For the past week, Ottawa has joined the rest of Ontario in recognizing the importance of heritage by celebrating Heritage Week.
On Feb. 19, a heritage celebration was held at city hall, which allowed residents to learn about the local programs and initiatives for heritage conservation in their community. With 15 designated heritage districts in Ottawa, public involvement in the preservation of heritage and history is a necessity.
Centretown has a rich history that is tied closely with the development of Canada. Its proximity to Parliament Hill has made it the backdrop to many of the nation’s most important stories and moments, from behind-the-scenes politics to some of Canada’s biggest achievements.
It is these successes and stories that need to be remembered and should lie at the heart of heritage conservation. While preserving architecture to maintain the original feel of the community is necessary, remembering the history behind the buildings would not be possible without the support of the community.
Educating residents of heritage communities and making them aware of the history of their house, street or neighbourhood will go a long way to preserving heritage culture and atmosphere.
This idea of passing along this history is what makes cultural recognition ceremonies and holidays important. A focus on local heritage and history should be more prevalent in schools, garnering the same attention as national and political history. In a community such as Centretown, with its long and eventful history, this is especially important.
A district heritage designation brings recognition to a community; however the designation does little more than flag the buildings of architectural and heritage value in a city database.
Since the start of community heritage designations in 1982, the city and heritage groups have been protecting historical building around Ottawa from disrepair and demolition.
The most recent example is the possible future demolition of a historic building on Bank and Flora streets.
The city’s planning committee recently approved its demolition and city council will make the final decision on Feb. 27. This old European Glass and Paint building will be replaced by a nine-storey condominium of brick, metal and glass. This is similar to two other condominiums that were recently built a couple of blocks over on Gladstone Avenue.
While the new building does not have the heritage value of the European Glass and Paint building, the completed condo will have other benefits for the neighbourhood. It will be bigger than the old building, and cover up the adjoining old parking lot. It will also be further back from the street, making the corner more pedestrian-friendly.
Despite these benefits, tearing down a building with heritage value should not be taken lightly. If the city council agrees to demolish the building, the community must ensure that its historical importance and memories are preserved.
As of now, heritage conservation rests of the shoulders of city council and local heritage groups. However, with annual events such as Heritage Week, hopefully there will be increasing interest in local history.