SkyscraperPage Forum - Canadian Civic Buildings

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Canadian Civic Buildings

I thought about doing a library thread, but that might be somewhat limited, so I decided on a Civic Building thread.

Here, we can post more local, municipal buildings such as City Halls, Libraries, Courthouses (although more provincial, they are usually built near municipal buildings), local art museums, police and fire stations... You can also post former municipal buildings that were torn down over the years.

Ottawa today, year built my be off by a year or two on either side:

City Hall, 1990

http://ottawaphotography365.com/wp-c...-Photos-40.jpg
http://ottawaphotography365.com/2012...aurier-street/

Courthouse, 1986

http://www.architecturecourses.org/s..._Couthouse.JPG
http://www.architecturecourses.org/ottawa-courthouse

Central Library, 1977

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3632/3...b45f238d_z.jpg
http://capitalneighbourhoods.ca/erro...story-254.aspx

Ottawa Police Headquarters, 1984

http://wpmedia.ottawacitizen.com/201...ed-with-th.jpg

Arts Court (former courthouse), 1870

http://craigsims.ca/cms/uploads/imag...rtsCtFront.jpg

Arts Court expansion, 2017 which will be built on the former site of the Ottawa Police HQ (1955-1985)

http://sandyhillseen.files.wordpress...evelopment.jpg
http://sandyhillseen.com/2013/11/13/oag-redvl/

^I'm a big fan of Ottawa City Hall.

I can't remember what that gorgeous, old building is just round the corner on Elgin. Is that not also a municipal building of some sort?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce (Post 6646648)

^I'm a big fan of Ottawa City Hall.

I can't remember what that gorgeous, old building is just round the corner on Elgin. Is that not also a municipal building of some sort?

It's part of the City Hall. Used to be a teachers' college, I think.

A small slice of the various buildings here in Cowtown...

Calgary City Hall (1911) and Municipal Building (1985)

City Hall (often erroneously called "Old City Hall") still performs vital functions as the home of the offices of the Mayor, Councillors, and as the place for various committee meetings.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/27/48...ff4f946d_b.jpg
Calgary City Hall by Spatial Mongrel, on Flickr

Calgary Courthouse No. 2 (1914)

The second Calgary Courthouse is the oldest standing judicial building in the city and has been the local home of the Supreme Court of Alberta (renamed to the Court of Queen's Bench in 1979, and now located in the Courts Centre) and the Alberta Court of Appeal (which was branched off from the Supreme Court of Alberta in 1921 and is now located elsewhere), and was even once the home of the Glenbow Museum.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/...9314f62d_b.jpg
Courthouse by BillLongstaff, on Flickr

Calgary Courts Centre (2007)

The largest court building in Canada, the Courts Centre has a total of 73 courtrooms and 94 judicial chambers. The two towers are connected by a 26-storey glass atrium. The north tower houses the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, and the south tower houses the Alberta Provincial Courts (the Court of Appeals currently leases space in the TransCanada building)

https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6109/...5aa9a9ed_b.jpg
Calgary Courts Centre by Kasian Design, on Flickr

Calgary Central Library (1963/1974)

The building sits across 7th Ave from City Hall and was built in two phases. A new Central Library will be built in the East Village (design not yet revealed).

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1313/...ceff3d9d_b.jpg
Main Library by paulhillsdon, on Flickr

Calgary Public Building (1931)

The Calgary Public Building sits on Stephen Ave less than a block away from City Hall. This was the seat of the Federal government in Calgary until it moved into the Harry Hays building in 1979. It also served as the main post office until 1961. The upper floors are now used by the City of Calgary while the lower floors are integrated into the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3132/...ae8d9e74_b.jpg
2 of my favourite buildings in Calgary by LUMIN8, on Flickr

McDougall School (1908)

One of Calgary's many sandstone schools, it was the first Normal School (used for training teachers until 1945) in Alberta. It operated as an elementary and junior high school under the Calgary Board of Education from 1922 until 1981, when it was decommissioned. It was purchased by the Government of Alberta and is now the Province's seat in Calgary.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4117/...4b1f0c2e_b.jpg
Historic McDougall Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada by Bencito the Traveller, on Flickr

Wow, thanks for the excellent collection and tidbits Boris, I had no idea about a lot of that info! :)

Another round...

SAIT Heritage Hall (1922)

Too irresistible to not post. The only example of Collegiate Gothic architecture in Calgary. Originally accommodated both a Normal School and the Provincial Institute of Technology, and had the first aeronautical engineering courses in Canada. Built after WWI to help returning war veterans reintegrate back into society. Used in WWII as a training school for servicemen under the British Commonwealth Air Training Program. Now part of SAIT Polytechnic.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8349/...318ccfe1_b.jpg
SAIT Polytechnic Campus by SariPhotograph, on Flickr

Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (1955)

Built as a counterpart to the northern auditorium in Edmonton. Both were built to celebrate Alberta's 50th anniversary. The southern auditorium underwent renovations in 2005 for Alberta's Centennial.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8069/...5f851e36_b.jpg
Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (1955) by JesseJ., on Flickr

Telus Convention Centre (1974/2002)

Owned by the City of Calgary and operated by the Calgary Convention Centre Authority. It has undergone multiple expansions and modernization projects. The full block includes a Hyatt Regency Hotel, the Centre Street LRT platform, and preserved heritage facades along Stephen Avenue.

