Description of Property:
The former Overbrook Public School, 149 King George Street, is a two-storey rectangular building clad in red brick and constructed in three phases in 1916, 1947 and 1955. The building is located on the corner of King George and Quill Streets in the Overbrook neighbourhood.
Heritage Value:
The former Overbrook Public School has design value as a simple example of the Collegiate Gothic style, popular for school construction across North America from 1900- 1930. A late variation of the Gothic Revival style, the Collegiate Gothic style was inspired by the British universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Features of the building typical of the style include the use of red brick and limestone, symmetrical facades with evenly spaced windows and the decorative stone details. The building also has physical value because it was designed in anticipation of later additions; it was an asymmetric two room school, which remained until 1947, when a large L-shaped addition was built to accommodate the first children of the baby boom.
Overbrook Public School has historic value for its association with the development of public schools in former Gloucester Township in the early 20th century. Constructed beginning in 1916, Overbrook Public School is one of the earliest remaining buildings in Overbrook. The building has associative value as an example of the work of two Ottawa architectural firms. Millson and Burgess, responsible for the design of the original building in 1916, was a prolific architectural firm.in Ottawa in the early 20th century, designing a variety of buildings including churches, libraries and private residences in Ottawa and the surrounding area. Architect Walter Sylvester designed the 1947 addition to the building. Sylvester was a long time Overbrook resident and trained under celebrated Ottawa architect W.E. Noffke in the early 20th century. In the 1940s, Sylvester designed additions to several schools in former Gloucester Township.
Prominently located on a corner, Overbrook Public School has contextual value as a local landmark which has served as a community hub and serves as a reminder of the community's early development.
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A plaque on site reads as follows:
1912
Overbrook Public School
The former Overbrook Public School
was built in accordance with designs by
Millson and Burgess, with additions in
1947 and 1955. It was constructed in the
Collegiate Gothic style, popular for
school construction across North
America in the first half of the 20th
century. The building features a
symmetrical façade, red brick cladding
with limestone trim, evenly spaced
windows and decorative elements.
Inscription sur la plaque:
Ottawa
1912
École publique d’Overbrook
L’ancienne école publique d’Overbrook a
été construite d’après les plans des
architectes Millson et Burgess, puis
agrandie en 1947 et 1955. Le bâtiment a été
construit dans le style gothique collégial,
une architecture très répandue dans les
écoles d’Amérique du Nord de la première
moitié du 20e siècle. Il arbore une façade
symétrique, un bardage en briques rouges
avec des garnitures en calcaire, des
fenêtres à espacement régulier et des
ornements en pierres.