Residents of 415 Gilmour Street are now able to experience the property’s rich history through a new display in the lobby of the non-profit apartment building.
The exhibit is part of the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation’s heritage development program, and features three posters: one depicting the 19th-century Gilmour hotel, another showing its successor at the site – The Alexandra Hotel – and a third highlighting the modern building that occupies the address today.
“The CCOC started out with a mandate to ensure that there was residential housing in Centretown,” says Sarah Button, development officer for the corporation. “And so we see preserving the heritage as part and parcel of that. We’re trying to let people know about the heritage of the area and what used to be here before. We think it’s important to contribute to the community that way.”
Button says a lot of residents remember the Alexandra hotel, which was declared “unfit for human habitation” and closed in 1978, as a “dodgy” place. Many are surprised to learn that, before that, the Gilmour once rivalled the Chateau Laurier as the most posh hotel in Ottawa.
She says residents are very impressed with the display and are pleased to hear that it will be a permanent fixture on the lobby wall.
Photos of the site over the years show its dramatic transformation from the elegant hotel designed in 1895 by Edgar Lewis Horwood, to a seven-storey building built in 1992 to provide affordable housing for residents of Centretown.
The 91-unit structure was designed to capture the history and architectural styles of the Gilmour and the Alexandra while showcasing the property’s modern appearance.
“The truncated corner and stylized roofline are design elements incorporated into the new structure in order to reflect the street corners’ predecessors,” reads the heritage board about the present-day site.
Button says architecture is a big focus of the heritage study. “It’s interesting to see the trajectory of how the architectural styles have changed over the years and to make that accessible to people. Oftentimes it might exist in the popular memory, but there’s nowhere that you can easily get that information and read about it.”
An unveiling ceremony for the exhibit was held Nov. 25 in the lobby. The Centretown Citizens Community Association attended to show their support for the project, said Charles Akben-Marchand, a member of the association.
Button says the corporation is working on a larger heritage exhibition for its latest development site – Beaver Barracks at the corner of Metcalfe and Argyle streets.
She says they wanted to try a heritage project on a smaller property first, and this building was a good candidate.
“It’s been such a good success that we’re hoping to spread it to several other properties next year as well.”