Dominion-Chalmers United Church originates from several congregations under both the Methodist and Presbyterian movements in the Ottawa and Hull area in the 19th century.
Methodist Churches
Between 1816-1826, itinerant preachers from the Methodist movement preached in circuits to various settlements in the Ottawa-Hull region. One of these preachers, the Reverend Israel Chamberlayne, led a regular class in Squire Philemon Wright’s house in Hull. From these class meetings, representatives were sent to Bytown in 1826 to organize and construct a chapel. Completed by 1827, this first chapel was called the Methodist Mission Chapel and became the first Christian house of worship in Lowertown, located on the corner of Rideau and what is now Chapel Street. This first building was destroyed by fire in 1828 and a new brick building replaced it, but on the south side of Rideau Street.
By 1830, there was a second Methodist church, constructed in Upper Town on the south side of Sparks Street between Bank and Kent. In 1852, the Lowertown and Uppertown Wesleyan Methodists joined to establish the Metcalfe Street Methodist Church, situated at the corner of Queen and Metcalfe streets. In 1874, in a project led by Reverend William J. Hunter, the Metcalfe Street Methodist Church was demolished and in its place was built a larger and more impressive structure. Completed and dedicated in 1876, the church was renamed Dominion Methodist Church and at that time had a congregation of 600. The cost for the new church totaled $55,000, $30,000 of which was raised directly by the congregation and an additional loan of $5,000 from the Star Life Insurance Society of London. Funds raised by the Ladies’ Aid Society also went towards the furnishings and decorations of the interior of the new building. The renaming and dedication of the church leaned heavily into recognition of the still new confederation of Canada with Ottawa as its capital. The first baby baptized in the building, the daughter of Rev. Hunter, was named “Mary Ottawa”.
The Dominion Methodist Church joined union into the United Church of Canada at its founding on June 10, 1925.
Presbyterian Churches
The congregations of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian and Knox Presbyterian met in August 1865 to discuss growing numbers of worshippers in Ottawa. From that meeting, a group volunteered to establish a new church. The first meeting of this new congregation took place in a hall on Sparks Street. The congregation of Bank Street Presbyterian Church was established in 1865, formally adopting this name in January 1868. A new building was dedicated in March 1869 at the corner of Bank and Slater Streets.
By 1909 the congregation had grown to a point that a new, larger building was needed. A location was chosen at the corner of Cooper and O’Connor Streets and the cornerstone was laid in 1912. The church was renamed Chalmers Presbyterian Church in 1913, and in 1914 it moved into its new building, which is the present site of the current Dominion-Chalmers United Church.
Chalmers Presbyterian entered into the United Church of Canada at its founding in June 1925. Members of the Knox Presbyterian and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian churches who wished to join the United Church were welcomed into the congregation of Chalmers.
In 1955, Chalmers suffered a large fire that resulted in both church sanctuary and large parts of the rest of the building to be rebuilt. Numerous valuable records of the church were also destroyed. During rebuilding, congregation members were invited to use the facilities at Dominion United Church. When Chalmers re-opened, the church had also expanded and added Woodside Hall and the Memorial Chapel.
Amalgamation
On February 4, 1961, the historic Dominion United Church was destroyed by a fire, beginning in the western part of the building that was rented by Robertson Art Galleries. The fire went up and across the roof, which collapsed in on itself. The fire devastated the building, damages totaled $750,000, but groups of men were able to at least carry out the pulpit, the communion table, several plaques from the walls, the silver tea sets, and a silver communion service. Innumerable church records and pictures were lost.
The congregation gathered the very next day in a service held in the Capitol Theatre and the Sunday School at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. After that, meetings were held at various locations, such as Regent Theatre, and downtown church halls until an invitation was extended by Chalmers United Church to amalgamate the two congregations. Prior to this, the Dominion congregation held investigations as to their next steps. Their options included re-building the church at the same location, re-building the church and including commercial space, moving to another location, dissolving the congregation altogether, or amalgamating with another congregation. By February 1962, the building committee of the church reported back to the congregation that re-building the church at the same location and including commercial space was not a viable option. With this accepted, the committee was directed to expand its terms of reference to: first, investigate an option to build a new church on a new location with fund available, second, whether to amalgamate with other churches and recommendations for the disbursement of any available funds from Dominion, and third, to hold discussions with the Ottawa Presbytery and/or the United Church authorities as related to making final decisions and arrangements.
In addition to removing the need for a new building, amalgamation was also a viable option for the two churches as, beginning in the 1950s, downtown Ottawa churches had been experiencing a loss of congregation members to the newly developing suburbs as well as pressure from the growth of commercial businesses in the downtown area. The amalgamation was complete by 1962 and the new Dominion-Chalmers United Church was established. The amalgamation was confirmed during a special service held on June 10, 1962, on the 37th anniversary of the United Church of Canada.
In 2018, Carleton University purchased the Dominion-Chalmers United Church building, entering into an agreement that would allow the congregation to continue gathering in the historic space while also providing a cultural venue for downtown Ottawa. The Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre is now a location for various academic and learning programs, cultural and performing arts shows in the city, and community events and activities. In 2019, Carleton also entered into a partnership with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSU) that utilizes the Centre as a home for learning opportunities for Carleton students with the OSU.