The City

Kitchener, formerly Berlin, became an official city on June 9, 1912, but settlement existed since the late 18th century. American German Mennonites searching for a better place to live after the Revolutionary War were attracted by Canada's advertisements of land and freedom. Berlin continued to expand with the increased entry of German immigrants from Europe. During this era, Kitchener was a land rich in abundant resources with bush, sandhills and swamps. Nearby streams provided a convenient energy source for mills. It was a farm based economy.

In 1816, Berlin became part of the Township of Waterloo, a place also growing steadily, and in 1853 it attained the status of Village when it became a County seat with the County of Waterloo. When it finally attained City status in 1912, soon afteward, in 1914, the anti-German sentiment generated by World War I forced the city to be named Kitchener in 1916, after the British General Horatio Herbert Kitchener who won fame during the Boer War.

Despite the city's rapid growth and prosperity, it did suffer during the Great Depression. However, because of the diversity of industry, it was able to make it through the worst of the times. After World War II (which did not garner the same negative sentiments as WWI), Kitchener prospered, and by 1965 was one of the fastest growing industrial, distribution and financial centres. Today, it is a strong and culturally diverse community. (Information from NationMaster)

History, however, does not always have the happy ending that advertisements, city sites and other public descriptions that we'd like to believe. As you walk through the downtown core, once so vibrant, its buildings rich with Classic Art Revival and Deco styles, you will see instead decaying buildings, abandoned industries, tight unaccessible roads. Instead of protecting the ornamentation on buildings, new businesses hide them with flashy signs or board them up. Fortunately, in the recent years attempts are being made to revive the city and restore its heritage. As you walk down the Great Road, King Street, you will see the massive amounts of contruction that has occured and is still occurring to make it a more friendly and welcome place to be.

The tide is turning in the city.

To find out more details, visit the buildings from the soundwalk here. Our research comes graciously from the City of Kitchener.

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