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 and MERKLEY SUPPLY LTD.
Note: Several of our lectures are available for viewing on Heritage Ottawa's YouTube channel .
Upcoming Lectures
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Seeing Big - A New Museum for the OutaouaisWednesday, April 16, 2025 - 19:00 to 20:00VIA ZOOMCanadaVIA ZOOM | PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED | CLICK HERE TO PRE-REGISTER
The new Musée régionale de l’Outaouais will be defined by the rich history, heritage and cultural vitality of the...
Past Lectures
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Bletchley Park's Outpost in Sandy HillWednesday, March 16, 2016 - 19:00 to 20:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ON K1P 5M2CanadaDuring World War ll, an Examination Unit was installed in a Victorian mansion in Sandy Hill to carry out top secret code breaking activities. This lecture will examine how the Unit came to be set...
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2016 Phillips Memorial LectureWednesday, February 24, 2016 - 19:00 to 21:00The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat199 Sussex Drive ( use Boteler Street entrance )Ottawa, ON K1N 1K6CanadaSaving Heritage: Preserving History in the Developing WorldPlease note that PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED for this lecture.
Harnessing the culture and history of a region can be a powerful...
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MacDonald Gardens: A Study in Community HeritageWednesday, January 13, 2016 - 19:00 to 20:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ON K1P 5M2CanadaBEFORE AND AFTER FREDERICK TODD
The park at the centre of Macdonald Gardens commemorates the graveyards of four congregations from 1845 to 1873.
This lecture will reveal how...
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Landscape Architecture in Canada 1870 - 1920Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - 19:00 to 20:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ON K1P 5M2CanadaThe Creation of Canada's Iconic Public Open SpacesThis well illustrated talk explores the outstanding work carried out in the creation of Canada's public open spaces and institutions from about...
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CRAFT, HERITAGE AND DIGITAL TOOLSWednesday, November 18, 2015 - 19:00 to 20:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ON K1P 5M2CanadaDigital technologies play an increasingly significant role in large, complex heritage documentation projects such as the one under way for the Parliament Buildings National Historic Site of Canada...
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REINVENTING BUILDING 94 AT THE CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARMWednesday, October 14, 2015 - 19:00 to 20:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ON K1P 5M2CanadaThe New Canadian Agriculture and Food MuseumThe masterful re-purposing of Building 94, a "Recognized" Federal Heritage Building on the Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site, was...
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Behind Closed Cells: The Architecture of Canada's Jails and PrisonsSaturday, October 3, 2015 - 19:00 to 20:00Ottawa Jail Hostel Courtyard75 Nicholas StreetOttawa, ON K1N 7B9CanadaSPECIAL PUB LECTUREFor over a century, the intimidating architecture of Canadian prisons inspired sentences to be carried out in solitude and silence.
Set within Ottawa's own historic jail...
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OTTAWA'S RURAL AND SUBURBAN HERITAGESaturday, September 26, 2015 - 09:30 to 17:00St. John's Anglican Church, South March325 Sandhill RoadKanata, ON K2K 1X7CanadaThe Annual Phillips Memorial Heritage Forum Saturday, September 26, 2015 9:30 am - 5:00 pmFollowed by an optional bus tour of Beaverbrook to 6:30 pm
PLEASE NOTE: Registration for this...
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A MONUMENTAL ISSUE: The Long Term Vision and Plan for Canada's CapitalWednesday, September 16, 2015 - 19:00 to 20:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ON K1P 5M2CanadaPlanning for Ottawa has been underway since its choice as Canada’s capital in 1858. Focus of this planning has always been on the Parliamentary and Judicial Precincts located along Wellington...
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City Water and Country Air: Rockcliffe Park at 150Wednesday, June 17, 2015 - 19:30Rockcliffe Park Recreation Centre, Library Building380 Springfield RoadOttawa, ON K1M 0K7CanadaRockcliffe Park has long been a Village within a city setting. Its early history is closely linked to Frederick Law Olmsted, whose remarkable planning philosophy was imported to Canada by...
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20th Century Built Heritage Symposium / NCC Capital Urbanism LabThursday, May 7, 2015 - 18:00National Capital Commission (NCC)NCC Headquarters, Capital Urbanism Lab40 Elgin Street, 5th FloorOttawa, ON K1P 1C7CanadaIn celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Conserving the Modern in Canada Conference held at Trent University in 2005, the National Capital Commission's Capital Urbanism Lab is pleased to...
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Ottawa’s Frontier ModernismWednesday, April 15, 2015 - 19:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ON K1P 1E7CanadaBeginning as a settlement built on the forest frontier, Ottawa has largely been shaped by Modern ideas over the past two centuries. Since Confederation, it has had a complicated relationship with...
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Taking Care of Business: The Mausoleum Promoter and the CemeteryWednesday, March 18, 2015 - 19:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ON K1P 1E7CanadaBeechwood Cemetery was established in Ottawa in 1873. Now almost one hundred and fifty years old, it is recognized for its naturalistic, pastoral and picturesque landscape. It features a number of...
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The Way Forward for Heritage in the Capital: Beginning A New ConversationThursday, February 19, 2015 - 18:00 to 20:00NCC HeadquartersCapital Urbanism Lab40 Elgin Street, 5th FloorOttawa, ON K1P 1C7CanadaThe National Capital Commission (NCC) and Heritage Ottawa are proud to present a panel discussion about emerging ideas in Canadian and international heritage conservation, and how these ideas...
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National Capital Commission Parkway System “All Roads Lead to Parliament Hill”Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 19:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ON K1P 5M2CanadaOttawa is home to some of the loveliest shoreline driveways in the world with the Rideau Canal Driveway, the first beautification project of the capital. This lecture will present the history of...
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Art or Selfie? Canadian Portraits High and LowWednesday, December 10, 2014 - 19:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ONCanadaDr. Lilly Koltun will lead an irreverant promenade through the history of portraiture in Canada, leaving us to wonder at the unexpected wealth we've inherited in that art as well as the...
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The East Block: An Exemplary Example of High Victorian GothicThursday, November 20, 2014 - 19:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ONCanadaThe East Block was designed in 1859 as one of the first Gothic Revival office buildings and it was an early example of the style’s first phase of development. The talk will focus upon how the East...
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Emerging Scholars and Ottawa Architecture / 2 of 2Tuesday, October 14, 2014 - 19:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ONCanadaThis month’s lecture features two talks on local monuments. Meredith Stewart offers a new perspective on the heritage value of the Champagne and Plant Baths “The Public Baths in Ottawa: A Heritage...
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Emerging Scholars and Ottawa Architecture / 1 of 2Tuesday, October 14, 2014 - 19:00Auditorium, Ottawa Public Library120 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, ON K1P 1E7CanadaThis month’s lecture features two talks on local monuments. Meredith Stewart offers a new perspective on the heritage value of the Champagne and Plant Baths “The Public Baths in Ottawa: A Heritage...
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A.W.N. Pugin and the Revolution in Residential ArchitectureFriday, September 26, 2014 - 19:00Saint Alban’s Church454 King Edward Avenue (enter on Daly Ave)Ottawa, ON K1N 7M8CanadaA.W.N. Pugin, best known as a designer of Gothic churches and the decoration of the Palace of Westminster, perhaps had his greatest impact designing residences that were completely different from...