Established in 1967

Celebrating our 30th year

Walking ToursSummer is upon us already and HeritageOttawa is pleased to announce that our1998 Walking Tours season is wellunderway. An enthralling tour of theParliamentary Precinct by architecturalhistorian Fern Graham launched ourexpanded tour series . As a consultant onthe Canadian Heritage ConservationProgramme team that put together theLandscape Conservation Guidelines forParliament Hill Ms. Graham is eminentlyqualified and her tour was not only edu-cational, but by sharing some of the lesswell known stories about the evolution ofthe site, was highly entertaining as well.Heritage Ottawa is privileged to have hadher as a guide.

This year we are excited to be able tooffer a tour of another of the Capital'smost important heritage sites, namelyVictoria Island and Chaudiere Falls . Themany treasures of the site will be unveiledas architect Mark Brandt reveals thepotential for a successful re-development .Thompson Brandt Architects of Ottawahas been involved in studies of the site onand off since 1990 and it remains one ofMr. Brandt's personal favourite haunts inthe Capital .Do not miss our other splendid historic

tours of some of Ottawas most architec-turally rich and charming neighbourhoodsthat are guided by Heritage Ottawamembers who are experts in their fields.

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by Carolyn Quinn

IHERITACEOTT"A

Dedicated to Preserving Our Built Heritage

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

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The Union MissionHeritage Ottawa is also very pleased andrelieved to be able to announce that ourinitiative to assemble a joint effort torehabilitate the Union Mission building at53 Daly Avenue has been successful .Many individuals and organizations con-tributed time and expertise toward theproject proposal and others supported itby committing themselves to its futuredevelopment.Thompson Brandt Architects did the

preparatory work involved for the conver-sion proposal while architect JacquesHamel produced the site drawings thatwould see the building rehabilitated to atwelve bed facility. Andrex Holdings Inc .estimated the cost of the project at$200,000 and has offered full projectmanagement services . H.O.D.I . (HistoricOttawa Development Inc .) has offeredcertain expert advice free of charge andfinancing in the form of a loan guaranteeof $25,000 at below market rates, whilethe Centre for Canadian Heritage Tradesand Technology of Algonquin College hasthrown its support behind the project as apossible practicum for its students.

After being approached by HeritageOttawa and provided with the relevantinformation on estimated costs and com-munity support for the project, RandyMcIntyre, Chair of the Strategic PlanningInitiative Committee of the Ottawa

Continued page 2

Summer 1998

Volume 25, No. 2

Historic Frescoes inNew Edinburghby Jean Palmer

A petition is being circulated askingOttawa city councillors to save andrecognize the frescoes of the Churchof St . Vincent de Paul and the adja-cent monastery of St. Francis onStanley Avenue in New Edinburgh .

The issue is a thorny one because thechurch, built in the fifties, is not a heritage-designated building, although listed ashaving architectural and historic interest .

The church was built when theFranciscans monastery on Lady JaneGrey Drive was expropriated by the NCCand levelled along with many other build-ings along Sussex Drive. The old monasteryoverlooking the Ottawa River can be seenin one of the frescoes, and the earlierhome of the Franciscans also appears, atiny building on Bolton Street.

Fresco paintings are very rare inCanada . The technique is Italian and veryexacting, involving painting on wetplaster. Only enough wet plaster is laidfor the day's painting. Once it dries itcannot be retouched . The effect is radiantand the skill lies in drawing the "cartoon"to scale on paper, tracing the outline onthe wet plaster and mixing and paintingthe colours before the plaster dries .

The artist, Ugo Chyurlia, was already adistinguished artist and had just com-pleted frescoes in the Mother House ofthe Franciscans in Rome before coming

Continued page 3

President's con'd

Carleton offices of Investors Group, sub-mitted a project proposal to the Winnipeghead office . The three regional officesagreed to make the organization of a fund-raising campaign for the rehabilitationproject their priority proposal for 1998 .

