The Champagne Bath, officially the Champagne Fitness Centre, is a historic

public bath Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada. It is located at 321 King Edward Avenue in

Lower Town Lower Town (also spelled "Lowertown" (french: la Basse-Ville) is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Vanier Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to the east of downtown. It is the oldest part of the city. It is bounded by Rideau Street to the south, ...

. Originally, the structure was built for the greater hygiene of the largely working class residents of the neighbourhood, many of whom had no baths in their homes. The structure was also originally home to a library. Work began on the building in 1921 and it was completed in 1924. The building, a blend of the

Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

and

Prairie Style Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hip roof, hipped roofs with broad Overhang (architecture), ove ...

s, was designed by Werner Ernst Noffke. It was named after Ottawa mayor

Napoléon Champagne Napoléon Champagne (May 4, 1861 – November 17, 1925) was mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1908 and 1924, and a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing Ottawa East from 1911 to 1914.Dave Mullington "Chain of Office: Biogra ...

. It was Ottawa's first municipal

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

and was one of the first indoor pools in Canada. The pool was also unusual in that it used

salt water Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...

, which meant it did not need to be

chlorinated In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction that entails the introduction of one or more halogens into a compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polymers, ...

. It was soon followed by the

Plant Bath The Plant Bath is a historical bath in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was built along with the Champagne Bath in 1924 to try to improve the hygiene and well-being of the city's lower classes. It was named after Frank H. Plant, then mayor of Ottawa. I ...

, which was built on the western side of town. It was segregated by sex until 1967 with separate ground level entrances for women and men. While popular for many years, usage declined as the facility aged. In the 1980s, after the completion of the Le Patro facility, the city proposed closing the Champagne Bath. After public protest it was decided to renovate instead, at the cost of some two million dollars. The transformed facility opened in 1990.

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External links

Champagne Fitness Centre
{{coord, 45.430681, N, 75.686687, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title Government buildings completed in 1924 Colonial Revival architecture Prairie School architecture Designated heritage properties in Ottawa Public baths in Canada

See also

References

External links