Heritage Guelph

0:03Jack, can you hear me? It's Miranda. I can't hear anyone.

0:07Miranda, I think all of our microphones are muted right now. Okay. Yeah, I can hear you.

0:15Okay.

0:53So, I'll just let you know that we have quorum, but we're still waiting on a few members.

0:58Sure, we can wait a few more minutes and time with that.

1:02I think we have everyone here now. So, it looks like we are good to go.

4:28Well, welcome everyone. I would like to call to order the June 12th meeting of Heritage Wealth.

4:33It's been a little bit since we've seen each other, but welcome back to our June meeting.

4:37Welcome to all committee members, staff, and any invited guests who are attending the meeting today.

4:43I will start with our territorial acknowledgement. So, as we gather, we have reminded that Wealth

4:48is situated on treaty land that is steeped in rich indigenous history and home to many

4:53First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people today. As a city, we have a responsibility for the

4:58stewardship of the land on which we live and work. Today, we acknowledge the Mississaugas of the

5:03Credit First Nation of the Anishinaabe peoples on whose traditional territory we are meeting.

5:09And as we move forward into the meeting, I will start with asking if anyone has any disclosures

5:14of pecuniary interest, and if so, if you could please raise your hand.

5:18David? I might probably have one for 331 Clairs Street East. I was one of the authors

5:28of the original cultural heritage evaluation report.

5:35Perfect. And so, Jack, in that situation, what's the process for David just to abstain from commenting?

5:41Yeah, David, if you can turn off your camera and microphone during that item,

5:47and yes, abstain from voting and commenting. All right, thank you.

5:52Thank you. Any others? No? All right, we'll keep going. I know we have regrets today from Kim and

6:01Cameron, but we have quorum, so we're good to move forward. And then the first thing then is if I can

6:06get members to move and someone to second approval of the minutes from our previous meeting, which

6:10dates back to April 11th, 2023. So, if I can have a mover, could you just raise your hand, Jadat,

6:17thank you. And Michael, I'll take you as a seconder if that's okay. Awesome.

6:22All right, so we'll get into things. The only thing... Sorry, we have to vote. Oh, sorry, yes,

6:28all in favor. Amazing. Thank you, everyone. Just move things along, Jack. That's the

6:37goal, apparently. Skipping process. Apologies. All right, so we'll get into the agenda. I will

6:42note that I believe Victoria has some announcements for us later today, and that's the only additional

6:46piece that I have to note. So our first item then is going to be 12 Forbes Avenue.

6:55And Jack, are you speaking to that demolition permit? Yes, that's me. Thank you, Sarah.

7:01So this one's pretty straightforward. The proposed demolition of a non-heritage structure

7:06located in the Brooklyn and called Chill HCD will be considered by council in accordance with the

7:12requirements of the Ontario Heritage Act. The subject property is located on the corner of Forbes

7:18and Fairview. You can see it actually while driving up Gordon Street towards the university.

7:24The lot was severed from 14 Forbes in 2016, and a new house was constructed on the corner of Fairview

7:31and Forbes. According to a 2016 cultural heritage impact assessment prepared for the severance

7:37of 14 Forbes Avenue, quote, the potential built heritage resource and potentially significant

7:44heritage resource on this property is the house. The 1983 garage and link are not considered significant.

7:52So the link that used to be there between the stone house at 14 Forbes and the garage we're

7:57talking about now has been demolished. So it's just the garage now. And staff agree with this

8:05assessment and recommend that demolition proceed. If anybody has any questions or comments, I'm happy

8:12to hear them. It's a quiet morning. I guess we're after noon now. If anyone has any questions,

8:29comments, you're welcome just to unmute and speak directly. Jack, with regard to that garage,

8:38it's my understanding that there is no stone associated with the garage at all. Is that correct?

8:44That's correct. The cultural heritage impact assessment was a little confusing because it

8:51said that stone was used from the old Fergus town hall, but that was for the breezeway that

8:56connected the garage and the house, which is now gone. Gotcha. Okay. That's that was what I suspected,

9:02but just wanted to clarify. Thanks. Thank you. Was there a process that went through for the main

9:13building? Did the heritage wealth have to consider any applications in relation to any of the rest of

9:22the property? I might defer to Stephen for that one who would have handled the heritage permit for

9:28that building. Yeah, Jack, I'm happy to respond. David, I'm not sure I quite understand your question

9:39though. Okay. All right. Is that okay? We're being asked to make a decision in relation to what

9:47I understand is the garage. Was there any other heritage decision making process

9:53done for the other part of this property besides the garage?

