This path was created by Robert Follis. The last update was by Maegen Sargent.
Rideau Street Chapel: The Effects of Relocation on the Experience of an Interior
On April 21, 1972 the Rideau Street Chapel, one of North America’s finest examples of neo-Gothic chapel architecture, was set to be demolished. Designed by priest-architect Georges Bouillon, the chapel was built and housed in the Convent of Our Lady of the Sacred Hearts, where it stood for nearly a hundred years before decreasing enrolment and the movement of Ottawa’s population to the suburbs drove the Sisters of Charity to sell the chapel site to Glenview Realty Corporation. Despite pleas from numerous heritage groups, the demolition of the convent itself began on the morning of May 6, 1972. With little time left, the National Capital Commission announced on May 12 that an operation had begun to salvage the chapel’s interior, dismantling all 1123 pieces and storing them in a warehouse with funds from the National Gallery of Canada (Noppen, 19-24).
