On June 4 and 5 you can get a inside view of many local west end sites during Doors Open Ottawa. This annual free event returns in person for 2022 and offers options for virtual tours or both. The Doors Open Ottawa event celebrates the City’s built-heritage buildings and the activities that take place in each of the historical, architectural and cultural sites.
During the first full weekend in June, Doors Open Ottawa will be celebrating its 20th anniversary, and residents and visitors are cordially invited to join in as the doors are re-opened to some of the city’s most beautiful buildings.
Also for 2022, Doors Open Ottawa have joined forces with the Ottawa Regional Society of Architects (ORSA) to create a ‘Scavenger Hunt’ for information. Whether participating in person or from the comforts of home, all are invited to join in on the fun. Submit a digital Doors Open Ottawa Scavenger Hunt entry during this year’s event and you could win 1 of 50 gift cards from local Ottawa area businesses! The form will be available to the public on June 3.
Local west end venues participating in Doors Open Ottawa are:
- Doors Open Amberwood on Sunday, June 5 in person – tour the Amberwood Village Golf and Country Club starting in the Amberwood Gallery (door to the right of ALE, the main restaurant), and get an insider view into our past, present and future – located at 54 Springbrook Drive, Stittsville. (It’s their 40 Anniversary!).
- Goulbourn Museum on both Saturday and Sunday virtually – opens its doors virtually to share the local history of the former Goulbourn Township – the places, people and items. Built in 1872, the building was the Town Hall of Goulbourn Township. – located at 2064 Huntley Road.
- St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Stittsville both days in-person and virtually – tour St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church established in 1821 and is the oldest Presbyterian congregation in the city of Ottawa – located at 2 Mulkins Street, Stittsville.
- Diefenbunker on both Saturday and Sunday in person – tour Canada’s Cold War Museum a once-top secret, four-storey underground bunker built between 1959 and 1961. The facility was originally designed as the centre for Canada’s defence against nuclear attack – located at 3929 Carp Road.
- Canmet Bells Corners Research Complex both both in-person and virtually – tour the Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) Bells Corners Complex, a bustling hub for clean technology innovation – located at 1 Haanel Drive (Bell’s Corners).
- CSS Building Inc. on both Saturday and Sunday in person or virtually – tour this 1960, NATO and Canadian Department of National Defense built satellite communications (SAT COM) station. Today CSS rents interior space to various local businesses and provides event space for meetings, workshops and parties. – located at 2336 Craig’s Side Road in Carp.
- Fairfields Heritage House both days virtual only – tour this impressive 19th century Gothic Revival farmhouse, Fairfields Heritage House represents the homestead and community building legacy of the Bell family – located at 3080 Richmond Road.
- Ottawa Fire Station 82 Richmond on Saturday, June 4 both in-person and virtually – tour Ottawa Fire Station 82 that was built in 1994. There are three different fire vehicles in this station. This station is located in Ottawa’s rural area and is staffed by volunteer Firefighters at 6280 Perth Street, Richmond.
- Richmond Loyal Orange Lodge #151 on both days virtually – tour the building that houses the Richmond Loyal Orange Lodge constructed in the mid-19th century when commercial traffic on McBean Street was at its height and the village was bustling. George Brown, a former village reeve, operated a store here in the 1860s – located at 3550 McBean Street, Richmond.
- Trail Road Waste Facility available to tour virtually both days – when your garbage gets picked up, it doesn’t just go away. It stays right here, in Ottawa, at the City’s landfill. The Trail Waste Facility opened in 1980 and receives about 1,000 tonnes of residential garbage a day. Take a virtual tour around the site and find out what happens once the collection trucks have dumped their loads – located at 4475 Trail Road.
For a full list of the venues open to the public for in-person and virtual tours visit this link.
Enjoy your time exploring some of Ottawa’s most beautiful and interesting spaces for the Doors Open Ottawa celebration.
Plan your visits accordingly and you are asked to follow the current public health policies in place. For disability-related accommodations for in-person tours, contact doorsopen@ottawa.ca.