9:59Yes. As Jack has referred to already, there was a cultural heritage resource impact assessment

10:04that was required of the property owner to the city and heritage wealth to consider when they were

10:11proposing the construction of the new house. That was actually following the severance

10:17that created the property as well. So that HIA, which was done, I believe by CHC Limited,

10:27it helped in the determination of what had cultural heritage value.

10:32It also helped in the process that eventually led to the approval of the heritage permit for the new house on the property.

10:39Nothing else has been, there's been no decision having to be made then for demolishing anything else

10:48except for the garage. Do you understand that right? That's right. This really just pertains to the

10:55existing wood frame garage, which is really what's left of the buildings that were on site before the

11:03current building was approved through its heritage permit. Okay. Thank you. Welcome.

11:10Any other questions or comments from committee members? Seeing no one in mute or put up their hand.

11:23So we have a recommended motion that I'll read out that the heritage wealth provides the following

11:28advice to the council of the city of Guelph with respect to the proposed demolition of the

11:32accessory structure at 12 Forbes Avenue. The accessory structure is a non-heritage structure

11:37and demolition should be permitted. If we are, if anyone's in favor, I'll need a mover on that.

11:44I see Miranda's hand went up and Jaodat, would you like to be the seconder? Okay. And all in favor,

11:51if you could raise your hand. No one's opposed then because I think I saw everyone's hand come up.

12:00That one was scary. Thank you. And our next agenda item is going to go back to Jack again.

12:06So the heritage designation consultation process. Thanks Sarah. You folks are going to be hearing

12:12my voice a lot today. So bear with me. So this proposed process is staff's response to the

12:18concerns expressed by heritage wealth members at the April committee meeting. Mainly that the

12:24committee only has one opportunity to review designation reports before they are brought to

12:28council for consideration. A designation working group was proposed by members to address this

12:34concern, but the establishment of these groups requires considerable administrative support

12:38by staff. And it was determined that staff do not have the capacity to facilitate a designation

12:44working group and the time required to facilitate a working group. And the time required to

12:50facilitate a working group would result in shifting of work from designation research to

12:56coordinating the committee and would seriously impact the work plan timelines for part four

13:02designation. However, I think we've found a good middle ground to address these concerns.

13:11We have recommended some changes to the consultation process with heritage wealth for

13:16designation. I'd like to emphasize before I proceed that this is a developing process.

13:22Steven, Victoria and I are working on different ways to present research and expedite designations.

13:28For example, today you may notice that Steven's cultural heritage evaluation report

13:34is formatted differently than my own. It's a little shorter and more concise and I think

13:39that's the direction we'll be moving just to help expedite the research and evaluation of these

13:45properties. So firstly, the agenda for heritage wealth meetings will be revised to include a monthly

13:54designation update section. Properties will be presented to the committee

14:01and properties will be presented to the committee twice, once at the research stage,

14:06and again at the recommendation for designation stage.

14:10So we'll have a designation update category at heritage wealth meetings to advise the committee

14:19on the progress of designation research, property owner consultation, as well as appeals.

14:26This will keep all committee members updated on designations and we'll have a tracking table

14:31included in each agenda that we'll update monthly. So secondly, staff will divide designation

14:38consultation with the committee into two phases, research and designation. So for each candidate

14:46property, staff will first bring a cultural heritage evaluation report to the committee that

14:51outlines the historic research conducted for each property and how the property aligns with

14:55Ontario Regulation 56922. This will permit the committee to focus specifically on the research

15:02portion of the designation report and committee members are encouraged to send staff emails with

15:09comments or research suggestions prior to the deadline for the revised agenda. So revised

15:15agendas are the Friday before the meeting. So you've got about nine days to provide us with

15:24supplementary research, but I don't want you to feel like you're limited to those in the,

15:30you're welcome to send us anything you have up until we bring you the full designation report.

15:41So at a later date, staff will bring the full designation report to the committee

15:45and this will identify the property's heritage attributes and whether staff believe it should

15:51be recommended for designation or not. And during this phase, you'll be able to comment

15:57specifically on the heritage attributes and the more legislative side of the designation.

