The St. Catharines Public Library is a public library system that provides service to residents of St. Catharines, Ontario. The library has four branches: Central, Merritt, Port Dalhousie and Dr. Huq. [1] Materials available for loan include books, films, musical instruments, and video games. [2] As of September 2024, residents from Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Colborne, Thorold, Wainfleet, and Welland could borrow items from the library. [3]
As early as 1888, various locations were rented for library use, but there were no permanent structures. The first dedicated building for the library opened in 1905 in Downtown St. Catharines, where the Robert S.K. Welch Courthouse has since replaced it. [4] It was a Carnegie library. [5] This building was expanded in 1939, 1940, and 1965, as a result of the growing population in the city. When Port Dalhousie, Merritton, and Grantham were amalgamated into the city in 1961, there was even greater demand for better library infrastructure. This led to that building closing in 1971 and being replaced by the current central branch. [4] It was named the centennial branch to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the city's founding. [6] In 1976, the library buried a time capsule to commemorate the occasion. There was also a sundial placed aboveground. In 2021, the sun dial was stolen from the premises. The time capsule is still intact and will be opened in 2076. [7]
In 2021, the central library branch installed barriers and gates around the library, with the intention of deterring homeless people and acts of vandalism. The City of St. Catharines budgeted 50,000 dollars for these renovations. These renovations were criticized for "excluding the homeless as members of the public". [8] In 2022, the central branch received two robots from a local restaurant that are used to carry items across the library. [9] As of 2023, further renovations are planned, with a budget of 4.8 million dollars. A particular focus of these renovations is expanding community areas within the library. More than 100,000 physical items have been removed to make room for these spaces, with a greater emphasis being placed on access to digital materials. 65,000 of the removed items were duplicate materials. Bookshelves will be reduced in height and aisles will be widened as accessibility features. [10] Local historians have criticized this weeding process for removing access to vital information in regards to their research. An estimated ten percent of materials have been removed from the library's special collections. Historians have also criticized the lack of public consultation in regards to these discarded materials. [11]
In 2023, the branch in Port Dalhousie launched a program where the library remained open during unstaffed hours. This program expanded access to the library from three days to six days a week. [12] These changes were made permanent in 2024. [13]
The library opened a branch on Merritt Street to serve the community of Merritton. In 1966, another branch was opened at the nearby Pen Centre to provide additional service. This location proved more successful than its predecessor and the Merritt Street location closed in 1968. In 1986, the Merritt branch relocated to 149 Hartzel Road. [14]
In 2025, the branch will be relocated, as the lease for the building was not renewed. [15] Alternative locations were discussed in 2020 such as the Pen Centre and the St. Catharines Museum but none of these options were definitively chosen at the time. [16] In 2024, the library decided that it would relocate to the Pen Centre. [14]
The Dr. Huq branch operates from within the Kiwanis Aquatic Centre. [15] In 2023, there was a trial for keeping the library open on Sundays. The trial was well received but it was not extended due to budget constraints. [17]
St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2017, St. Catharines has an area of 96.13 square kilometres (37.12 sq mi) and 140,370 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, 51 kilometres (32 mi) south of Toronto across Lake Ontario, and is 19 kilometres (12 mi) inland from the international boundary with the United States along the Niagara River. It is the northern entrance of the Welland Canal. Residents of St. Catharines are known as St. Catharinites. St. Catharines carries the official nickname "The Garden City" due to its 1,000 acres (4 km2) of parks, gardens, and trails.
Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks.
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lake Erie, and was erected because the Niagara River—the only natural waterway connecting the lakes—was unnavigable due to Niagara Falls. The Welland Canal enables ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment, and has followed four different routes since it opened.
Niagara Centre is a federal electoral district in the Niagara Region of Ontario that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1988 and since 1997.
Merritton is both a distinct community within and a council ward of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It was named after William Hamilton Merritt, a prominent local entrepreneur and founder of the Welland Canal Company. Until 1858, Merritton was named Welland City, but exchanged names that year with Merrittsville, when that town became the "seat" of Welland county.
The District School Board of Niagara is a school board in the public school system of Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Niagara. Its head office is in St. Catharines. The DSBN operates schools in each of the twelve municipalities in the region. It employs close to 2,500 instructional staff to teach over 43,000 students in 97 elementary schools and 18 secondary schools. As of 2018, it was considered the top employer by number of employees in the Niagara Region. DSBN offers high school level courses online through Desire2Learn (D2L).
The Welland House Hotel was a historic building located on 26-30 Ontario Street in Downtown St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The hotel spa resort was one of many in Upper Canada during the Victorian era. It closed in 1993. As of 2020, the site was in the process of being designated as a heritage site to prevent future demolition. Its last use was as a student residence, and then sat vacant. On July 12, 2021; it was destroyed in an early morning fire.
The Welland Canal has gone through many incarnations in its history. Today, five distinct canal-construction efforts are recognized. The retronym First Welland Canal is applied to the original canal, constructed from 1824 to 1829 and 1831 to 1833.
The Port Colborne Sailors are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Port Colborne, Ontario. They played in the Golden Horseshoe division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Pen Centre is the largest shopping mall in the Niagara Region, located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
The Kilt and Clover is a restaurant and bar located at 17 Lock Street in Port Dalhousie, Ontario, a district within the City of St. Catharines, Ontario on the shores of Lake Ontario. It is known for its annual frozen chicken chucking competition. The act of chicken chucking consists of pitching or sliding frozen chickens along the ice covered Martindale Pond similar to curling and shuffleboard.
Montebello Park is a public park in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It features a commemorative rose garden and an ornamental fountain. The focal point of the park is a historic band shell and pavilion used for festivals. The park and its pavilion are designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Niagara Region Transit is a regional public transit system operating in the Niagara Region of Ontario. Initial service commenced on September 12, 2011, and consisted of inter-municipal routes. In January 2023, Niagara Region Transit assumed the operations of Welland Transit, Fort Erie Transit, St. Catharines Transit, and Niagara Falls Transit to form a single unified local transit service for the entire Niagara Region. Local fares are $3 for an adult customer.
Elections were held in the Niagara Region of Ontario on October 22, 2018, in conjunction with municipal elections across the province.
The Niagara Falls Public Library is a public library system in the Canadian city of Niagara Falls, Ontario. The library has three branches: Victoria Avenue, Stamford Centre, and the Community Centre. There are two former branch libraries: Drummond and Chippawa. A bookmobile provides resources to different areas of the city.
Morningstar Mill is a 2.98-acre (1.21 ha) heritage site located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The site includes the Morningstar Mill, a sawmill, the home of the Morningstar family, a barn used for blacksmith demonstrations, and the Decew Falls gorge along the Niagara Escarpment. The site is operated by the volunteer group Friends of Morningstar Mill and owned by the City of St. Catharines. The gristmill was restored to working condition in 1992.
The Lincoln Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia. In 1936, the regiment was Amalgamated with The Lincoln and Welland Regiment to form a new regiment also named The Lincoln and Welland Regiment.
The Thorold Public Library is a building in Thorold, Ontario, located on 14 Ormond Street North.
The Canada Summer Games Park is an athletic venue built in Thorold, Ontario, for the 2022 Canada Summer Games. It now hosts local events.