Investors Group's head office respondedby committing $45,000 to the projectover a five year period as well as makinga commitment to use their extensiveresources to fundraise for further financ-ing. It should be noted that the offer ofsupport for this capital project would notapply to a new construction on the site;Investors Group was attracted by thetwo-fold nature of the projects's benefits :desperately needed shelter space wouldbe increased while at the same time a latenineteenth century building that makesup part of a heritage designated districtwould be given renewed life .The Union Mission itself can now

invest the $30,000 set aside to pay for thedemolition of the property in a more posi-tive way. By accepting this generousoffer, the Union Mission Board of

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Heritage Ottawa is a non-profit organisationdedicated to advocating the preservation,restoration, and adaptive re-use of theNational Capital's built and natural heritage .

Membership fees : Individual $25;Family $30; Student/Senior $15;Patron $50; Corporation $75

Heritage Ottawa, 2 Daly Avenue,Ottawa, ON, K1 N 6E2, Tel . 230-8841

ISSN 1483-9032

Newsletter Editor : Carolyn QuinnLayout : Heather Freeman

Directors demonstrated their responsibil-ity as owners of a heritage building andprovided leadership in the comingtogether of the private sector and commu-nity service. These are the linkages thatall charitable organizations today arestruggling to make.

Heritage Stories in the MakingIn our last issue we alerted readers to theDepartment of Public Works proposal onbehalf of the National Archives to reno-vate the West Memorial Building onWellington Street; a building that hasbeen given a "classified" heritage desig-nation by the Federal Heritage BuildingReview Office (FHBRO) .As a "classified" building, any pro-

posed alterations must be reviewed andaccepted by a Federal Heritage BuildingCommittee made up of representativesfrom the Department of Public Works, theHeritage Conservation Programme, andthe NCC. After rejecting the initial pro-posed alterations back in November, theCommittee has this June accepted the re-submitted and altered "Concept Phase" ofthe project .

Project Manager Jim Cragg is defen-sive about the plans arguing that the pro-posed renovations are sensitive to theheritage character of the building, bothexternally and internally. Many of thedecorative elements will be preservedalong the main floor corridors as will theoriginal stainless steel windows, the ele-vators and the lobbies . The plans also callfor the preservation of the stateroomoffices on the 5th level and the corridorleading to them.And yet, the acceptance of the

"Concept Phase" brought before theCommittee was not unanimous . HeritageOttawa is interested in knowing what partof the heritage fabric that is destined tobe lost is of most concern to those whovoted against the plans . Stay tuned for anupdate . . .Of more recent concern to Heritage

Ottawa is the news that the NCC hasabandoned its stewardship of four of thefive buildings it owns on the Nicholas/Waller Triangle at the entrance to SandyHill . The NCC has signed a 15 year lease

with the University of Ottawa who hasapplied to demolish those four buildings,all on the City's Heritage Reference List,and adjacent to the Odell House which isdesignated under Part IV of the OntarioHeritage Act in order to create a surfaceparking lot .

Let me go back in time for a moment.In 1995, a series of meetings were heldinvolving NCC planners, members ofAction Sandy Hill, the Past-President ofHeritage Ottawa, a representative of OCTranspo, and private sector developers tocome up with creative solutions for thesite . Three options were put forward thatinvolved a mixed-use solution that wouldsee the restoration of the buildings . Whathappened to those options?

That the exercise was futile is only tooevident in the deteriorated condition theNCC has allowed the building and site tofall into .

The leasing arrangement arrived atallows the NCC to effectively slip out theUniversity of Ottawa's back door and byso doing abondon its responsibility forthe site and its heritage buildings .

In order to protect Ottawa's residentialneighbourhods, anyone wanting to demol-ish a residence must apply for aDemolition Control Permit which requiresthat a replacement building permit existbefore demolition can proceed. In thisinstance, perhaps because of the numberof years the buildings have been vacant,the University of Ottawa is challengingthe City's request for a DemolitionControl Application. Thus, they can by-pass the Local Architectural ConservationAdvisory Committee (LACAC) .

Yet, local developer Sandy Smallwoodof Andrex Holdings Inc ., who has over-seen many restoration projects in thisCity (Wallis House being only oneexample), claims the buildings are farfrom derelict and are in fact excellentcandidates for restoration .

