House
Recognized Federal Heritage Building
Kitchener, Ontario
Façade
© Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, B. Morin, 2003.
Address :
528 Wellington Street North, Woodside National Historic Site of Canada, Kitchener, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Treasury Board Policy on Management of Real Property
Designation Date:
1993-02-18
Dates:
-
1952 to 1952
(Construction)
Event, Person, Organization:
-
Jenkins and Wright
(Architect)
Custodian:
Parks Canada
FHBRO Report Reference:
91-028
DFRP Number:
10540 00
Description of Historic Place
The House, part of the Woodside National Historic Site of Canada, is set in wooded, park-like grounds within the town of Kitchener. The structure’s appearance is based on a Gothic Revival style farmhouse. The one-and-one-half storey, brick-faced building features a steeply pitched gable roof with a shed-roofed dormer, gables, and a porch, which is located in the corner of the ‘L’-shaped plan. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Heritage Value
The House is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.
Historical Value:
The House is associated with the development in Canada of the commemoration of important people and places, and the growing interest in social history in the post-war period. Communities undertook to commemorate their past through the establishment of house museums in restored or reconstructed buildings. The House was constructed by a local committee, the Woodside Trust, as a replication of the childhood home of former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. Declared a national historic site of Canada in 1952, the building has become a significant draw for tourists and is a very good example of a 1950s house museum. The House is associated with L.O. Breithaupt, a member of the Woodside Trust, Member of Parliament for the federal riding, and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1952-1957.
Architectural Value:
The House is valued for its good aesthetics. Its form, plan, massing and some details are loosely based on the vernacular interpretation of Gothic Revival of the farmhouse that preceded it on the site. The steeply pitched roof, centre gable on the west elevation and the porch, located in the corner of its ‘L’-shape, are characteristic of the type. Purpose built as a house museum, the House is of conventional 1950s construction and reflects building practices of that period. The brick veneer exterior walls, the shed-roofed dormer, and the trim treatment show good craftsmanship and materials.
Environmental Value:
The House reinforces the picturesque character of its park-like setting at the National Historic Site of Canada. The structure is familiar to visitors and is also a regional landmark.
Sources: Shannon Ricketts, Woodside (House) National Historic Site, Woodside National Historic Site, Kitchener, Ontario, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Report 91-028; Woodside House, Woodside National Historic Site, Kitchener, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement 91-028.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the House should be respected.
Its vernacular Gothic Revival style with 1950s influences, very good functional design and very good quality materials and craftsmanship, for example: the low, ‘L’-shaped, one-and-a-half-storey massing; the vernacular interpretation of Gothic Revival influenced design, the steeply pitched gable roof, the gables, and the porch located in the corner of the structure’s ‘L’-shape; the conventional 1950s construction that includes the brick-veneer exterior walls supported by a wood frame construction, the shed-roofed dormer, and the trim treatment.
The manner in which the House reinforces the picturesque character of its park-like setting and acts as a regional landmark as evidenced by: the picturesque qualities of its vernacular interpretation of Gothic design and form that complement the park-like environment; the structure’s high profile as a replication of the childhood home of former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and its familiarity to residents.
Heritage Character Statement
Disclaimer -
The heritage character statement was developed by FHBRO to explain the reasons for the designation of a federal heritage building and what it is about the building that makes it significant (the heritage character). It is a key reference document for anyone involved in planning interventions to federal heritage buildings and is used by FHBRO in their review of interventions.
Woodside was constructed in 1952 by a local committee named the Woodside Trust as a replication of the childhood home of former Prime Minister W.L.M. King. Designs were prepared by the firm of Jenkins and Wright, based on records of the original building. It was declared a national historic site in 1952 and acquired by the Government of Canada in 1954. Parks Canada is the custodian. See FHBRO Building Report 91-28.
Reasons for Designation
Woodside was designated Recognized because of its significant historical associations, its architectural design and the quality and integrity of its environment.
Woodside illustrates the development in Canada of the commemoration of important people and places and the growing interest in social history in the post-war period. During this period communities undertook to commemorate and celebrate their past through the establishment of house museums in restored or reconstructed buildings, in this case influenced by political interest in the subject. The building is a very good example of a house museum of the 1950s, based on the vernacular Gothic Revival building which preceded it on the site. It is associated with L.O. Breithaupt, a member of the Woodside Trust, Member of Parliament for the federal riding, and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1952-57.
Despite some change in the picturesque character of the grounds, Woodside is well integrated into the surrounding landscape and reinforces the picturesque and park-like character of its site. It is well known to residents of the region.
Character Defining Elements
The heritage character of Woodside is defined by those aspects of the building which relate to its original construction as a medium of commemoration in the 1950s, and by the picturesque character of its wooded grounds.
Woodside is an attractive, low building which consists of a 1-1/2 storey block, 'L' shaped in plan, with a lower 1-1/2 storey wing which extends to the east.
In form, massing, plan and some details the building is loosely based on the vernacular/Gothic Revival farmhouse which preceded it on the site. The steeply pitched roof, centre gable on the west elevation and the porch located in the corner of the 'L' are also characteristic of the type. Purpose-built as a house museum, Woodside is of conventional construction, and in some features reflects the construction practices and design aesthetics of its own time, such as the veneer brick, the shed roofed dormer and the trim treatment.
The building is well integrated into its setting and reinforces the estate-like and slightly institutional character of the national historic site. Some of the early picturesque character of the site has been lost through management of the property in the manner of a formal park. Efforts to return the property to its earlier, less formal state would be appropriate. At the same time, period re-creation would be an inappropriate accompaniment to the 1950s building and should be discouraged.