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Ad Rates / Articles / Classified Ads / Editorial / Home / Links / Showtime   Port Hope's architectural gems   Architectural Gems of Port Hope   By Jessamy Johnson Port Hope, just off Highway 401, is a delightful town that sits on the shores of Lake Ontario.   Originally called Smith’s Creek, after either Elias Smith, one of the founding fathers of the town. or Peter Smith, a fur trader, its name was changed to Toronto in the late 1810s. To avoid confusion with the city, it was named Port Hope in 1817 after Colonel Henry Hope (1746-1789), a lieutenant governor of Quebec.   It started as a modest town, serving local farmers and loggers. But by the 1850s, with the Ganaraska River and access to the lake that aided distribution of goods, a railway line that ran from Montreal to Toronto and plans for another railway line that would run north, Port Hope grew and became vibrant and busy.   From the mid 19th century, it was boomtown. The leading families invested in mills, breweries, tanneries, shops and factories. The port itself was enlarged and more and bigger ships docked there.   Inns and hostelries were built to accommodate all who came to the town and the wealth that came with these people let Port Hope inhabitants indulge themselves architecturally.   All manners of houses were built, in all styles, from terraced houses to the Ontario cottages, of which there are many examples, all with individual features such as fanlights and porches, to grand, in-your-face mansions that left no one in any doubt as to the success and wealth of the owner.   At the end of the 19th century, the economy took a downturn. Businesses moved from Port Hope to larger cities, such as Toronto. This had a positive outcome architecturally - instead of constant re-building to accommodate the needs of modern business, Port Hope was left to its own devices.   As a result of this, and also thanks to energetic and visionary conservationists, Port Hope has retained its 19th century feel, and the town boasts a stunning collection of vernacular and religious architecture.   Port Hope also enjoys possibly the best-preserved 19th century commercial streetscape - Walton Street. Practically all of the buildings on this main street were built within a 30-year period and, as such, enjoy a stylistic uniformity.   With over 270 heritage-designated buildings throughout the municipality, it is hard to select just a few but these are some of my favorites.   One of the most famous houses is the Bluestone House, built on King Street in 1834 by John David Smith. The Smith family played a leading role in the Port Hope community.   Elias Smith, the patriarch of this large and distinguished family, arrived from New York in 1797. He was granted large plots of land in Hope Township. His son, John David, was a captain in the 1st Durham Militia in the War of 1812. Following the war, he became an immensely successful merchant and owned a distillery, a foundry, several mills, and ships. He was also a local justice of the peace and was elected to the legislature of Upper Canada in 1829.   John Smith built the Bluestone House for his second wife, an American. It was built in the Greek Revival style, but also incorporated the old Loyalist penchant for symmetry with two identical facades (one facing the lake, one facing the street).   The stucco finish, scored to resemble an ashlar surface, had a blue tint and this led to the house being called the Bluestone.   In the 19th century, render finishes were cheaper than brick, although cost was obviously not a concern for John David Smith and in this case, it was a matter of style.   In order to make the plain rendered surface more interesting, lines were drawn on the partly dried render. Ashlar surfaces had dressed, cuboid stones with close fitting joints - this mimicked a classical style that had originated in Ancient Greece and this style remained popular until the late 1880s.   Dorset Street, on the other side of the Ganaraska River, boasts a huge diversity of buildings. One of these is Muidar - radium spelt backwards. It is a charming, typically Victorian brick-built house decorated with a graceful verandah and a vestibule gable above with a round fanlight.   Its construction dates from the 1860s, but it is Dr. Marcel Pochn, one of its owners, who is of special interest and who was responsible for the house’s name.   Dr. Pochon studied under Marie Curie in France. He moved to Port Hope in the 1930s at the request of the LaBine brothers, owners of the Eldorado Mining Company.   These enterprising brothers had discovered pitchblende (uranium ore) in the Northwest Territories and organized the transportation of the pitchblende to Port Hope, where Dr Pochon helped them to extract the radium.   This radium was used principally for its luminous qualities (think clock faces), but was also used in toothpaste, fertilizer, make-up and even food before the hazards were recognized. Uranium, the by-product, was then found to play a role in nuclear power and this was the start of Port Hope’s role in nuclear energy.   Also on Dorset Street is Homewood, a stunning house built at the start of the 20th century. Homewood is not typical of the architectural styles in Port Hope, and rather resembles a plantation house built in the Colonial Revival style with a steeply pitched roof, a columned verandah and small paned windows.   Not surprisingly, Homewood was built by an American, James Schwartz, one of the many Americans who commissioned summer homes in this part of Ontario. The house sits at the top of Dorset Street and commands a wonderful vantage point.   The jewel in the architectural crown has to be, for me at least, St Mark’s Anglican Church on King Street, built in 1822 on lands donated by Elias Smith. The builder was Norman Brogdin and Jonathon Walton, one of the town’s founders, presented the bell.   The church was consecrated in 1828 and dedicated to St. John. In 1842, the frame building, originally painted grey, was enlarged and the architect Kivas Tully was appointed in 1851 to re-design the windows and tower. He is responsible for how the church looks today, the size, the style and the Gothic embellishment.   However, as the population of Port Hope grew, the church became too small for the congregation and another St John’s Church was built on Pine Street and opened for worship in 1869. The church on King Street was re-opened in 1873 and re-dedicated to St Mark.   A group of devoted conservationists has kept St Mark’s safe. Its paint work was changed to white in 1948 and the church was carefully restored in 1962. The inside is exquisitely preserved, the woodwork is painted in shades of blue and yellow and the overall effect is one of lightness and charm.   St Mark’s was one of the first buildings in Ontario to be designated for architectural and historic interest under the Ontario Heritage Act of 1970. Two other claims to fame: it was the parish church of Vincent Massey, the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada   And, while visiting Canada and staying with the Governor-General, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip joined the congregation on July 26, 1959.   So, if Victorian architecture rocks your boat, swim your fanny down the Ganny (an annual race in Port Hope that raises money for charity) and check out Port Hope.   Sincere thanks to Phil Carter, president of the Port Hope branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, for sharing his wealth of knowledge about Port Hope with me.   Bibliography: Port Hope, A Treasury of Early Homes, by Tom Cruickshank Photo:   1 - Yellow House, a classic Victorian house   2 - Bluestone House, built in 1834 by John David Smith   3 - The Homewood, built by James Schwartz in the early 1900s   Jessamy Johnson has worked in publishing at Penguin Books and Reed Elsevier and was the General Manager of Miller’s Price Guides for many years. Following the birth of her triplets, she left Miller’s and has worked since then in a freelance capacity as an editor and journalist. She started JessamyJohnson ClutterClear in 2007, a professional organization company.     Return to top of page   This Is Publishing © 2012 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster