land directl y Heritage Planner, City of London, more than functional fulfiJ!m ent internal floo r structure. west of the city hall . See «Win- 9 July 2001. [sic]. They want their aspira tion

67 JSSAC I JSEAC 27 . n• 1. 2 <2002l

49. Constructed, 1959-1965; Viljo Montreal, receiving the presti­ removal of original lighting; the 63 . For more information on Revell, principal design architect; gious Prix du Ministre in 1939. He space now serves as a meeting john Bland's career, consult Mur­ John B. Parkin Associates, associ­ was awarded the first prize for room. ray, Irena, and Norbert Schoe­ ate architects. sculpture in the Concours artis­ 57. The mosaics were designed nauer, 1991, john Bland at Eighty: A 50. Surveys of the general popu­ tiques du Quebec in 1948. That by Montreal artist, Gordon Web­ Tribute, Montreal, McGill Universi­ la lion found that the building was same year he joined with others, ber. ty. including Alfred Pellan, to sign the an appropriate symbol for the city. 58. "Competition," The Journal of 64. Interview, John Bland, 17 july manifesto Prisme d'yeux. From Bunting, TrudiE., 1967, An Empiri­ the Royal Architectural Society of 2001. 1955 to 1968 he received numerous cal Analysis of Symbolic Urban Canada 32,9 (September 1955), 356. 65. fbi d. Imagery; a Case Study of the New awards, including the Roya l 59. The jury board consisted of 66. See the Bland Archives, City Hall in Toronto, M.A. Thesis, Architectural Institute of Canada's Mayor Charlotte Whitton; Mon­ Ca nadian Architectural Collection, University of Western Ontario, medal of honour (1958), the Cen­ trea l architect A.T. Galt Dunford Blackader-Lauterman Library, p. 12, 35. tennial Medal (1967) and the Order of Canada (1968). He creat­ (principal partner in the promi­ McGill University, for listing of all 51. After its completion, positive ed major pieces for the Canadian nent firm Dunford, Bolton, Chad­ of the parh1ership's projects. comments included the effective pavilions at the Brussels (1958) wick); Ontario Architectural Asso­ 67. The building received a pres­ use of a "timeless" monochromat­ and Montreal (1967) international ciation president George D. Gib­ tigious Massey Medal in 1958. ic colour scheme of whites, greys expositions, and has done com­ son; Toronto architect John Layng; and blacks, and the contrasting 68. "National Research Council missioned works for Place des Ottawa city building inspector "warmth" of the walnut wood Laboratory Building" FHBRO 87- Arts, Montreal, the Ottawa and C. Maxwell Taylor, and Ottawa panelling. << Ottawa City Hall » , 042. Sco res: 15 / 0/ 10, 25 /8/10/5, Toronto airports and the Ottawa city solicitor G.C. Medcalf. See The Canadian Architect 4, 11 10 / 11 /8 102, Classified; city hall. His work is found in Minutes of the Council of the Corpo­ (November 1959), p. 32. "National Research Council/Pow­ many Canadian and foreign muse­ ration of the City of Ottawa, 3 Janu­ er House" FHBRO 87-042 Screen­ 52. The original windows were ums, and ha s been seen in many ary 1956, part 1, p. 40-44. ing. Scores: 0/ 0/ 0, 13 / 5/ 6/ 2, tinted grey to complete the mono­ one-man and group shows. His 60. The other entrants nominat­ 10/ 8/ 0 = 29, Not Heritage. chromatic effect and were replaced contribution to the growth and ed for their designs included: 69. Federally owned buildings with a comparable shade of tinted renewal of sculpture in Canada Toronto architects, K. Sinclair within Ottawa-Carleton which glass with the 1992 alterations. makes him one of the greatest Lawrie and the firm of Westeneys have been determined by FHBRO 53. The shield is one of Art Canadian sculptors of his genera­ and Wilkes. Honourable mentions to be of symbolic value to the Price's earliest large-scale metal tion." Champagne, Michel, were given to the local firms of region, include: the Parli ament sculptures. Born in 1918, Art Price « Archambault, Louis >> The Cana­ Abra & Balharrie and Gelliland & Buildings, the Supreme Court, first studied art at Western Techni­ dian Encyclopedia Online. 2001. Strut!; and Toronto architects, Wil­ Ridea u Hall, and 24 Sussex Drive. cal School and the Ontario College Online. The Canadian Encyclope­ son & Newton and Henry Fliess & of Art. His initial career was in set dia. Available: james A. Murray. Ibid. 70. Kalman, Harold, and john http://www.thecanadianencyclo­ Roaf, 1983, Exploring Ottawa, design, but after marrying the 61. << Obituary >> , journal of the daughter of ethnologist, Dr. Mar­ pedia .com I index.cfm ?CFID=9813 Royal Architectural Institute of Cana­ Toronto, Uni versity of Toronto 9&CFTOKEN=55961174&PgNm= Press, p. 122; Pevsner, Nikolaus, ius Barbea u, Price became da 37,1 Oanuary 1960),p. 41. involved in carving West Coast­ TCE&Articleld=A0000277. 15 July 1976, A History of Building Types, 62. Projects included an apart­ inspired totem poles. While work­ 2001. Prince ton, Princeton University ment block named Dorva l Gar­ ing for the National Museum of 55. The 1992 alterations replaced Press, p. 62; Kalman, Harold, 1994, dens, Dorval, Quebec, constructed Man in the mid-1950s, Price start­ the grid's limestone and inset pre­ History of Canadian Architecture, 1949; an office on rue Peel, Mon­ ed to cast his personal artworks in cast concrete tiles with paving Toronto, Oxford University Press, trea l, constructed 1950; and Freed­ metal. After the attention Price stone. The present realigned grid p.810 man (Ca mel) Company, Montreal, received for the Ottawa City Hall plan and raised circular flower constructed 1954-1955. Proposals design, he garnered many public beds refer to the main entrance of were submitted for residential and private commissions over the the Bytown Pavilion. developments for the Town of following decades. Macdonald, 56. When the aldermen's suites Saint-Laurent, Quebec, proposed Colin S. (ed.), 1967, « Art Price>>, A were renovated in 1992, the inter­ Dictionary of Canadian Artists, 1952-1954; and Brockville/ Eliza­ nal walls were demolished, but the bethtown Planning Area, Ottawa, Canadian Paperbacks perimeter wa ll surfaces were pre­ Brockville, 1955. Pub., vol. 6, p. 1834-1840. served. On the opposite side, the 54. " Louis Archambault, was mayor 's office has had minor born at Montreal in 1915. He stud­ changes to its interior, including ied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the addition of floodlights and

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