16:06Committee members may also be involved in research tasks in support of the work conducted by

16:10heritage planning staff. This is on a voluntary basis and cannot duplicate the role of unionized

16:16staff as this is a primary job function for heritage planning staff. Committee members may

16:22be involved in the following voluntary tasks. So I had written down familiarization with Guelph's

16:28history, which I'm afraid that might sound condescending, but I really don't mean it to because

16:33I've found that reading the general histories, David Allen or Leo Johnson has really helped give me

16:40a thorough understanding of Guelph and the different neighborhoods and the different stages

16:44of development that really give me a head start when I want to start research on an individual property.

16:52Most significant though, we appreciate your review of the cultural heritage evaluation reports

16:58that we bring to you. You can help us fill in research gaps, review our analysis of land title

17:04abstract information, and help search archives for additional information. So that really goes a

17:12long way in strengthening our research reports. So any supplementary research you're able to give us,

17:18that's always more than welcome. I'm happy to hear your comments or questions about this. Again,

17:26this is kind of we're experimenting here, so expect some changes over the next couple months,

17:32and your feedback throughout this process is definitely appreciated. Happy to take any questions

17:39now. I might just pipe in really quick and just say thank you to the three of you for coming up

17:45with this. I think it helps all of us in our role and especially those that are new to the committee

17:48in understanding a process and maybe speeding up and making things a bit more efficient in some

17:52realms, especially given the provincial pressures that are coming down to heritage over the next

17:56couple of years. So just a sincere appreciation and recognition that there's flexibility,

18:00things are going to change. Maybe they won't change, maybe this is perfect and that's amazing,

18:04but that there is opportunity to revise the process as necessary as feedback comes from all

18:09of us. So just a thank you from me. Any other comments or questions from anyone?

18:15Is this the first effort to do this type of guidelines or previous versions of Heritage

18:2412 had similar efforts of doing this? It's my understanding that this will be the first time

18:31that we're using this sort of consultation process, but I can get Stephen's confirmation on that.

18:41It's really the first time that we've taken on something that would be more like a cultural

18:47heritage evaluation report in stages. So yeah, I think it's new and I think it's a, it makes

18:55sense to talk about cultural heritage value first and then work our way toward. Sarah,

19:11if there aren't any other questions, if I may, I'd like to introduce one of the new faces on the

19:16Hollywood Squares here. Because we're talking about research, I wanted to make sure everyone

19:23gets to know Kayla Anderson. Kayla, I don't know if you can just wave your hand. Kayla's our Heritage

19:31Research Assistant for this summer and I, we're really pleased to have her on the on the research

19:38team to assist. Kayla's, she's a graduate of University of Guelphs, Urban and Rural Planning,

19:44and also has had some experience with, quite a lot of experience with Senator Wellington's

19:49Heritage Register. So we welcome Kayla to the team. Nice to be here, thanks for having me.

20:01Excellent, thanks Stephen and welcome Kayla, nice to see you again.

20:06If there, are there any other questions or comments about the process that Jack

20:10elaborated on? And if there aren't, I'll read out the recommended motion that we have included,

20:19so that Heritage Guelph supports the proposed process for consultation with members on research

20:23and recommendations for designation of properties under part four, section 29 of the Ontario Heritage

20:29Act, and that members support the updates to the agenda as set out in the June 12, 2023 report.

20:36If we're in support of that, if I could have a mover. Thank you and David Weberman, okay,

20:45to be a seconder. Perfect and all in favor. Excellent, any, I don't think there's anyone

20:54to pose because all of our hands are up. Awesome, thank you everyone. Next on our agenda then is

21:00designation updates. And so I believe David, this is where you have your conflict of interest,

21:07either Weberman, so you'll mute and turn your camera off. We'll see you again soon.

21:12All right, so 331 Clair Road, East Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report with Stephen.

