Niagara Historical Society & Museum

The Niagara Historical Society & Museum is situated in the original capital of Upper Canada, the historic town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. The Museum preserves, displays and interprets to Canadians and visitors alike a collection begun as early as 1896 by one of Canada’s leading museum professionals.

Lord Cultural Resources was selected by the Niagara Historical Society & Museum to “conduct a two-part study focusing on the future space needs of the Museum and how those needs could be met by the Society” , in keeping with their Strategic Plan 2013-2018. Originally housed in Memorial Hall, Ontario’s first purpose-built museum structure (1907), the Museum expanded into an adjacent former school (1875) in the 1940s, and linked the two structures some thirty years later. Lord undertook collections analysis, a collections development strategy, and public program component recommendations, all of which lead to a comprehensive space and needs analysis. Based on priorities and site review, after provision of several development options a recommended development strategy was agreed upon: a 3-storey addition behind Memorial Hall housing collection storage, a multi-purpose space, and new temporary gallery which would allow for the existing spaces to be better utilized.