Champagne Bath
321 King Edward Avenue
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
In the early 1900s, the municipal government sought to “better” the working classes by providing bathing facilities like the Champagne Bath. Personal cleanliness had come to be seen as a necessity, not only for public health but also as a symbol of good character. If Ottawa's poorer citizens could not adequately bathe themselves at home, the city was expected to provide the service for them.
Public baths were only one of the many solutions proposed by urban reformers at the turn of the 19th century as they sought to ease the many problems presented by unprecedented urban growth and congested and dirty city slums.
The Champagne Bath (named for sitting mayor Napoléon Champagne) opened in 1924 and also housed a library, with the intention of educating the poor. The bathing facility included separate entrances for men and women, on either side of the main entrance. Not long after its opening, the bath was turned into a public swimming pool, much like the Plant Bath that was opened the same year and named for former Ottawa mayor Frank Plant.
Neighbourhood
From its very beginnings in 1826, Bytown (early Ottawa) was divided geographically, with Uppertown to the west of the Rideau Canal and Lowertown to the east. Lowertown, then ... read more