21:22Thanks Sarah, I'm just gonna put the information on the screen here. Sarah, can you see the

21:32report itself on the screen? Yep, now we're good, we can see it. Okay, good. I'm not gonna read through

21:40the entire report because I'm hoping that the members have had a good chance to read through

21:45themselves, but I just wanted to touch on some of the highlights and really highlights that are

21:50germane to what the function of the Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report is. So as most of you

21:59will know already, 331 Clair Road, East contains a stone farmhouse that I'd like people to start

22:07referring to it as the James Hanlon Farmhouse. It's listed as a non-designated built heritage

22:14resource on our heritage register and the report that I'm presenting recommends that the James

22:20Hanlon Farmhouse meets four of the prescribed criteria for determining cultural heritage

22:25value or interest in accordance with Ontario Regulation 569-22. As Jack has described and as

22:39I'll reiterate, this report is not about so much the background of what has been discussed with the

22:47property owner in the past, but I felt it was important just to give a bit of a background

22:55on the fact that this property has had a cultural heritage resource impact assessment done

23:01some years ago and which I was involved with as staff, but essentially what we're here today to

23:10discuss is the cultural heritage value, the current property, its physical condition you might say,

23:20but especially its cultural heritage value. So as you're aware, there are three of the criteria

23:28that we need to address and it's my recommendation that the James Hanlon Farmhouse, I say the James

23:40Hanlon Farmhouse because Guelph has other Hanlon farmhouses, so I think it's important to understand,

23:47especially at this point in our research, to understand some of the settler families and

23:54sometimes how diverse and how complicated it is to actually sort out a family tree to

24:03understand who built what when. So the Hanlon family is a good example of that.

24:09So this farmhouse meets criteria one and two of the regulation. It's a representative example

24:17of the Ontario farmhouse form and style that was popular in the second half of the 19th century.

24:25This particular house was built about 1864 in a mix of limestone and granite and it presents

24:33a high degree of craftsmanship in the execution of that stonework and its exterior wood trim.

24:41As I said, I won't read through the entire thing, but I think it's important to talk about how the

24:47James Hanlon Farmhouse meets criteria four of the regulation. The Hanlon family has a long history

24:54in the area and the farmhouse is tied to three generations of that family. So James Hanlon had

25:06built the house in 1864 and this information is clarified by the research done in not only the

25:16title search information, but also the census information. And that's why I've included some

25:23of the illustrations, the data that I've taken a look at for that purpose.

25:30Unfortunately, James Hanlon Sr. died in 1902. He left the house to his son James Jr., who also

25:38unfortunately died in 1906. So really by that time the house was left the Hanlon ownership.

25:47But that's that Hanlon period or the Hanlon ownership period is really what's most important

25:55about this particular farmhouse. It's always important to consider the contextual value of any

26:01of our built heritage resources. They're very often not just in isolation. They are part of some

26:09sort of context, whether it's just simply the street context that it's in as this house is,

26:16or even within the context of a larger cultural heritage landscape. It's my opinion that the

26:22James Hanlon farmhouse is important in defining and maintaining and supporting the historical

26:28character of Clair Road East, its streetscape, and as a vestige of early farming landscapes

26:35of Puss Lynch Township and what is now Guelph. So with that, I'm happy to, I can refer to some

26:43of the illustrations if you like. They're ready on my screen if you want me to share those, but

26:48I'd be happy to take any questions from the committee members. Are there any of the criteria

27:04that stand out more to you than the others? I know it might be three of them, but do you find

27:10that any of them have a higher degree of significance than

27:15as these go? David, I guess what I want to say is that in my presentation, I've identified all

27:31of the criteria that are met by this particular building. I actually believe that all, I didn't

27:41count them all up, but the ones that I've identified, they are of equal importance.

27:46I think in my research, I tend to first determine the physical building or the physical

27:55aspects or features of a building or property. If there's high integrity in its physical

28:04form, that's really important, but it doesn't mean that the design or architectural value

28:10is any more or less important than the historical association that the building may have to

28:16in its background. As I've always said, and this is something that we've talked about

28:22time and again with properties in the Heritage Register, but also even with the properties

28:28that are not listed, but on the cooling inventory, we always need to look to what

28:36contextual value the building on its own, but also as a contributor possibly to a grouping of

28:44buildings or to a whole cultural heritage landscape. Just to reiterate, I think it would be

28:50difficult to determine which is the most important of those criteria that have been met.

29:00Sounds like this was an easy one to recommend because of the different criteria that's met

29:08and that does significantly need to go. I thought first it's enjoyable. I mean, it's easy, yes,

29:19but it's fantastic looking at a farmhouse that's still in such relatively excellent condition

29:27and with such high cultural heritage value. I'm not going to say it's not like every research

29:33project has it just so they're not always easy, but because this property has such

29:40high cultural heritage value, yeah, it's pretty straightforward in my mind. Okay, thank you.

