Lecture Series
Heritage Ottawa is lining up an enticing program for our 2025-2026 Free Lecture Series!
We ask that you PRE-REGISTER in advance of each free lecture. Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming season!
The lectures begin at 7 pm and are presented via ZOOM, unless otherwise indicated, and last approximately one hour.
Note: Several of our lectures are available for viewing on Heritage Ottawa's YouTube channel .
Upcoming Lectures
DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT
DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT: Preserving the Past Before It's Too Late
VIA ZOOM | Click link below to register
On the occasion of our annual Bob and Mary Anne Phillips Memorial Lecture, Heritage Ottawa is pleased to present an important panel presentation on Demolition By Neglect, one of the most vexatious problems of built heritage conservation.
Our heritage buildings are non-renewable resources and important physical reminders of our city’s past. Four panelists will look at various causes of demolition by neglect—from wilful abandonment to costs of rehabilitation—consider possible solutions, and share examples of both positive and negative situations in our city.
A question and answer period will follow the presentation.
Lesley Collins, RPP, MCIP, CAHP is the Program Manager of the Heritage Planning Branch at the City of Ottawa. She has a Master’s of Science in Planning from the University of Toronto and has worked as a Heritage Planner since 2006. She joined the City of Ottawa in 2009 where she has worked on many complex files. Lesley is passionate about heritage conservation and very concerned about the occurrence of demolition by neglect where it occurs in our city.
Jack Hanna is a retired teacher with a passion for history and a longtime resident of Centretown where he has been deeply involved with the Centretown Community Association. He is currently Chair of its Heritage Committee. Jack actively champions for heritage conservation in the area and helps raise awareness by leading walking tours and advocating for livable, well-designed development in the neighbourhood.
Heather Mitchell is a retired public servant and film/television actor working under the name Heather Tod Mitchell. A resident of Westboro for over 25 years, she served on the board of the Island Park Community Association and is currently Vice-Chair of the Heritage and Outreach Committee of the Westboro Community Association. Heather was motivated to participate in Heritage Ottawa's Demolition by Neglect working group by "the systematic destruction" of the area's heritage buildings and her goal of seeing what remains conserved and repurposed.
Linda Hoad is a long-standing member of the board of Heritage Ottawa and its Advocacy Committee. As Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee, the more activist arm of the organization, she is in contact with local community associations about the heritage challenges they are facing. A longtime resident of Hintonburg, Linda has been an active participant on its Zoning Committee. She is also a former member and Chair of Ottawa’s Committee of Adjustment.
Past Lectures
KÌWEKÌ POINT REDEVELOPMENT'S INTERPRETATION
VIA ZOOM | NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
The recently completed Kìwekì Point is a signature public realm landscape for the National Capital Commission. The project began with the ambitious goal to reconnect the park with the Ottawa River and transform the pedestrian experience within the National Capital Region. This award-winning Big River Landscape is a powerful public space that honours Algonquin heritage and celebrates the relationship…
Garry Meus is a Senior Landscape Architect with the National Capital Commission. Garry’s career as an urban planner, landscape architect, and urban designer has focused on reshaping cities, towns, and communities through inclusive, culturally grounded, and forward-thinking design. He holds a Bachelor in Landscape Architecture from the University of Montréal and a graduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of New Orleans, with additional studies in urban growth development in Mexico. With experience in private, nonprofit, and public sectors, Garry brings a wealth of insight into creating vibrant, inclusive public spaces that reflect both cultural identity and community needs.
CONCRETE UTOPIAS: WHAT'S (NOT) SO BRUTAL ABOUT BRUTALISM
AN IN-PERSON LECTURE | REGISTER USING DROP-DOWN FORM ON THE RIGHT
This seasonal event will be held at the special venue of the Beechwood National Memorial Centre, Sacred Space Room, 280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa
It has been said that brutalist architecture is “unloved but not unlovely.” Beyond the monolithic, opaque, concrete façades are buildings filled with drama, mystery, and strong civic focus. In the postwar building boom…
Dr. Sarah Gelbard (she/her) is a critical community-based urban planning and architecture scholar. Her research and community work engage with stories of participatory planning, community practices, neighbourhood change, and complex histories of power, exclusion, and urban inequities. She is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of Ottawa, and a contract instructor at the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism at Carleton University. For well over a decade, Sarah has been sharing her love of Ottawa's brutalist architecture with a popular walking tour as well as several published pieces in Spacing magazine and the Centretown Buzz, and featured in several interviews on the CBC.
Thomas Seaton Scott: Canada's First Chief Architect
VIA ZOOM | NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
The varied career of Thomas Seaton Scott (1826-1895) includes his formative years in Britain, a grand tour of Gothic architecture in Italy and Germany in 1850, the design of small and monumental railway stations for the Grand Trunk Railway and Canadian Pacific, and numerous churches—including St. Bartholomew in Ottawa and erecting Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal. His ten years as Chief Architect at Public Works (1871-1881) saw a brief…
David Jeanes has been interested in Thomas Seaton Scott's career for the last 20 years, including original research to correct some earlier negative assessments of Scott and his influence. He has personal experience of Scott's railway, church and government architecture and has studied the architect’s 1850 sketchbooks.
