Port Hope has to date 285 designated houses and buildings, more per capita than anywhere else in Canada. Port Hope contains one of the finest inventories of historically important homes and buildings in the country.
Port Hope’s main street, Walton Street is a “Heritage Conservation District” and is acclaimed as the best preserved main street in Ontario. The heritage district has now expanded beyond Walton Street to include Ontario, John and Queen Streets in the downtown core.
In 2002 the Municipality of Port Hope was awarded the prestigious honour of possessing the finest heritage main streetscape in Ontario. Each year visitors are drawn to Port Hope to stroll the town’s historic streets and laneways, and enjoy our heritage architecture.
For details on the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO) or to obtain tickets to the ACO House Tour or Garden Tour, visit their website.
The annual Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO) Port Hope House Tour is in its 47th year, having been inaugurated in 1964. Since then, it has become one of Ontario’s most popular annual house tour events, attracting visitors from locally, nationally and internationally to view Port Hope’s outstanding examples of vintage and contemporary domestic architecture.
The sale of annual Port Hope House Tour tickets supports the local Architectural Conservancy of Ontario branch – all funds raised contribute to the preservation and restoration of Port Hope’s heritage buildings.
In addition to the annual house tour, the ACO also organizes an annual ACO Garden Tour which features lovely town gardens – ranging from the well-established, beneath their towering (and rare) ACO Port Hope Garden Tour mature trees, to artistic gardens in the neighbouring Hope Township (now Ward 2 of the Municipality of Port Hope) with many stops in between.
Contact the Port Hope Suites about combining a week’s stay with the ACO House Tour and many other available events and attractions.
