Doors Open

Doors Open Owen Sound 2017

Owen Sound will once again be hosting Doors Open on June 3rd and 4th. This year, the provincial theme is "Identity: Knowing ourselves" to celebrate Canada's sesquicentennial and the 50th anniversary of the Ontario Heritage Trust. The event will showcase the people, places, and events that have shaped our country's history, culture, and national pride.

Sites This Year

Doors Open Owen Sound Sites 2017

Open from 10am - 4pm unless otherwise noted.

Billy Bishop Home: Museum, Archives and National Historic Site

Billy Bishop Home & Museum Website

This is the boyhood home of First World War flying ace William Avery Bishop and is a well-preserved example of the Queen Anne revival style. The house features an eclectic mix of architectural elements, including asymmetrical proportions and decorative millwork. Dedicated as a museum in 1987, it was named a National Historic Site in 2002.

Centennial Tower

Centennial Tower Website

Conceived as a Centennial project to celebrate 100 years of Canadian Confederation, the tower and surrounding park opened in 1969 through a joint effort of two Owen Sound high schools. The 10-metre (33-foot) tower atop the Niagara Escarpment sits on the foundations of an 1887 lime kiln and offers stunning views of the city and Owen Sound Bay.

Central Westside United Church

Central Westside United Church Website

Built in 1910 as Westside Methodist Church, this building remains much the same as it did then. Constructed of local materials with Renaissance proportions in the Akron style. A veranda was added to the northeast entrance and a wheelchair ramp at the west entrance. The pipe organ also dates from 1910.

Community Waterfront Heritage Centre / Visitor Centre

Community Waterfront Heritage Centre Website

Visitor Centre Website

In 1931, the Canadian National Railway built this station, which had a separate waiting room for women and children, to replace the original Grand Trunk station. Passenger service ended in 1970. Today, the station is a landmark and tourism hub, housing the Community Waterfront Heritage Centre and Owen Sound Visitor Centre. Stroll down the nearby waterfront trail and learn more about Owen Sound's port history.

Georgian College, Centre for Marine Training and Research

Georgian College Website

One of seven campuses operated by Georgian College, the Owen Sound site is home to 23 full-time programs and houses close to 800 full-time students. Described as an "IMAX theatre on steroids", the Great Lakes International Marine Training Centre at the Owen Sound campus of Georgian College, features the most advanced marine training simulators in the country. Semi-guided tours include the Class 'A' Simulator that displays 360 degree images of nearly any port worldwide.

Great Lakes Métis Council

Great Lakes Métis Council Website

The Great Lakes Métis Council is a local chartered community council representing the Métis citizens to assist in community development and empowerment. Oversees services to the Métis community including: educational services, economic development, genealogy, Urban Multi-Purpose Aboriginal Youth Centre. The programs offered are: Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Program, Employment and Training, and MNO Infinity Property Services. 

Greenwood Cemetery and Mausoleum 

Greenwood Cemetery Website

Greenwood Cemetery, bordered by stately maples and cedar hedges, is the final resting place of ship captains, politicians and prominent businessmen, and the only cemetery in Canada in which three Victoria Cross recipients are buried (including Billy Bishop). The Indiana-limestone-clad mausoleum, built in 1927, features marble interiors and impressive stained-glass windows. A walking tour brochure is available.

Harrison Park Trails (Self-guided)

Harrison Park Website

This elaborate system of trails, located within the largest park in Owen Sound, includes the Fitness Trail (1.2 kilometres/0.7 miles), Mile Drive (0.8 kilometres/0.5 miles), Freedom Trail (600 metres/0.4 miles), Weaver's Creek Trail/Boardwalk (150 metres/0.1 miles) and a number of small secondary trails. Some of the trails are fully accessible. This self-guided site is accessible from multiple locations, for site information please visit Centennial Tower, Greenwood Cemtery, or the Vistor Centre.

