By Tara McCarthy
With its old red brickwork, vintage wreath artistry framing the rooftop and weathered maroon sign, Barrymore’s Music Hall on Bank Street is an old building and a sight for subjective eyes.
The venue’s appearance recently reached “eyesore” status. The Ottawa Citizen and CJOH asked the public to vote on the 20 worst Ottawa eyesores in an online poll.
Barrymore’s ranked fifth with 727 votes out of the nearly 9,000 cast.
However, some do not agree with the poll’s results.
“Attractiveness is in the eye of the beholder,” Bill Pinder says. “It’s a building people don’t judge from the outside.”
Pinder is the franchise owner of the Mr. Sub restaurant directly across the street from the music hall.
From the inside, the sandwich restaurant’s large storefront windows frame the vintage theatre.
Pinder says he does not see anything “unattractive or offensive” about his view.
The structure at 323 Bank St. was built in 1914 as the Imperial Theatre, and served as a popular movie theatre until 1955.
In 1977, new owners traded in movies for music.
They removed the seats and opened the doors of Barrymore’s Music Hall.
It was a popular disco bar at first and welcomed acts like the Mamas & the Papas, James Brown and U2 to its stage during the 1980s.
The Ontario Heritage Act and Centretown Heritage Conservation District claim the building has heritage status.
This means the building’s owners cannot alter the exterior without city approval.
If owners want to restore or repair heritage property, they can apply for financial assistance, says Stuart Lazear, co-ordinator of heritage services for the City of Ottawa.
Grants of up to $5,000 are subject to city approval.
“We have spoken with the owners [of Barrymore’s] a number of times over the past few years,” Lazear says.
“They have not taken advantage of these grants yet.”
Doug Francis is an employee at the Pita Pit restaurant located one door down from Barrymore’s.
He says at first he thought the building was “sloppy” and “tragic-looking.” Now he says he appreciates its old architecture, although it could use some restoration work.
“In its griminess, it’s sort of nice,” Francis says.
It is also a popular venue for live music. In contrast to its eyesore ranking, the spot is the best live music venue, according to Ottawa XPress’ 2004 readers’ poll.
Sold-out shows and line-ups during their Retro ‘80s Sundays suggest that tattered or not, club-goers have taken a liking to the location.
Adam Barnes and Murat Demirel say the interior, service and atmosphere are what matter most.
Both say they attend concerts regularly and enjoy Barrymore’s despite its exterior.
“The inside set-up is awesome,” Barnes says. “It’s probably the best out of Ottawa.”
In an Oct. 30 article listing the eyesore nominees, the Ottawa Citizen quoted Barrymore’s general manager, Andrea Lanctot, as saying the interior received some renovations, but the exterior needs redoing and “looks horrible.” Lanctot refused to comment for this story.
Alex Munter, a former city councillor who wrote the Ottawa Citizen eyesore article, says he hopes the attention Barrymore’s receives from the poll will help.
“People look at that building and think ‘what tremendous potential,’ ” he says.
There is no requirement under the Heritage Act for owners to maintain their property.
If owners neglect maintenance, Munter says the city can do little to intervene.
Pinder says there is something unique about an old theatre transformed into a dance club. To him, the building would lose character if the owners altered the outside.
“It’s just different,” he says. “In the end, it really depends on what you think is an eyesore.”