Champagne Bath, Public bath in Lower Town, Ottawa, Canada
Champagne Bath, officially the Champagne Fitness Centre, stands at 321 King Edward Avenue in Lower Town, Ottawa. The 1921–1924 building by architect Werner Ernst Noffke mixes Spanish Colonial Revival and Prairie styles, and originally housed a library alongside the baths. It now operates as a fitness centre.
Construction began in 1921 and finished in 1924, when the Champagne Bath opened as Ottawa's first municipal swimming pool and one of Canada's first indoor pools. It was named after mayor Napoléon Champagne and designed by Werner Ernst Noffke. After the city proposed closing it in the 1980s, public protest led to a renovation costing about two million dollars; it reopened in 1990.
The name honours Napoléon Champagne, the Ottawa mayor at the time, not the drink. Until 1967 the bath was segregated by sex, with separate ground-level entrances for women and men leading to different floors. The building also housed a library when it opened, so bathing and reading shared one roof.
The building stands at 321 King Edward Avenue in Lower Town, a short walk from Ottawa's ByWard Market area. It is a working fitness centre, so the pool and gym are open to members and drop-in users rather than sightseers; check the published swim schedule before going. The exterior and heritage designation can be seen from the street at any time.
The Champagne Bath was Ottawa's first municipal swimming pool and one of the first indoor pools in Canada. Its salt water meant no chlorination was needed. It was soon followed by the Plant Bath, built on the city's west side and named after the next mayor.
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