Highland Manor Inn Grand Victorian Bed and Breakfast

Highland Manor Website 

This impressive 697-square-metre (7,500-square-foot) manor - a fine example of high Victorian architecture - features a library, music room, cage elevator, Roman arches, 3.66-metre (12-foot) high plaster ceilings, stained-glass windows and a grand staircase. From 1919 to 1940, the house served as a maternity hospital.

Inglis Falls Conservation Area

Inglis Falls Website

The Sydenham River cascades 18 metres (59 feet) over the Niagara Escarpment. See the remains of a water flume and grinding stones, once part of a grist, saw and woollen mill complex. Tour the filtration plant (Sunday only), built in 1910, where water was filtered and gravity-fed to local residents.

Morland Place

Morland Place Website

Built by the McCallum family in 1920, Morland Place was originally a small, country cottage-style home. The expansion at the rear was modelled on the 1870s regency Georgian villa style. The gardens, which contain concrete statues and benches, are in the European architectural style. Parts of the house can be viewed from the front hall.

Owen Sound Masonic Lodge 88

St. George's Lodge 88 Website

In 1980, the St. George's Lodge and North Star Lodge (formed in 1857 and 1874 respectively) moved to this location, a former Latter Day Saints place of worship. Along with the furniture, much of the original woodwork was taken apart, carried across town and reassembled inside.

Professional Centre - Centre Suites

Centre Suites Website

This building was originally constructed to house Richardson, Bond & Wright Co. Limited printing, which was founded in 1907 and operated at this location until the early 1970s when they relocated to the City's Industrial Park. The business continues in Owen Sound as Transcontinental RBW Graphics. The original RBW building has been adaptively reused for offices and condos known as the Professional Centre and Centre Suites. Come and enjoy the views and vistas of downtown, the harbour, and Salvation Corners from the private terrace atop the former home of one of Canada's most important printing establishments.

Roselawn Bowling Club

Roselawn Blowing Club Website

Lawn bowling has been a popular summer sport in Owen Sound for more than 100 years. The club, originally called Owen Sound North (Brooke) Lawnbowling Club, purchased this property for $200 in 1948. After a fire in the 1990s destroyed the St. George's Lawnbowling Club facility, Roselawn welcomed its members. Visit and take the opportunity to try lawn bowling.

St. George's Anglican Church

St. George's Anglican Church Website 

St. George's was fashioned after the renowned St. Mary's of Bristol, England. Unlike the towers of typical English great churches, St. George's tower is located on the side elevation, where the nave and transept walls meet, and serves as the main entrance. Otherwise, the church is laid out in the typical cruciform style of the early Victorian Gothic revival period.

Tom Thomson Art Gallery

Tom Thomson Art Gallery Website 

This gallery, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017, houses a nationally significant collection of the works of Tom Thomson (1877-1917). A new exhibit, Betwixt & Between: An Untold Tom Thomson Story, is a multi-faceted, fully immersive, interactive exhibition designed to tie the story of Thomson with the often-overlooked history of the First Nations peoples of the Bruce Peninsula.

Tone Studio

Tone Studio Website

Built of native stone in 1871 as a Congregational church, the property was sold in 1882 to the Women's Christian Temperance Union for use as a meeting hall. The building became a Lutheran church in 1943, and the Christian Science Society bought it in 1963. It was sold to private interests in 2006.

Become a Volunteer!

If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity, we still have some open spaces - no heritage knowledge required, just enthusiasm!

For more information, contact us at 519-376-4440, ext. 1256, or by email sollerton@owensound.ca.

 Event Map

Doors Open Owen Sound Background

The City of Owen Sound participated in Doors Open for the first time in 2003. With sponsorship assistance from local business, 20 sites in and around Owen Sound opened their doors. As a first-year event, Doors Open Owen Sound achieved 4,500 visits through its doors and sites. 2017 is the 15th annual Doors Open Owen Sound.

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