WHAT MAKES A HOUSE HISTORIC?: HISTORIC HOUSES AND HERITAGE LANDSCAPES

 Heritage Moments | Madison Carmichael

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At any given time, regardless of where I live, I have an ever-evolving roster of my favourite old, pretty houses, and I tend to build walking routes around those houses. It’s fun to find such old looking places in increasingly modern cities and towns. What’s more interesting is that on some of those houses, in some places, you’ll sometimes see a small plaque affixed to the front. They look different, from city to city, but they all mean the same thing: this house has been designated as historical.

The plaque on the side of the Maitland house in question. Check out that limestone. Courtesy of Madison Carmichael.

One particular house that I had the pleasure of living in for a bit had such a plaque. I didn’t notice it at first, as the plaque was proportionally quite small to the rest of the two-story building, but both its age (1841) and its original role (Carriage House) intrigued me. At the time, I didn’t know much about the designation process, so I never did find out much more about the house; I’ve since done some digging.

The house in question sits on Maitland Street in Kingston, Ontario, which is within the bounds of Old Sydenham – a heritage district in the city. The limestone building – limestone being highly characteristic of older buildings in Kingston – was built for the Honourable John Hamilton. It was originally used, as previously mentioned, as a carriage house, as well as stables and as servants’ quarters. It is complimented by another similar former stable building that sits on the adjacent lot, and it sits behind a stone wall that spans several houses and marks the driveway for this house in particular. This wall, along with the two limestone buildings, helps to define the distinctly mid-19th century historic character of Maitland Street.

Here you can see the house as well as an equally historic stone wall on the left side of the photograph. (Source)

So: “is it historic or is it just old?” asks Shannon Dauphin Lee, contributing writer for “old house web,” an idea and advice website for old house enthusiasts. That’s the question du jour when it comes to heritage designations. Luckily for such enthusiasts, and heritage professionals everywhere, there’s legislation to help.

Lee explains that in the United States, the National Register of Historic Places goes by a set of rules to determine whether or not an old house is historic. In order to make the Register, a house must be associated with significant events in history or with the lives of people significant to the past; it must embody some distinctive characteristic or construction technique that makes it a unique structure; or it must yield important information about a certain time period.

Canadian designation criteria runs along a very similar vein. The Ontario Heritage Act confers the power to make designations and preserve heritage in Ontario to municipalities and to the province more broadly. Such parties can designate either individual properties as heritage sites or entire neighbourhoods as heritage districts. Under the OHA, a prospective property must have either: design or physical value, historical or associative value, or contextual value.

Toronto has many Heritage Conservation Districts, but Fort York was the first. This district includes Historic Fort York as well as the Garrison Common to the west of it. (Source)

So, how does our Maitland house shape up? Our Maitland house has classic limestone walls and distinctive windows, which mark the property as having design value. Such features also highlight its contextual value, a criteria which states that the property must be important in supporting the character of an era. As previously noted, the house evokes 19th-century Kingston and helps to define the overall historic character of the street. That’s two criteria satisfied. Next, let’s look at John Hamilton. According to the City of Kingston’s Property Inventory, much of the block upon which this house sits was purchased by Hamilton in 1841, who owned a steamboat line that operated on the St. Lawrence River and on Lake Ontario as well. Beyond his business, which contributed to Kingston’s early prominence as an important harbour, he was involved in local Kingston boards and the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada from 1841 to 1867. Thereafter, he sat on that same council as a senator. Hamilton’s involvement with the building imbues it with historic, associative value.

Another angle on the Maitland house. (Source)

A public survey in Vancouver found that the vast majority of residents thought that heritage buildings contributed to their sense of place – a special meaning or character that a geographic location has that gives a community its identity. In their report on that survey, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation put forth that “heritage buildings contribute to the physical and social fabric of the city.” Their value is not limited to their role as landmarks and icons; they also function as places that people can identify and interact with.

I think this can be said of almost anywhere. More locally, Toronto boasts thousands of properties that fall under the City’s Inventory of Heritage Properties. In this Inventory, properties are either “listed” or “designated,” the difference being that a listed property has only been recommended to the Inventory, implying that the City would like to see it preserved. However, a listed property has no legal protection. Conversely, a designated property requires the approval of City Council for any alterations or demolition. In a city like Toronto, which seems to be constantly under construction or considering new developments, heritage buildings play a critical role in representing the ever-transforming “physical and social fabric” of the city by memorializing older, enduring places that remain places that Torontonians interact and identify with.

But it’s not just 19th-century stone buildings. Toronto’s Heritage Preservation Services is in the process of expanding its scope in order to better value and include buildings from a variety of eras as well as the more recent past, like the 1960s and 1970s.

