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)

Meet the Ward 2 Heritage Council at the Lister Building. They are a small group of residents, along with Councillor Cameron Kroetsch, who celebrate and promote the rich heritage of Ward 2 communities. See how you can get involved with the Ward 2 Heritage Council to preserve Hamilton’s built heritage and create a vibrant sense of pride within the community.

Join local author Bill King for a 90-minute walking tour that explores historical and architectural highlights of downtown Hamilton. You will visit buildings throughout the city’s 200-year history, as well as public spaces, art and statues, alleys and some little-known oddities. King will also share his knowledge of notable architects and other figures connected with the buildings and sites visited.

This walking tour — led by Megan Hobson, Principal of Hobson Built Heritage Consulting — will explore adaptive reuse projects in Ancaster's historical village core. Ancaster is one of the oldest villages in Ontario and has some extraordinary pre-Confederation buildings. It has become a sought-after residential location with many striking historical buildings now enjoying new uses and showcasing new opportunities.

Open since 1994, ellënoire is a body and bath fragrance and curly hair shop. These unique products are made here in Dundas. The building — a beautiful Romanesque revival post office — is now home to many thriving businesses. Identified for demolition, the building was saved by a group of local citizens. This soap foundry is in keeping with local foundry history.

Hamilton Craft Studios is a 1,300-square-metre (14,000-square-foot) multidisciplinary craft space in a historical wire factory in downtown Hamilton. Panoramic windows fill the space with natural light. The second floor houses woodworking and fabrication spaces, while the third floor features ceramics, textiles and general arts studios — offering tools, equipment and shared workspaces for makers of all skill levels.

The gatehouse at Hamilton Cemetery is a historical landmark, showcasing Gothic revival architecture with charming stonework and arched windows. Built in 1854, the gatehouse was once the cemetery caretaker’s home and a chapel. Today, it serves as the arrangements office and administration offices for all 71 cemeteries operated by Hamilton Municipal Cemeteries. Join a tour at 2 p.m. each day.

Dundas is a town with a thriving commercial core mixing retail, restaurants and residential uses in buildings often constructed for industrial purposes. Join historian Stan Nowak for an in-depth look at 15 historical buildings in downtown Dundas. The tour will also illustrate how we can breathe new life into a community while continuing to preserve its architectural heritage.

Believed to have been built in 1812 to house soldiers, The Barracks Inn building has been a drugstore, a body shop and a tool and die shop over the years. The original building burned down and was replaced by a solid stone structure. Now a luxury boutique hotel, the building has been remodelled and delightfully restored.

Barrel Heart Brewing is an upscale brewery and eatery in the old Dundas post office. The old-world brewing traditions are perfectly suited to the post office vibe. Visitors can enjoy lunch in the taproom, buy a few bottles of beer, or simply drink in the beauty of the location in a landmark Dundas building.

The restoration project at this site brings together two 19th-century heritage buildings — each with an elegant façade. Only by combining the two buildings was it possible to bring the structures to modern standards and code, rather than demolishing them. The architects kept the old character and plaster walls while updating mechanical and structural aspects of the building.

The Halo Studio is a one-of-a-kind recording studio that offers professional audio engineering services in the heart of downtown Hamilton. Their custom-built studio was originally designed by Trevor Garwood Jones as a dental office in 1972, some architectural detailing remains and now provides the perfect vibes for creating great projects. Their control room has recorded Bruce Springsteen and Kanye West.

The Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre is in the heart of Ancaster Village. It includes the 454-seat Peller Hall, Voortman Studio Theatre and multiple rooms for art, film, theatre and dance. This state-of-the-art centre will serve as home to many of Ancaster's successful and popular community arts groups. It will also provide a venue for many professional performers and artists.

This innovative concert hall has a virtual acoustic system. It advances research on human interaction and music's impact on health. It is also used to assist Parkinson's patients, improve music listening for the hard of hearing, and enhance creativity in performances. This acclaimed national treasure offers a unique contribution to understanding the power of music. Limited availability. Pre-registration required.

Located at the Hill Park Learning Centre, the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board Archives contains records and memorabilia of almost 350 former and current Hamilton-region schools. The volunteers and staff will be illustrating the many schools in Hamilton Region that have been repurposed to residential or commercial use. This is a treasure trove for former students and families!

The elegant Edwardian gable and bay on Grant Avenue was transformed by Dan Lanois, Bob Lanois and Bob Doidge into the world-renowned recording venue, Grant Avenue Studio. The two-storey box bay façade with stained-glass windows has welcomed artists from Gordon Lightfoot and Stan Rogers to U2 and Johnny Cash. Check out this excellent example of adaptive reuse.

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.

The beaux arts-style Carnegie Library in Dundas was built in 1910. When the Hamilton Public Library stopped using the building, its future was uncertain. Taking advantage of the thriving arts community, Dundas citizens formed the Carnegie Craft Carnival Committee to raise funds for necessary building maintenance. The Carnegie Gallery was subsequently developed and has been thriving for 40 years.

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 rich history of the Hamilton Cemetery and Gatehouse will be revealed by the gatehouse staff in a walking tour around Hamilton's oldest public burial ground. Come and enjoy this rare opportunity to tour the inside of the gatehouse building — including tours of the vault and the former caretaker’s residence.

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.

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.

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.

Whitehern Historic House and Garden is a mid-19th-century urban estate owned by the McQuesten family for three generations. It was built in 1848 with a 1930s addition. The home includes original family furnishings from the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian eras in the context of Thomas B. McQuesten’s career in 1939. Today, it is a splendid museum with beautiful gardens.

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.