Old Ontario Houses: Traditions in Local Architecture

by John de Visser (Photographer), Tom Cruickshank

It may be the industrial heartland of Canada and it may be under phenomenal pressure to keep on growing, but if you look beyond the suburbs and the skyscrapers, the province of Ontario is still rich in the past. Here and there -- in rural townships, small towns and the older parts of cities -- many of its original houses are still standing, a surprising number lovingly restored and maintained with historical authenticity in mind. Old Ontario Traditions in Local Architecture , a collaborative tribute to the past by writer Tom Cruickshank and renowned photographer John de Visser, offers a glimpse into a selection of these homes dating from the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, more than 150 in all. Filled with de Visser's exceptional full color photographs, the book features well-known landmarks as well as vintage houses. Their stories, told in Cruickshank's lively, appreciative voice, remind us of a bygone era and speak volumes about the values and aspirations of the province that built them.

Genres: Nonfiction, Architecture

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2000

About the author

Dutch-Canadian photographer & journalist.

February 8, 1930 - September 6, 2022, Cobourg, Ontario

Reviews

[Frank Ashe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this architecture!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures of old Ontario houses, as you would expect from the title. Lots of great ideas for the new house I am planning to build in an older style. Plus interesting on its own.