29:50Can I ask a small question? Concerning the usage right now, has it been used by residents as it's

29:58inhabited now? There are people inside the house and what type of function is it serving now with?

30:09Jaudat, the house is actually vacant and has been for some years now.

30:17It has, but it's most recent use has been residential use, single family residential.

30:27Okay, thank you. I had certain issues I raised before, but as you mentioned, it's on a micro

30:34level more than on a micro level concerning the building itself, the contour and the

30:41leveling, the topography and all these issues. So they'll be dealt with later on, right, in other

30:48phases of the study. Okay, thank you very much. You're welcome. Stephen, did you want to take us

31:00through a few of the images that you had or would you like us just to move along? I can if you like,

31:07Sarah. I'll share the content again. I was going to just warn you a bit that once you get me started

31:25looking at pictures of stone farmhouses, it's hard to get me to stop. But I'm sorry, I'm just trying

31:33to move something out of the way on my screen here. Okay, so just beginning with the property's

31:40location, 331 Clair Road East is directly across from Tolton Drive. And in my research, the

31:49another Hanlon family farmhouse, the stone farmhouse was actually located in this area here on the

31:58north side of Clair Road. Big Jack Hanlon was the builder of that house. So the subject property is here.

32:13And these are current photographs that I've taken on site of the property.

32:19So it's the building has been boarded in order to keep it as secure as possible by the property owner.

32:28And it does have a fieldstone tail that's attached to the left hand side of the rear wall when you

32:36see that. The brick chimney is at the very back of the tail is not original. I was going to say

32:43obviously, but sometimes these things aren't aren't obvious. The two stone chimneys at the front,

32:49though, however, I believe are your original gable wallstone chimneys. So

33:00let me know if you'd like me to present more or I can go through the images that were presented

33:07with the report if the committee members like or we could just leave it at that.

33:14I do have a quick question, Steve. And given that it's been boarded up for so long, do you have a

33:17sense of the shape of the interior of the building just in terms of it not being used and opened?

33:25I actually in the I'll flip to this attachment three, which was actually these are actually

33:34photographs that I had taken in 2010, which is the last time I had actually been inside the building.

33:42So I don't I don't know the condition of the inside currently, but it's the photos show

33:52basically two aspects of the interior. And as is as is described in the report, this is the inside

34:00of the front door with the central staircase. And this fireplace is at the very back of the stone

34:07tail or the kitchen tail with what appear to be very old, possibly original

34:15cupboards on both sides of that fireplace. Now, when you look closely,

34:21I'm just going to see you can you can make out a wooden mantle. And I believe that's actually

34:29if not previous, maybe even the original fireplace mantle for that for the tail. There's a yellow brick

34:37fireplace underneath this more modern

34:42textured brick that's been put on in probably the mid 20th century.

34:48So these photographs are meant to just show

34:53but the the building before the boarding of the windows and doors.

35:01Thank you. Welcome. Are there any other questions or comments for Steven on this one?

35:12And maybe Steven wants to stop sharing screen. Thank you.

35:15Can see more people this way. I'd be happy to see this one move forward.

35:23It's been on the list for a long time. Then we'll get right into our motion then. So we have a

35:29recommended motion that the comments provided by Heritage 12 members on the 331 Claire Road

35:34East Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report be provided to staff and council for their consideration.

35:39Do I have a mover? Miranda, thank you. And a seconder. Thank you, Michael. All in favor?

35:49Fantastic. All right, we are good to move on. And hopefully David Waverman will come back and join us.

36:02Fantastic. Welcome back. All right, on to our next one then. It's 131 Ontario Street cultural

36:08heritage. I'm going to close my email cultural heritage evaluation report and this is back to Jack.

36:14Okay, there we go. So thank you all for the opportunity to present on this cultural heritage

36:27evaluation for tight word public school. This I've been working on this for what feels like a very

36:32long time. So I'm glad to see it finally get to the stage. Before I begin, I really want to recognize

36:39the upper grand district school boards contributions to this. They've been a very collaborative

36:44partner in this designation and have helped out a lot with the research. So it's always nice when

36:52we're able to collaborate with the landowners on a celebratory designation like this. So in this

37:00presentation, I'll outline the history of the site and go over how it meets Ontario Regulation 56922.

