60 Cardigan Street

Robert Stewart Lumber Company Building

Bylaw: (2008)-18532

Legal description: Part Park Lot 92, Plan 8 and Part of Lots 1 and 6, Plan 144, designated as Parts 1 and 2 inclusive on 61R10381 (now Wellington Condo Plan 144)

Designated portions

The following elements of 60 Cardigan Street are to be protected under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter 0.18:

  • The exterior brick walls including the corbelled parapet;
  • All original door and window openings, including their sills, surrounds and dressings; and
  • The brick smokestack at the northwest corner of the building.

It is intended that non-original features may be returned to documented earlier designs or to their documented original without requiring City Council permission for an alteration to the designation.

Property history

Built in 1922, the two-storey pink buff brick structure is typical of Guelph’s 1920s era industrial buildings. It is of a functional Neo-Classic industrial design, with a flat roof and an L-shaped plan. Decoration is minimal, though the south and east elevations feature pilastered walls and a corbelled parapet. The façade is divided into seven sections of two bays. The paired windows on each floor have slightly arched heads. To the rear of the building is a distinctive square smokestack.

Architecturally the building is representative in scale, construction and appearance of small industrial/commercial buildings common at the turn of the century, now rare in the centre of Guelph. The building’s connection with the City’s early industrial growth and its importance as a local landmark warrant its consideration for historic designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter 0.18. The smokestack to the rear of the building has become a local landmark and complements the smokestack that stands at Goldie Mill Park, which is located across the street.