London fire station #4 at 807 Colborne St. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News) London fire station #4 at 807 Colborne St. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)
London

Historic London sites opening their doors

Visiting a handful of parking lots may not sound exciting, but with the help of a ghostly tour guide Doors Open London will take you back to yesteryear to see the historically significant buildings that once stood on the sites.

The Paved Paradise walking tour is just one element of the 17th annual edition of Doors Open, which takes place Saturday and Sunday at various locations throughout the city.

Participants will be taken to five parking lots in the downtown by an actor portraying Grace Blackburn, a newspaper reporter who lived in London during the early 1900s.

"It's going to be as if Grace has come back and is leading this tour. Every stop on the tour there is going to be someone re-enacting a person who either lived in that building or had some connections to it," said Dhira Ghosh, events coordinator and interim manager for the London Heritage Council. "We are going to talk about places that were once beautiful buildings and architecturally significant but unfortunately had to be taken down and are now empty parking lots."

The parking lots being featured include the one opposite the Covent Garden Market, which used to be home to the Silverstein’s Fish Market, and the lot at Clarence St. and King St. which was where the central fire hall sat.

The two-day event is appropriately themed "history comes alive" and offers Londoners a free glimpse inside 40 heritage cultural sites. There will be re-enactments, live theatre, interactive pop-ups, or other hands-on activities at each participating site.

London Music Hall of Fame, Fanshawe Downtown, Elsie Perrin Williams Estate, and London Civic Gardens and Complex are among the new venues taking part this year. Returning favourites include Fanshawe Pioneer Village, Eldon House, Middlesex County Administration Building, London police headquarters, Fire Station #4, and the Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory at Western.

"We have heard many Londoners say 'I have lived here so many years but I didn't know that this gem was in my backyard,'" said Ghosh. "It's a way to go out, connect with the community, see the hidden gems and of course we have a lot of ESL (English as a second language) teachers who promote it in their classes and tell newcomers that this is a great way to get to know their new community. It really helps people get to know London a little better."

For more information about Doors Open London click here.

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