This reprehensible behaviour on thepart of two publicly funded institutions isshameful at best .

This issue will go before City Council-if you have concerns about the attemptsbeing made to prevent public debatecontact your City Councillor today.

HERITAGE OTTAWA

Historic Frescoes

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to Ottawa. His work on the walls ofSt . Vincent and St. Francis is virtuallyunknown outside the congregation.

The Board of Directors of HeritageOttawa were given a viewing in May andwere astonished and delighted with thetreasure in our midst, not just with thequality but with the sheer extent of thefrescoes, nine of them, including a hugearched altarpiece with an enormous figureof Christ flanked by St . Vincent andSt. Francis. The work is richly decoratedwith faux marble panels at the base,gilded carved borders and linear designsedging the arch .

Religious paintings are not to every-one's taste, although`we crowd themuseums of Europe to see them; but thepainting facing the altar from the left is ofparticular interest. A life-size figure of theVirgin Mary holding the Christ Childfloats over the Parliament Buildings farbelow. She looks faintly exasperated andlets a rose slip from her fingers to fall onParliament Hill.

The chapel also contains some finemosaics, another skill of church decora-tors trained in Italy. And this is only themain chapel. Room after room in the church/friary complex reveals frescoes on otherBiblical subjects . Can any of it be saved?The issues are complex . The building

has been vacated by the Catholic Churchand put on the market. DomicileDevelopments has made an offer and pub-lished plans for a new condominiumdevelopment on the site, all depending ondemolition of the church . The architect isnot interested in incorporating the artwork into his residential units .

The New Edinburgh Community asso-ciation circulated a questionnaire to thecommunity asking whether they wishedto retain the buildings for institutional useor demolish them to allow residential use .Few replies were received but, surpris-ingly, the response indicated substantialapproval for demolition and replacementby residential units .

Studies are underway to designateNew Edinburgh as Ottawa's next HeritageDistrict, a designation which would pro-

HERITAGE OTTAWA

tect the church as a component regardlessof its individual classification. HeritageDistrict designation is more than a yearaway, however, and decisions on the newdevelopment will be made this summer.

It is generally agreed that it is the fres-coes that are important, not the building ;but the art work in this case is part of thebuilding.

Heritage Ottawa, to date, has not takena stand, feeling that its mandate is thebuilt heritage, not art .LACAC, the city's advisory committee

on heritage, has not taken a position,beyond approving an application for re-zoning. Its mandate too is the built her-itage, although it has recommendedheritage designation of two-interiorsrecently, that of Maple Lawn and RideauStreet Library, both of which are in her-itage-designated buildings .

There is support from the Arts commu-nity. Lucia de Marinis, a teacher at theOttawa School of Art and a former pupilof Ugo Chyurlia is circulating a petitionasking City Council to save the art. She ispart of a committee endeavouring to raiseawareness of the issue .

Ottawa City Councillor RichardCannings, a former President of HeritageOttawa, is co-ordinating groups attempt-

NEWS FLASH!!

SUSSEX

ing to save the art and he has elicited thesupport of Charles Hill, Curator ofCanadian Art at the National Gallery ofCanada. Mr. Hill notes that the loss of thechurch and its art represents the loss of a"rich artistic heritage . . . (that] formed anessential part of the life of numerousOttawa citizens from the city's foundingand bears witness to our rich cultural her-itage ."

Although the National Gallery hasshown no interest in acquiring the fres-coes, there is a precedent in the RideauChapel now installed in the Gallery whichwas saved piece by piece by heritage sup-porters when the Grey Nuns Convent onRideau Street was demolished. There isalso the Crosscup Room in the NationalGallery, an interior from Nova Scotiawhere an itinerant painter had drawnviews of London and St. Petersburg withlocal touches . It is none too skillfullypainted but as an historic example ofNova Scotia folk art it is a national treasure.

Is the Virgin May floating above theparliament buildings a national treasure?Can the art works be removed from thefabric of the building? Technically, yes-but at whose expense?

Does Heritage Ottawa have a role toplay? Stay tuned .

