Church in Ottawa's Centretown could receive heritage designation

McPhail Memorial Baptist Church on Bronson Avenue at Lisgar Street. (City of Ottawa report)

A 130-year-old church in Ottawa's Centretown neighbourhood could be designated a heritage building due to its cultural heritage value.

A report for the Built Heritage Committee recommends councillors issue a notice of intention to designate the McPhail Memorial Baptist Church on Bronson Avenue at Lisgar Street under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

The red-brick church was constructed in 1893, and continues to function as a Baptist church.

Staff say the property was listed on the city's Heritage Register in 2020. Changes to the Ontario Heritage Act through Ontario Bill's 23 and 200 will result in the removal of the property from the Heritage Register if council does not issue a notice of intention to designate the property by Jan. 1, 2027.

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The report for the Built Heritage Committee says the property meets five of the nine criteria to be designated a property of cultural heritage value, including for design value as a unique example of the Queen Anne Revival style with elements of the Romanesque Revival style used in religious buildings in Ottawa.

"The church at 249 Bronson Avenue evokes the Queen Anne Revival style through its corner tower, turret, gabled roof, repetitive dormers, and sash and leaded windows," staff say.

"The church at 249 Bronson Avenue also includes elements of the Romanesque Revival style through its rectangular massing and rusticated stone lintels and sills."

Staff say the church displays a "high degree of craftsmanship," is directly associated with the growth of the Baptist church in Ottawa and is "historically and functionally linked to its surroundings."

"The growth of this area of Centretown in the late 19th and early 20th centuries contributed to Bronson Avenue’s development as a hub for institutional buildings, including the Bronson Centre (formerly Immaculata School), the landmark Peace Tower Church (formerly the Erskine Presbyterian Church), the Saint Vincent hospital, and Centennial Public School," staff say. "As a place of worship, the church at 249 Bronson Avenue is historically and functionally linked to the institutional character of this area of Centretown."

The property includes two buildings. Staff say the building at 251 Bronson Avenue is excluded from the designation.