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2832/...ebe5af12_b.jpg
Calgary new years walk round 2014 by davebloggs007, on Flickr

Calgary Fire Hall No. 1 (1911)

Replaced the actual first fire hall from 1887. Erected in a time where firefighting was switching from a volunteer force to a trained and paid group of professionals. Was used as a fire hall until 1973. Now a Budget Car Rental.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5549/...ce1b0d2e_b.jpg
Fire Headquarters Calgary. by volvob12b, on Flickr

Calgary Water Centre (2008)

The home of Calgary Water Resources and Water Services. It was the first building in Alberta to achieve a LEED Gold certification and cost $43 Million to construct. 95% of the building's internal light comes from natural daylight. Energy savings are expected to pay off the building's initial construction cost within the first 15 years of operation.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3620/...5fda78d3_b.jpg
the water centre by concrete_jungler101, on Flickr

Glenmore Dam and Water Treatment Facility (1933)

Built as a Depression work project, the dam provides Calgary with the majority of its potable water. Amusingly, when Sam Livingston (one of Calgary's pioneer settlers) set up in the area, he gave the name Glenmore, which is Gaelic for "big valley" (the Livingston House was partially damaged by the flooding of said valley is now part of Heritage Park's collection, along the side of the reservoir). The dam also allowed safe development along the banks of the Elbow River in Calgary -- safe that is, until floods (most notably in 2013) proved too much for the dam to handle.

The water treatment plant is not only considered a historic resource in Canada, but it is also listed as a landmark by the American Waterworks Association. The interior is as elaborate as the art deco exterior, with travertine floors, marble walls, a double-return staircase with iron balustrades, and nickel and brass fittings for the instruments.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4010/...66b1aa24_b.jpg
Glenmore Water Treatment Plant by KiwiHugger, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7295/...f9e3c17c_b.jpg
Glenmore Dam on the Elbow River by skinnybrager, on Flickr

Kingston's magnificent City Hall (1844):

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/p...m/21225078.jpg

Designed by the British with the intention of being the city hall of the capital of the country. It makes me ache in wonder of what magnificent Parliament building would have been built if the capital stayed here...

During our time as capital, this building was temporarily used as legislature in anticipation of the Parliament that was never built:

http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Graphi...ontenac47a.jpg

It was originally built in 1835 as Kingston General Hospital's main building. It was repurposed as a temporary legislature in 1841 and then when the capital left it was reverted to a hospital building, which it remains to this day, it now serves as KGH's admin building. At the time of its construction, this building was outside the city in a rural setting, but still only a 15 minute walk from the city hall. The city reached this area in the 1870s.

Awesome Kingston info! Thanks for that.

To go with one of the federation's ugliest Legislatures (Confederation Building), we also have one of the ugliest City Halls (The Bunker).

It was built in what I assume is a Brutalist style and finished cheaply (for example, the elevated pedestrian crossing doesn't match, etc.).

This entire area used to be the Central Slum, with a population density several times that recommended for London, U.K. It was completely bulldozed in the 1950s-60s to make way for modern development. The buildings were made from scraps and couldn't have been saved, but the narrow, tight street grid would've been nice to preserve.

The Bunker, along with Atlantic Place, is one of the reasons people here are fearful of any contemporary developments.

http://i.imgur.com/NW5Uh45.jpg
City of STJs.

http://i.imgur.com/t9ijzrZ.jpg
My mobile.

If it makes you feel better, half of the buildings in downtown Ottawa are about the same caliber :yuck:

Even Montreal has its fair share of concrete eyesores.

I love the Jubilee Auditoriums in Calgary and Edmonton. They have really aged well from an aesthetic perspective... there isn't really an overabundance of amazing large-scale 1950s architecture in Western Canada, so those two halls really stand out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc (Post 6647022)

If it makes you feel better, half of the buildings in downtown Ottawa are about the same caliber :yuck:

Even Montreal has its fair share of concrete eyesores.

It brings me no satisfaction to learn of your suffering. :D

The only upside is that, in all examples, these buildings are not visible or numerous enough to set the tone of the experience to be had in the downtown.

You can't visit the downtown here and not leave with an impression of bustle and colour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce (Post 6646648)

^I'm a big fan of Ottawa City Hall.

I can't remember what that gorgeous, old building is just round the corner on Elgin. Is that not also a municipal building of some sort?

Yup, as kwoldtimer mentioned, it was a teacher's college or "normal school", now part of City Hall housing our Sports Hall of Fame and the Mayor's Office. It was built in 1875.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...al_School2.JPG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa_City_Hall

Quote:

Originally Posted by ue (Post 6646706)

^ Arts Court? What about the National Gallery of Canada?

Arts Court is municipally owned. But yes, we do have the Federal National Art Gallery of Canada.

http://www.ottawaphotosafari.com/art-gallery-spider.jpg
http://www.ottawaphotosafari.com/

History of Ottawa City Halls;

First City Hall/Police Station/Fire Station/West Ward Market in Bytown 1849-1877 (demolished)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ll,_Ottawa.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_City_Hall_(Ottawa)

Second City Hall 1877-1931 (destroyed by fire)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ll,_Ottawa.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_City_Hall_(Ottawa)

Transportation Building, now part of the Rideau Centre, built in 1916 and used as a temporary City Hall 1931-1958

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...n_Building.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpo...ilding_(Ottawa)

Fourth City Hall, now the John G. Diefenbaker Building, one of two Foreign Affairs buildings (the other being the Lester B. Pearson Building). Served as City Hall 1958-2000

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...1_Sussex_2.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/111_Sussex_Drive

And of course the new City Hall served as the seat of the Ottawa Carleton Regional government 1990-2000 and continues to serve as the seat of the municipal government.

http://ottawaphotography365.com/wp-c...-Photos-40.jpg

If I recall correctly, the architect of the 1958 City Hall was Pierre Trudeau's brother.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer (Post 6647526)

If I recall correctly, the architect of the 1958 City Hall was Pierre Trudeau's brother.

Close. It was designed by Trudeau's partner, John Bland. A 1993 addition was designed by non other than Moshe Safdie.