Sussex fapital Inc ., Sixty-Two John Street, Ottawa (613) 141-1910The official sponsor of the 1998 Heritage Ottawa Walking Tour Season .

Heritage Ottawa president Carolyn Quinn is very pleased to announceMr. Michael Potter's company Sussex CapitalInc .'s sponsorship of our 1998Walking Tours season . It is fitting that the company's offices are located inone of New Edinburgh's finest heritage buildings and the departure point ofour Walking Tour of that historic neighbourhood . Mr. Potter's support of ourlocal heritage community organization is greatly welcomed and HeritageOttawa looks forward to a long and happy relationship!

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VICTORIA & CHAUDIERE ISLANDS JUNE '98 UPDATEby Mark Brandt, Thompson Brandt Architects

After months of study, Ottawa's Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC) came out stronglyin support ofpreserving the historic fabric of this significant heritage landscape . In April, LACAC recommended toCity Council to recognize this significance by having City Staff initiate a stakeholder's working group to decide ona course of action for protection of the site and table a report by October.

Council agreed, so, as of June 5, 1998,the clock is ticking to see what they comeup with to preserve what many historianscall the most important heritage site inthe Region. Citizens may want to keeptabs on the progress by calling theirCouncillor's office or that of theCommissioner of Planning and PublicWorks as LACAC has expressed concernthat they may be altering and/or weaken-ing the mandate of the report.

Meanwhile, there are several otherdevelopments :" The National Capital Commission (NCC)

has unveiled its "A Plan for Canada'sCapital/Vision for the Core Area".They envision mixed-used redevelop-ment for the Islands-ideas that theyhave courted for years . In 1990 theycommissioned a long-term master planfrom Thompson Brandt Architects(TBA) et al which laid out a detailedconcept plan for heritage-sensitive re-development along the lines of GranvilleIsland in Vancouver, an industrial siteturned mixed-use "people place". TheTBA plan called for a public-privatepartnership for heritage preservation ofthe significant heritage sites and struc-tures and adaptive reuse/infill develop-ment which would open up publicaccess to the site's history and naturalsplendour while transforming it into apublic urban oasis, including a "Walkof Waters" and fabulous views toParliament, downtown and the historicOttawa River & Chaudiere Falls . For acopy of the NCC plans, call them at(613) 239-5555. Getting a consensuson moving forward is the next step .Interestingly, the Federal Governmenthas invested substantially in waterfront

redevelopment schemes across thecountry over the last two decades. . . staytuned . . .

" Ottawa 2000, the Millennium ProjectCommittee, requested and received aproposal from Thompson BrandtArchitects . The project is called,"Rendez-vous Victoria/Chaudiere : TheFuture of Our Past" . Now approved bythe Heritage and Legacy Committee,the project is being reviewed by theBoard, a group of "blue-chip" localleaders chaired by Shirley Westeinde .Former Regional Chair Andy Haydonhas been appointed as a special emissary/champion to liaise with stakeholdersand develop the "sense of the possible".

This millennium proposal has three maincomponents:1 . A "Walk of Waters" (consolidated

version), which would providepathway access and interpretive &leisure programs;

2 . Enhancement of public awareness ofthe historic significance and potentialof the site through a photographyexhibit, promotional video and publiceducation kits ;

3 . Designation, recording and initialpreservation work for the historicfabric of the district's heritage sites,structures and artifacts.

All of this within a context of an organi-zational structure and common vision forthe long-term overall redevelopmentplan. . .stay tuned. . .

" The Ottawa Citizen has recentlypicked up on the site's history andpotential, and created broader public

interest with a series of articles over atwo-month period.

" Thompson Brandt Architects are pre-senting this month, an introduction tothe heritage and preservation/reusepossibilities of the Islands to the,Heritage Conservation Programme ofPublic Works and GovernmentServices Canada who provide servicesjointly to Canadian Heritage andEnvironment Canada.

" Heritage Ottawa's final walking tour ofthe season will take in the Islands siteand it's history. Refer to the announce-ment in this issue .

