Doors Open Waterloo Region

Doors Open Waterloo Region has announced its first four sites:

1. Riverside Silk Mill (Waterloo School of Architecture)
2. Sunlife Financial 
3. Waterloo School of Pharmacy
4. Cambridge City Hall

Watch their facebook page for more sites announced soon.

Save the Date: September 15, 2012 Doors Open Waterloo

Doors Open Waterloo Region will be hosting their 10th anniversary event on Saturday, September 15, 2012.

Check our their facebook page in January where they will be announnign their first 10 sites.  

Doors Open Weekend

This weekend the fall line up of Doors Open municipalities get started. Events this weekend are taking place across the province including Waterloo Region, London, Newmarket, Middlesex, Haldiman County, Amhurstburg, Rideau Lakes, South Bruce Peninsula, St. Marys and Merrickville. 


View all the details on the Doors Open Ontario Website. 

Door Open Bellville This Weekend

Doors Open will be taking place in Bellville this weekend.

16 Sites will be participating from 10am until 4pm on Saturday September 10.

Doors Open Grimsby

Doors Open Grimsby will take place on September 24 and 25.

The event will feature 15 venues open to the public.

There will also be walking tours of the downtown and historic core

Doors Open Waterloo Region

From the Doors Open Waterloo Region Facebook Group: 

Registration is now open for free tickets to Doors Open at the new Stephen Hawking Centre at Perimeter Institute, Sunday, September 18. Follow this link to register. 

Free tickets to the Old Post Office, Perimeter Institute’s other participating Doors Open Waterloo Region 2011 site, Saturday, Sept. 17, will be available at the "Events" listing on the same website the week of August 22.

Doors Open Toronto

Doors Open Toronto runs this weekend May 28th and 19th from 10am until 4pm.

Visit the over 150 open buildings for free

This year's theme is Photography

Full listing 

Map

Doors Open Season Starts April 30th in Guelph

Doors Open Season 2011 kicks off on April 30th in Guelph. This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Doors Open Program.

click here to see the site information

Region of Waterloo Doors Open Ramping Up

Doors Open Waterloo Region will take place on Saturday, September 17. Most sites will be open 10-5. As always there will be free admission, activities and performances. Pick up a map & guide at libraries, museums and tourism offices across Waterloo Region starting in July, or in the Record on Saturday, September 10.

Join the mailing list (e-mail doorsopen@region.waterloo.on.ca), or "like" Doors Open Waterloo Region on Facebook to keep updated.

Doors Open 2011 Schedule

The Doors Open schedule for 2011 is now on the website. The festivities beging April 30th in Guelph. Start planning your routes now.

Several locations also have twitter accounts to help plan your trips:

Doors Open London - @doorsopenlondon

Doors Open Toronto - @Doors_OpenTO

Doors Open Grimsby- @dooropengrimsby

What places were your favourites last year and where do you plan on heading this year?

Review of Waterloo's Doors Open

Waterloo Region held their Doors Open this past weekend.

See the History to People blog for review of:

Sun Life Financial Building

Woodside National Historic Site

Doors Open Toronto: Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

Four Floors of Rare Books

One of the Chinese Books on Display

Ceiling of the Library

Pictures by Kayla Jonas

According to the Doors Open Toronto Website:

The Fisher Library comprises the south tower of the Robarts Library complex. The interior is one of the most impressive and dramatic sights in the University, with five mezzanine floors of rare books surrounding an exhibition area. It is named in honour of Thomas Fisher who came from Yorkshire to Upper Canada in 1821 and settled by the Humber River. There he operated a grist mill, and played an active role in the public life of the community. In 1973 his great-grandsons, Sidney and Charles Fisher, donated to the Library their own collections of Shakespeare, various twentieth century authors, and the etchings of the seventeenth century Bohemian artist, Wenceslaus Hollar. Since that time the Library has grown to approximately 700,000 volumes and 3000 linear metres of manuscript holdings and reflects the wide diversity of research conducted at the University of Toronto. Chronologically, the range is from a 1789 B.C. Babylonian cuneiform tablet from Ur, to original drafts and printed works of contemporary Canadian writers such as Margaret Atwood.

Event information:
The Library will feature an exhibition of Chinese rare books, entitled, Leaves of Enchantment, Bones of Inspiration: The Dawn of Chinese Studies in Canada. The books on display are drawn from the Mu Collection, one of the major Chinese rare book collections in North America, spanning the period from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It originally formed the personal library of a Chinese scholar, Mu Xuexun (1880-1929). In 1933, it was purchased by the Canadian missionary, Bishop William Charles White and then shipped to Toronto in 1935. The exhibition will highlight the treasures of the collection with a broad coverage of subject areas. The long and rich history of Chinese writing and book culture will be vividly illustrated along with related artifacts from the ROM.

See the Toronto Library Website for more details

Doors Open Toronto: Allan Gardens Conservatory

Pictures by Kayla Jonas

According to the Doors Open Website:

152 years ago, George William Allan (1822-1901) offered a 5 acre oval-shaped parcel of land to the Toronto Horticultural Society. This generous act of private sector philanthropy was a legacy for the citizens of Toronto. In 1902 a fire destroyed the original 1878 Pavillion. The new Palm House was designed by City Architect, Robert McCallum and constructed in 1910.

