Recently I attended Community Heritage Ontario (CHO)’s annual conference held June 19^th to the 21^st in Prince Edward County. It is a perfect location for focusing on heritage buildings, as “The County” has a rich inventory of historic properties illustrated in The Settler’s Deam publication, which was republished in 2009 on the 225^th anniversary of the United Empire Loyalists' arrival. The Ontario Heritage Conference (OHC) brings together municipal heritage committee members, staff and heritage professionals to exchange information and ideas about how to respond to changes to the Ontario Heritage Act by the current provincial government.

Broader issues such as climate change and its visible effects on historic architecture (from OHC 2019 in Bluewater/Goderich) and more recently “adaptive reuse of buildings” (from OHC 2024 in Gravenhurst) were central issues presented and discussed at the conference. 

The opening reception and keynote presentation took place in the Crystal Palace on the Fairgrounds in the county seat Picton, named after the 1851 Hyde Park London exhibition. The grand timber frame structure has been well maintained since it was erected by a local builder in 1887. Architecturally speaking, the PEC Crystal Palace is very impressive in terms of scale, remaining the only example still standing in North America.

Its restoration in the 1990s was financed by government agencies and the local community. This included the installation of a protective sprinkler system to protect the building from fire. As if to illustrate the threat, Toronto’s Crystal Palace on the CNE grounds burned down in 1906. (The first Canadian Crystal Palace at Kingston was erected in 1856 on the corner of Bath and Palace Roads, relocated to the Memorial Centre grounds in 1888, and demolished in 1948).

Throughout Prince Edward County’s community, there are numerous examples of buildings being modified from their original purpose. For instance, the Anglican Church in Picton became the Macaulay Heritage Park Museum at 23 Church Street beside Macauley House. The local Post Office on Picton’s Main Street became The Victory Naval Marine Archive, and a local feed mill was converted into apartments and condos. Also, the Armories of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment were reconstructed as shops and offices also on Main Street.

The most ambitious adaptive reuse in Prince Edward County is the former RAF No. 31 Bombing and Gunnery School which was constructed on the plateau above Picton in 1940. It is now being rebranded as Base31. It is situated on a 700 acre parcel of land purchased from the Canadian government by PEC Community Partners in 2021, which includes the Picton airport. In a short period of time starting in 2022, the Partners have restored and repurposed several of the wooden buildings constructed as “temporary” during World War II.

With this base of operations in place, the company has added micro-businesses which originated from the local community. A cluster of eateries and food outlets called The Commissary provisions the tourists attracted to the site. In an extended adaptive reuse, shipping containers were used in the additional architecture – I recall seeing them deployed in Christchurch, New Zealand as the Re:START mall after the 2011 earthquake when High Street shops were destroyed. 

While being an aviation museum with a Lancaster Bomber and other smaller aircraft, Hanger No.1 has played host to specialized conferences and meetings, large outdoor concerts and outdoor art installations. The partners plan to add a mix of affordable and market housing nearby on the property. Prince Edward County has always been an attractive destination, but the community has really invested in making it a “must-see” for visitors year round.