Report to/Rapport au :
Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee
Comité consultatif sur la conservation de
l'architecture locale
and / et
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de
l'environnement
and Council / et au Conseil
5 February 2004 / le 5 février 2004
Submitted by/Soumis par : Ned Lathrop, General Manager/Directeur général,
Planning and Development/Urbanisme et
Aménagement
Contact Person/Personne
ressource : Grant Lindsay, Manager / Gestionnaire
Development Approvals / Approbation des
demandes d’aménagement
(613) 580-2424 x 13242,
grant.lindsay@ottawa.ca
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee recommend that Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council approve the designation of 306 Cyr Avenue, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in accordance with the Statement of Reason for Designation, attached as Document 4.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité consultatif sur la conservation de l'architecture locale
recommande au Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement de prescrire au
Conseil municipal d'approuver la désignation du 306, avenue Cyr en vertu de la
partie IV de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l'Ontario et conformément à l'exposé
des motifs de la désignation ci-joint en Document 4.
BACKGROUND
In December 2003 the General Manager of People Services requested that the Gamman House, 306 Cyr Avenue be considered for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. The City-owned building located in the former municipality of Vanier is currently vacant and the Ottawa Worker's Heritage Committee is interested in using it as an office and resource centre to interpret the history of workers in Ottawa. The creation of such a Centre fulfills policies contained within the Arts and Heritage Master Plan approved by Council in 2002. Real Property and Asset Management is aware of this request for designation and has no objection to it.
The Gamman House is a modest one-and-a-half storey, mansard-roofed, wood frame cottage constructed in 1875 by Nathanial Gamman, an early resident and one-time Councillor of the village of Janeville. Janeville amalgamated with Clarkstown to the north and Clandeboye to the east in 1913 to become the town of Eastview. The house is significant as a remnant of Janeville, and as an unusual remaining example of a small mansard-roofed structure.
Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act gives municipalities the power to designate properties of cultural heritage significance. In order to be designated, the City's Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee considers the designation and makes a recommendation to Planning and Environment Committee and City Council. The Act requires that a short statement of the property's cultural heritage significance, including its heritage attributes, be prepared and published in a local newspaper.
The Official Plan has policies related to the Ontario Heritage Act, stating that "Individual buildings, structures and cultural heritage landscapes will be designated as properties of cultural heritage value under Part IV of the Heritage Act."
Furthermore, Policy 2.5.5.16 of the Official Plan approved by Council in May, 2003, states that,
"As the owner of many heritage resources, the City will protect, improve and manage its heritage resources in a manner which furthers the heritage objectives of this plan and sets an example of leadership to the community in the conservation of heritage resources, including, a) Designating its resources under the Heritage Act where appropriate."
Research conducted by staff confirmed that the building is worthy of designation because of its association with the early history of the Vanier area and one of its earliest inhabitants, a representative member of the working class and as an example of a small mansard-roofed cottage of the 1870s.
CONSULTATION
The Ottawa Worker's Heritage Committee, the potential tenants of the Gamman House are aware of the proposed designation and support it.
Heritage Ottawa has been informed of this proposed designation.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The cost of the one-time statutory advertising of the designation in the Citizen shall be paid from the 2004 operating budget of the Planning and Development Department, Account Number 112762-502210, subject to Council approval of the 2004 operating budget.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 - Location Map
Document 2 - Historical Photograph
Document 3 - Heritage Survey and Evaluation Form
Document 4 - Statement of Reason for Designation
DISPOSITION
Corporate Services Department, Secretariat Services Branch to notify the property owner (City of Ottawa, Corporate Services, Real Estate and Property Management, Property Services, 110 Laurier Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario ) and the Ontario Heritage Foundation (10 Adelaide Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1J3) of Council's decision to designate 306 Cyr Avenue, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Development Services Department, Planning and Infrastructure Approvals Branch to advertise the Notice of Intention to Designate.
Corporate Services Department, Legal Services to prepare designation by-law and submit it to City Council for enactment.
LOCATION MAP Document
1
HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPH Document
2
Gamman
House, 306 Cyr Avenue
1. Gamman House, no date, probably 1950s.
HERITAGE SURVEY AND EVALUATION FORM Document
3
|
MUNICIPAL ADDRESS: 306 Cyr
Avenue |
BUILDING NAME: Gamman House |
||
|
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: |
LOT: |
BLOCK: |
PLAN: |
|
DATE OF CONSTRUCTION: circa
1875 |
ADDITIONS: |
||
|
ORIGINAL USE: residential |
PRESENT USE: office |
||
|
ORIGINAL OWNER: Nathaniel Gamman |
PRESENT OWNER: City of Ottawa |
||
VIEW:
SOURCE:
DATE:
NEGATIVE NO:
PHASE ONE EVALUATION
|
POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANCE |
CONSIDERABLE |
SOME |
LIMITED |
NONE |
|
History |
3 |
|
|
|
|
Architecture |
3 |
|
|
|
|
Environment
(landmark or design compatibility) |
|
2 |
|
|
|
Phase One
Score 8/9 |
Potential
Heritage Building Yes |
Potential Heritage District Yes/No |
||
|
Phase Two
Classification |
Group 1 2 3 4 |
|||
HISTORY Prepared By: Sally Coutts Date: January 2004
DATE OF
CONSTRUCTION (Estimated)
1875
TRENDS
The Gamman House was part of the community of
Janeville that developed along Montreal Road and Cummings Bridge in the
1870s. Its boundaries were the Rideau
River to the west, Deschamps to the north, the former Vanier/Ottawa municipal
boundary to the west and McArthur to the south. Assessment rolls show that many large land holdings in this area
were divided up into smaller holdings in the 1870s and houses were built on the
new lots. Most of the new inhabitants were listed in the assessment rolls as
labourers, clerks, or farmers, a category that included farm labourer. Janeville was a predominantly Anglophone
village. In 1913, it and the other two villages, Clandeboye and Clarkstown,
were united to become the town of Eastview.
