doorsopenoshawa2015

Doors Open

Saturday, September 26, 2015

2015

10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.*

Free Admission Ontario’s Sport Heritage

Celebrate our history

Circa 1900, Prospect Park Tennis Club

Visit our cultural treasures

*Site times may vary by location

www.oshawa.ca/doorsopen

905-436-3311

Bond St

Winchester Rd

5

Bagot St Metcalf St

Athol St

12 8

6

Thornton Rd

7

Celina St

John St Llyod St

King St

Albert St

2

3 4

9

Simcoe St

1

Centre St

23

Charles St

10

Columbus Rd

Mary St

Map of Doors Open Oshawa 2015 Sites

11

Bruce St

Downtown Oshawa

McGrigor St

Harmony Rd

Conlin Rd

Grandview St

Taunton Rd

22

Simcoe St

Beatrice St

21

Ritson Rd

Stevenson Rd

Rossland Rd

Legend

Arena

St

Townline Rd

Adelaide Ave

13

15 16 Bloor St

Cedar St

Boundary Rd Phillip Murray Ave

Olive Ave

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ay

1 40

18

Accessible

14

Hi gh

Went w orth

Washroom

Eulalie Ave

Wilson Rd

Gibb St

Albert St

19

Bond St

Centre St

Park Rd

20 King St

St

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17

Lake Ontario

All downtown sites have street parking, which is free on Saturdays.

Photo/ Artwork/ Display Food/ Beverage For Sale Designated under the Ontario Heritage Act

1. Oshawa City Hall 50 Centre Street South

On this site, a five storey structure was built in 1952. In 1967 a two storey wing and free standing Council Chamber were added. As the city grew so did City Hall with the addition of seven more floors to the Rundle Tower in 1969. In 2010 the original building and Council Chamber were demolished and a new one built.

The Council Chamber will be open for tours. Art & Culture in the Hall, located in the corridor leading to the Chamber, will be presenting a special sports heritage exhibit, compliments of the Oshawa Community Museum.

2. The Robert McLaughlin Gallery 72 Queen Street

Alternative Hours: 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Built in 1969, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery is the largest gallery in Durham Region, occupying an inspiring 36,000 square feet. The current building was designed by well-known architect Arthur Erickson. Renowned for his love of natural light and materials, Erickson incorporated the building’s original stone facade and flooded the lobby with natural light, skylights and soaring 35 foot ceilings. The Gallery was renovated and expanded in 1987.

Interactive and fun artist-led drawing activities will be held between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

3. Cowan House 39 Athol Street West

Built in 1858, this is a Georgian-style dwelling with Italianate properties, as seen in the bracketed eaves and portico elements. The house was once the home of businessman and Mayor W.F. Cowan and his family. Mr. Cowan served as mayor between 1889 and 1896. Today, Cowan House serves as office space and meeting rooms for St. George’s Memorial Church, located next door.

Tours will be offered throughout the day.

4. St. George’s Memorial Church 51 Centre Street South

Historic Building Plaque Recipient

St. George’s opened in the same year that Oshawa became a City: 1924. Constructed of Credit Valley sandstone in the Gothic Revival style, designer Eden Smith considered this to be his finest work. The Parish Hall was a later addition. The buttresses and Gothic tracery are noteworthy, and the tower supports a 15-bell carillon.

Special Chiming Concert: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Organ Concert: 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Tours will be offered throughout the day.

5. Simcoe Street United Church 66 Simcoe Street South

Designation Date: September 2002

H Built in 1867 for a Methodist congregation, this church is a fine example of the Gothic Revival style. Lancetarched openings and a polygonal spire with pinnacles and dormers embellish the exterior. A Casavant organ, ornamental timber arches 36 feet high and a pressedtin ceiling dominate the interior.

6. The Living Room Community Art Studio 149 Simcoe Street South

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The original house was built in 1856 and later turned into a storefront with a residence above. Community residents remember it being divided into a deli with a wool shop on the other side. After years of being unoccupied it has been reclaimed as a space for the community to gather and make art!

Participate in a special Doors Open art activity.

7. Islamic Centre of Oshawa 23 Lloyd Street

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Built in 2012 this was the first mosque to be built in Oshawa. The building has the architectural look and feel of the Ottoman Empire era. It features a traditional style dome, arched windows and a minaret. Both the dome above the main prayer hall and the dome on top of the minaret are enhanced with an ornamental crescent moon.

Guided tours and free refreshments. Please respect dress code.

