Lecture Series

Heritage Ottawa is lining up an enticing program for our 2024-2025 Free Lecture Series!

We ask that you pre-register in advance of each free lecture. See the individual listings below for details.

Thank you to our Lecture Series sponsor ANDREX HOLDINGS .

Note: Several of our lectures are available for viewing on Heritage Ottawa's YouTube channel ​​​​​​.

Upcoming Lectures

  • The Singing Tower on the Hill: A Civic Voice to Commemorate, Communicate & Celebrate
    Wednesday, December 18, 2024 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Beechwood National Memorial Centre
    Sacred Space Room
    280 Beechwood Avenue
    Ottawa, ON K1L 8A6
    Canada
    AN IN-PERSON LECTURE | SCROLL DOWN TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT

    This seasonal event will be held at the special venue of the Beechwood National Memorial Centre, Sacred Space Room, 280 Beechwood...

  • The Abbot of Kingsmere: Mackenzie King and his Ruins
    Wednesday, January 22, 2025 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Canada

    VIA ZOOM | PREREGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

    The architectural ruins that William Lyon Mackenzie King built at his Kingsmere estate defy simple explanation. Today, they are used for everything...

Past Lectures

  • Historic Alexandra Bridge: Climate Action and Greening Infrastructure
    Wednesday, September 21, 2022 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM | Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    Free lecture presented via ZOOM. Now Available on our YouTube channel.

    Join Heritage Ottawa for part three in our series of lectures on the Alexandra Bridge, this time presenting an...

  • Alaska Highway: Journeys Alongside a Cultural Landscape
    Wednesday, June 22, 2022 - 19:00 to 21:00
    IN PERSON MEMBERS EVENT | Orange Art Gallery
    290 City Centre Drive
    Ottawa, ON K1R 1C7
    Canada

    A Special MEMBERS-ONLY EVENT

    Join us at the Orange Art Gallery for this special illustrated lecture.

    Refreshments and time to re-connect begin at 6:30 pm. The lecture follows at 7...

  • The Concerns and Challenges of the Alexandra Bridge: PSPC’s Perspective
    Wednesday, April 20, 2022 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM | Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    Join Heritage Ottawa for part two in our series of lectures on the Alexandra Bridge, this time presenting the federal government’s perspective on the future of the bridge. 

    The Lecture...

  • DISCOVERING THE HIDDEN TREASURES OF RURAL OTTAWA: FITZROY
    Wednesday, March 16, 2022 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM | Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    Located in the far west of Ottawa, the former township of Fitzroy harbours a wealth of heritage properties that even those who live in nearby Ottawa, know little about.

    THIS LECTURE IS NOW...
  • Phillips Memorial Lecture | Pluriverse Rising: Indigenous Design
    Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM | Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada
    The Annual Phillips Memorial Lecture 2022

    The global pandemic has posted unprecedented challenges across a variety of fronts, disrupting conventional approaches to a wide range of activities,...

  • How a Cohesive Architecture Policy Can Create a Better Built Environment
    Wednesday, January 19, 2022 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM | Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada
    This lecture is now available on YouTube for a limited time.

    An architecture policy for Canada will create a framework against which other policies can be tested, bringing together disparate...

  • Cundell Stables: The Last Stable in Lowertown
    Wednesday, December 15, 2021 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM | Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    Thanks Cundell Stables has been operating as a family business in Lowertown since the 1870s. It remains the last vestige of Ottawa’s equine history and is teetering on the verge of extinction. ...

  • Opportunities and challenges in protecting our Cultural Heritage: ICOMOS´ international collaboration trajectory
    Wednesday, November 17, 2021 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM | Pre-Registration Required
    OTTAWA, ON
    Canada

    The International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory body to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, has a network of 10,000+ professionals worldwide. Established over 50 years ago,...

  • Emerging Scholars Present: Learning from Ottawa School Heritage Stories 
    Wednesday, October 20, 2021 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM | Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    From communities reacting to health and safety measures, to findings about unmarked graves on former Indigenous Residential School properties, schools have been in the news across Canada. 

