Itinerary
Heritage Matters Adaptive reuse
How Doors Open Ontario activates the province’s communities
The Ontario Heritage Trust’s Doors Open Ontario program works with communities and partners to open the doors, gates and …
The case for craftsmanship
One of the greater pleasures of working in architectural conservation in Ontario is the opportunity it provides to work with …
Quiet on the set
Shaftesbury is the company behind the hit television series Murdoch Mysteries and Frankie Drake Mysteries, both of which air on …
The economic halo effect of sacred places: Measuring civic impact in an innovative new way
Nestled in the old city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Old St. George’s United Methodist Church is a “mother church” of the …
Case study: Brockville Railway Tunnel
Location: 1 Block House Island Road, Brockville
Owner: City of Brockville
Case study: Mudtown Station Brewery and Restaurant (Owen Sound)
Owner: City of Owen Sound
Partners: Kloeze Family (Mudtown Station Inc.)
Learning from the past
Heritage has always been at the heart of the University of Windsor’s ambitious plan to preserve the century-old Windsor …
Museums and heritage: Building livable communities through soft power
Museums and heritage are engines of urban redesign and revitalization. Lord Cultural Resources has worked in 450 cities …
Heritage buildings and the evolution of workspace
I work for Allied Properties – a leading owner, manager and developer of urban workspace in major Canadian cities. Allied’s …
Case study: Thunder Bay District Courthouse
Location: 277 Camelot Street, Thunder Bay
Owner: David Sun, Business owner/Investor
Heritage builds vibrant communities and cultural economies in Kingston
In 2010, the City of Kingston released its first Culture Plan – a document that shared a sustainable, authentic, longterm …
The economic value of heritage districts: How assessment growth in heritage conservation districts compares with non-designated areas in Hamilton
There are competing views about the value of heritage properties. On the one hand, there is a growing consensus on the esthetic …
Reside: When heritage preservation translates to affordable housing
Raising the Roof is a Canadian charity that provides national leadership in homelessness prevention through various …
Old places support a sound, sustainable and vibrant economy
In Why Old Places Matter, I wrote about the many reasons that old places help people flourish. Yet, I intentionally saved the …
Revitalizing communities – The power of conservation
Over the past few years, I’ve spoken and written extensively about value – exploring questions of what …
One hundred years of entertainment
Birthdays are about celebration and, in the case of Toronto’s Elgin and Winter Garden theatres, a toast to 100 years of …
Treading the boards
Performance venues command an important presence in Ontario communities. They tell us about the aspirations of the people who …
Second run: A new life for an Ontario theatre
Since the early 1970s, Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay has made a commitment to urban renewal and the reuse and repurposing of …
Heritage in the public realm: Everything old is new
Ontario is growing. As municipalities across the province expand, so too does the need to revitalize existing municipal …
Doris McCarthy’s Fool’s Paradise will inspire future generations of artists
With the passing of Doris McCarthy on November 25, 2010, the country lost a revered and talented artist, best known for her …
Peterborough’s Living History Museum
Hutchison House holds a special place in the social history of Peterborough.
Local volunteers built the house in 1836 …
Adapting today’s places of worship
Adaptive reuse of religious buildings can simultaneously preserve significant heritage sites and benefit communities, but in …
Rebirth of the Wychwood Barns
The Artscape Wychwood Barns – near St. Clair Avenue West and Bathurst Street in Toronto – were created when five historic …
From mill to museum
The big oak door of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte in eastern Ontario swings silently open as it has done for …
The character of adaptive reuse
In his 1947 essay titled “The Past in the Future,” architectural historian John Summerson (1904-92) offered this description of …
Second chances for Peterborough’s priceless heritage
One of the greatest challenges to creating a healthy downtown is getting people to live there. While Peterborough’s historic …
Understanding adaptive reuse
In our efforts to conserve heritage properties, finding a use can be our greatest challenge and our greatest opportunity. An …
Raising the curtain: How the Winter Garden Theatre was rediscovered
In December 1913, Loew’s Yonge Street Theatre – the Canadian flagship of the mighty Loew’s empire – opened in Toronto. Two …
The guiding principles of sustainable architecture
In the late 1990s, the Ontario Ministry of Culture introduced Eight Guiding Principles in the Conservation of Built Heritage …
Evergreen Brick Works: Rethinking space
Evergreen – a national charity – builds the relationship between nature, culture and community in urban spaces. With its …
Sustainability for old buildings: A developer’s perspective
Adaptive reuse provides a sound and sustainable approach to the renewal of our urban fabric, as illustrated by the conversion …
The story of Barnum House
Barnum House, on the north side of Highway 2 (Danforth Road), west of Grafton is historically significant for its association …
Our cultural heritage places: how heritage buildings adapt
Although heritage remains a year-round activity for many of us, Heritage Day is celebrated annually on the third Monday in …