City Hall Cultural Management Plan
NEW
Read the Draft Vision Statement for the Cultural Management Plan.
YOUR OPINION
The "Your Opinion" survey ended Dec. 17.
DOWNLOADS
See the Illustrated Chronology of Kingston City Hall National Historic Site by Jennifer McKendry.
See the Conservation Assessment and Conservation Policy Proposal for City Hall's Civic Collection.
See the Kingston City Hall National Historic Site Archaeological Conservation Plan.
[PDF 16MB]
See the Kingston City Hall Conservation and Maintenance Plan.
RELATED LINK
See more on the history of Kingston's City Hall.
Find out about the stained glass windows of Memorial Hall in City Hall.
Find out more about plans to preserve and promote Kingston's heritage.
Learn about Kingston's role as Canada's First Capital.
PDF HELP
The freely available Adobe Reader software can be used to view the PDF documents on the City of Kingston Web site.
[Download]
The City is preparing to draft the Cultural Heritage Management Plan for Kingston City Hall National Historic Site incorporating input from the November public meeting and the Your Opinion comment opportunity for release in the new year.
Efforts are already taking place to protect the heritage integrity of the building and the civic collection it houses (see update below).
ABOUT City Hall National Historic Site
City Hall is designated not only as a National Historic Site, but is also protected under the Ontario Heritage Act. The historic site is also a working site that continues to function as Kingston's City Hall, Kingston Public Market and public meeting place.
Kingston City Hall National Historic Site has served as an administrative centre and the municipal seat of governance since it was built. However, since that time, it has also become a repository for many parts of the City's Civic Collection. The building is not built to modern museum standards and has never had a full-time curator. The Cultural Management Plan addresses the fact that this legacy of cultural assets deserves attention — especially since they are impacted on a regular basis by the daily use of the building.
The City's collections include a nationally significant portrait collection, numerous archival records, archaeological artifacts, antique furniture (including a desk used by Sir John A. Macdonald), civic awards, books, documents, maps and a number of objects housed in the Victorian Dome Galleries.
The Cultural Heritage Management Plan for Kingston City Hall National Historic site will include:
- an historical chronology of the property
- an archeological conservation plan
- strategies for conserving the built heritage resources
- strategies for the management of the Civic Collection
Built by renowned architect George Browne in 1844, Kingston's City Hall was designed to serve the city that was a united Canada's first capital, and has since hosted market vendors, a post office, a prison, a saloon and a customs house, amongst other tenants.
Update
Work on the Integrated Pest Management Program continues at City Hall, our National Historic Site. As part of this ongoing Program, City Hall and the artifacts it houses will be subject to specific work during January and February, 2011:
- The Drennan Chair and foot stool, and the Second World War Book of Memories and the podium on which it stands, will be taken off-site, separately wrapped and left in an anoxic atmosphere for a minimum of ten days. These items will be then be professionally refurbished and later returned to City Hall. (The anoxic treatment will cause no harm to these items.)
- Sir John A. Macdonald's desk will be similarly treated (anoxic treatment) where it stands in City Hall, as it is not in a public location.
- In phases, all of the artifacts and paintings in City Hall will be systematically wrapped for their protection given their historical significance as the areas in which they are located are sprayed with food grade pesticides.
This work, part of the City Hall National Historic Site Cultural Management Plan, is expected to be finished by the end of February.
CONTACT
Marcus Letourneau, Heritage Planner, 613-546-4291, ext. 1386, mletourneau@cityofkingston.ca
