Horticulture building at Lansdowne Park
May 9, 2007 by IanMcKercher
Review
Q: Hi Ian,
Could you tell me about the Horticulture building within Lansdowne Exhibition grounds? If you know any history about the building, if it is used today, who could I contact to learn more about this building?
Thank you,
Bess
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A: Hi Bess:
Thanks for your question.
The Horticultural Building was built at Lansdowne Park in 1914. The Honourable Martin Burrell, Minister of Agriculture presided at the opening
ceremony. There were other buildings at Lansdowne at the time with special designations (like the Livestock Building to the west), hence the
horticulture designation.
The architect was Francis C. Sullivan, a student of the Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie School style. Sullivan was primarily a residential architect, and
rarely took public commissions like this one.
The juxtaposition of cleanly defined cubic masses and the use of a flat roof with cantilevered eaves show the strong influence of Frank Lloyd
Wright on Sullivan, however Sullivan‚s forms were heavier and more aggressive than Wrights, expressive verticals added to contrast with
lighter, playful horizontal lines. The geometrically placed windows and restrained decorative brickwork reflect the Prairie style‚s unified
approach.
The building was used continuously as an exhibition facility every summer from 1916 to 1990, and in winter served as a curling rink. In 1969, the Central Canada Exhibition (CCE) relieved the Glebe Curling Club of it's private operation at the north end of the building, which added 5 sheets of ice to the Horticulture Building
In 1991, Ottawa City Council voted to remove the heritage designation to accommodate a convention centre proposal, but the building was
re-designated a heritage structure in 1994. Currently the Horticulture Building is primarily used as storage and exhibition space for CCE.
I suggest that you contact the Central Canada Exhibition website or the Lansdowne Park website for more information.
Ian
