Town of Richmond Hill - Richmond Hill's Doors Swing Open on June 13

RICHMOND HILL - More than a dozen intriguing cultural, historic and religious sites within the Town of Richmond Hill will open their doors to the public when the Town hosts the first-ever Doors Open Richmond Hill event on Saturday, June 13.

With locations including a large Hindu temple and churches dating back to the early-1800s, the premiere edition of Doors Open Richmond Hill will take place on the same day as the Heritage Village Festival, organized by Arts Richmond Hill. The heart of the town’s old village will be transformed into a pedestrian avenue from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as Yonge Street will be closed to traffic from Major Mackenzie Drive to Benson Avenue. Parking for Yonge Street and vicinity sites will be located at the Central Library.

“Doors Open Richmond Hill is a great opportunity for members of our community to come together in celebrating our heritage and multicultural wealth,” said Mayor Dave Barrow. “It’s also a great time for those who aren’t Richmond Hill residents to come and see the great attractions we have to offer.”

Even long-time Richmond Hill residents will likely learn something new about their hometown after visiting Doors Open sites. For instance, how many residents know that one of famed Canadian author Farley Mowat’s many childhood homes (Asa B. Wilson-Mowat House) is right here in Richmond Hill? Or the fact that the Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church contains an octagonal vault known as a “dead house” that held caskets during the freezing winters of decades long past? How about visiting a house (Phillips-Newbery-Bowman House) built in 1825 by a Quaker settler named Phillip Phillips and later occupied by John M. Bowman, the manager of Toronto’s busy Don Valley Brickworks? These sites and more will be wide open for free public viewing during Doors Open Richmond Hill.

Other Doors Open Richmond Hill locations include the Vishnu Mandir Hindu temple, Burr House and Guild Hall, the Vanderburgh House, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, Richmond Hill United Church, Richmond Hill Central Library, McConaghy Seniors’ Centre, Richmond Hill Heritage Centre and the Robert Holland Interpretive Centre (also known as the Shaw House).

“The Town is dedicated to building stronger community connections among our citizens,” said Mayor Barrow. “With the development of the Town’s new Official Plan, we know the downtown will be a dynamic are in coming years, so Doors Open is a perfect chance for visitors and residents to experience our heritage while envisioning the area’s exciting future.”

In addition to the 12 sites being open, members of Heritage Richmond Hill will be hosting village wagon rides through the downtown area. This unique journey of discovery will depart from the corner of Elizabeth and Centre Streets from noon to 3:30 p.m. See modern Richmond Hill as many others did years ago and learn about the historic buildings along the way.

This large Hindu temple is home to the interactive Canadian Museum of Hindu Civilization, where visitors can take a journey through the evolution of the religion. Vishnu Mandir is also home to the Sangeed Academy and Montessori School.

Built in 1820 by Rowland Burr, the Burr House is a stucco plank-on-plank cottage and now provides an outlet for artisans to sell crafts and a relaxing venue for visitors to enjoy a cup of tea with scones and homemade jam. The Guild Hall, built in 1857 by the Evangelical Association of North America, was moved to this site in 1978 and now serves as a studio for the Hill Potters Guild and the Spinners and Weavers Guild.

The Vanderburgh House is a two-storey clapboard house built in 1833 by Richard Vanderburgh, a son of United Empire Loyalists. The yellow-and-white Georgian-style house is typical of grand houses built in New England at the time. It now contains the Chamber of Commerce and the Book Arts Guild of Richmond Hill. Tours and a demonstration of turn-of-the-century printing presses will be available for visitors.

The library site is full of literary history. Designed by architects A.J. Diamond and Donald Schmitt in 1993, the 60,000 square foot facility won the Governor General’s Award for Architecture in 1994 and the Financial Post Design Effectiveness Award for Architectural Design in 1995. The library houses a Local History Room that contains York Region’s largest repository of genealogical data as well as a fascinating collection of early photographs and historical documents.

The church was built in 1880 in the High Victorian Gothic Revival style, while the cemetery behind the church includes grave markers dating from as early as 1806.

Originally built for a Methodist congregation in 1880, this church boasts the tallest steeple of all historic churches in the old village core. With the union of the Methodists, Congregationalists and Presbyterians in 1925, this church became part of the United Church denomination.

Formerly the Richmond Hill Public School, this building was erected in 1915 and renamed in honour of Mary Lillian McConaghy, a devoted teacher. Built in the Queen Anne Revival style, the building’s run as a school ended in 1979 before it reopened as the M.L. McGonaghy Seniors’ Centre in 1985. Enjoy guided tours with the McConaghy Old Boys – a group of former public school students – and program demonstrations.

Set in picturesque Amos Wright Park, this 1840s Regency-style cottage has been fully restored to reflect the historical period. The house was the original home of Amos Wright, the first Reeve of Markham Township. Regency-style cottages were commonly built in Ontario from the 1820s through to the end of the 19th-century in rural and small-town areas and are some of the province’s oldest dwellings.

This brand-new 43,000 square foot multi-use centre is the largest cultural facility of its kind in York Region. Anchoring the Centre is the former Richmond Hill High School, built in 1897 and now restored to its red brick and grey stone foundation.

Home to world-renowned agricultural tool manufacturer Asa B. Wilson in 1876, this heritage home also housed another famous Canadian – author Farley Mowat and his parents – in the 1930s. Tours of the home will be conducted by host Mandy St. Germaine.

Built in 1825, this Georgian-style farmhouse was moved to its current location in 1991 by John and Diane Glangrande from its original location on the east side of Yonge Street, north of Elgin Mills Road. Originally built by a Quaker named Phillip Phillips, the Newbery family moved in to the house in 1847 and lived there until selling the farm and house to John M. Bowman in 1917, the manager of the Don Valley Brickworks in Toronto.

This land, the Town’s largest Oak Ridges Moraine park, was a bequest from long-time resident Phyllis Rawlinson, on the condition that it be used for conservation purposes. The Centre, historically known as the Shaw House and built between 1801 and 1834, was donated by Robert Holland, a member of the Rouge Valley Foundation.