8. Canadian Automotive Museum 99 Simcoe Street South

The museum, built in the 1920s and established in 1961, is located in a former car dealership.

There are approximately 76 vehicles dating from 1902 to 1988 showcasing the development of the automobile. The building contains its original freight elevator.

Gift shop, family crafts and guided tours.

9. Regent Theatre- UOIT 50 King Street East

Designation Date: January 2001 The Regent Theatre was constructed in 1921 for the Famous Players Theatre chain. The King Street facade was modeled on Georgian architectural lines. One of the city’s few remaining examples of this classically inspired style, the building reopened in September 2010 as a lecture theatre for University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) students, as well as for community and cultural events.

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10. Lazer X-treme 44 Bond Street East

Lazer X-treme is located in the former United Automobile Workers (UAW) Local 222 Union Hall. Built in 1951, this building housed what was once the largest union local in North America. Thousands of autoworkers organized to vigorously defend local autonomy and democracy, vitally shaping Oshawa’s cultural heritage.

11. 61 Charles Street- UOIT 61 Charles Street

Built in 1903 by the T. Eaton Company Limited, 61 Charles Street was expanded by the Oriental Textile Company in the 1920s to manufacture fabric for the automobile industry.

For nearly 50 years the building was the home of Alger Press Ltd. Restored in 2010, the building now provides classrooms, student services, a library, and much more as part of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT).

12. Sports Hall of Fame, General Motors Centre 99 Athol Street East

The museum is located on the first floor of the GM Centre. Various artifacts and photographs are on display depicting the sporting history of Oshawa. The Hall of Fame honours those who have achieved a high level as players, teams and builders of sport in the city.

Portraits of each inductee are found on the walls.

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13. Kinsmen Civic Memorial Stadium 89 Arena Street

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w Home to Baseball Oshawa, the stadium opened in 1949, built in honour of fallen WWII servicemen. It is from a time when ballparks were evening gathering places to socialize and cheer on the local team. Called the Wrigley Field of Canada because of the thick ivy clinging to the walls of the outfield.

Meet Hall of Famer Jim Lutton who will share his stories of baseball in Oshawa.

14 . Boys & Girls Club of Durham Eastview Unit

433 Eulalie Avenue

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The Boys and Girls Club has served Oshawa for 51 years. Thousands of residents have participated in programs at the Eastview location. Perhaps you were one of them?

Historical photos and self-guided tours.

15. Simcoe Hall Settlement House 387 Simcoe Street South

Started in 1935 by the Woman’s Welfare League, Simcoe Hall Settlement House was designed to help people in the community who were struggling. Oshawa businessman Charles Robson donated his house and property. In 1950 an addition was built to house extended programs.

Tours and archival photos. Please bring a non-perishable food item.

16. St. George’s the Great Martyr,

Ukrainian Catholic Church 597 Albert Street South

Alternative Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

This church’s green copper domes rise above the city’s skyline, creating a landmark for all travelers on Highway 401. Built in 1955, this impressive place of worship is the spiritual home for Ukrainian Catholics in the area.

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17.

The Church of St. Peter (Anglican)

1175 Cedar Street

Built in 1962, the Church of St. Peter has a simple, modern exterior. History shines in its interior, the inheritor of furnishings and stained glass from three older Oshawa Anglican churches, dating back to the 1840s. Visit the display of vestments and sacred vessels.

Guided tours are available at any time.

18. Camp X - Intrepid Park Boundary Road

Join renowned author Lynn Phillip Hodgson for a tour of Camp X, the former top-secret Second World War spy training school built in 1941. Meet at the monument in Intrepid Park to explore the remains of the camp, strategically located by the Lake Ontario shore.

Tours will be available at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Uneven terrain may be challenging.

Parking is available directly across the street from the Camp X monument.

19. Sports Heritage Fair, Civic Recreation Complex 99 Thornton Road South Alternative Hours: 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Join us in the lobby for heritage displays of Oshawa’s sport groups. Many organizations have a long and interesting history of sport in Oshawa and what better venue than the city’s newest sports complex!

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Oshawa High School Ladies basketball team, circa 1921.

20. Union Cemetery 760 King Street West

Historic Building Plaque Recipient Union Cemetery was established in 1837. It was originally named “Thornton’s Burying Ground” after Robert M. Thornton, a Secessionist Minister (United Presbyterian) who arrived as a missionary from Scotland. Many Oshawa founders such as McLaughlin, Pedlar, Thornton are interred here.

