Behind Open Doors
When a historic site in St. Thomas, Ontario, burned to the ground last year, the scar it left was more indelible than the scorched earth on which it once stood. It was a significant blow to Canada’s architectural legacy. Alma College, a four-story Gothic Revival building that once served as a private boarding school for young ladies, topped the Worst Losses List for 2009 from the Heritage Canada Foundation (HCF).
Every year, the organization releases its Top Ten Endangered Places and Worst Losses Lists to bring attention to architectural and heritage sites that are threatened with demolition or already lost due to neglect, lack of funding, or weak legislation. The demise of Alma College (featured in the April/May 2008 issue of Lake Erie Living) was the result of a combination of factors, but ultimately the building succumbed to arson on May 28, 2008—the same day the Ontario Municipal Board met to approve its demolition.
“It was sad that we had to include it on the list,” says Carolyn Quinn, director of communications for the HCF. “We had been following the story for awhile and we were hoping it would be a happy ending.”
According to the HCF, Canada has lost 23 percent of its early buildings in urban areas and 21 percent in rural areas in the last 30 years.
“We cannot keep hauling old buildings to landfill sites,” says Quinn.
Building Blocks
Needless to say, many organizations and individuals are looking for ways to preserve and protect the architectural treasures in their region. One program, Doors Open Ontario, which launched in 2002, is seeing success with its network of events showcasing important buildings and landmarks throughout the province. This year Doors Open featured 48 communities, with most offering at least 10 sites open for tour. Many buildings featured are normally closed to the public; others offer free admission during Doors Open, as well as additional special speakers and exhibits.
The goal of the program, established by the Ontario Heritage Trust, is to promote public awareness and to encourage support of the historic and contemporary buildings that contribute to the identity of the region. And according to a 2007 survey of Doors Open attendees, it has done just that.
“Nearly half of all respondents stated that attending an event inspired them to take a more active role in conservation in their own community,” says Mike Sawchuck, community programs officer for the Ontario Heritage Trust. “The program has had a tremendous impact.”
This year the village of St. Thomas will take part in Doors Open for the first time since the program’s inception. The decision to become involved was influenced by the loss of Alma College, says Heather Jackson-Chapman, the chair of the St. Thomas Doors Open committee. “We felt it is important the public know what other significant heritage properties we have, and that they need to take an interest in protecting our built heritage before it is gone.”
Doors Open St. Thomas is scheduled for October 17 and 18 and will provide an opportunity for the public to tour local sites for free. Like events in other communities, some of these incredible architectural gems are regularly open to the public, some open up once a year, and some just once in a lifetime.
Solid Foundation
The Doors Open program got its start in France more than 20 years ago with the first Doors Open Day (La Journée Portes Ouvertes) in 1984. The idea spread to the rest of Europe and then to Canada. In 2000, the city of Toronto launched the first Doors Open event in North America. Two years later, the Ontario Heritage Trust launched Doors Open Ontario, the first province-wide event of its kind in Canada.
Since its introduction along the north shore of Lake Erie, Doors Open has had a significant impact on the number of visitors to the area, especially in the Niagara region, which features the only bi-national event on the Doors Open roster with participating sites on both sides of the border. In fact, Doors Open Niagara is one of the largest events in North America, both in terms of the number of sites involved and the volume of people it attracts.
“I think the most exciting thing is the binational aspect of Open Doors, where Americans are invited to tour Canadian sites and vice versa,” says Nina Chapple, author of the book A Heritage of Stone, which highlights historic buildings in southwest Ontario. “Their histories have much in common, yet the border seems to act at least in part as a deterrent to enjoying each other’s heritage.”
Arlene White has spent the last eight years trying to break down the barriers as executive director of the Binational Tourism Alliance. As the coordinator for Doors Open Niagara, she zips effortlessly back and forth between offices in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Buffalo, New York—home to some of the greatest American architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries.
“You can’t argue with the iconic nature and draw of the famous Niagara Falls, and the parks, agriculture, and outdoor amenities that have made this a well-known and affordable playground,” says White. “It was these assets that drew settlers and provided us with the architectural wonders of Frank Lloyd Wright, H.H. Richardson, Louis Sullivan, Frederick Law Olmsted, and more contemporary architects, such as KPMB, Jack Diamond and Cannon.”
Sure, the Doors Open program may highlight the works of the visionaries who have transformed the region, but Doors Open is also a celebration of the people and organizations that have helped preserve many of these important sites for generations to come.
“There are so many reasons for conservation of significant historic buildings in this region, as in any other,” says Chapple. “Historically, they provide a direct association with a time past, contributing to our understanding of people who came before us and their values; architecturally, they are a nonrenewable resource, built in a style no longer popular and in materials and with a craftsmanship no longer available; and these historic buildings provide a foundation for the way of the future, a source of civic pride that provides direction forward.”
Doors Open
Port Stanley-Sparta
October 3, 2009
(519) 782-4532
ccole@execulink.com
portstanley.net
Doors Open St. Thomas
October 17-18, 2009
(519) 631-1680
hchapman@city.st-thomas.on.ca
Doors Open Niagara
October 17-18, 2009
(888) 849-5834
arlene.white@btapartners.com
doorsopenniagara.btapartners.com
Contact the Doors Open representatives above for lists of participating sites and corresponding maps.