Description of Historic Place

The Justice Building is a large and prominent landmark on Wellington Street where it stands immediately west of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Distinguished by a high, steep copper roof, it is a handsome building in the Chateau style. The sandstone exterior with projecting and recessed wall planes is highly textured and rich in detail. The building’s height, and roof slopes, the many dormers and tall windows, and the pavilions and towers all give a strong vertical emphasis. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Justice Building is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value:
The Justice Building is closely associated with the development of early 20th century Ottawa and with the evolution of the Wellington Street corridor into a federal government precinct. Designed to provide living and working accommodation for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Justice Building continues to house important federal government departments. Its siting and style were determined by a succession of federally commissioned planning studies initiated between 1904 and 1938 with the goal of developing Wellington Street into a grand avenue lined with monumental governmental buildings and transforming Ottawa into a worthy national capital.

Architectural Value:
The Justice Building is a very good example of the Chateau style which was commonly employed in early 20th-century railway hotels and stations across Canada and which found a champion in then Prime Minister Mackenzie King. The style influenced the design of a number of government and commercial buildings on Wellington Street, including the adjacent Confederation Building, and is expressed here in the steep roof with its dormers and turrets, and in the well-executed carved detailing. Good functional design is evidenced in the central corridor plan. Excellent craftsmanship is seen in the masonry work and the interior fixtures and fittings, including the bronze entrance doors.


Environmental Value:
The Justice Building maintains an unchanged relationship to its site, reinforces the present dignified, urban character of Ottawa’s Wellington Street corridor, and is a familiar regional landmark to people working in the vicinity, to local residents, and to pedestrians and tourists.

Sources:
Ian Doull, Confederation Building, Justice Building, Justice Annex, Supreme Court of Canada, Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Heritage Buildings Review Office, Reports 87-034 – 87-037.

The Justice Building, Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement 87-035.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Justice Building should be respected, for example:

Its very good aesthetics, good functional design, and excellent quality craftsmanship and materials, for example:
The large nine-storey massing; The steel frame construction and exterior cladding of Nepean sandstone and Wallace sandstone trim; The high, steep copper roof in the Chateau style with its many dormer windows and finials; The projecting and recessed wall planes which are highly textured and rich in detail; The richly detailed, well-executed carving and decorative elements, including the two oriel windows, the carved labels, and the carved figures of an explorer, a watchman, and a crouching native figure; The Canadian coat-of-arms with the word "Justice" incised above the lintel; The interior features, finishes and fittings, including the bronze entrance doors and screen, elevator doors, iron pendant light fixtures, handrails and radiator grills, decorative ceiling mouldings and cornice, and marble stairs leading from the vestibule to the main hall; The interior spatial arrangement including the original central corridor plan.

The manner in which the Justice Building maintains an unchanged relationship to its site, reinforces the historical character of the Wellington street corridor in downtown Ottawa, and is a familiar regional landmark, as evidenced by:
Its ongoing relationship to the adjacent and surrounding Parliament and government buildings; Its design and materials that maintain a visual and physical relationship between the surrounding government buildings, the open courtyard facing eastward and the streetscape of Wellington Street; Its prominent position within the Parliamentary Precinct in Ottawa that makes it known in the vicinity.

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.

The Justice Building was built in 1935-38 to designs by Burritt and Horwood under the supervision of T.W. Fuller, Chief Architect, Department of Public Works. Public Works and Government Services Canada is the custodian. See FHBRO Building Report 87-35.

Reasons for Designation

The Justice Building was designated a Recognized heritage building for its architectural merit, environmental qualities and historical associations.

Designed to provide living and working accommodation for the RCMP, the Justice Building represents a continuation of federal government expansion and an intensification of the federal role in land use within the municipality of Ottawa. Its siting and style were determined in large measure by a succession of federally commissioned planning studies initiated between 1904 and 1938 with the goal of developing Wellington Street into a grand avenue lined with monumental governmental buildings and transforming Ottawa into a worthy national capital.

The Justice Building is a very good example of the Chateau style which was commonly employed in early 20th century railway hotels and stations across Canada and which found a champion in Prime Minister Mackenzie King. The style influenced the design of a number of government and commercial buildings on Wellington Street including the adjacent Confederation Building, and is expressed here in the steep roof with its dormers and turrets, and in the well-executed carved detailing.

The Justice Building is a prominent landmark on Wellington Street, forming part of a government streetscape that displays a unity of scale, massing, materials and general design.

Character Defining Elements

The heritage character of the Justice Building resides in its massing, materials and overall exterior design, in original interior features and finishes in the main entrance vestibule and lobby, and in its site, setting and landmark qualities.

Of steel frame construction with Nepean sandstone cladding and Wallace sandstone trim, the Justice Building has an irregular plan and a high copper roof. The building is characterized by its irregular footprint, strong vertical emphasis, and highly textured exterior walls and roof slopes. The rhythm of projecting and recessed wall planes on the Kent Street elevation, the tall window openings and steep roof, and the many dormers are integral to the building's character and merit careful preservation. Features which relate to the chateauesque style, including the pavilions, towers, and copper roof cladding are also important elements that must be retained. The integrity of the construction system should be respected.

The building is richly detailed with well-executed carving and decorative elements. The Wellington Street facade is distinguished by two oriel windows at the ground floor, carved labels over five of the fourth floor windows, and an explorer figure standing over the Wellington-Kent corner. A carved panel depicting a watchman adorns the lintel of the eastern Wellington Street entrance. The principal entrance on the Kent Street facade is distinguished by a crouching native figure, as well as the Canadian coat-of-arms and the word "Justice" incised above the lintel. Decorative elements and original materials at all elevations should be carefully preserved. Masonry repair, repointing or cleaning should only be done under the supervision of a masonry conservation consultant.

Early interior finishes and fittings, including the bronze entrance doors and screen, elevator doors, iron pendant light fixtures, handrails and radiator grills, decorative ceiling mouldings and cornice, and marble stairs leading from the vestibule to the main hall should be maintained. Several programs of renovation have altered the original layout of interior spaces, however the original central corridor plan survives and should be respected where possible.

The Justice Building's site is highly urban, with little landscaping embellishing its principal elevations. The open courtyard facing eastward should be preserved.