37:10Located at 131 Ontario Street, tight word public school is composed of a succession of

37:15constructions spanning from 1908 to 1968. But the property has been a location of a public school

37:23since 1878. The history of public education in Ward two, once named St. Patrick's Ward and before

37:31that the East Ward began in 1828 with the construction of a simple one room school house

37:37located approximately at the intersection of Fountain and Neve Streets. This was the first

37:42purpose built school in Guelph known as the Galt Academy and later the Old Stone School and later

37:48the East Ward School. There's going to be lots of names, lots of names and lots of successive

37:54waves of construction in this presentation. So if you get confused, feel free to ask me to

37:59clarify at the end. The location of the East Ward School close to the Grand Trunk Railway,

38:08which reached Guelph in 1856, meant that lessons were frequently disturbed by the loud rail traffic.

38:14A new location was sought and in 1878 a site on Ontario Street was chosen for the New East

38:20Ward School. You'll note that plan 113 is called the John A. McDonald Survey. This is the John A.

38:27McDonald, a mid-century real estate speculator and also Canada's first prime minister.

38:35According to the Guelph Mercury's Building Operations column, the New East Ward School was

38:39designed by Guelph architect John Hull Jr. in the Italian style. It was built of stone with a T-shape

38:46layout and a 36-foot belfry on the north corner. As far as I'm aware, no drawings or photographs

38:53of this school exist in any local archive, so if any of you are able to locate one, please send it

39:01my way. I've really tried to find something, but I couldn't. Rapid population growth in the

39:09early 20th century, especially working class immigrant families moving to the Ward neighborhood,

39:15meant that by 1905 it was recognized that more classroom space would be needed. And by 1907,

39:20the New Ward East School had been demolished and work begun on what would be called St. Patrick's

39:25Ward School. St. Patrick's Ward School was constructed during the tenure of Dr. William

39:35Tytler, Inspector and Secretary of the Guelph Board of Education from 1892 to 1924. Previously,

39:42the first principal of the New East Ward School from 1878 to 1888, so he would have been principal

39:49of the school that was on the site before the current Tytler building was erected.

39:55Tytler was an educational reformer who championed multi-disciplinary education and promoted the

40:01construction of new school facilities across Guelph in the first quarter of the 20th century.

40:08In a 1906 report to the Board of Education, Tytler noted that, quote,

40:13it is now universally agreed the rooms where our children spend such a large share of their time

40:18should be not merely comfortable, well furnished, well heated, and well ventilated, but also as

40:24elegant and attractive as they can possibly be made, end quote. Tytler encouraged the Board to

40:30make schools, quote, not only comfortable and sanitary, but even attractive and beautiful.

40:36Tytler's vision for a new school informed by the progressive education and city beautiful movements

40:41of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is evident in the school's Romanesque revival style

40:46and ornately decorated classrooms. The oldest portion of Tytler public school constructed in

40:531908 is a two and a half story red brick structure upon a rock-faced stone foundation

40:59capped by a steep-hipped roof with two-hipped roof dormers. The street-facing facade is punctuated by

41:05a centrally placed three-story frontispiece, a centered ornamented doorway that is slightly

41:11raised from the rest of the building. And as you can see, the facade has changed very little

41:18in the last 100 plus years. The frontispiece features a gabled roof with stone

41:29copying on the parapet, palladian windows on the second and third floors, and a round arched

41:36entrance with a recessed door and press metal porch ceiling. The tablet above the door reads

41:42Guelph Public Schools, 1878 to 1906, which commemorates the period when the East Ward

41:47school stood on the site. The frontispiece is enhanced with decorative brickwork, including

41:52four terracotta lion's heads that flank the side arches of the frontispiece. The front door is

41:59opened into a large stairwell that leads to the first floor and second floor corridors.

42:04The stairwell was significantly altered from its 1908 form, likely during construction of the

42:09additions to the school in the 1960s. This alteration resulted in an inaccessible balcony

42:15on the second floor in front of the palladian windows. The corridors feature high ceilings,

42:22large wood baseboards, and maple hardwood floors. The classrooms feature large windows,

42:30intricately decorated press metal ceilings and crown molding, maple hardwood floors, wood

42:34wainscotting, and hall doors with large transom windows and original hardware opening mechanisms.

