St. Catharines
The St. Catharines branch was founded in May 2006. A number of volunteers were concerned about the lack of protection that had been afforded to the City's heritage buildings. The volunteers were particularly concerned about a developer's proposal for a massive condo tower development in the commercial heart of the low-rise Port Dalhousie heritage district.
The village of Port Dalhousie (now part of St. Catharines) dates from 1826, and, between 1829 until 1930 was the northern terminus of the first three Welland Canals, linking Lake Ontario with Lake Erie and allowing ships to by-pass Niagara Falls. As the entry point to the Canals, Port Dalhousie is closely linked through its transportation, services, and shipbuilding functions to the historical and economic development of the Niagara Region, our province, our nation, and the international Great Lakes region.
Today the village's commercial core, located alongside the old canal locks and harbour, still retains much of its original canal village streetscape; this streetscape includes many original mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century buildings constructed to provide services like ship's chandler, hotels, taverns, customs house, etc. to the ships and people travelling through the early canals. At the World Canals Conference held in St. Catharines in June 2004, delegates affirmed that Port Dalhousie is one of the few remaining 19th century canal villages in the world that is relatively intact.
With strong support from residents and the City of St. Catharines, Port Dalhousie was officially designated as a Heritage Conservation District under the Ontario Heritage Act in December, 2003.
The new branch established a Port Dalhousie Heritage Fund and has made preserving the integrity of Port Dalhousie's Heritage District its first priority.
