We took the 45-mile drive to Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, today, to take in the play ‘Harvey’ at the Royal George Theatre, one of the four venues collectively known as The Shaw Festival. We’d been promised a day of clouds & rain & possibly snow, & what we got was the diametric opposite. On the way home at about 5 p.m., we were treated to near-cloudless skies & golden westering sun, & we stopped in both Queenston & Niagara Falls (on the Niagara River between Lakes Erie & Ontario) to enjoy the weather & take pictures. This fine building was caught in its very best light. The plaque affixed to the front of the building tells this tale:
“Queenston Baptist Church. By 1808 the Rev. Elkanah Holmes, a missionary from the United States, had organized the first Baptist Congregation in Queenston. Following the war of 1812 the congregation declined, was reorganized in 1831 and, between 1842 and 1845, erected this rough-cut limestone structure as its church. It is an early and interesting example of the Gothic Revival style in this province. The church had closed by 1918 and in 1928 was sold to the Women’s Institute, which occupied the building until 1954. In 1970 it was acquired by Dr. Djamal Afrukhteh, who donated it to the Town of Niagara-On-The-Lake. After a fund-raising campaign by the Queenston Community Association, the building was renovated and in December, 1972, was officially opened as the Queenston Library and Community Centre.”