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Plaque commemorating Auld Kirk Presbyterian Church and cemetery

Eliakim Barnum came to this area in 1807 from the United States and began a thriving milling business, a tavern and distillery. With success, he was able to build this house — one of Ontario’s finest examples of neoclassical architecture. The house remained in the Barnum family until 1917.

Originally Simpson’s department store, this landmark building was a Bay store from 1991 to 2025. It was the first building in Canada constructed with a load-bearing metal frame.

This church replaced an earlier building from 1820. Distinguished by stepped battlements on its façade, the new building was designed in the early Gothic revival style by noted architect Kivas Tully, who would later design Victoria Hall. The new building opened for service in 1854.

When this church was built, it was then on the outskirts of Toronto. Henry Scadding, who lived in the house nearby, was the church’s first rector. Starting in the 20th century, it started offering programming and assistance to Toronto’s inner city.

Today a museum, this structure is the oldest existing stone building in Ottawa. During the construction of the Rideau Canal, it was a storehouse, office and treasury. The building was turned over to the Canadian government in 1864.

Begun as a school, this building became a centre for minority rights agitation in Ontario in the early 20th century. When the provincial government issued a directive (known as Regulation 17) in 1912, it meant restricting French-language education. Opposition was widespread but particularly intense in Ottawa.

The first fort was built during the War of 1812. The present structures were built between 1832-37. Today, the site is a museum.

A small fort was established near here in 1717 by a French officer, replacing an earlier structure. It served as the base of operations for la Vérendrye, the famous explorer. A later fort of the same name was built downriver and renamed Fort William in 1807. It became the nucleus of the city.

This plaque commemorates the last French post built in present-day Southern Ontario.

This grand hotel opened in 1903 and became almost immediately known as the “King Eddy.” It was designed to provide luxury and service in dramatic settings. The 18-storey tower, with its top-floor Crystal Ballroom, was added in 1920-21. Although threatened with demolition in the 1970s, the hotel was revitalized in the early 1980s and this plaque was unveiled in 2003 to commemorate the hotel’s 100th anniversary.

Following a push by educators and business representatives for an institution of higher learning in Ontario’s northwest, the Lakehead Technical Institute was established in 1946. By 1965, it became Lakehead University and conferred its first degrees.

Now known as the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres, this complex was designed by renowned architect Thomas Lamb for entrepreneur Marcus Loew as the Canadian flagship of his American theatre chain. The stacked theatres opened in 1913-14.

This church was designed by architect Henry Langley in the high Victorian Gothic style. Constructed in 1872 to replace an earlier structure, it was badly damaged by fire in 1928 and rebuilt. It was here that the first General Council of the United Church met in 1925.

The last stop on this walking tour is Moulton College, which once stood at this site. The school was a girls’ preparatory school founded by Susan Moulton McMaster (as part of McMaster University in Hamilton) and was housed in the former McMaster residence located here.

Built from local stone, this Presbyterian church was begun in 1830 on land acquired from Joseph Keeler, a prominent local merchant. Little altered since 1911, it remains one of the oldest surviving Presbyterian churches in Ontario.

This strategic location was established for the defence of the loyalist settlement at Cataraqui (now Kingston).

The then-Prince of Wales and his brother opened this impressive entrance to the Canadian National Exhibition grounds in 1927.

This university has had many names over the years. Established in 1948, it was named for Egerton Ryerson (founder of the province’s education system). In the 1970s, it was given limited degree-granting powers. It became a full university in 1993. Today, it is known as the Toronto Metropolitan University.

This church is the main church of Canada’s largest English-speaking Catholic archdiocese. Begun in 1845, the site has seen several additions over the years — including the chancel window in 1858 and the tower and spire in 1867.

Named in honour of Governor General Lord Stanley (also of hockey fame), the Stanley Barracks have been here since the 1840s. Today, all that remains is this building, the Officers’ Quarters.

This building was constructed as a naval warehouse. By 1876, it was refitted to house the newly established Royal Military College of Canada.

Established by Egerton Ryerson in 1847, the Toronto Normal School was the first provincial institution for the systematic training of elementary school teachers.

Teaching began at this new college in 1836. By 1841, they were granting degrees. In 1890, it federated with the University of Toronto and, two years later, left Cobourg.

This imposing classical structure was built as an expression of civic pride and confidence. Finished in 1860, it housed a courtroom and a concert hall. Its distinctive cupola remains a landmark. In 1983, it re-opened following an extensive restoration program.