Heritage & History

History & Heritage in the Civic Centre

April 15, 2018 By Leslie

The Civic Centre Heritage Conservation District has nearly the same boundaries as our Olde Berlin Town neighbourhood. It houses a significant number of the designated heritage homes and historical character in the City of Kitchener, a city that was first established in the province in the 1800s.

This section of the website was created for residents and other individuals interested in the history of Berlin (Kitchener) from settlement to present day. This will be updated as we add resources and links that are are available from the City of Kitchener, library collections, and the wider community. Property owners in the Civic Centre Heritage Conservation District can contact the Heritage Planner at the City of Kitchener with questions. The plan for this district is available on the City of Kitchener website as a PDF; it’s a wonderful resource for residents and local history geeks alike.

If you have photos and stories from the history of Olde Berlin Town, we’d love to share them!

Prominent Residents

December 3, 2019 By Leslie Leave a Comment

W.D. Euler, a proud Canadian, lived his adult lifetime at 111 Queen Street North, which is now the site of the Centre in the Square. Born in 1875 in Conestoga, Ontario of German heritage, he grew up, became a teacher at Suddaby Public School, founded the Euler Business College and married Virginia Howd. He was elected eight times as a Member of Parliament (MP), was a Cabinet Minister, a member of the Privy Council and a Senator. More about this Prominent Resident of Olde Berlin Town is here.

Local History & Heritage Resources

March 3, 2019 By Laura

Thank you to our speaker Sandra Parks for her talk
From Arches to Turrets: architectural styles in Olde Berlin Town

She has graciously shared some resources with us for those looking to do more research. They are:

Heritage Kitchener’s “Civic Centre Historical Walking Tour” with details on 23 properties of note

For those looking for some photos of historical Olde Berlin, the website history pin has a number of photos of the Civic Centre.You can use the map feature to find them.

Books available in the Grace Schmidt Room at KPL

• Evolving urban landscapes: a photographic memoir by Philippe Elsworthy – (779.092 Elswo)
• Images of progress 1946-1996: modern architecture in Waterloo Region, Steven Mannell, editor – (720.971344 Manne)
• Ontario architecture: a guide to styles and building terms, 1784 to the present by John Blumenson – (720.9713 Blume)
• Ontario house styles: the distinctive architecture of the province’s 18th and 19th century homes by Robert Mikel – (728.37 Mikel)
• Well-preserved: the Ontario Heritage Foundation’s manual of principles and practice for architectural conservation by Mark Fram – (363.6909713 Fram) – also available online, search for title at www.heritagetrust.on.ca

Events

• Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, North Waterloo Region branch – your Neighbourhood Association is a member – annual lecture series, November to May; June AGM; December Seasonal Celebration; online blog
• Architectural Films – Apollo Theatre or Princess Cinemas
• Architectural Walking Tours – Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, $10
• Doors Open Waterloo Region – Saturday, September 21, 2019 various
• Grand River Conservation Authority – Heritage Day Workshop in February
• Jane’s Walks – first weekend in May, usually annual
• Schneider Haus & Waterloo Region Museum – learn about their buildings
• Waterloo Historical Society – History Under the Trees in July
• Waterloo Region Museum – regular public speaker series – annual volume regularly has articles about local heritage buildings
• Waterloo Region Heritage Foundation – Discovering Heritage event in May

Miscellaneous

• Grand magazine – available at KPL, check out the last page for an article about local architecture by Doors Open organizer Karl Kessler
• Civic Centre Historical Walking Tour – available at www.kitchener.ca – search for ‘walking tours’

Websites

• Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, North Waterloo Region branch • Architectural Style Definitions
• The Buildings of Canada: A guide to pre-20th-century styles in houses, churches and other structures.
• Canada’s Historic Places — The Canadian Register of Historic Places (CRHP)
• Doors Open Waterloo Region
• Grace Schmidt Room of Local History
• National Trust for Canada
• Ontario Architecture
• Region of Waterloo Archives
• Waterloo Historical Society

A Neighbourhood in Transition

October 27, 2018 By Leslie

Olde Berlin Town Neighbourhood 1958 and 2018

From the time of settlement in the early 1800s, the area that came to be called Berlin and later Kitchener grew quickly thanks to the enterprising founders of what later became the city’s signature businesses such as woodworking, textiles, tanning, rubber, and foundry.

By the late 1920s Kitchener was known as an early adopter of hydro-electricity and had an established and thriving manufacturing factory district. The community was sprawling out from the King Street East-West corridor where the post office, market, city hall, hotels, banking and commerce was located, to the north and south with churches, and the important municipal buildings clustered together near the intersection of Weber and Queen: the Public Library (formerly where 50 Queen St N is located), the County of Waterloo Courthouse, jail and Governor of the Jail residence.

What is now Olde Berlin Town neighbourhood was a suburb and home to business owners and prominent residents. Pick any home along the streets in the Civic Centre Heritage District and there’s a piece of Kitchener’s history written in the land title.

Every city goes through an evolution as farmland is turned over to industry, shopping malls and housing. However, we are less apt to lament the loss of a corn field in the name of progress than seeing the stately manor home of a community founder torn down. It’s sad to see an entire residential neighbourhood hollowed out, taking with it a physical history of the city.

As it becomes more important to consider the impact of sprawl on surrounding farmland, road infrastructure and resources, it’s understood the need for infill density grows. Yet preserving history in a heritage neighbourhood must be a factor in a balanced decision.

The Olde Berlin Town Neighbourhood Association has invited local historian rych mills to provide a visual walk through the history of the missing ‘other half’ of the neighbourhood followed by a Q&A. Please join us Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Downtown Community Centre, 35 Weber St W Kitchener. Seating is limited.

This Event is posted on our Facebook Page.

History & Heritage in the Civic Centre

Prominent Residents

Local History & Heritage Resources