Waterfront revitalization projects are now"mainstream" across the country andaround the world. They make a higherand better use of land that is evolving orbecoming derelict . They create businessopportunities, provide employment,contribute greatly to the life of theircommunities, clean up valuable shore-lines, and become popular attractionsfor locals and tourists alike. The maindifference between the Victoria/ChaudiereIslands site and many other similarCanadian examples that have enjoyedpublic/private partnership redevelopmentsis that Victoria/Chaudiere is vastlysuperior both historically and physically.It's quite amazing that heritage-sensitiveredevelopment of Victoria/Chaudierehasn't already happened . . . Ottawa's pastis a key to its future . . . stay tuned. . .

EDITORSNOTE: Mark Brandt is Past Chair ofOttawa LACAC, a Past Vice-President ofHeritage Ottawa and a Partner in ThompsonBrandt Architects, an architecture, urban designand conservation practice whose website is:www.cyberus.cal-tba-arch

HERITAGE OTTAWA

Joseph Charles Gustave Brault(15 March 1886-7 May 1954) wasan important contributor to the builtenvironment of Ottawa and Canadathrough his nearly 40-year careerwith the ChiefArchitect's Branch ofthe Department of Public Works,which culminated as ChiefArchitect(the highest architectural positionin the national bureaucracy) from1947-52 .

Born in Montreal, he was the son ofGustave and Adele (nee Glackmeyer)Brault . He studied at Mount Saint LouisCollegiate in Montreal between 1900-1906, and at Cornell University in Ithaca,New York, between 1910-1912 . Hereceived practical experience with thehighly respected Montreal architecturalfilms of Edward and W.S . Maxwell; Rossand MacDonald; and Barott, Blackaderand Webster (Canadian representatives ofMcKim, Mead and White of New York) .While working in architectural practicehe completed the architectural course ofthe International Schools of Correspon-dence and followed night classes indesign and drawing at the PolytechnicSchool of Laval University, and atMcGill University.

Although he worked for a few yearsas a junior employee with leadingCanadian firms, and briefly in partner-ship, Brault's architectural importancerests with his career, starting in 1914,with the Department of Public Works.(Public Works was responsible for thedesign, construction, repair, and mainte-nance of the majority of buildings usedby the federal government) . DuringBrault's career, the design contributions

HERITAGE OTTAWA

Biography Of An Ottawa Architect :Joseph Charles Gustave Brault

by Edgar Tumak

of employees within the organizationceased to be individually distinguish-able-including those of the ChiefArchitect who authorized works . Insteada branch style arose which, althoughadhering to the traditionalism that pre-dominated in Canada until the 1950s, wascharacterized by a reserve stemming froma preference for well-tested, in-housedesign solutions, standardization, and aninward-looking approach . Buildingdesign was also affected by the need toappear cautious in the expenditure ofpublic money, as much of the period wasalso affected by the austerity stemmingfrom war and economic hard times .Design stodginess resulted, leading to theChief Architect's Branch and theDepartment of Public Works as a wholebeing increasingly considered outmodedand openly criticized by the Canadianarchitectural community.

Bureaucratic stagnation also occurred inthe Chief Architect's office during thefirst half of the 20th century, because oflimited change in organizational structureand staff. As a result, the Department wasunprepared to meet the building designand construction requirements of therapidly growing federal bureaucracyduring Brault's tenure following theSecond World War. To compensate therewas expanded use of private architecturalfirms, and other federal departmentsrelied more heavily on their own architec-tural and engineering sections .

Concern was expressed prior to theappointment of Brault as Chief Architect,that a more dynamic candidate with agreater architectural reputation should befound, but the tradition of promoting theincumbent Assistant Chief Architect(which Brault had held since 1937) was

maintained . To his credit Brault oversawthe design and construction of approxi-mately 200 new works across the country .This equalled the unprecedented level offederal building under the Public WorksConstruction Act which sought to stimu-late the economy during the 1930s . Manyof these projects, particularly the moreprestigious commissions, were designedby private architectural firms in theOttawa area; this included:" the National Printing Bureau in Hull

(1949-57 ; Ernest Cormier architect)" the Dominion Bureau of Statistics in

Tunney's Pasture (1950-53 ; RossPatterson, Townshend and Heughanarchitects)

" the Institute for Research inConstruction at the National ResearchCouncil's Montreal Road Campus(1951-53 ; J.C . Meadowcroft architect) .

