Ottawa Fitness

Champagne Bath and the Plant Bath—now known respectively as the Champagne Fitness Centre and Plant Recreation Centre—were both built in 1924 to improve the hygiene and well being of the city’s lower classes in the years before running water and bathing facilities were available in most homes. The Champagne Bath structure, which was originally home to a library, was designed by noted local architect Werner Ernst Noffke and named after Ottawa mayor Napoleon Champagne (1908, 1924). It became the City’s first municipal pool and one of the first indoor pools in Ottawa. It was unusual for its salt water, which meant it did not need to be chlorinated. Until 1967, the facility was segregated with separate ground-level entrances for men and women. For a while, there was talk of closing the pool after the newer Le Patro was completed in the 1980s, but after public protest, the Champagne Bath was instead renovated and reopened in 1990. The Plant Bath, named after Frank H. Plant, then mayor of Ottawa (1921-23, 1930), was closed in 1997 after a long period of disrepair, only three years after being designated a heritage property. The building underwent extensive renovations and expansions, and was reopened in 2004. It now holds a semi-Olympic-sized pool as well as a leisure pool and a fitness centre. It also offers swimming lessons, fitness programs, and a variety of indoor and outdoor recreation programs.

Champagne Fitness Centre: 321 King Edward Ave., 224-4402
Plant Recreation Centre, 930 Somerset St. W. at Preston St., 232-3000