Saint Brigid's Church, Ottawa

Located in the Lower Town part of Ottawa, Saint Brigid's church was once a Roman Catholic temple. It stands on the corner of Saint Patrick and Cumberland streets, and was built to serve the local anglophone Catholic community, most of whom were traders, lumbermen and other types of blue-collar workers.

By 1870, the reduction in the Irish percentage of Ottawa population had led to an ever diminishing role of the Irish in the life and management of Notre-Dame (the parish formed prior to the opening of Saint Brigid's). In 1888, a meeting to establish a distinct English-speaking parish and church for Lower Town was held with Archbishop Duhamel. English people demanded that a separate parish for them should be built. Finally, it was agreed on and the site for a new parish was chosen quickly.

James R. Bowes was appointed the project architect and Mr. J.J. Lyons was chosen as the contractor. Within a year, the construction was over and the Romanesque Revival style church was blessed in 1890. The building represents an eclectic mix of Victorian motifs and Gothic Revival features. It is built of limestone and has a pitched roof. The most unique element of the principal façade are the two towers of different heights. The interior has wonderful Tudor fan tomb with pendants. Messrs Castle of Montreal supplied the stained glass windows in 1890. The window over the main altar depicts Saint Brigid in prayer, while the four light windows over the organ feature Saint Patrick, Saint Anne, the Virgin, and Saint Joseph.

In 1992, the City of Ottawa designated this church under the Ontario Heritage Act as a major historic landmark and a part of the heritage area.

By 2006, the congregation of Saint Brigid's had shrunk considerably and the structure itself weakened a lot. Archbishop Marcel Gervais closed down the church and the building was sold in 2007 to four investors who converted it into an Irish-Canadian heritage center and a venue for concerts, plays and art exhibitions.