Loretto Convent

Ottawa, Queen's Park and the City of Guelph have found $10.5 million to save the 153-year-old Loretto Convent from tumbling down off Catholic Hill. Catholic Hill, a high hill in the heart of Guelph, is a gift explorer John Galt gave his friend Alex Macdonnell, Catholic bishop of Kingston, as a thank you for helping him get some huge land grants from the British crown for his Canada Company. Eventually one of the most architecturally-significant churches in the province was built on the hill. Construction started in 1877 and took more than 10 years for the exterior work alone.

The church is a National Historic Site. The limestone convent has sat empty since 1996 and was getting ugly. Work starts in January to restore to its original splendor to house Guelph's Historic Museum.