By Chris Wagg
City of Ottawa Council Minutes, December 4th, 1922
Item 8. Lower Town Swimming Bath – “Champagne Bath”.
The Board also recommend that the Lower Town swimming bath, now being erected, be designated as “Champagne Bath.”
It’s time to celebrate with a slice of cake as Champagne Bath is 100 years old! On Saturday September 17th from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, raise a glass, listen to the tales of the past and take in this historical building!
Going back in time, this building was originally constructed in the working-class neighbourhood of Lowertown to serve residents who did not have baths in their homes. This bathhouse was Ottawa’s first municipal swimming pool and was named after the then current Ottawa Mayor, Napoléon Champagne.
Not only was this a popular place to swim when opened, it was also originally home to a library. If you tour this magnificent building, you will notice some of the incredible features it has to offer. Note the two doors on each side of the main entrance. These doors were used according to your sex until 1967. The building was segregated by male and female and had separate access to the facility. As it stands today, one of these ground-floor entrances has been transformed into a lift to allow those who require assistance to gain access to the pool.
As the facility had a decline in use with the new Lowertown Pool built a few blocks away in 1975, the City planned to close the facility. However, the community lobbied to have the pool to remain in use and to invest in a large-scale renovation to celebrate its outstanding history. The renovation was completed and reopened in 1990. The second floor, which used to house the maintenance person and his family, was then turned into meeting space. As this was not in keeping with the main purpose of the building, the second floor was then transformed into a full weight room facility with a boxing program that remains a popular program.
When the pandemic hit and the facility was closed in March of 2020, it remained closed for most of the two years. Untimely, a lifecycle project that is currently underway to repair the foundation of the building, will continue until mid-summer.
Everyone is invited as Champagne Bath hosts an open house for those who have not discovered the building and those who are repeat visitors.