When the Municipal Heritage Committee considers properties for designation, we look at three criteria, as outlined by the provincial government to make that determination and those are architectural, historic, and contextual significance.
Although a property need only meet one for these criteria for designation, 315 Queen Street meets all three criteria. It is indeed, a significant property in the history of Chatham Kent.
Architectural Significance
This structure was built in 1905, and is in the Dutch Renaissance style of Richardsonian Romanesque, popular at the time but relatively rare in our area. You can see many examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in St. Mary’s Ontario where the downtown core has plenty of rusticated stone buildings often with rounded arches over entryways. 315 Queen Street is a three story structure with two large square towers with domed roofs anchoring the front façade. Between the towers, at the front of the building is a large verandah that once had a balcony on the second floor covered by a large awning. Today that balcony does not exist. The only modern exterior addition to the building is the rear stairwell, added during the OPP years. Otherwise, Queen’s Court apartments present the same basic appearance today that it did when it was first opened on January 1, 1906.
Historical Significance
The historical significance of the property located at 315 Queen Street in Chatham predates the construction of the building.
On September 12, 1844, a parcel of land located near the southeast border of Chatham city limits was granted by the Crown by way of patent to Charles Wood. It was a triangular plot of land contained by Queen Street, Duluth and William Streets. The site remained as a park land for 51 years until 1895 when it was purchased by two prominent Chatham residents, Nathan Stevens and Duncan McLachlan.
Duncan McLachlan established a baseball park on the site known as the “Old Athletic Grounds”. It was on the baseball diamond that Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Rube Waddell played with a Chatham team. Waddell moved on to the American Leagues and still holds the American League strike out record for a left-handed pitcher. By 1903, plans were underway to build the Canada Business College. Well known graduates from the college include James Westervelt, Principal of what is now known as Westervelt College in London Ontario and Tom Thomson, one of the members of the “Group of Seven” Canadian landscape painters.
The college operated for 76 years before closing its doors.
The OPP headquarters moved to 315 Queen Street and remained there for the next 38 years.
When the OPP moved out in 1990, the building sat empty for eight years until a Chatham business man named Ted Wagenaar purchased the building and transformed it into eleven luxury rentals while keeping the exterior largely unchanged from its 1905 appearance.
The property has seen two other owners between Wagenaar and our current owners, the McAdoreys.
Contextual Significance
This building is a prominent part of the streetscape of Queen Street and its location next to College Street provides a clue to its original purpose.
– Chatham-Kent Municipal Heritage Committee
