Description of Historic Place
307 Queen Street South is situated on the southwest corner of Queen Street South and Courtland Avenue East, in the City of Kitchener. The property consists of a complex of three buildings, two that are connected and one that is detached, all having separate construction dates.
The property was designated, by the City of Kitchener, for its historic and architectural value, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act (By-law 89-78).
Heritage Value
307 Queen Street South is associated with prominent local citizens and industrialists. The original building, constructed in 1879, is likely the area's first industrial building. It was built by Emil Vogelsang, a German, credited with making Canada's first buttons. This property is the last of four button factories that Mr. Vogelsang built in Berlin, now Kitchener.
The building was subsequently taken over by Williams, Greene and Rome, a shirt manufacturer who built an addition in circa 1893. During the First World War the building was used as military barracks for the 18th Battalion. In 1919 the building was sold to, and expanded by, the Rumpel Felt Company run by Mr. George Rumpel, who later served as a Mayor of Kitchener.
The original 1879 building is one of the oldest surviving industrial buildings in Kitchener. It is a four-story building with a fieldstone foundation, gable roof, polychrome brick, and unique windows in the gable ends. The building is red-brick with yellow-brick liberally used for the decorative detailing. This brick quoining gives the impression of plastered corners. The, circa 1893, addition is a three-story building that complements the original structure in colour and composition. The main wall colour is yellow, while the red-brick is reserved for detailing. The flat roof is edged with a low parapet.
The third structure, built in 1919, continues the yellow and red colour scheme. This four-storey detached building is connected to the older buildings by an overpass.
Sources: City of Kitchener By-law No. 89-78; Preliminary Report by Patti Shea, July 21, 1988; Conservation Review Board Hearing, April 11, 1989; Research Report by Diane Kolaritsh and Malcolm Horne, August 1984/March 1985.
Character-Defining Elements
Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of 307 Queen Street South include its:
- elevations and rooflines of the 1879 and 1893 buildings
- polychromatic brick laid in the American Bond Style
- squared sandstone and brick quoins
- coursed fieldstone foundation
- dentil trimmed brick fascia
- tie rod roundel
- window openings, frames, sills, sash, glazing pattern and voussoirs
