The Rosemount Inn was designed by William Coverdale, who was one of the architects responsible for Kingston Penitentiary.Dave LeBlanc/The Globe and Mail
There is no better tour guide of Kingston, than Arthur Milnes. An author and expert on John A. Macdonald (and every other PM), he’s billed as Kingston’s “story-teller-in-chief.” But don’t take it from me: on videos posted on kingstonwalks.ca, the Right Honourable Paul Martin said, “I know that you’ll enjoy your encounters with Arthur” and the Right Honourable Stephen Harper quipped that he was their “unofficial historian” while working as a speechwriter in his office.
But be warned: if any sort of prime minister news breaks, his attention will be divided.
On Jan. 6, the day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would step down as leader of the Liberal Party, I waited in Mr. Milnes’s car – it was too cold for a walking tour – as he took phone call after phone call from various media outlets. It was also a little over a week after former U.S. president Jimmy Carter’s death, and since the two had been friends, his phone was ringing about that as well.
But Mr. Milnes didn’t give me the Cook’s tour. No, I still got a banquet.
While I was there to specifically see Kingston’s residential architecture and its historic inns, Mr. Milnes brought me first to see Kingston City Hall. Built in 1844 when Kingston was still capital of the United Province of Canada, it’s large for a city of its size: “The idea being they wanted a city hall that befitted a national capital,” says Mr. Milnes.
Next, we drove to see Fort Henry (a National Historic Site) and the Martello towers, built by the British Army in response to the Oregon Crisis, while taking in sweeping views of Lake Ontario as it narrows into the St. Lawrence River.
Before we tucked into residential streets, the Scarborough-born Mr. Milnes paused at Springer Market Square: “I love it because you get a real sense of 19th-century Kingston.” With skaters circling around, it was picture postcard perfect, also. And, because it’s filled with great architecture as many university campuses are, we buzzed through Queen’s. I even braved the cold to jump out and photograph Grant Hall.
We entered the Old Sydenham Heritage Conservation District, established in 2015, which now protects more than 500 properties. After City Park – ”where the parliamentary precinct would have been,” explained Mr. Milnes – we turned onto Sydenham Street where McIntosh Castle’s thrusting tower greeted us. Designed by architect John Power and built in 1852 for ship owner Donald McIntosh, the tower was added after 1878 (according to the Frontenac Heritage Foundation website); in 2022, it was listed for sale at 2.8-million.
Next door is No. 24, once the home of Kingston mayor John McIntyre and wife, Harriet, a niece of Sir John A. Macdonald (also by Power and Sons, 1879). Now the Hochelaga Inn, it’s a gorgeous Victorian wedding cake of a building in red brick rather than limestone, as was the fashion in the 1870s and 80s.
A stone’s throw away on the other side of Earl Street was another welcoming building, The Rosemount Inn (1848-50), this time a Georgian in ubiquitous limestone; its architect, William Coverdale, was one of the architects responsible for Kingston Penitentiary. According to visitkingston.ca, Mr. Coverdale took inspiration from Queen Victoria’s Osborne House in the Isle of Wight.
On the other side of William Street at No. 73 is Secret Garden Inn, yet another by Power and Sons in red brick. For this one, Mr. Milnes and I got out of the car so I could point out what I believed to be tuck-pointed brick. On closer examination, it is: to mimic supertight joints, masons would add a thin, lime putty ‘ribbon’ over top of the wide, regular mortar. Often lost to sandblasting, it’s an interesting trompe l’oeil.
As we wended our way along other streets in the HCD, we paused often. At No. 75 Lower Union St. is a lovely Regency 1830s cottage with bright yellow door, which I later learned is one of “the most unusual hipped roof cottages in southeastern Ontario … due to its umbrage or recessed porch and fine stonework” (Jennifer McKendry’s U of T thesis on The Ontario Cottage) and, on Bagot Street, one side features lovely row houses while the other semi-detached houses, such as No. 97-99, which sports a muscular turret on one side and a bay-and-gable on the other.
Driving down Princess Street, Mr. Milnes pointed to the “Royal Tavern 2.0,” which was once owned by Sir John A. Macdonald: “It’s where he had some election night celebrations,” he said.
Equally interesting are Mr. Milnes stories of his own past. Every Prime Minister from John Turner to Stephen Harper (he’s still waiting for Justin Trudeau) has planted a tree on his property. And president Carter and Rosalynn planted one when they stayed the night in November, 2012 (Carter was in Kingston to receive an honourary degree from Queen’s).
We wrapped our tour over coffee at the Frontenac Club, where Mr. Milnes works and where I’m staying. “Kingston punches above its weight,” he finished. “Obviously with the Indigenous [people] but then as soon as the Europeans arrive, boom, Kingston’s on the agenda … and you can go right through to Kingston’s impact today.”
I agree. And when the weather’s warmer, I’ll be back.
Portions of Mr. LeBlanc’s stay were provided by Tourism Kingston. They did not review or approve of this article.
The Frontenac Club Inn
It’s a good thing Sean Billing and his wife decided it would take too much work to restore the former home of Judge Edwards Merrill in Picton, Ont. The hospitality industry veteran had been looking to operate his own place after working for “the big brands,” so when a friend – who had been involved in the restoration of Kingston’s Armoury – asked if he was interested in Kingston as a potential location, he said yes.
After rejecting places that were too small, the pair wandered into the Frontenac Club Inn at 225 King St. E. and got a tour. And although it wasn’t for sale, they thought it had “the right vibe.” So, with a few other investors, they put together an offer. And although Mr. Billing’s wife said the inn “looks like a unicorn threw up in here” (due to every room, sink and toilet being a different colour), the pair knew the 1845, purpose-built Bank of Montreal building (the first outside of Montreal) would make for a killer boutique hotel. About eight months later, the owners decided to sell.
A massive renovation followed. “We changed where doors were, we took down every wall that wasn’t a masonry wall with the exception of one wall and it was that one,” he says, pointing to the old bank manager’s wall in what’s now known as the Bank Gastrobar. “So we could insulate and create chases and run piping, wire, and put in WiFi.”
Taking us on a tour of the dog-friendly inn – our room has a Tragically Hip theme, which my wife, Shauntelle, loved as she is a big fan – we marvel at the public spaces and the other rooms in the three-building complex. One room has an Indigenous theme and artwork by Brent Hardisty, another honours author Michael Ondaatje, a lovely room with a private outdoor deck is a tribute to the first two women to be invited to join the Frontenac Club (the building was a private gentleman’s club from 1908-1935), and yet another has a 1,000 Islands theme.
In each, it’s the enormous bathrooms that provide the biggest wow factor: “When we did the design process, the six [owners] were together and I asked everybody to rank what was most important, and five of the six said bathrooms were No. 1,” Mr. Billing says with a laugh.