EMERGING SCHOLARS CONNECT! THESE WALLS CAN TALK: STORIES FROM HINTONBURG'S BUILT HERITAGE
VIA ZOOM | NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
We are pleased to feature an Emerging Scholars Connect event with students from Carleton University to highlight how young people are chronicling history and advocating for practices that balance historical conservation with contemporary needs, interests, and values.
Hintonburg today is a lively, diverse and walkable community, with quiet residential neighbourhoods and a vibrant traditional main street with…
Moderator: Peter Coffman, is an architectural historian and Supervisor of Carleton University’s History & Theory of Architecture program. He is the author of the book Newfoundland Gothic, as well as numerous scholarly articles in Canadian and European periodicals and books. He has also written about architecture in several newspapers and magazines, including several Op-Eds on architecture in Ottawa. He has degrees from the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University, York University, and Queen’s University. He is also an award-winning photographer and in his spare time, he served two terms as president of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada and on the Board of Heritage Ottawa.
Isra Abid is a fourth-year Combined Honours undergraduate student in History and Theory of Architecture and Law. She completed the architecture component in April and will finish law in December. With a passion for the built environment and legal frameworks, she hopes to pursue law school and real estate law.
Tylor Doyle-Chenard is a fourth-Year Art History Major at Carleton University. Through his studies he has developed his appreciation for architectural design and heritage preservation. Tyler has completed two practicums working with textual and visual archives as a collections assistant with the Audio-Visual Resource Centre (AVRC) at Carleton University.
Zaid Hashim , is a graduate student in Urban Planning at the University of Toronto. He has completed his B.A. in History and Theory of Architecture, with minors in Urban Studies and Heritage Conservation. Zaid's interests lie in the intersection of heritage, architecture, and urban space, with a passion for uncovering the layered stories embedded into the built environment.
Teresa Keuleman is a History and Theory of Architecture student at Carleton University. Her research explores Ottawa heritage architecture, including projects with PR-TY Architects, the City of Ottawa, and community associations. She integrates extensive archival investigation with creative communication to demonstrate the relevance of architectural history in contemporary communities.
Ana Teoh has a BA in Art History from Carleton University with a minor in Greek and Roman Studies. She is a two-time recipient of the Landen Dominic Burnett Memorial Award and received the Senate Medal upon her graduation in June 2025.
HERITAGE PROTECTION AND CANADA LANDS COMPANY: STEWARDSHIP OF FORMER FEDERAL PROPERTIES
Presented via ZOOM
Canada Lands Company plays an important role in preserving heritage assets on its properties through responsible redevelopment of former federal properties. As a steward of these lands, Canada Lands conducts public engagement that supports the redevelopment of under-utilized lands while including heritage planning to determine key heritage values to be respected, protected and integrated into vibrant new communities.
Through…
Mary Jarvis, Senior Director, Real Estate National Capital Region
Katherine Constantine, Senior Director, Real Estate National Capital Region
Spanning Time: The Bridges of Ottawa-Gatineau
SPECIAL EVENT IN APPRECIATION OF OUR MEMBERS, DONORS, SPONSORS & VOLUNTEERS
…Adriana David moved to Ottawa in the early 1990s and has spent decades paddling down, running aside, and being amazed by Ottawa’s three great rivers – the Ottawa, Rideau, and Gatineau. In time, she became just as enthralled with the city’s bridges.
Seeing Big - A New Museum for the Outaouais
The new Musée régionale de l’Outaouais will be defined by the rich history, heritage and cultural vitality of the region’s broad territory. Creating a new regional museum is a rare opportunity, made even more exciting by housing that museum in a rehabilitated industrial heritage building on the former E.B. Eddy site, in the heart of Gatineau’s core.
This bilingual presentation will provide an overview of the overall project to create a regional museum, and the conservation challenges…
At Home With The Prime Minister: Ottawa Residences of the Prime Ministers Prior to 1952
VIA ZOOM | NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Prior to the establishment of 24 Sussex Drive as the official residence, Prime Ministers had to secure their own accommodations in Ottawa. This presentation will look at some of the residences that were occupied by these men both while they were Members of Parliament and Prime Ministers.
The presentation offers a look at their personal lives, rather than their political careers, and will provide a glimpse of the Ottawa of their…
The Ontario Heritage Act Turns 50! The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful
VIA ZOOM | NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
On the occasion of our annual Bob & Mary Anne Phillips Memorial Lecture, Heritage Ottawa is pleased to mark the 50th anniversary of the Ontario Heritage Act with a panel presentation on the history, implementation and challenges associated with this seminal piece of legislation.
