Posted by: City of Ottawa
On November 22, 2023, City Council issued a notice of intention to designate 692 Echo Drive under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
According to the Statement of Cultural Heritage Value the following aspects of the property were considered.
Constructed in 1913, the building at 692 Echo Drive is a representative example of Edwardian Classicism, which was popular in Canada between 1900 and 1930. The architectural features of the building which are characteristic of Edwardian Classicism include its symmetrical front façade with a gable over the doorway, a side gable roof, and large front porch with columns extending across the front of the building. In addition, the exaggerated Edwardian features of the design, such as the large size of the columns, porch, windows, and dormers, make it an uncommon example of the style in Ottawa.
The building at 692 Echo Drive is directly associated with Samuel T. Bastedo, an Ottawa resident and well-known provincial and national public servant who was the first resident of the house beginning in 1913. Bastedo served as the private secretary to former premier Sir Oliver Mowat, the Deputy of Minister of Fisheries in Ontario and held a prominent role as the Superintendent for the Department of Annuities during the time he lived at this property. Bastedo was a champion of the short-lived but influential Canadian Annuities program which was the first federal program established to encourage Canadians to financially prepare for their retirement through the purchase of government annuities. Though the program did not ultimately succeed in its goals, it marked a shift in the development of social legislation in Canada and led to the later development of the Canada Pension Plan. Bastedo lived at 692 Echo Drive until his death in 1927.
The property at 692 Echo Drive has associative value as part of an historic residential neighbourhood which was inhabited by members of Ottawa’s elite from the early 20th century. Developed out of the estate of Colonel George Hay. Hay, president of the Bank of Canada and a prominent local politician, purchased the land from Lewis Williams, one of the area’s earliest settlers. The land between Bank Street and Riverdale Avenue was subdivided after Hay’s death in 1911 and the lots in this area were larger through lots than those to the south which had been subdivided earlier, reflecting the development of this street as an affluent enclave. Forming the southern edge of the Rideau Canal, near the Bank Street bridge, the property yields information about the growth of the city in the early 20th century and the expansion of neighbourhoods outside of the downtown core.
The property has contextual value as an important part of an intact historic streetscape of late 19th and early 20th century buildings located on the south side of Echo Drive between Bank Street and Riverdale Avenue that face the Rideau Canal and form the northern edge of Old Ottawa South. This streetscape also includes two other properties designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, Echo Bank House, 700 Echo Drive and the Monastére du Précieux Sang, 774 Echo Drive and many other listed properties. This property and the associated streetscape is important in defining the character of residential development in the early 20th century adjacent to the Rideau Canal, between the Ottawa Locks and Dow’s Lake, and maintains the architectural character of Old Ottawa South.
As one of the earliest properties in the 1911 subdivision immediately adjacent to the Rideau Canal, a National Historic Site and UNESCO World Heritage Site, the property is physically, visually and historically reflective of the transition of the Rideau Canal from its original military and commercial use towards passive recreation and the associated development of residential uses along the waterway and scenic driveways.