A hose still played over the smoking walls of the Dominion United Church twenty-four hours after fire had broken out. The church was located at the north-west corner of Queen and O'Connor Streets.
The fire had started on Saturday, February 4, 1961. Mayor Charlotte Whitton was quickly on the scene, her face displaying the the severity of the disaster. They feared that the blaze could spread to engulf a block of Sparks Street.
It was Ottawa's largest Protestant Church. The Dominion Methodist Church (1875-76) was designed by architects Horsey and Sheard.
The same architects designed Ottawa's second City Hall in 1877. It was located on the site of the National Arts Centre and was also destroyed by fire, in 1931.
By the mid-1950s the church, which had been renamed the Dominion United Church, had lost both the elaborate cupola on top of the corner tower, and the finials on the chimneys. At the left is the rear of the Centre Theatre, and the Queen Street side of Murphy Gamble's department store.
The theatre was demolished in the early 1970s and is a parking lot to this day. The corner was redeveloped for the Canada Permanent Life Insurance building (Marani and Morris, 1965).
The Dominion United Church fire attracted a huge crowd, many of whom gathered on the roof of the new Queen Street Carpark (lower left).
For those who have never seen this thing, the carpark was Ottawa's first modern parking structure, fabricated from thin decks on top of pre-cast beams and wrapped in turquoise and yellow panels.
Although the church had at first determined to rebuild on the site, by late 1961 the congregation voted to sell the property and merge with the Chalmers United Church at O'Connor and Cooper Streets. They carried their name with them.
A hose still played over the smoking walls of the Dominion United Church twenty-four hours after fire had broken out. The church was located at the north-west corner of Queen and O'Connor Streets.
The fire had started on Saturday, February 4, 1961. Mayor Charlotte Whitton was quickly on the scene, her face displaying the the severity of the disaster. They feared that the blaze could spread to engulf a block of Sparks Street.
It was Ottawa's largest Protestant Church. The Dominion Methodist Church (1875-76) was designed by architects Horsey and Sheard.
The same architects designed Ottawa's second City Hall in 1877. It was located on the site of the National Arts Centre and was also destroyed by fire, in 1931.
By the mid-1950s the church, which had been renamed the Dominion United Church, had lost both the elaborate cupola on top of the corner tower, and the finials on the chimneys. At the left is the rear of the Centre Theatre, and the Queen Street side of Murphy Gamble's department store.
The theatre was demolished in the early 1970s and is a parking lot to this day. The corner was redeveloped for the Canada Permanent Life Insurance building (Marani and Morris, 1965).
The Dominion United Church fire attracted a huge crowd, many of whom gathered on the roof of the new Queen Street Carpark (lower left).
For those who have never seen this thing, the carpark was Ottawa's first modern parking structure, fabricated from thin decks on top of pre-cast beams and wrapped in turquoise and yellow panels.
Although the church had at first determined to rebuild on the site, by late 1961 the congregation voted to sell the property and merge with the Chalmers United Church at O'Connor and Cooper Streets. They carried their name with them.
Unfortunately the Methodist Registers of births, deaths and marriages for the period before 1898 were lost in the destruction by fire of Dominion United
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Horsey and Sheard designed any other buildings around town, and if so, did they burn down too? It has been really interesting to see the spread of downtown/the CBD through your stories like this one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting so much: you've really been on fire as of late!
Just found your site and really like it. I am glad you did not have a pic of the car park in colour though. Sounds horrendous!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing those vintage buildings photo it help me a lot.Keep updated.
ReplyDeleteJust browsing around & found your site, great picutres of Dominion U.C. My father was the caretaker there for quite a few years, so, I have some interesting pictures of the church. We lived across the street on Queen St prior to the parking garage being built. I remember meeting Lorne Green (actor) at the church with his sons when they came to Ottawa to film a movie. (and my mother got his autograph.) Very interesting history visit. - Our past.
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