Cathedral Church of St. George
City Hall’s sunburst chandelier
AERIAL PHOTO COURTESY OF ONTARIOTRAVEL.NET; LIGHT PHOTO BY MARTY RICHARDSON; BELLEVUE PHOTO BY TAKASHI TOYOOKA; MARINA PHOTO BY PAT O’MALLEY
Bellevue House
Portsmouth Olympic Harbour
House — a National Historic Site dating back to 1840 that was once home to Canada’s first prime minister and local hero, Sir John A. Macdonald. Guides dressed in period costumes provide tours of the house and gardens. Next door to Portsmouth Olympic Harbour you’ll find Canada’s Penitentiary Museum, featuring artifacts and photographs housed in the former warden’s residence. Just up the hill, the Original Hockey Hall of Fame pays tribute to Canada’s national sport and features the Don Cherry collection; Cherry, of loud sport jacket fame, grew up in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, our favorite museum, the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, closed recently, as its highly sought-after lakefront property was sold for residential development. We highly recommend the guided tour of Kingston City Hall, which was built in 1844 while Kingston was the first capital of Canada (Ottawa was later selected as the capital, to distance it from Canada’s then-enemy, the U.S.). City Hall now serves as the administrative center for Kingston and is filled with interesting memorabilia, including the impressive sunburst chandelier, which sports 373 light bulbs. City Hall serves as the jumping-off point for free, self-guided walking tours through town; be sure to pickup the provided printed and audio route guides. We laced up our shoes and strolled past lovingly maintained, stately historic limestone homes along King Street, just one of the 10 tours outlined in the guide. The city got its nickname “Limestone City” from the many heritage buildings constructed from local limestone, which are still standing today. Next, we were off to the Historic Cathedral Church of St. George, which offers a self-guided tour that we completed after listening to Ali Berkok’s chamber-jazz piano performance — one of a dozen such performances hosted by the church throughout the summer.
Canada Celebrates 150th Anniversary This year marks Canada’s 150th anniversary. To celebrate, there will be year-round events across the country. See a list of events at PASSPORT2017.CA. Parks Canada is also offering free admission to national parks and heritage sites for the entire year, and will waive lockage fees on the Rideau Canal and other waterways. To get your free Parks Canada Discovery Pass, visit PC.GC.CA.
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