Intention to Designate 84 York Blvd, Hamilton (Philpott Memorial Church)

Description of Property

The 1.18 acre property, municipally addressed as 84 York Boulevard, is comprised of an early-twentieth century church building constructed in between 1901 and 1906.  The property is located at the northwest corner of York Boulevard and Park Street North in the Central Neighbourhood, within the downtown of the City of Hamilton.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

84 York Boulevard, known as the Philpott Memorial Church, is comprised of a brick church building, which was originally constructed in two phases in 1901 and 1906.  The property has design or physical value because it is comprised of representative examples of the Neo-Classical and Romanesque Revival styles of architecture and displays a high degree of craftsmanship.  The property has historical value for its association with Peter Wiley (P.W.) Philpott and the Christian Workers’ movement, because it has the potential to yield information that contributes to an understanding of the movement, and because it reflects the work of Charles Mills, a prominent Hamilton architect.  The property also has contextual value because it is important in defining and maintaining the character of the area, is visually and historically linked to its surroundings and is considered a local landmark.     

The northern portion of the church, constructed in circa 1901, was the first purpose-built structure for the Christian Workers’ non-denominational congregation in Hamilton, Ontario, then known as the Gospel Mission.  This original building established the orientation of the church towards Park Street North.  Influenced by the Romanesque Revival style of architecture, the two-storey structure features a three-bay frontispiece with a gabled roof, a half-round window below the gable and flanking pinnacles.  Within a few years, the Christian Workers’ congregation had outgrown the space at the Gospel Mission and began planning for a new addition which would accommodate a formal sanctuary and seating for approximately 1,200.   

In 1906, a substantial addition was constructed at the corner of York Boulevard (then Merrick Street) and Park Street North.  Designed by architect Charles Mills (1860-1934), the 1906 building was influenced by the Neo-Classical style of architecture, demonstrated by the building’s dramatic scale, including a symmetrical, two-storey recessed entrance with Ionic fluted stone columns, which also demonstrate a high degree of craftsmanship.  Mills, a prominent Hamilton architect, designed numerous commercial, industrial, ecclesiastical, and residential works in Hamilton, as well as nearby towns such as Dundas, Burlington, Niagara Falls and Brantford.  Possibly, the most striking building still extant undertaken by Mills is the Classical Revival style Landed Banking and Loan Company (1907-1908).  Mills’ bank-related work led him to design ten new branches of the Bank of Hamilton in towns and cities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and British Columbia, including its headquarters in Hamilton (now demolished).   

Peter Wiley (P.W.) Philpott (1865-1957) was the pastor of the Hamilton Christian Workers’ Chapel in 1896, overseeing the fundraising and erection of a church in 1901, and a subsequent addition in 1906 due to rapid congregational growth.  Philpott and his followers, all former Salvation Army officers, began the Christian Workers’ movement in 1892.  Christian Workers’ associations were independent, non-denominational congregations meant to serve and reach the working class, which typically met in open air locations or public spaces across southwestern Ontario in the late-nineteenth century.  In addition to a growing local following, Philpott’s international influence began to reach other non-denominational churches, and in 1922, Philpott left Hamilton to serve at Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, Illinois.  In 1929, he accepted a call to the Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles, California where he served until retirement in 1932.  Returning to Toronto, Philpott remained an active and much requested speaker across North America until his death in 1957.  Upon Philpott’s death, to commemorate his contributions, the church re-named Philpott Memorial Church.  In 1922, the Christian Worker’s churches formally became recognized as a denomination, which in 1925 changed its name to the Associated Gospel Churches of Canada.  Philpott Memorial Church is also associated with a network of other missions in the Hamilton, Burlington and Niagara area such as the West Hamilton Mission, Winona Gospel Church, New Testament Church, Lake Gospel Church, Freeman Mission, as well as affiliations with missionaries in Paraguay, India and Africa.  

The property has significant contextual value due to its proximity of the Market Square located at the intersection of York Boulevard and James Street North, which is historically a central location for industry and commerce in Downtown Hamilton.  The building’s dramatic scale at a prominent intersection, together with the loss of building stock within the Central Neighbourhood from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, make this property a physical landmark.

Description of Heritage Attributes

Key attributes that embody the historical value of the property related to its association with the Christian Workers’ movement and P.W. Philpott, and the physical value of the property as a representative example of the Romanesque Revival style of architecture include the: 

• Front (east) and side (north) elevations and roofline of the circa 1901 northern portion of the structure including its: 
  • Two-storey massing; 
  • Broad hipped front (east) and low gabled rear roof with a brick parapet to the west and dentilled cornice below the projecting eaves;
  • Brick construction, including what may remain under the stone veneer cladding on the front (east) elevation, and the exposed brick side elevation to the north with its segmentally-arched window openings with brick voussoirs, raised brick course in the second storey and brick pilasters;
  • Central three-bay frontispiece in the front (east) elevation, with a gabled roof, half-round window below the gable and flanking pinnacles; 
  • Arched entry in the south end of the front (east) elevation with a half-round transom; 
  • Two bays of windows flanking the central frontispiece; and, 
  • Lug stone sills and continuous lug stone sills on the front (east) elevation.

• Key attributes that embody the physical value of the property as a representative example of the Neo-Classical style of architecture, its association with the Christian Workers’ movement and P.W. Philpott, and reflecting the works of prominent Hamilton architect, Charles Mills, include the: 
  • Front (east) and side (south) elevations, and all four roof elevations, of the circa 1906 southern portion of the structure including its:  
  • Two-and-one-half storey massing; 
  • Brick construction, including what may remain under the stone cladding on the front (east) and side (south) elevations, and the exposed brick in the north gable elevation; 
  • Flat roof topped by a cross-gable roof with returning eaves and large ellipse window in the south, east and north gables and a brick parapet to the west; 
  • Two-storey high recessed central portico in the front (east) elevation with its: 
    • Two Ionic fluted stone columns;
    • Four stone plinths;
    • Three bays of steps leading to three flat-headed openings with rectangular transoms and double doors; and,
    • Flanking segmentally-arched window openings with stone lug sills on the recessed side walls;
  • South elevation with its: 
    • Central four bays separated by projecting column-like pilasters with stone caps, with flat-headed window openings and stone lug sills; and,
    • Eastern flat-headed entrance with transom and double door; 

• Stone detailing throughout, including the large-block foundation, moulded stone cornice, continuous banding below the cornice. 
• Key attributes that embody the contextual value of the property and its visual and historic connection to the City of Hamilton’s downtown core, the centralized location of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century industrialization, include the: 
  • Siting of the original 1901 northern portion of the structure and its orientation towards Park Street North;  and,
  • Siting and massing of the 1906 southern portion of the structure at the corner of York Boulevard and Park Street North, with its primary orientation towards Park Street North.