The design suggests a move toward Modernism at the end of the Victorian era. The steel structure guaranteed that it would last considerably longer than any of its wooden predecessors. Plants from the original Palm House were transfered into the New Palm House in 1910. It should be noted that the Palm House is perhaps the 7th oldest structure of its kind in North America. Additions to the Palm House were made by the Lord and Burnham Greenhouse Company in 1924 and 1957. In 2004, the header house of the former Univeristy of Toronto Research Greenhouse was relocated to Allan Gardens. This greenhouse has become the focus of the Children's garden programme.

For more information on Allan Gardens see the Toronto Botanical Garden Website

Stay tuned this week for pictues of other Doors Open Propeties including: the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library and the Coach Hosue Press.

Doors Open Toronto: Toronto's First Post Office

Exterior

Writing with a quill by candle light

Letter sealed and ready to be mailed

Pictures by Kayla Jonas

According to the Door's Open Website:

Toronto’s First Post Office is a small private museum administered by The Town of York Historical Society, situated on its original site and within its original walls. The interior is a recreation based on authentic archival materials discovered still extant from Postmaster James Scott Howard’s original construction in 1833. We are a legally incorporated non-profit organization, members of the Ontario Museum Association, Canadian Museums Association, the Ontario Historical Society, as well as numerous other local historical societies and related organizations.

See Toronto's First Post Office website to learn more

Stay tuned this week for pictues of other Doors Open Propeties including: Allan Gardens Conservatory, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library and the Coach Hosue Press.

Doors Open Toronto: Gooderham Flatiron Building

Gooderham Flatiron Building - 49 Wellington Street, Toronto

From the Doors Open Website:

The Gooderham Building, better known as the Toronto Flatiron building, was completed in 1892 to be the headquarters of the Gooderham and Worts distillery and more specifically; George Gooderham's office.

For more information check out the Woodcliffe Landmark Properties website.

Stay tuned this week for pictues of other Doors Open Propeties including: Toronto's First Post Office, Allan Garends Conservatory, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library and the Coach Hosue Press.

Doors Open Hamilton: MacMaster University

Convocation Hall:

Convocation Hall is the most hallowed place on campus. Vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows lend an august mood to the site of convocations from 1930 to the late 1960s. The ceremonies have since moved to Hamilton Place, but “Con Hall” continues to be used for concerts and receptions. Bookcases display McMaster memorabilia.

Hamilton Hall:

Built in the Canadian Collegiate Gothic style, this is an example of how heritage buildings can be successfully transformed. Hamilton Hall's stunning renovation earned a Governor-General's Award (2004) and two American Institute of Architects awards (2005). The building houses the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, and Indigenous Studies.
Pictures by Kayla Jonas

Doors Open Hamilton: Studios at Hotel Hamilton

The Studios at Hotel Hamilton:

Originally built in 1887 as a commercial building and expanded in 1905 to a hotel for soldiers. The building has been revitalized to include 19 studios, a ground floor café, gallery and more. Historical elements that still remain from its colourful past include the hand-laid terrazzo floor and custom plaster ceiling in the ground floor café, exposed brick walls, original fire doors, and high ceilings.
Photos by Kayla Jonas

Learn more about the Studios at Hotel Hamilton

Stay tuned this week for other Doors Open Hamilton Buildings: MacMaster University Buildings.

Doors Open Hamilton: Stinson School

Stinson School:

Once upon a time schools were important-looking buildings, with baronial architecture, imposing stone walls, arched entrances and grand wooden interiors. Constructed in 1894, Hamilton's Stinson School is amongst the last of its kind. By good fortune the building has been designated historic and is now in the process of conversion into unique residential apartments.
Photos by Kayla Jonas

Learn more about the Stinson School
Follow the progress at the Stinson School Journal


Stay tuned this week for other Doors Open Hamilton Buildings: The Studios at Hamilton Hotel and MacMaster University Buildings.

Doors Open Hamilton: Review in Pictures

This past weekend was Doors Open Hamilton. This week we will be presenting some of the properties that were featured through pictures.

Today's building is Auchmar. According to the Doors Open Guidebook:

"The last surviving country estate on Hamilton Mountain was built for the Honourable Isaac Buchanan Scotsman, entrepreneur, civic leader, politician and legendary public figure in Canada. Enjoy this rare opportunity to view the main floor of the Gothic Revival manor house and the walled and landscaped grounds that surround it. Auchmar is a significant cultural landscape under threat. "

Photos by Kayla Jonas

Find out more about Auchmar

Stay tuned this week for other Doors Open Hamilton Buildings: Stinson School, The Studios at Hamilton Hotel and MacMaster University Buildings.

Doors Open - April and May

Auchmar, Doors Open 2007 (Photo by Kayla Jonas)

Doors Open is an free event held across the Province of Ontario. According to the Ontario Heritage Trust:

Beginning in April 2010, communities throughout Ontario will once again open the doors to hundreds of fascinating heritage sites – including commercial buildings, courthouses, theatres, museums, places of worship, gardens and natural heritage sites. What makes this eagerly awaited province-wide program so attractive is the fact that many of the participating sites are normally closed to the public and admission is free.
- The Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander

April and May events in near-by Cities:

April 24: Doors open will start in the City of Guelph

May 1-2: The City of Hamilton

May 8: Municipality of Chatham-Kent

May 29-30: City of Toronto

The Ontario Heritage Trust website has full event listings