Enjoy a look inside the Ancaster Old Township Hall. Built in 1871 by William H. Thuresson, it is one of the finest pieces of stone architecture in Ancaster — complete with original apron stage, hardwood floors, arched windows and historically accurate colours. It was the first threatened heritage building in Ancaster but has been happily saved.

The Auchmar Estate is considered to be the last surviving country estate on Hamilton Mountain. It was built for the Honourable Isaac Buchanan, a local Scotsman, entrepreneur, politician and civic leader in 19th-century Canada. Visit this Gothic revival manor house and learn about its storied past before strolling the walled and landscaped grounds that surround it. No parking on site.

Balfour House is Hamilton’s last great escarpment estate. Several prominent Hamiltonians have called it home since 1836, most recently the family of St. Clair Balfour. Owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust and managed by the City of Hamilton, the building and garden are spectacular. Come and explore how this architectural gem grew from a simple homestead into a grand estate.

Battlefield House Museum, part of which dates to 1796, was once home to the prominent Gage family. Learn about the stories of the people who built the house and the ongoing efforts to preserve and restore it. Explore the Dunington Grubb landscape (which includes the impressive Battlefield Monument) and hike around a 13.8-hectare (34-acre) patchwork of meadow and forest.

The Imperial Cotton Factory, built in 1900, ran as a factory until 1972. It has been repurposed as the largest creative hub in the Hamilton area — with studios for artists, artisans, musicians, craftspeople and entrepreneurs. Film and television productions, photographers and special events are also drawn here. This is one of the best examples of adaptive reuse in Hamilton.

There are many ways to help educate a community about its history, but there is no better way than to encourage people to get out and experience it firsthand. When in-person walking tours were not possible, the Downtown Hamilton Business Improvement Association (BIA) created an initiative called Memory Lane. Memory Lane offers an in-depth self-guided tour with scannable QR codes. All you have to do to get started is to search out the QR codes across the BIA and scan them to reveal the history of that property, complete with vintage photos provided by Hamilton Public Libraries’ Local History and Archives department. Alternatively, you can navigate Memory Lane online and explore the past from the comfort of your home.

Dundurn Castle is one of the finest examples of high regency-style architecture in the country. Constructed in the 1830s for Sir Allan Napier MacNab (railway magnate, lawyer and politician), the buildings deteriorated under subsequent owners, but were restored in the 1960s to their original splendour. Today, Dundurn Castle tells the story of the MacNabs and the people who served them.

Ann Gillespie, from the Architectural Conservancy Ontario Hamilton Region Branch, has developed a self-guided walking tour of buildings in Hamilton’s downtown core that feature glazed architectural terracotta cladding and ornamentation, all dating between 1905 and 1925. This walking tour is available in a printable PDF format. It includes a map with a suggested route but participants can choose their own route, guided by buildings or sites (demolished buildings) numbered from 1 to 8. (Cornice of the Landed Banking and Loan building. Photo: Carol Priamo)

Griffin House is a modest one-and-a-half-storey wood-frame residence that was built in the Georgian style with clapboard siding and six-over-six sash windows. Constructed by Englishmen in 1827, it was purchased by Enerals Griffin and his wife Priscilla in 1834 – both born as slaves in Virginia, but who escaped to Canada. On this site, with their 20 hectares (50 acres) of land, the Griffin family lived as part of the Ancaster community for 150 years. Today, Griffin House stands as a testament to the determination of African-American men and women who escaped slavery and found peace in Ontario. For Digital Doors Open, watch the video below to learn more about this fascinating property.

The Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology is the site of the original 1859 Hamilton Waterworks. The museum features two 13.7-metre high (45 feet), 70-ton steam-powered pumping engines that supplied the city with clean drinking water from 1859 to 1910. Made in Dundas, these engines are the oldest surviving examples of their kind in North America today.

The McMaster Museum of Art has developed a self-guided walking tour that highlights architecture on the campus, with information about the history, evolution and styles of architecture along the way. Access the tour here, with photographs sourced from McMaster’s digital archives. You can follow the text descriptions or use headphones and be guided by recorded audio.

