History of the Glebe Community Centre
It is great to see the renovations begin on the Glebe Community Centre. It did make me realize that I don't know much about the history of the building. Can you help?
The building that is currently being renovated to house the new facilities for the Glebe Community Centre has quite a past. The monumental copper dome of the rotunda is a landmark in Ottawa where domed buildings are rare. This contributed to the building's designation as a heritage property under part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. The finely proportioned neo-classical building was designed by Colonel Clarence Burritt, and was originally built as a permanent home for St. Paul's Methodist Church.
Glebe Methodists had been meeting in 1908 in Moreland's Hall (where Flipper's Restaurant is today.) By 1911, growth of Methodist families in the Glebe prompted congregation members to consider building their own church. In 1911, they purchased four lots between Second and Third Avenue, just west of Lyon Street from the Glebe Trustees of St. Andrew's Presbyterian who were presiding over the disposal of the Clergy Reserve land their church had been granted in 1837.
In 1912, the first financial campaign was organized and launched. By 1913, the Methodists were meeting in First Avenue Public School. The sod-turning ceremony for the new church took place in May, 1913. Construction began immediately, and the cornerstone was laid on June 26, 1914. The basement of the new church was usable for church services by January, 1915.
Building progressed rapidly at first, and soon the steel superstructure rose above the occupied basement. However, due to materials and manpower shortages resulting from World War 1, work on the church came to a halt. The dedication marking the final completion of the church did not take place until January 20, 1924.
In 1925, the congregation of St. Paul's Methodist voted to join the newly formed United Church of Canada. St. Paul's Eastern United Church in Sandy Hill got to the name first, so the new United Church at Second and Lyon Street took the name of St. James United Church.
On February 7, 1943, the west section of the roof collapsed under a slide of snow and ice off the dome. This necessitated major work on the roof.
In 1955, a renovation of the church basement was undertaken. A ladies parlour was completed along the west side and a lower hall with a stage at the north end was completed. The new church hall was dedicated on January 23, 1956.
In 1960, the renovation of the front (south) apse of the sanctuary, (including the choir loft) the redecoration of the sanctuary and the installation of new carpets were undertaken. Elinor Milne, then Dominion Sculptor in charge of the stonework decorations of the Houses of Parliament was a member of the congregation, and she designed four wood and bronze bas-relief sculptures to decorate the sanctuary.
In the decade between 1961 and 1971, the population of the Glebe decreased by 7.2% to 14,425, as older residents died, and young families moved to the suburbs. By 1971, both St. James United and Glebe United, just one block north, were experiencing congregational shrinkage. The two churches voted to amalgamate, and became Glebe-St. James United Church.
There was considerable discussion as to which building should house the newly formed church. The fact that the St. James building was more marketable led to its sale to the city of Ottawa for $300,000 as a much needed Glebe Community Centre.
In 1972, once the Ottawa Board of Control approved the purchase of the St. James building, a Glebe Community Centre Council (GCCC) was set up as a subcommittee of the Glebe Community Association to survey Glebe residents about preferred building use.
The GCCC drafted a plan for priority use of space and proposed renovations in the newly designated Glebe Community Centre. They were particularly sensitive to maintaining the architectural qualities of the main sanctuary space. They recommended that the floor which sloped down towards the apse at the south of the sanctuary be replaced with a depressed central well of flat floor area and a raised surrounding floor level. They proposed several minor alterations in the lower hall to make operations more efficient, and to meet the requirements of the Ontario Fire Marshall's Office.
In converting the former church to a community centre, the City of Ottawa made other changes as well. The vertical wooden curtain at the south end of the apse was moved north about twenty feet to align with the south wall of the former sanctuary. The sloped second story gallery at the north end of the sanctuary was given a flat floor and was enclosed to provide daycare facilities.
By the late 1990s , the Glebe Community Centre building was suffering from age and limited structural maintenance. Major renovation and retrofitting planning began, led jointly by the Glebe Community Association and the Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group. They took into consideration the diversified programming delivered on site and the need to make all parts of the building easily accessible to all community members. Again, there was wide consultation and a number of alternatives were proposed before a final design was approved.
A freeze on the municipal budget for capital projects and logistics surrounding Ottawa city amalgamation in 2000, delayed the letting of tenders for the work on the Glebe Community Centre until the spring of 2003. All work is scheduled to be completed by September 1st, 2004.