42:43The school represents the first institutional commission of architect William Mahoney,

42:48who was born in Guelph in 1871 and studied architecture in Chicago in 1893 to 1894,

42:55which was a time of great architectural innovation spurred by the 1893 World's Fair.

43:01One of the most significant Guelph-based architects of the early 20th century,

43:05Mahoney designed several notable local structures, including the Woolly St. Andrews Presbyterian

43:11Church, or sorry, in addition to St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, and in partnership with

43:16Aaron Austin, the Royal Theater in 1935. Now, Trappers Alley. However, he's best known for

43:24designing 16 Carnegie Libraries throughout southwestern Ontario. He opened his own office in Guelph

43:30in 1905 and operated under his own name until 1919, when he formed a partnership with Aaron Austin

43:36that lasted until 1931. Mahoney's 1908 design recognized the likelihood of future structural

43:45expansion and utilized what is called the Egg Carton Building Plan, with a central corridor

43:51and flanking classrooms that permitted expansion if the need for more classrooms should arise.

43:57And the continued growth of Guelph's population, especially in the working class St. Patrick's

44:01Ward, necessitated expansion a mere three years after the new school opened its doors.

44:08The school board again hired William Mahoney to design an additional four rooms to the school

44:13in 1912. This addition was designed to blend seamlessly into the original structure,

44:18as it was likely initially designed to be part of the original structure.

44:22So you'll note in the fire insurance plans that the school seems to shrink between 1907 and 1911.

44:30It was really puzzled by this at first, but in his annual report to the Board of Education,

44:36William tightly lamented that it was the school's initially planned to be six room,

44:42and then it was scaled back to be four rooms. So I'm assuming that the initial fire insurance

44:48plan mapped what was originally intended to be built in 1907, and then it reflected what was

44:56actually built in 1911. By the end of the First World War, the influx of industrial workers to

45:03St. Patrick's Ward required further expansion of the school, and William Mahoney, now partnered

45:08with Aaron Austin, was again chosen to design a six room addition. So these are some blueprints of

45:18the 1921 addition that were given to us by the upper grand district school board. It's not very

45:25common to have these when studying old buildings, so it was a real pleasure to be able to review these.

45:33Unlike the Romanesque 1908 and 1912 constructions, Mahoney and Austin designed the 1921 addition

45:39in the collegiate Gothic style, the most popular institutional architectural style of the interwar

45:45period in Canada. The 1921 addition features includes features typical of the collegiate

45:52Gothic style, such as red brick walls with limestone sills, symmetrical facades,

45:57crenellated parapets, and decorative brickwork. When the school was reopened in February 1922,

46:04it was renamed Titler Public School in honor of William Titler. In the post-war period, the school

46:13continued its expansion with an auditorium erected in 1965 and 1966, designed by Guelph-based architect

46:20William Jarrett, and constructed by Guelph-based contractor Angelo Bataglia. Three years later,

46:27a library was designed by another Guelph-based architect, Jack Campbell, and also constructed

46:33by Angelo Bataglia. Both the auditorium and the library were constructed of red brick that was

46:40compatible with the earlier portions of the school. However, both additions were designed in a

46:46utilitarian mid-century modernist style that contrasts starkly with the ornamented Romanesque

46:51and collegiate Gothic constructions of William Mahoney. The library features three narrow floor

46:57to ceiling windows on the south facade with an overhang above the parking lot supported by

47:02steel beams. The gymnasium is a large brick structure connected to the 1908 portion of the

47:08school with a glass-encased ground-level entryway facing Ontario Street, onto the statement of

47:17significance. So I believe the subject property is worthy of designation because it meets five of

47:24the prescribed criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest. So I think it meets

47:34criteria one because it exhibits design or physical value as a rare example of the Romanesque

47:40revival style of Edwardian educational architecture in the city of Guelph. Additionally, it is the

47:46only elementary school in the city that combines the Romanesque, revival, collegiate Gothic, and

47:51mid-century modernist architectural styles in one structure. It meets criteria four because it has

48:00direct associations with the theme of education and industrialization in St. Patrick's Ward

48:06through the course of the 20th century. Titler's architectural expansion throughout the 20th century

48:13attests to the growth of industry and influx of workers residing in St. Patrick's Ward. It meets

48:23criteria five because it yields information that contributes to an understanding of the St. Patrick's

48:28Ward community. The children of St. Patrick's Ward were educated on this site from 1878 to 2013

48:35and it has continued to serve the community as a meeting place and venue for public events.

