An Insider's Guide to Waterloo Region

Blockline Road and Laurentian Drive, Kitchener

The  boulevard between Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church and Glencairn Mennonite Brethren Church is a mass of blooming daffodils this week. (map)

Here is the link to the history tab on the church website.

St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church in Maryhill ON

Maryhill is half way between Kitchener and Guelph and is near the boundary of Waterloo Region. I drove through there last week just as the snow was starting from the east and the weather was dull and cold. I will have to return there on a nice day for better pictures as it is a very interesting town. (map)

Here is some information from Wikipedia

…Its main feature is the gothic St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church built in the late 1870s, which is visible from miles around. At its side is a cemetery with dozens of old stones, an iron gate, and a stone wall. Across the street is St. Boniface Catholic School and an original homestead, both from the same era. A newspaper writer from Kitchener once wrote that if residents in Ontario can’t afford to go to Europe, they should go to Maryhill.

This interesting Christian Science church is located at 64 Water Street North, Kitchener. Here is information on the building from their website.

“First Church of Christ, Scientist, Kitchener is one of the oldest Christian Science churches in Ontario. Students of Christian Science began meeting in our community in 1893; by 1896, the congregation had grown quickly and met in several different locations, including the Judge’s Chambers in the County Court House.

The cornerstone of our beautiful church, cut from granite quarried near Concord, New Hampshire, was laid at Francis and Water streets in 1899. By 1900 the church was dedicated as the first church built as a Christian Science church outside of the United States. Joseph Taft of New York was the architect, and his design is an eclectic reflection of the local German and British populations and the American culture of the architect.

The church foundation is 10-feet-high and formed of uncoarsed granite held together without mortar. The second story of the church is large pink stucco panels framed with wood timbers. The church has a large round turret close to the Water and Francis street intersection. The roof is ridged gable and is shingled in cedar.

The church interior has many interesting features, among them beautiful black ash wainscoting that reflects the quality woodworking for which our region is renowned. The sanctuary is lit by large leaded turquoise windows and a large semi-circular sunburst window is located in the balcony. The beautiful Casavant organ was installed in 1911.”