    ...
  • The Alexandra Bridge: Its Construction, Its Significance, Its Future
    Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM | Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    A timely lecture that you won't want to miss! Federal plans are underway to demolish this iconic interprovincial link. Although the bridge was designated a national historic civil engineering site...

  • Bauhaus and the White City of Tel Aviv
    Wednesday, June 23, 2021 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM
    Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    This lecture is currently available on YouTube for a limited time. Scroll down for the link.

    This special lecture takes us outside Canada to look at how the Bauhaus — founded over 100...

  • The Changing Architectural Landscape of Vanier: Possible Future Avenues (IN FRENCH)
    Wednesday, April 14, 2021 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM
    Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    CLIQUEZ ICI pour la version française. 

    Presented in partnership with Muséoparc Vanier.

    This French-language presentation will explore issues related to re-development of the...

  • Canadian Gothic
    Wednesday, March 24, 2021 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM
    Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    How did an architectural style synonymous with medieval Europe become the style of choice in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Canada?

    This illustrated talk will take us on a journey...

  • Phillips Memorial Lecture: Saving the Rideau Street Convent Chapel
    Wednesday, February 17, 2021 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM
    Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    One of the architectural gems of the nation, now a jewel in the crown of the National Gallery of Canada, is the Rideau Street Convent Chapel. A captivating space, its rows of delicate columns...

  • Gold, Snakes, and Mother Insurance: Preservation of the 180 Wellington Building Mosaic
    Wednesday, January 20, 2021 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Presented via ZOOM.
    Pre-Registration Required
    Ottawa, ON
    Canada

    Built in 1927 as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 180 Wellington Building’s most stunning feature is the dramatic mosaic on the vaulted ceiling inside the main entrance...

  • GOLD, SNAKES, AND MOTHER INSURANCE : THE PRESERVATION OF THE 180 WELLINGTON BUILDING MOSAIC
    Saturday, June 20, 2020 - 19:00 to 20:30
    Orange Art Gallery
    290 City Centre Avenue
    Ottawa, ON K1R 1C7
    Canada

    In keeping with Ottawa Public Health recommendations, Heritage Ottawa has cancelled this event and will rescheduled it for a future date. Thank you for your understanding.

    Built in 1927 as...

  • Delighting Visitors for Generations: The Restoration of The Opinicon
    Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library
    120 Metcalfe Street
    Ottawa, ON K1P 5M2
    Canada

    APRIL LECTURE POSTPONED

    In response to the Ottawa Public Health COVID-19 guidelines, Heritage Ottawa has cancelled the April lecture. We will announce a rescheduled date soon. We apologize...

  • The Changing Architectural Landscape of Vanier: Future Possible Avenues (IN FRENCH)
    Wednesday, March 18, 2020 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library
    120 Metcalfe Street
    Ottawa, ON K1P 5M2
    Canada
    Le paysage architectural changeant de Vanier : Quelles avenues possibles?

    MARCH LECTURE POSTPONED

    In response to the guidance of Ottawa Public Health with regards to COVID-19 (coronavirus...

  • Cultural Landscapes of the LGBTTQ+ Community in Ottawa
    Wednesday, February 19, 2020 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Auditorium, Main Branch
    Ottawa Public Library
    120 Metcalfe Street
    Ottawa, ON K1P 5M2
    Canada
    Heritage Ottawa 2020 Phillips Memorial Lecture

    Ottawa’s LGBTTQ+ community has an interesting history unique to many other cities. Due in part to the government employee purges during the 1950s to...

  • Omàmiwininì Pimàdjwowin: The Algonquin Way Cultural Centre
    Wednesday, January 22, 2020 - 19:00 to 20:00
    Auditorium, Main Branch
    Ottawa Public Library
    120 Metcalfe Street
    Ottawa, ON K1P 5M2
    Canada
    = CANCELLED =

    January 17, 2020 — Heritage Ottawa regrets the cancellation of this lecture due to unforseen circumstances. We hope to reschedule soon. 

    Our free lecture season continues on...

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