48:42Subject property meets criteria six because it reflects the educational ideas of Inspector of

48:47Public Schools Dr. William Titler, the city of Guelph's most significant educational reformer

48:53of the early 20th century. Additionally, the 1908, 1912, and 1921 constructions reflect the

49:00architectural work of William Mahoney, one of the most significant Guelph-based architects of the

49:05early 20th century. Lastly, the subject property meets criteria six because it is important in

49:13defining, maintaining, and supporting the character of the area. Titler Public School is an integral

49:19component of the Ontario Street and Toronto Street scapes and the Ward West cultural heritage

49:26landscape as a whole. Located in the heart of the Ward, the subject property represents one of the

49:31only institutional buildings in the neighborhood and it has a height and massing significantly

49:36larger than most non-industrial structures in the area, making the building a landmark in the

49:42community. So I've outlined next steps here. I'll be presenting a designation report including the

49:55identified heritage attributes at July's meeting and we will then present it to council at a later date.

50:02I'm happy to answer any questions or hear any comments anyone may have.

50:20Thanks for that, Jack. Are there any questions or comments from the committee?

50:32Quiet Monday today. Not a bad thing. Sometimes that's a good thing.

50:39Well, I'll present the motion then if there aren't any questions or comments

50:44for Jack or about his presentation. So the recommended motion is that the comments provided

50:48by heritage Guelph members on the 131 Ontario Street cultural heritage evaluation report be

50:54provided to staff and council for their consideration. Do I have a mover for this motion?

51:00Thank you, Miranda and a seconder. Thank you. All in favour? Seeing all hands up. Fantastic.

51:09And so that carries. And I believe now we're just into our announcements and we will turn that over

51:15to Victoria and maybe a quick note that in announcements we don't have the opportunity to

51:19ask questions or for more broad discussion as I think we were reminded at our in-person meeting

51:23a few months ago. So I'll pass it over to Victoria. Thanks, Sarah. I just wanted to provide an update

51:30on a couple of ongoing projects we're doing. So for specifically the downtown Guelph Heritage

51:36Conservation District, we actually have a project started meeting with our successful consultant

51:43on Wednesday. So we did award the project to Archaeological Services Inc. Their team is very,

51:50very qualified. They've done HCDs all across the province. So we're very lucky to have them with

51:55us for this project. And at this meeting we'll be talking about work plan and scheduling and

52:03obviously when we come to Heritage Guelph with the results of our background research. So

52:10when we get a schedule in place, we'll be able to let you know when we'll be presenting

52:14kind of the study phase of the downtown HCD and also conduct our public engagement. Additionally,

52:23I want to say that the Albion Notice of Intention to Designate is being

52:28considered by Council tomorrow at 6 p.m. So and I did want to say we were able to get in touch

52:35with the property owner. I had a meeting with him last week and it was very positive. So that was

52:43great to hear. So hopefully tomorrow also goes well. And then lastly I wanted to just

52:52give a brief debrief about the Amoxin Identifier event run through our exploring Guelph's roots

53:02series. About 50 people came on June 3rd on the Saturday to Stenciling at the Museum and it was

53:10be a great weather for it. So we were really lucky. And additionally, hopefully this is kind of the

53:15start of a conversation of getting a permanent installation in Guelph. And that's something

53:22that I think will take obviously much longer than setting up a Stenciling workshop. But

53:28that's kind of the hope that this conversation or this event starts that process. And then lastly,

53:36I just wanted to ask a favor, Midi, to give some further thought to kind of what types of sessions

53:43we want to see in the fall. So feel free to email me at any time if you have an idea of kind of what

53:50we're of what you want to see or what topics you want discussed or explored or anything like that.

53:56Just because I'll probably have to start thinking about getting those dates in place

54:02soon. So that's it from my end. And yeah, if anyone has any questions or comments,

54:09feel free to email me after. Excellent. Thanks, Victoria. So that's everything on our agenda.

54:18So I do need to have someone move for adjournment today. Thank you, Michael. And a seconder, Miranda.

54:28Perfect. All right, that's everything. Thanks, everyone. And I believe we may be in person

54:32in our July meeting or hybrid if anyone wants to or needs to join online. So look forward to

54:38seeing everybody in a month. Bye, everybody. Thank you. Bye. Bye, everyone.