Despite his diligence, however, the ChiefArchitect's Branch was clearly over-whelmed by an archaic bureaucraticstructure . This weakness was manifestedin stylistic terms by the . absence of adominant branch aesthetic for the firsttime in the organization's history. Instead,federal architecture in the late-1940s andearly-1950s varied considerably, spanninga range of designs-some still tied to his-torical traditions, to those that exploredthe materials and structural language ofModernism . An infusion of fresh ideasand energy did not occur until a yearafter Brault's retirement, with theappointment of a new Minister andDeputy Minister who had the power anddrive to overhaul the Department ofPublic Works .

Brault's professional credentials includedhis standing as a fellow of the RoyalArchitectural Institute of Canada, an

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associate of the Royal Institute of BritishArchitects (recognition by this organiza-tion was almost essential for high rankingarchitects in Canada in the early 20thcentury), and a member of the OntarioAssociation of Architects .

EDITOR'S NOTE:Edgar Tumak is an architectural historianin Ottawa who, for the past several years,has composed biographies of notableCanadian architects andplanners for theGerman art history encylopaedia, theAllgemeines Kunstlerlexikon . Mr. Tumakhas reworked some of these biographiesof Ottawa architectsfor the HeritageOttawa Newsletter, to make this historybetter known locally. Subsequent issueswill present additional biographies inalphabetical order. Mr. Tumak would liketo acknowledge the assistance offellowOttawa architectural historian HagitHadaya who provided research for thisbiography.

Bibliography :`'Brault, Joseph Charles Gustave",The Canadian Who's Who, vot.VI(Toronto : Trans Canada Press, 1954) .

"Obituary : Joseph Charles GustaveBrault", Journal of the RoyalInstitute of British Architects, vol. 61(no. 10), August 1954, p.427 .

National Archives ofCanada, RG32, Vol . 27, Public ServiceCommission, file : Brault, JosephC .G .

Janet Wright, Crown Assets .: TheArchitecture ofthe Department ofPublic Works, 1867-1967, (Toronto :University of Toronto Press, 1997),p.194-271 .

join us for theHeritage Ottawa

HERITAGE30th Anniversary

MOTT"ATrolley Tour

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Heritage Ottawa will be concluding its 1998 Summer WalkingTour Season with a special Bus Tour in celebration of 30 Yearsof heritage preservation activity in Ottawa .

Come and join Heritage Ottawa's two expert guides as they

,cruise the historic streets of Centretown, Lowertown and SandyHill; and revisit many City landmarks from the East Block ofParliament to the Wallis House, the Aberdeen Pavilion and on tothe Billings Estate .

Enjoy some of Ottawa's Architectural and urban history whilethe stories of preservation successes and failure unfold.

The tour departs and ends at the Lisgar Street entrance to theRegional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton building at CartierStreet on Sunday, October 4th at 2pm. Due to limited seating,reservations are preferred.

Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12.For reservations, please call Marian Heringer, at 565-6184 .

HERITAGE OTTAWA

Update on theCentral Experimental Farm

by Jean Palmer

Last February's announcement by Agriculture andAgri-Food Canada (AAFC) that theCentral Experimental Farm had been designated a National Historic Site was a triumph

for the Ottawa heritage community who had worked to promote that designation.

In its ruling the Historic Sites andMonuments Board of Canada describedthe Farm as a "cultural landscape ofnational historic and architectural sig-nificance", and requested that aStatement of Heritage Values be pre-pared for the Farm to provide for"knowledge-based decision-making"when changes to the Farm were beingconsidered .

Before heritage designation, plans werein place to demolish nearly forty build-ings on the Farm, as being surplus totheir needs . Fallow farm lands weredescribed as "vacant" and the generalplan was to sell off surplus land todevelopers . Funds were cut to theFletcher Wildlife Garden, to theArboretum, and to development of theExplorer Roses .