Built in 1920 at the cost of $1 million, the iconic Piggott Building was Hamilton's first skyscraper. The structure employed a steel skeleton rather than load-bearing walls to achieve the height of 64 metres (210 feet) and 18 storeys. With a limestone veneer façade, its design is art deco/Gothic revival with historical features of pointed arch windows, decorative moldings and rib vaulting over the entrance. In the foyer and lobby are facing stained-glass windows set in medieval-style lancets that depict building technology and construction of the Piggott. In addition, there are decorative ceiling tiles and painted murals in the hall and marble on the floors, walls and surrounding the elevator doors. The tower prospered as an office building until the 1970s when it became vacant. After changing hands a number of times, it was slated for demolition. But heritage advocates called for its protection and preservation and the City of Hamilton designated it in 1984 under the Ontario Heritage Act. The stained-glass windows that had disappeared were found in an antique shop and retrieved by the Heritage Hamilton Foundation for $12,000. In the 1990s, the Piggott Building was converted into luxury condos. As part of Digital Doors Open, watch the video below to learn more about the history of this site.

This 1885-86 building in the heart of Dundas has been a foundry, indoor skating/curling rink, bus depot, warehouse and, since 2016, this brewery. The wood post-and-beam/brick masonry structure has been preserved yet modernized with the latest in craft beer equipment. The brewery focuses on German-style lagers with an emphasis on quality and authenticity.

The Friends of St. Giles present their first walking tour: Stewart & Witton Major Works: Stadium Neighbourhood, which will feature the architecture firm behind some of Hamilton’s most beloved landmarks, now in their 150th year. Enjoy four beautiful and irreplaceable Stewart & Witton works: the elegant Playhouse Cinema, the Hendry’s Building (home to Hendry’s Barbershop and the Barton Village BIA), the King George School and St. Giles Church (Stewart & Witton’s Gothic-revival masterpiece). All works on this 1.5-hour self-guided tour were designed in the 1910s by the firm, which operated from 1904 until Lt.-Col. Stewart’s death in France at The Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917. For Digital Doors Open, follow the tour via the map above or visit their website. #StewartWitton150

The former Carnegie Hamilton Public Library (1913-80), which now houses the Supreme Court of Justice Family Court, was constructed with a grant of $100,000 from American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and officially opened on May 5, 1913 by the Lieutenant Governor (and fellow-Hamiltonian) Sir John Morison Gibson. This library, which offered visitors open shelving for the first time, was moved after six decades of service to its current location on York Street next to the Jackson Square complex. Designed by local architect A.W. Peene in the neoclassical style, its outstanding architectural features include two-storey pilasters, massive corner piers, the entablature with dentillated cornice and a prominent staired entranceway. A central two-storey atrium with marble balustrade, double staircase and skylight unifies the interior and provides a spacious and elegant entrance lobby. In 1987, it was designated by the City of Hamilton as a significant heritage landmark and one of the finest surviving Carnegie libraries in Canada. For Digital Doors Open, learn more about the history of this building through the video below.

This was Hamilton’s first theatre built expressly to show “talkies” — motion pictures with sound. The beautiful art deco building was fully restored in 2017 by the Westdale Cinema Group and has become a cinematic, cultural and economic hub. The venue now hosts live events as well as films. It is also a community space managed as a not-for-profit charitable organization.

Westfield Heritage Village, a living history museum, consists of over 35 restored historical buildings dating from the early 1800s. Various building types are positioned as a small village within a natural conservation area of over 202 hectares (500 acres). The village was started by two high school teachers – D. Glenn Kilmer and Golden L. MacDonell – who purchased the original 12-hectare (30-acre) site to create an outdoor museum preserving 19th-century rural life. They purchased their first building, the Jerseyville Train Station, outbidding a local farmer who wanted it for his farm as an outbuilding. Six more buildings were added before it was officially opened in 1964. Some 30 buildings later, the village is a thriving cultural centre that features educational programs and events year-round. Take a virtual tour of this spectacular site in the video below.

The style and construction of the Custom House, one of Canada’s oldest remaining federal public buildings, reflect the rise of Hamilton as a major railway and port. Often cited as one of Hamilton’s foremost architectural landmarks, it currently houses the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, a community museum dedicated to celebrating all working people through art, history and culture.