Doors Open Windsor highlights major restoration work at Mackenzie Hall
Windsor, Ont. is home to many historic and heritage buildings, but we often drive by and never get a peek inside.
That opportunity was offered Saturday and Sunday with Doors Open Windsor.
Residents became tourists in their own city with a chance to get a special glimpse of properties like the Duff-Baby House, the Masonic Temple and Mackenzie Hall, to name a few.
Some of these buildings have been standing for hundreds of years.
Mackenzie Hall was built in 1855 by Alexander Mackenzie, who became the second prime minister of Canada a few decades later.
City representatives say the building is a “living link between our legal past and our artistic present” as the former courthouse and jail now serves as a cultural and performing arts centre.
Major masonry work was recently undertaken to restore the building after city officials discovered the wrong type of cement was used during previous work in the 1980s.
“It was determined that the mortar that was replaced in 1985 was Portland cement and Portland cement is harder than the actual lime and sandstone that exist on the building,” says restoration project manager for the City of Windsor, Brandon Calleja.
The work took place over the last few years and is now complete.
“It's going to allow the wall to breathe and it's going to hopefully last for another century to come,” Calleja says, adding this project is one example of what the city is doing to ensure Windsor’s physical history can remain intact for residents to enjoy.
He adds, “This is probably one of the most significant buildings in the City of Windsor. Certainly one of the oldest, the second oldest in fact, so it’s great to see that there’s money being spent on preserving some of the gems that are left in Windsor.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.