Two London restoration projects that extend the lives of key historical structures in the city have won a distinguished provincial heritage award.
Lieutenant Governor Edith Dumont and the Ontario Heritage Trust co-presented the 2023 Ontario Heritage Awards in Toronto on Thursday afternoon. The awards, handed out annually, recognize dynamic and innovative pursuits in heritage conservation across the province.
Awards of Excellence in Conservation were given to the Restoration of the Metropolitan United Church and the Fugitive Slave Chapel Preservation Project.
The church was recognized for its adaptive reuse of the historical place of worship into a multipurpose performance space. While it does still have an active congregation the church is also now home to London Symphonia.
The Fugitive Slave Chapel Preservation Project earned the award for the "successful preservation of the oldest building representing London’s Black history." The chapel was built in 1848 and was a place of worship for former slaves who fled to Canada from the United States. In the fall of 2022, the church was moved to its new permanent home at Fanshawe Pioneer Village. It was then fully refurbished and repurposed to teach about slavery, the Underground Railroad, and the area’s Black histories. It officially reopened at its new site last summer.
Other projects that were recognized included Buxton's 100th anniversary of Homecoming event in North Buxton which took place last Labour Day weekend and Shadowpath Theatre Productions in York Region.