So, think of some of your favourite local landmarks! Do they have a designation? If so, what about them makes them historic, and what place do they have in your heritage landscape?

VERTICAL INTERSECTION: HISTORIC HOUSE SPROUTS ANEW

Program Review | Dominica Tang and Lindsay Chisholm

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Mackenzie House Museum is hosting the "Vertical Intersections Installation, Workshop & Pok¡ Launch" created by Diana Guzman of IDITA Design Services, every Sunday between January 19th and 26th as part of the DesignTO2020 festival. Guzman is a multidisciplinary industrial designer and architect that works with several mediums to create human centered designs. Her newest product, named Pok¡, is a paper-based, yet waterproof, sleeve that holds small plants that can be decorated with crayon and hung indoors or outdoors. They start out as a single sheet of paper and is transformed into a three-dimensional plant-holder with a few folds. Pok¡ is named endearingly after the pouch’s poke-ability and is an expression of Guzman’s passion for bringing people together through art and gardening.

Photograph courtesy of Dominica Tang and Lindsay Chisholm

At Mackenzie House Museum, the plants are hung on an upright rack creating a living exhibit that displays the personalities and creativity of individuals who share an interest in Guzman’s work; hence, a “vertical intersection.” The Vertical Intersection program serves as a quasi- communal garden that fits perfectly in the concrete jungle where green spaces are far and few between. It caters to anyone looking for a mini escape from the brutal wintriness of January and wishes to be in the presence of some greenery, creativity and great company.

While we sipped Moringa tea from Colombia and listened to El_Búho and Nicolă Cruz’s music, the ambiance of Mackenzie House museum shifted from being strictly a pedagogical atmosphere to a more relaxed space for open discussion. Each of us relinquished personal stories about our love for plants and our studies, which was followed by laughter. This eased us into a creative mindset where we felt connected and comfortable within the space. After an in-depth presentation on her creative process, Guzman demonstrated and patiently guided us through the assembly process at our own pace. This felt more like a conversation among friends than an educational tutorial. Finally, we decorated our Pok¡s with crayon and placed a small plant of our choice in each one. Here are our finished plant-abodes:

Photograph courtesy of Dominica Tang and Lindsay Chisholm

Toronto, during the long, barren winter months, can feel restrictive, isolating, and cold. This can make any Torontonian, especially those residing in our infamous shoe box-sized apartments, feel gloomy and disconnected. Newcomers, who may not have a local support system, can be further afflicted by the winter blues. Spaces of greenery can help relieve these feelings and serve as an oasis to escape the slush and greyness of the Torontonian winter. Guzman’s project creates green spaces to foster community building; it, as she puts it

“invite[s] locals into shared public space to grow plants, share stories, and create community. It nourishes opportunities for interaction and new friendships fighting loneliness and social isolation; grows awareness of local ecosystems and the importance of their protection and integration into urban landscapes, and educates the community to reclaim and create more green urban spaces.” 

Dominica Tang, Lindsay Chisholm and Diana Guzman. Photograph courtesy of deMirandaProducciones

Mackenzie House Museum's decision to host Vertical Intersections is something worth thinking about when considering the value and purpose of museum programming. Green spaces are not often associated with small historic houses. Furthermore, there is no obvious connection to the history of the museum, William Lyon Mackenzie, or to printing. Yet, it ties in with and enunciates the underlying values of Mackenzie House Museum, namely community building, diversity, and the well-being of their visitors. Museums in Toronto are striving to become loci of community building, but some museums activities such as self-explored and guided tours, though valuable in their own right, are not appropriate tools for such a goal.

A Pok¡ for Museum Studies Student Association (MUSSA) and one for Musings. Photograph courtesy of Dominica Tang and Lindsay Chisholm

Admission into the museum and attendance to the program is free, creating an inclusive and accessible environment. The space is inviting and allows for a wider range of visitors to attend, with a wider breadth of interests that not only pertain to history. There are few social spaces left, outside of our own homes, where we can gather and not expect to pay. Here, we can fully be in the moment and enjoy each other’s company without the looming guilt of spending money on leisurely and self-care activities.

Mackenzie House Museum, the structure and institution, and its community benefits from green-based programming. Participants bring a new liveliness and form connections to the space by taking care of the plants and colouring the Pok¡s with their own personal touch. This process helps visitors associate new memories and meaning with Mackenzie House Museum and can, potentially, change their perception of what a museum can be. A symbiotic relationship is formed resulting in the ongoing care of the heritage site.

Stay tuned for more museum programming adventures with Dominica and Lindsay, your program purveyors!

Photograph courtesy of Dominica Tang and Lindsay Chisholm