As warmer weather approaches, McMaster Museum of Art is introducing a new way to explore McMaster University campus! The museum has developed a McMaster University Campus Architecture Tour in response to ongoing requests for information and stories about campus. Expanding on the museum’s digital offerings, the architecture tour is the second in a series of audio tours, the first being the McMaster Campus Sculpture Tour.

Hosted on izi.travel – a storytelling platform for museums and cities, the tour provides historic and present-day information about the history and evolution of McMaster’s campus, and the various styles of architecture found on site. It also includes more modern sites and buildings recently developed on campus as it evolves into the 21st century and addresses changing needs. A range of historic photographs are included, carefully sourced from McMaster University’s digital archives.

Beginning at the Indigenous Circle, the tour visits 11 stops, including: the Indigenous Circle, University Hall, Hamilton Hall, the Refectory/The Phoenix, Wallingford Hall, the Charles E. Burke Science Building, Divinity College, McMaster Museum of Art, L.R. Wilson Hall, and McMaster’s newest building, the Peter George Centre for Living and Learning.

From the gargoyles carved on Hamilton Hall by parliamentary stone carver William Frederik Karel Oosterhoff, to the frieze above the doors of the Burke Science Building depicting scientists, astronomers, and mathematicians – the tour reveals details about campus that could otherwise go unnoticed to the naked eye.

To begin, either visit the link here or download the izi.travel app. You can follow along with the text descriptions, or use headphones to be guided by recorded audio.

McMaster Museum of Art would like to thank Bridget Whittle, Digital Archives Librarian, for their indispensable help in sourcing historic photographs.