Historical Timeline
1816
Lot is created and granted by the Crown to James Meagher.
1863
Lot is donated to Board of Sydenham Street Wesleyan Church.
1864
The church is constructed. The building is designed by prolific architect John Power.
Power designed many well-known Gothic Revival and Classical buildings in the South Eastern Ontario region including the McIntosh Castle, Iron’s Hotel (the Hotel Frontenac) and St. George’s Hall in Kingston, and the Court House Jail in Napanee.
1882
Basement of the church becomes a schoolhouse for the trustees of the Queen Street Methodist Church.
The tall basement was designed for classrooms and lecture halls, which is the reason for the large windows in the foundation of the church. The lecture room was originally 12 ½ ft high at the lowest point. Rooms for the Sabbath school were on either side of the lecture room.
1884
A fire burns down part of the structure. The building is then restored.
1886
A second fire burns down the building on January 25, 1886.
Plans are made for the rebuild which would embody the Gothic Revival (strong corner tower with steeple and pinnacles, robust and rich details, layered roof on the main entrance).
Two Months Later, Sidney Rose Badgley takes over as architect.
Although he was better known in Cleveland, Badgley designed many buildings in Canada, including Massey Hall of 1893-1894 in Toronto. The church re-build took only 2 months.
1919
A third fire ruins the roof and much of the interior.
Most of the glass had to be replaced as a result of this fire. The church was rebuilt following Joseph Power’s plans from 1886.
2010
The church’s congregation merges with the St. Margaret’s United Church congregation to form Crossroads United Church.
The building at 221 Queen St. is taken over by the City of Kingston.
2012
The church building is purchased by BPE Development.
In collaboration with Shoalts and Zaback Architects, the Tower, Clergy on Queen was designed and proposed to the Heritage Committee. This initial plan proposed to convert the church into office space and condominiums (incorporating the original building into a larger, multi-use complex).
2016
The church structure is restored and redeveloped into a Coworking Space (upper level) and CrossFit gym (basement).
In order to turn the upper level of the building into Kingston’s first ever coworking space, Sanctuary Coworking, BPE Development Inc. completely restored the space, including all new ceilings, floors, roof, and heating & cooling systems.
The basement was repurposed by another local team, who opened the Queen Street CrossFit gym.
2018
Renovations begin to convert the basement into 10 loft-style units.
Queen Street CrossFit (now Queen Street Fitness) grew into their new home just across the street leaving the church basement vacant. Renovations began later that year to transform the space into luxury accommodations with floating mezzanine bedrooms. This involved breaking and digging down several feet to create additional ceiling height.
2021
The lofts are currently in construction with an estimated completion date of Winter 2021-2022.
“The Queen Street Methodist Churches of 1864 and 1886, Kingston, Ontario.“ Jennifer McKendry. Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada. 2013.
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221 Queen Street
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
K7K 1N8
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