History

The European Heritage Days (Les Journées Européennes du Patrimoine) is a French Ministry of Culture event that started in 1984. The Doors Open initiative originated in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1990 as Doors Open Days and quickly expanded nationwide under the overall co-ordination of the Scottish Civic Trust. It evolved into Scotland's contribution to European Heritage Days, launched in 1991 as a Council of Europe initiative, and which spread across Europe. By 1998, 19 million people had visited some 28,000 sites in 44 countries.

The event came to Canada in 2000 when the City of Toronto's Culture Division working with Heritage Toronto launched Doors Open Toronto. Solid organization as well as the opportunity to visit some otherwise inaccessible buildings led to enormous growth. By 2002, more than 130,000 visitors explored over 100 buildings, which ranged from the famous Victorian-era Don Jail, the 1892 Flatiron (Gooderham) Building to the magnificent R.C. Harris Filtration Plant. The Ontario Heritage Foundation launched the first province-wide Doors Open program in Canada in 2002 with 17 community events attracting over 300,000 visitors. Building on the success of its inaugural year, Doors Open Ontario has grown to 27 events with over 130 communities participating in 2003. Visit www.doorsopenontario.on.ca for more details.

Canada's foremost built heritage preservation organization, Heritage Canada, is promoting Doors Open initiatives across the country through an awareness and advocacy campaign. Their role is continuing to be developed and will likely include advice on insurance, health and safety, accessibility and educational opportunities.

For more information on the history of Doors Open Canada please read the feature article by Carolyn Quinn which first appeared in Heritage: The Magazine of the Heritage Canada Foundation (Fall 2002).