Fifty years ago, on March 5, 1975, after years of struggle at community and municipal levels, the Ontario…
The Abbot of Kingsmere: Mackenzie King and his Ruins
VIA ZOOM | NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL BY CLICKING HERE.
The architectural ruins that William Lyon Mackenzie King built at his Kingsmere estate defy simple explanation. Today, they are used for everything from picnics to ghost tours to wedding photos. But for King himself, they were hallowed ground. He read poetry among them, buried his beloved dogs there, and even considered having himself buried there. The ruins’…
The Singing Tower on the Hill: A Civic Voice to Commemorate, Communicate & Celebrate
This seasonal event will be held at the special venue of the Beechwood National Memorial Centre, Sacred Space Room, 280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa
Like a phoenix, the Peace Tower and its carillon arose from fire and conflict. The Victoria Tower and its single clock bell, destroyed by the Centre Block blaze in 1916, were replaced in 1927 by the Peace Tower and its carillon of 53 bells…
MOSHE SAFDIE — SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE DESIGN
VIA ZOOM | NOW AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL BY CLICKING HERE.
Moshe Safdie has been practicing architecture for almost 60 years. He has designed headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, with satellite offices in Jerusalem, Shanghai and Singapore (and occasionally Toronto). His oeuvre encompasses more than 100 completed buildings, including the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, communities and master plans on…
Emerging Scholars Connect: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives on Conservation and Community
IN PERSON AT UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA, DESMARAIS HALL, ROOM 1130
FREE LECTURE VIA ZOOM
Young people bring fresh ideas, creativity, and a strong sense of innovation to the preservation of the National Capital’s cultural legacy, ensuring it remains relevant and dynamic for future generations. Interdisciplinary perspectives, whether from History, Public History, Architecture, and other areas of research, can foster a robust connection between…
Beauty and Authenticity in Ottawa’s Architecture: Options and Guidance for New Additions
In person at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, Woodside Hall, 355 Cooper Street and Via ZOOM | | Now Available on our YouTube channel.
How should a new heritage district building or building addition look? Must it “be of its time?” Should it be faithful to the area’s existing traditional buildings? Who should decide?
Classic Planning Institute Founder Dr. Nir Buras will explain how Modernism became the…
An Evening with the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson
An Inspiring Capital for All of Us: An Evening with the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson
Preregistration is required. SCROLL DOWN to register.
Heritage Ottawa is pleased to partner with the National Capital Commission (NCC) and the Global Centre for Pluralism for an evening with the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson who will present From Sussex Street to Sussex Drive: A refugee’s journey to Rideau Hall.…
The Identification of a Long Ignored Indigenous Cultural Landscape in the National Capital Region, and the Road That Led Us Here
FREE LECTURE VIA ZOOM | Now Available on our YouTube Channel.
The grass may be greener elsewhere but your front yard may still hold surprises.
Although awareness of the archaeological past of Canada’s national capital region began fairly soon after the establishment of permanent Euro-Canadian communities in the region, the presence of national institutions dedicated to studying archaeology did not advance our understanding of the region’…
Canadian Women Astronomers and the Dominion Observatory
Presented via ZOOM and now available on Heritage Ottawa's YouTube channel.
Built in 1904, the Dominion Observatory — Canada’s National Observatory — helped nurture the careers of women astronomers in Canadian astronomy until the mid-1970s. Ottawa’s Observatory Campus is turning 120 years old this spring, which calls for a celebration of its remarkable history, its architectural significance, and its social connection to the nation’s scientific achievements.…
24 Sussex Drive: From Residence to Reticence
CLICK HERE to watch the CPAC recording of this important discussion!
THANK YOU to the hundreds of people who participated in our panel discussion on the future of 24 Sussex Drive that took place in the beautifully refurbished Sanctuary of the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, and online for those who could not attend in person.
SANCTUARY PANEL DISCUSSION: 24 Sussex Drive: From Residence to Reticence
On the occasion of our annual…
Maplelawn’s Walled Garden of Delight: 30 Years of Stewardship
Presented via ZOOM and available on our YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
The property today known as Maplelawn was established in the 1830s by the Thomson family, and successively owned and nurtured by two other families: the Coles and the Rochesters.
Each family had a special interest in the signature garden there, and expended considerable resources to keep it well cultivated and in luxuriant flower. In 1936, the Rochesters hired Warren Oliver, of the…
The Freiman’s Santa Claus Train
This lecture is now available on Heritage Ottawa's YouTube channel.
Via ZOOM | CLICK HERE to register for this free lecture.
Between 1956 and 1972, children in Ottawa could start their celebration of the Christmas holidays with a ride on a very special train. Freiman’s Department Store chartered a special Santa Claus train on the Canadian National Railway that would take children and their chaperones from Ottawa to the “…
