The city is forging ahead with its goal to provide legislated protection for as many historically significant buildings as possible before the province's 2027 deadline eliminates municipal heritage registries.
More than 660 undesignated properties are on the Cambridge heritage registry, offering 60 days of protection from any plans to alter or demolish. When January 1, 2027 arrives, all protections granted by municipal heritage registers will disappear.
That's why the city is rushing to provide full designations to protect buildings with obvious heritage value.
This week, the city's heritage advisory committee will consider three more significant Galt properties for designation.
Among the three recommended by staff is the Gore Mutual building and a stone retaining wall at 252 Dundas St. N.
The building was constructed as the insurance company's head office in 1935 and was dedicated by Lieutenant-Governor Herbert A. Bruce in May of 1936.
"It was designed by Marani, Lawson and Morris Architects and Scottish stonemasons built it using local, hand-picked fieldstone provided by the City of Galt. The building’s impressive stairways and floors were made from Italian travertine and marble, symbolizing the sophistication of a company that had grown to 1,700 members and 300 agents by that time."
The stone retaining wall along Dundas Street North was constructed in the early 1920s and was recently rehabilitated by the Region of Waterloo during reconstruction of the road.
Previous owner of the property, Dr. Augustus Soper, had stones from the nearby fields shaped into a retaining wall and fence, which measured 1,400 feet long and five feet high.
Together they meet seven of nine criteria for heritage designation, including recognition as a local landmark, its architectural rarity, its high quality design, and its associative historical value.
Heritage planners also want to see the stone "cottage" at 156 Beverly St. protected by a designation and will ask MHAC to support a plan to ask council to support publishing a notice of intention to designate.
The 1922 home is an early Arts and Crafts cottage design, which are increasingly rare across southern Ontario.
It's also associated with two of the very earliest settler families to Galt in 1817.
The home at 16 Byng Ave., features a stone residence built in 1832 in the Regency architectural style and was originally intended to serve as a gatehouse for a larger estate planned by William Dickson, the founder of Galt.
"The property is a rare and tangible link to the legacy of William Dickson Jr., one of the area’s largest landowners in the 19th century," reads the staff report.
