331 Somerset Street
| 331 Somerset | |
|---|---|
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  | |
| General information | |
| Location | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Address | 331 Somerset Street |
| Coordinates | 45°14′45″N 75°24′51″W / 45.24585°N 75.41425°W |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect(s) | Barry Podolsky, 1997 reconstruct[1] |
A former home of Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King from 1901 to 1910 during his time as Minister of Labour.[1][2] 331 Somerset Street, is designated as an Ottawa heritage property.[3]
King's Residence
[edit]The 1901 Ottawa City Directory listed 331 Somerset as the home of Alexander R. Cope and his sons William, a boilermaker, William V. a clerk, and Edward B. an insurance agent.[4]
King and his close friend, the journalist Henry Albert Harper whom he professed to love with a deeper love than the confirmed bachelor could ever feel for a woman, moved into the home in September 1901, three months before Harper's tragic 1901 drowning; the pair having spent the previous year living together at 202 Maria Street (now named Laurier Street West).[5][6] Harper had hung a print of George Frederic Watts' "Sir Galahad" over his desk at the house, and King later erected a statue of Galahad in memory of his deceased friend.[7]
King remained in the house until 1910 when he acquired a more "prestigious" address at the Roxborough Apartments.[5]
Later uses
[edit]In 1951, the building was operating as an inn that attracted American tourists with the draw that Mackenzie King had lived in the house.[2]
By 1976, the building had been converted by Dodie Lewis into the Doma II Art Gallery, which housed works by Ann Forman and Richard Robertson among others.[8] By 1979, "Marygold Antiques, Crafts, Cards and Art" was also run out of the building.[9]
Fire
[edit]As of 1997, ownership had passed to Anthony and Joseph Kwai.[1] In February 1997, a fire destroyed the heritage property which was housing a financial investment firm and a deli restaurant.[1] A demolition permit was obtained since the building was deemed "beyond repair",[1] and architect Barry Podolsky was retained to try and match the original style of the building for its reconstruction.[1] In 1998, the reconstruction was granted the Award of Merit for Architectural Conservation by the city.[10][11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f March 7, 1997 Ottawa Citizen, "Mackenzie King's Former Residence is Beyond Repair", Tony Lofaro.
- ^ a b Ainslie Kerr, "Clothes Closet Phone for the Young WLMK", Ottawa Citizen, June 27, 1951, p. 3
- ^ Centretown News, Ainslie Cruickshank, October 27, 2010, Somerset St West
- ^ Ottawa City Director, 1901, pg 208
- ^ a b "Galahad".
- ^ Stacey, CP. "mackenzie+king"+"331+somerset+street"&pg=PA79 A Very Double Life: The Private World of Mackenzie King, pg. 79, 120
- ^ Anton Reinhard Wagner, The Habitus of Mackenzie King: Canadian Artists, Cultural Capital and the Struggle for Power, 2014
- ^ "The Ottawa Journal from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on May 27, 1976 · Page 45". Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Marygold" (PDF). Glebe Report. Vol. 7, no. 12. Ottawa. December 8, 1979.
- ^ "2. ARTS COURT REDEVELOPMENT – IMPLEMENTATION".
- ^ "Awards". June 10, 2015.