Heritage & Cultural Planning

Founded in 1889, the Don Valley Brick Works became one of the largest and most significant brick manufacturers in Canada, relying on locally extracted clay, shale, and sand. Many of Toronto’s landmark masonry buildings, such as Massey Hall, Old City Hall, Casa Loma, and the Royal Ontario Museum, were constructed with Don Valley’s award-winning bricks....

Dundurn National Historic Site is a prominent historic house in Hamilton, dating from 1835. This Regency style mansion was built as the home of Sir Allan Napier McNab. ERA’s work at Dundurn includes underpinning of foundations walls, repointing and waterproofing and below-grade drainage to prevent periodic floods in the basement. Extensive archaeological work was done...

ERA provided research and consultation on the heritage resources that could be affected by the proposed alterations and additions, designed by Castellan James Architects, to the Sudbury Courthouse. The building needed modifications to address long-standing issues related to program and space requirements on the site, provision of a sallyport entrance, and renovation and expansion of...

Victoria Memorial Square is the City of Toronto’s first European cemetery. It was created in 1793/94 by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe shortly after the establishment of the Garrison at York and the founding of the town. Simcoe’s infant daughter, Katherine, was one of the first to be buried at the cemetery which was closed...

Found Toronto was presented as part of the Building On History exhibit that opened at Harbourfront Centre in January 2009. The intent of the show was to communicate to the public how heritage architects practice. ERA’s installation focused on the historical research process by allowing visitors to literally connect the dots between an historical map,...

The City of Cambridge boasts a history of high quality farmland and industrial activity along its main rivers. The potential that heritage conservation offers for community revitalization and economic development is central to ERA’s work. In collaboration with BRAY Heritage, Archaeological Services Inc., Maltby & Associates Inc. and the Tourism Company, ERA devised a Heritage...

With the renewal of many of Toronto’s great cultural institutions, the next phase of great city building effort will focus on the public spaces that surround them. Under the direction of Mayor Miller’s “Vision 2010”, the City of Toronto, as custodian of the public realm, will be taking steps to promote the opportunities presented by...

The Royal Ontario Museum is a national cultural and architectural landmark, and is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act by the City of Toronto. Since its opening in 1914, the building has undergone several significant additions by prominent local architects, resulting in a fine building that displays the regional development of early...

The Wesley Building was designed by Burke Horwood & White in 1913 to house the Methodist Book and Publishing Company (later the Ryerson Press). This broadcasting building is a designated heritage property, distinctive for its fine cream-coloured terra cotta tile cladding and ornamentation. ERA was retained to oversee the restoration of the terra cotta tile...

Laid out as part of the historic Village of East Toronto in the 1880s, Lyall Avenue is a good example of the early development patterns that created Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods and represent Toronto’s rich urban heritage. ERA worked with Lyall Avenue residents to complete a Heritage Conservation District Plan to recognize and maintain the valued...

The Richmond Adelaide Centre consists of a large block of commercial buildings in downtown Toronto. Significant heritage buildings, from the 1920s through to the 1960s exist on the site including the Concourse Building (100 Adelaide St. W.) of 1929, an important heritage property designated by the City of Toronto under Part IV of the Ontario...

The Chapman & McGiffin designed public library, formerly known as the Dovercourt Branch, was opened in 1913 and renamed the Bloor and Gladstone Public Library in 1938. It was intended to serve a community at Bloor Street and Dovercourt Road and was the first Toronto Public Library branch to be entirely financed by the City...