#2413 "126 Wellington"

This was the first day of the 2020 International Plein Air Painters (IPAP) Worldwide Paint Out. The International Plein Air Painters is a blanket organization created for the sole purpose of advancing the execution and enjoyment of plein air painting without the restrictions and limitations of borders or regions. I am a Charter and a Signature member with Honours dating from the fall of 2001. The horrific events of September 11th, 2001 prompted the creation of IPAP. Art is a universal language and we all benefit from sharing and communication. The world needed the strong and positive response of art created outside and surrounded by nature. 

After finishing #2412 "Saint George's Cathedral" I simply turned to look straight across Johnson Street. I had my easel on the edge of the parking lot of the beatiful new Kingston Library. There was considerable car and foot traffic but everyone was moving too fast to be in the painting. I wanted to capture the bold Gothic architecture and the colours without getting tied up with the details. I wore my face mask while I painted and it felt odd. I enjoyed the strong colours of the old stone Gothic structure dating from 1865. There are a million ways to make a shade of grey.  

The building is located on the north-west corner of Wellington Street at Johnson Street in the Old Sydenham Ward Heritage Area in the City of Kingston. The property was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act by the City of Kingston on March 1, 1984 in By-Law No. 84-65. The building is regarded as one of the finest Gothic structures in Canada. The heritage value associated with the property is three-fold; its extraordinary Gothic design value, its contextual location at the prominent corner of Wellington at Johnson Streets across from St. George's Hall, and its association with renowned Kingston architects John Power and Joseph Power. 

126 Wellington on a sunny day

The property, formerly occupied by a small Wesleyan Methodist church from 1822 until 1850, was sold to the Congregationalists for the construction of their new house of worship. The First Congregationalist Church, designed by John Power in 1864, was erected by 1865, housing the First Chapter and First Preceptory in Ontario. In 1883, Joseph Power, John Power's son, added as schoolroom, transforming the original rectangular plan into a Latin cross. Following a 1891 fire that damaged the interior of the church, the building was restored and enlarged based on plans designed by architect J.B. Reid, including transepts. Kingston's 1892 Fire Insurance Plans indicate that the building height reached 20 feet to the eaves and 40 feet to the ridges. Tthe building was sold to the Masons in 1923 when the Congregationalists became affiliated with Chalmers Church. Currently, the building is occupied by the Wellington Street Theatre, with a two playing spaces; the main theatre and a gallery space.

Today the building is occupied by " Kids And Company" which is a preschool for infants and toddlers who are not quite ready for Kindergarten.

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