EVENTS
None known
PERSONS/INSTITUTIONS
Nathaniel Gamman was born in 1848 in
Lowertown, making him a very early inhabitant of Ottawa. He acquired the land
upon which his house was built in 1873 and by 1877 its value had doubled, which
probably indicates that he built his house there in 1875 or 1876. His brother,
Thomas, owned the adjacent lot. Nathaniel lived there until his death in
1917. Gamman raised a family of seven
children there with his wife, Mary who he married in 1873. Gamman worked as a janitor and a labourer
and served very briefly as a councillor in the town of Eastview shortly after
it was incorporated in 1913.
SUMMARY/COMMENTS
ON HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Gamman House represents the early history of the Janeville community, a small community centred on Montreal Road and Cumming’s Bridge that amalgamated with Clandeboye and Clarkstown in 1893 to become Eastview. As such, the house is a reminder of the earliest days of Vanier. In addition, Gamman’s life is representative of the lives of many working class Ottawans in the latter part of the 19th century.
SOURCES
Nathan Hauch, unpublished report, Gamman House, 306 Cyr Avenue
Township of Gloucester, Assessment Rolls, 1874, 1875,
1876, 1877
Fire Insurance Plans
Registry Office Records
Walker, Harry Carleton Saga
Gard, Anson, The Hub and the Spokes
Laporte, Luc, Vanier
Vanier LACAC,
“Historic Structure Report, 306 Cyr Avenue, April 1996
ARCHITECTURE Prepared By: Sally Coutts Date: January 2004
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN (Plan, Storeys, Roof, Windows, Material,
Details, etc.)
The Gamman House is a small, 1 ½ storey,
“L”- shaped, clapboard-clad, wood -frame structure with a mansard roof pierced
by dormer windows, a front verandah (now enclosed) painted white. Fire Insurance plans show that a one-storey
addition or additions originally extended behind the mansard roofed structure
but this wing has disappeared. The
front verandah included brackets and consoles. It has been enclosed, probably
in two stages – the first saw part of it included into the front room of the
house and the second enclosure resulted in the vestibule that exists today.
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE
Vernacular Second
Empire. The Second Empire style was popular in Canada in the 1870s. It was
usually associated with public buildings and large houses, which are
identified, by mansard roofs, central towers, and rich architectural
details. Because the distinctive roof
created a high-ceilinged attic storey, the mansard roof was often used on
modest domestic buildings to increase their floor space. Other examples of
modest wooden houses exist in Lowertown, but it is less common than the small
gable roofed cottages of the 19th century.
DESIGNER/BUILDER/ARCHITECT
Not known, could have been built by first
owner.
ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRITY
The main part of the Gamman House has
remained remarkably intact since its original construction in the 1870s. An
undated photograph and Fire Insurance plans show that the back of the house has
changed – a one storey addition has disappeared and been replaced by a deck.
One source links this change to a fire in the 1960s. The roof has been resheathed in cedar shakes whereas it is
probable that the original material was shingles. As a consequence, the roof
appears quite rough.
OTHER
N/A
SUMMARY/COMMENTS ON ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Gamman House is a unusual example of a
small, mansard roofed wooden house in the City of Ottawa.
ENVIRONMENT Prepared By: Sally Coutts Date: January 2004
HERITAGE CONSERVATION DISTRICT NAME (if any)
VIEW:
SOURCE:
DATE:
NEGATIVE NO:
COMPATIBILITY WITH HERITAGE ENVIRONS
The Gamman House is located on a large lot
south of Montreal Road in an area characterized by older houses.
COMMUNITY CONTEXT/LANDMARK STATUS
The Gamman House is a local landmark because
of its unusual mansard roof design and wooden construction.
SUMMARY/COMMENTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Gamman House
contributes to the character of Cyr Avenue.
STATEMENT
OF REASON FOR DESIGNATION Document
4
Statement of Reason for Designation
The Gamman House, 306 Cyr Avenue, is recommended for designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act as a building of cultural heritage value for historical and architectural reasons.
Nathaniel Gamman was born in Lowertown in 1848, making him a very early inhabitant of the region. In 1873 he purchased his property in Janeville, a small community centred on the Montreal Road. By 1877, the assessed value of the property had doubled, indicating that the house was built in the mid-1870s. He married Mary Ann Mulligan the same year that he purchased the lot and they had seven children. Gamman worked a variety jobs, including brick maker and janitor during his lifetime. He also served very briefly as a councillor in 1913. His life, family, and job history are typical of late 19th century working men.
The Gamman House is a one and a half storey, "L"-shaped, wood frame, mansard-roofed structure. There are gabled-dormer with finials punctuating the roofline. Fire insurance maps show that there was a long one storey addition to the rear of the building, but this feature has disappeared. Originally the front verandah extended the full width of the house, but at some point part of it was incorporated into the house as a bay window and later the remaining open portion of the structure was closed in. The building's heritage attributes include the wood siding, mansard roof, decorative wood details such as the pilasters and porch details, the finials, dentils and brackets. The large side yard also contributes to its character and should be preserved.
The front hall and the large room on the ground floor with its decorative wood and plaster details are included in this designation; the rest of the house is not.