University Of Guelph

The University of Guelph was formally established in 1964, out of the amalgamation of three other institutions: the Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College. These institutions had roots stretching back into the 19th century. My brother studied here, and took me on a tour of some of the sprawling main campus, which lies south of the downtown core. We start with War Memorial Hall, a lecture hall erected as a memorial to students from the OAC who served and died in the First World War. Unfortunately the building was locked; my brother has attended classes in here and said it's quite a sight inside.

We carried on across the lawn.

This portico stands on the lawn. It was the entrance for the Frederick Stone farmhouse, where classes for the OAC were first held. The portico is still here, used for grad photos.

The path carried on past older and newer buildings.

This cannon is at the heart of the campus. It's called Old Jeremiah. It does not fire- the cannon was last fired in 1913 and plugged. And yes, it is routinely painted and repainted as a student tradition. It is apparently now concreted into place so that it can't be moved. There are stories of this thing being moved all over campus... and off campus.

Here we have a view inside the university centre building.

A trophy case for the university sports teams. Collectively the teams use the Gryphon name. More from the university tomorrow.

A Catholic Basilica

While I was photographing the churches in yesterday's post, this one was one of my destinations. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is a national historic site of Canada. A Gothic Revival wonder of the Victorian era, this is the third Catholic church to stand on the highest ground in the city, Catholic Hill. The main structure was built between 1876-88, though the Catholic presence here dates to the earliest times of settlement. The towers were finished in 1926. Pope Francis gave it the designation of basilica in 2014. It shares the hill with the former convent that now houses the Guelph Civic Museum.

It is a good walk up from street level to the front doors, more than a hundred steps in all (there is a parking lot by the museum, so only the crazy like yours truly would go up these steps these days). This is part of the way up, where a statue of Our Lady is positioned.

Further up is a garden with religious statues.

And the basilica itself. Designed by Joseph Connolly, it is majestic outside and inside. I have been inside before, but on both occasions I came up here during this visit, it was locked this time out. 

Here we have the view from the top of the hill down into Guelph's core. 

Whilst here we have a view from down in the core a half hour or so later, when the skies had gotten particularly threatening. Our Lady Immaculate dominates the skyline in downtown Guelph.

The following day was much more pleasant. I came with my brother to the museum. Here we have a view of the northwest corner of the basilica.

Guelph Churches

During my time in Guelph I photographed a number of churches in the area. To start with, this is Riverside Community Reformed Church.

The rest of these I photographed on another day, on that same brooding sky day I showed a couple of days back. These churches are clustered into an area around the downtown core. This is the First Baptist Church.

Here is St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. It was established in 1828.

At one point this was a Wesleyan Methodist church. Today it houses Lakeside Hope House. Its red front door caught my attention. There was a Methodist presence in Guelph from the early years, with the present site granted to the denomination in 1837. Lakeside Church uses the church these days, and the property is also home to Hope House, a social services organization.

This is Knox Presbyterian Church. It is a result of a split with St. Andrew's and was founded in 1844.

Here we have St. George's Anglican Church. The parish dates back to 1832, while this church, the third, was finished in 1873.

Another view of the church is taken from the nearby pedestrian bridge that crosses the Speed River here. Tomorrow I have another church in the area.

Guelph Views

There's a wetland area between the retirement complex where my father lives and a small shopping plaza to the west. Here it is one morning when I was visiting.

And here it was later that afternoon.

There is a wooden covered pedestrian bridge downtown in Guelph, crossing the Speed River just upstream of its confluence with the Eramosa River. My brother, who lives in the area, picked me up and took me around to a few places.

Here we have views from within. This looks upstream.

And this looks downstream as the Eramosa joins the Speed.

Here we have a view from the far end.

I went upstream a bit to take shots from another perspective.

We had lunch here. It was good.

These two shots are actually the last ones I took in Guelph, heading for Toronto on a GO train on the morning I left. There is a war memorial near the station.

Across the tracks lies the Guelph Armoury, dating to 1908 and built in the Gothic Revival style. It is still used today, housing military cadet units. It can also be seen in the background of the above shot.