47-49 Daly Avenue

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Address: 47-49 Daly Avenue

Construction date: 1860-1862

This building was built in the late Georgian vernacular style between 1860 and 1862 by the banker and German Counsel to Cuba Wilhelm Rahe as a gift for his in-laws, the Herons. He gifted this home to his in-laws to ensure a financial contribution to his union with their daughter since his in-laws were a prominent singing family in Ottawa and he was not of elite social status. The building was constructed as a double residence so that the Herons could live in one half while renting the other half as income property. They leased part of the property to their friend Miss Harmon, so that she may run a Ladies School for privileged girls not entering the convent.

In 1912, alterations were made to the interior to fit the building's new function as a temporary shelter for Ottawa's transient male population. Founded in 1906 by a committee of various protestant churches to provide for the city's unhoused population. To deal with the needs of a growing transient population, an annex was added to the rear in 1922, and a fourth storey added in 1927, neither of which match the original character of the building. Today, the Union Mission is made up of five connected buildings: the original stone double residence (now a chapel), a front desk administration building, a food services building, a shelter, a hospice, and an addiction treatment residence.

Today, the Union Mission is an isolated heritage building in the high-rise fabric of downtown Ottawa. As such, the building plays an important part of preserving the memory of the late 19th century architectural layer despite its many alterations.