Suddenly, with the Farm's designationas a National Historic Site, the picturetotally changed . The strategy was nolonger to down-size and sell off surplusholdings, but to focus on preservingand maintaining a valued historicallegacy. Another turnabout came withthe announcement of a consultationprocess with the Ottawa community.Two days in April of public discussionand another in July provided valuablecommunity input into plans for theFarm's future, an acknowledgementthat the Central Experimental Farmhad not only a government role anda national role but a local role as well,a point Heritage Ottawa had made

repeatedly in the dark days beforedesignation.

These consultations have not produceddecisions on land use nor on the build-ings but they will lead to the formula-tion of how decisions made .

A thirty-page document is in finalpreparation: The CommemorativeIntegrity Statement for the CentralExperimental Farm. It tells why theFarm is of national historic significanceand lists its historic resources andensures that those resources are notunder threat. It undertakes to ensurethat the reasons for the site's nationalsignificance are communicated to thepublic, and ensures that the site's her-itage values are respected in all deci-sion making .

The integrity statement will acknowl-edge "local heritage designation", areference to the heritage designationgiven to the Booth Barn by the City ofOttawa in 1996 . AAFC objected to thedesignation and referred the matter to aConservation Review Board hearing .Significantly, the Review Board's rulingupheld the designation and asked forthe Farm's directors to consult morewith the community. No representativesfrom AAFC showed up at the hearing .

With National Historic Site designationthere has been an astonishing reversalin attitude and the change has openedup new possibilities. Problem vacant

buildings are finding new tenants . Thelocal 4H Club has moved into the oldBee Building. The DominionObservatory will be home to theHeritage Canada Foundation; Anational heritage advocacy group in thatwonderful domed heritage building is astunning inspiration in re-use .

A FHBRO (Federal Heritage BuildingReview Office) spokesman pointed outthat a National Historic Site designationis merely a plaque . But would a mereplaque cause AAFC to wait eightmonths before announcing a designa-tion made the preceding June, and thentotally change its strategy in managingthe Farm? We don't think so .

Ottawa's heritage community feels anew wave of openness and consultationcoming from AAFC. The IntegrityStatement should provide guidelinesthat will protect the CentralExperimental Farm for centuries tocome. And for the next few years atleast there are two members of Ottawa'sheritage community on the Farm'sAdvisory Council, Gordon Cullinghamand Jean Palmer, both Heritage OttawaBoard members . They will be partici-pating in all decision-making for theCentral Experimental Farm's future asa National Historic Site .

Never back in 1996 could we havepredicted such afortunate turn ofevents, nor such a protective visionfor the Farm . =k

HERITAGE OTTAWA

HERILNGEOTTAWA Walling Tours

All Tours Begin at 2:00Call 230-8841 for more information.

President Carolyn Quinn presenting a Certificate of Merit toBruce White, Manager of the Bytowne Cinema, duringHeritage Day celebrations at McKay United Church this pastFebruary, in recognition of his efforts to promote publicawareness of heritage issues. Mr. White offered H.O . thecinemas lobby for our heritage display during the weekfollowing Heritage Day 1997 as well as making a generousdonation to the cause .

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PLEASE, forward with payment to :

HERITAGE OTTAWA2 Daly Avenue, Ottawa, ONKIN 6E2

230-8841, fax 564-4228

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

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Individual : $25Family : $30Student/Senior: $15

Name:

Address :

Telephone : (home)

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(buisness)

TOUR DATE DEPARTURE POINT

Parliament Hill/ June 7 Centennial Flame, ParliamentWellington Street Hill

Sandy Hill June 21 335 Laurier Ave. at Chapel

Centretown July 5 RMOC Bldg . 111 Lisgar St.at Cartier St .

The Glebe July 19 Aberdeen Pavilion,Lansdowne Park

Lowertown Aug. 16 35 Georges St, the Market

Rockcliffe Park Aug . 30 Junction of Lisgar Rd. andRockcliffe Park Driveway

New Edinburgh Sept. 13 62 John St ., at Sussex Dr.

Victoria Island/ Sept . 27 The Navy Club,Chaudiere Falls 150 Middle Street, east off

Booth St., on Victoria Island