Today, the site covers 30 acres and includes private mausoleums and a Gothic Revival chapel. The mausoleum was built in 1924 and features an ornate marble interior and hand-painted stained-glass windows.

21. Ontario Regiment Museum

1000 Stevenson Road North, Oshawa Airport South Field This museum, established in 1993, is a historical summary of the military heritage of the Ontario Regiment, one of Canada’s oldest continuing armoured regiments. The display includes uniforms, medals, arms and photos, and a collection of historical vehicles with over 80 operational military jeeps, carriers, trucks and tanks.

Tours will be offered throughout the day.

22. Oshawa Executive Airport 1200 Airport Boulevard

Get a behind the scenes look at businesses and services supporting the aviation industry. There will be hands-on activities for kids, exhibitor booths, hangar buy/rent information, static plane displays and other displays of interest to the general public. A free shuttle bus is provided for transport between various airport venues and activities. Food and sightseeing flights are available for purchase.

23. Columbus Community Centre 3265 Simcoe Street North Designation Date: March 2011

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A historic landmark and neighbour to Columbus United Church, this building was once the East Whitby Township Hall. Since its construction in 1859, this building has been the centre of the community. Come and explore historical displays of Columbus and the surrounding area.

Tours of the building will be offered throughout the day. A video created for the Sesquicentennial celebration of the building will also be shown.

Tours of Columbus Methodist Cemetery: 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

+ History in the Hollows:

A Walking Tour through Oshawa’s Creek Flats

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This tour takes participants on a 45 minute journey along the Oshawa Creek, between John Street and King Street.

In giving eyes to the history of the Creek flats, or “the Hollows,” this tour offers visitors the chance to consider the history of Oshawa from the perspective of the river, the environment, and humans. This tour is digitally supported, and tour-goers are encouraged to use their smartphones to access a historical photostream, in addition to other visual supports offered by guides.

Tours depart from the main entrance of Oshawa City Hall, 50 Centre Street South, every 30 minutes from 10:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

Photos courtesty of the Thomas Bouckley Collection.

Heritage Profile

The Genosha Hotel Designation Date: June 2005

It became apparent in the 1920s that Oshawa needed a grand hotel: General Motors had expanded and wanted to hold conventions, lodging visitors from around the world; and, more locally, the increased automobile traffic along Highway 2 meant that travelers were looking for a place to stay.

Original to the site was the Second Empire home of John Walter Borsberry, a city councillor, traveling salesman and speculator. Borsberry and Fred Irwin established the company, Genosha Hotel Limited in 1928 and demolished the existing home to make way for a six storey building. The company was then sold to J.W. Butler and Co. who is credited with the design of the building.

Designed in the Chicago Style, the hotel has three distinct divisions; the lower level with commercial uses, the midsection of hotel rooms and the decorated cap of the building. Moving into the modern era of architecture the structure has a grid-like organization of window openings and wall surfaces. Decorative elements became simplified and flattened.

The hotel opened in 1929. The unfortunate timing of its inaugural year, coinciding with a severe downturn in the national economy and the ensuing depression, undermined its financial viability for several years. Regardless it was the centerpiece and social hub of downtown Oshawa. The Queen Mother spent a night there in 1939.

In the 1950s it was bought and upgraded by Harry Finer. The hotel saw 20,000 guests annually. Weddings and conventions were held there and Harry’s Hideaway Bar, the Rib Room and the first 24 hour coffee shop were opened.

The Genosha Hotel became a Designated Heritage Site in 2005. The property has recently been purchased and is currently undergoing extensive renovations. A grand opening is expected in 2017.

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Doors Open is a province-wide celebration that provides residents and

visitors with a unique opportunity to explore and enjoy sometimes hidden and always interesting places and spaces in our cities, towns, and villages – all free of charge!

Doors Open Oshawa gives the public a chance to explore the historic architecture and fascinating sites found throughout the City of Oshawa.

Spend a day discovering local history first-hand and celebrate our community heritage, during the 12th year of this great event.

Doors Open Oshawa extends a heartfelt thanks to all our wonderful sites, volunteers, and the following sponsor who make our event a great success.

Contact Information

Heritage Oshawa/Doors Open Tel.: 905-436-3311 Ext. 2945 or 3146 Web: www.oshawa.ca/doorsopen Email: heritage@oshawa.ca

Photo Credit: Images on the front cover and site number 19 are courtesy of the Oshawa Community Museum.

If this information is required in an accessible format, please contact Service Oshawa: Tel.: 905-436-3311; email: service@oshawa.ca