Yes, Rideau Street’s historic buildings need heritage protection | Opinion

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“People don’t go to Paris because there’s lots of cement.” Ottawa musician and producer Dave Draves told me that 20 years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since.

People similarly don’t come to Ottawa for the cement, nor the boxy glass-and-steel high-rise condos, much as we may need these. Architecturally, people come for the city’s rich history and character: the Parliament Buildings, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Rideau Canal, the Château Laurier, Confederation Square and the ByWard Market, for instance.

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It’s not only the out-of-towners who appreciate a well-crafted cornice or frieze. The city’s built heritage committee just recommended that council designate a half-dozen Rideau Street properties as heritage. It’s part of a flurry of similar considerations by city hall after the province, in an effort to spark more housing construction, amended the Ontario Heritage Act to force municipalities to review their heritage registers and step up designations or potentially lose the opportunity.

Building owners often oppose heritage designations as they restrict how properties may be developed, often by insisting that a building’s façade be incorporated into any new project. As the Hudson’s Bay Company noted in its objection to having 57 Rideau St. designated heritage, the label could lower property values, increase the cost of maintenance, and thus make properties less attractive to potential buyers or tenants.

These financial considerations are not considered valid grounds for appeal, Ottawa architect Barry Padolsky notes. What HBC and other owners can argue is that the city was mistaken in its assessment of a property’s heritage value.

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I don’t think they’ll have much luck on that front. For while these buildings may not be the grand old monumental dames of postcard fame, neither are they simply superfluous grace notes embellishing our streets. They are essential elements that help define Ottawa and its past, and help maintain the scale of neighbourhoods at livable, human levels.

Take 217 Rideau St., for example, between Dalhousie and Cumberland streets. You’re forgiven if it doesn’t immediately come to mind; as I discovered this week when I went to look at the buildings, you risk being run over by a transport truck in order to step back enough for a proper view. The former longtime home of the upscale George E. Preston and Sons tailor shop, 217 Rideau currently houses a Sushi Village restaurant. The nearly 150-year-old, three-storey structure is a small but stunning example of Beaux-Arts architecture, with a balustraded parapet and ornate stone and metal detailing.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that they don’t make ‘em like that anymore. We should keep this one as a reminder.

The second and third floors of 149 Rideau St., meanwhile, once the home of George Bourne Sporting Goods, boast a dozen arched window openings and much decorative moulding that are visually far more stimulating than most of the newer buildings being built in the area.

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Similar details, including pilasters, rosettes, dentils, capitals and more — enough, really, to fill an illustrated Architectural Digest — decorate all the buildings under consideration. All you have to do to enjoy them is look up.

Sam Awada, who has owned 217 Rideau St. for about 14 years, says that although he’d prefer it wasn’t designated, he’s largely indifferent, and likely won’t appeal it if it’s passed by council. “The lot is only about 30 x 100 feet,” he says, “so it wouldn’t be lucrative for a developer.”

Other Rideau Street buildings being considered for designations have similar strikes against their future development. The building at 198 Rideau St., at the corner of Waller Street, has a second disadvantage: it sits atop the LRT, limiting how far below street level any construction could go.

Opponents of designation point to the fact that the Rideau Street of today has little of the “High Street” character it boasted back when it was a major shopping destination rife with department stores. So why, they ask, bother saving these buildings?

It’s true that this stretch of Rideau isn’t the go-to place it once was. Repeated efforts to revive its lustre have flailed, going as far back as 1983, when the ill-fated heated and enclosed sidewalk was unveiled (and later dismantled). Homelessness and addiction are issues here, as elsewhere, while it’s a notable blight on the city that nothing has yet been done to eliminate the heavy truck traffic on Rideau as heavy commercial vehicles heading from Quebec to the Queensway rumble through.

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Yet past failures are not sufficient cause to stop trying, and these small architectural gems should not fall under the wrecking ball of development while we sort it out.

After all, there are hopeful signs. The condo and apartment boom in the area could lead to an economic renaissance on Rideau Street, as increased numbers of residents attract retailers to the area. The recent announcement by the National Capital Commission that Live Nation Entertainment will convert the former Chapters bookstore into a mid-sized concert hall is welcome news for the area.

Last Thursday afternoon, I wandered up and down Rideau Street, where I chanced upon a sidewalk chess game featuring oversized pieces. One of the players was 14-year-old Peter Pagnutti, who, with his Grade 8 class, was visiting Ottawa from Sudbury. According to Pagnutti’s mother, Peter had spotted the street chess the day before, and was chuffed at the opportunity to play. So while the rest of his classmates were shopping in the Rideau Centre, Peter was spending his last couple of hours in town trying to outmanoeuvre a sidewalk bishop.

It was only an anecdotal scene, I know, but it gives me hope for the area. And so does the idea of saving these buildings while we figure out how to revive the rest of the street.

bdeachman@postmedia.com

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