Publisher's Synopsis
The Ontario Heritage Trust works with communities across the province to open the doors, gates and courtyards of their unique and most fascinating cultural sites so you can explore the stories inside. From historical houses to modern marvels of construction, Doors Open Ontario showcases the buildings, natural spaces, infrastructure and cultural landscapes that shape and define our communities.
Doors Open Hamilton features Hamilton's architecture, culture and heritage. We were able to tour historical buildings that are being re-imagined as new adaptive reuse spaces. Venues that were once derelict are being transformed. Having lived in Hamilton for the past 50 years, I was amazed at places I had never seen, and never even heard about. It was a thrill to go with my sister, Shirley, and her husband, Ed to visit the sites presented in this book.
Balfour House was a very popular venue with a long lineup to get inside. Scottish immigrant, grain merchant and accountant William Scott Burn (1797-1850) purchased the site in 1835. The house was built as a country home for William Scott Burn between 1836 and 1838, at a time when Hamilton was enjoying great prosperity.
The Coppley Building played a key role in the textile trade. It is currently being renovated for a new use.
In 1996, the Ontario Workers Arts and Heritage Centre opened in the restored and renovated Custom House as an interpretive center for workers' history and culture. Construction of the heritage Customs House with completed in 1860 in the Italianate style.
We have traveled over the Lift Bridge many times over the years to go from Hamilton to Burlington. I never remembered seeing the lighthouse. The Beach Canal Light Station is a 17-metre tall (55-foot) tapered, circular, stone tower with an iron lantern, both completed in 1858, and an adjacent keeper's cottage built in 1857. James Crooks, a Hamilton merchant, urged the House of Assembly in 1823 to authorize the construction of a canal to link Lake Ontario to Burlington Bay. The canal was completed in early 1828 and a swing bridge was erected to span the canal.
Glen Manor Estate at 22 Veevers Drive is a well-hidden heritage building located a short distance off Quigley Road. We lived on Quigley Road for twenty-five years but never knew this lovely building existed. It was a thrill to see the former home and seeing the new use it now has.
The Erland Lee (Museum) Home is located on the ridge of the Niagara Escarpment in Stoney Creek. It was originally a farmhouse belonging to Erland and Janet Lee, and it where the first Women's Institute meeting was held in 1897. Short biographies of several extraordinary women are included in the story of the home.
The Cotton Factory is an industrial complex formerly known as The Imperial Cotton Company Limited in the industrial north end of Hamilton. The complex is repurposed for small manufacturing and office space for creative professionals.
Fading Memories of Home by Tom Wilson - a Residential School installation - was a unique presentation.
