GUELPH POLITICAST #415 - Doors Open Preview

Doors Open Guelph is one of dozens of similar events across Ontario that celebrates local history and heritage by throwing open the doors to buildings that are typically pretty inaccessible to the general public. There’s no shortage of history and heritage nerds in Guelph who all have their favourites so how are the sites chosen, why are they chosen, and why are these buildings on the 2024 tour?

The Ontario Heritage Trust started organizing Doors Open events around the province in 2002 and Guelph started doing it’s own a few years after that and it’s been a regular appointment every April. Well, almost every April. You might recall that there was a pause in going to strange places four years ago with the COVID-19 pandemic, and while that means there are still no tours of private homes that doesn’t mean there’s no shortage of juicy stops on this year’s tour!

On Saturday April 27, a dedicated group of community volunteers will be ready to receive you at nearly dozen different places around Guelph. You can go from duelling city halls downtown, to the home base of the Guelph Black Heritage Society; from Dublin Street United Church, which is marking their sesquicentennial this year, to the literal end of the line at the mausoleum of Woodlawn Memorial Park. Also, you can blind yourself with science at the Guelph Research and Development Centre on Stone Road!

This week, we're joined by Susan Ratcliffe, who is one of the organizers of the annual Doors Open Guelph, and she will take us through the program to talk about each property, the secrets it holds, why it was chosen, and what you’re going to see when you get there. We’re also going to discuss how Doors Open is organized, how the program comes together every year, how pandemic concerns are still impacting what appears, and Ratcliffe’s personal, favourite pick from this year’s line-up. 

So let's learn more about these Doors that will Open on this week's Guelph Politicast!

You can take part in Doors Open Guelph at all the locations we discussed on Saturday April 27 from 10 am to 4 pm, and you can get the full of locations and addresses at the City's website. You can also take part in Doors Open After Dark, which takes place the day before from 5 pm to midnight at the Guelph Civic Museum.

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