Registered Heritage Districts

Historic districts are geographically defined areas which create a special sense of time and place through buildings, structures and open spaces modified by human use and which are united by past events and use and/or aesthetically, by architecture and plan.

Historic districts constitute appropriate subjects for commemoration, and those of provincial significance will include one or more of the following:

  1. A group of buildings, structures and open spaces, none of which singly need to be provincial architectural significance, but which, when taken together, comprise a harmonious representation of one or more styles or constructions, building types or periods;
  2. A group of buildings, structures and open spaces, none of which may be of individual historical significance, but which together comprise an outstanding example of structures of technological or social significance;
  3. A group of buildings, structures and open spaces which share uncommonly strong associations with individuals, events or themes of provincial significance.

Above all, an historic district of provincial significance must have a "sense of history": intrusive elements must be minimal, and the district's historic characteristics must predominate and set it apart from the area that immediately surrounds it.

For more information on Registered Heritage Districts view the online brochure or request a print version from the HFNL office. Download the Registered Heritage District Application.

Please click here to view a speech presented by architect Dr. Robert Mellin at the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada's Ceremony commemorating the Tilting Cultural Landscape District.

 If you have any questions about heritage district designation, contact Andrea O'Brien at 1-888-739-1892 ext 4.