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Built between 1826 and 1832, the Rideau Canal is the best-preserved, fully operational example from North America’s great canal-building era. Lieutenant-Colonel John By’s innovative design was based on a “slackwater” system that linked lakes and…

A native of Stratford, Ontario, Tom Patterson grew up during the Great Depression and dreamed of plans that might revitalize his community. After serving in the Second World War and completing university, he worked as an associate editor for a trade…

In the 1900s, concerns about the quality of rural education prompted the Ontario government to build four new Normal Schools to increase the supply of qualified teachers in the province. Identical Italian Renaissance buildings were constructed in…

In 1953, Tom Patterson launched an annual festival of Shakespearean theatre in his hometown of Stratford. Artistic Director Tyrone Guthrie and designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch conceived the Festival Theatre’s innovative thrust stage, surrounded by the…

Stratford’s spacious civic square has been the site of the city’s municipal buildings since 1857. Construction began on the present city hall after the destruction of the first town hall and market by fire in 1898. The plans were prepared by…