Open Belle Vue's Doors Again

Terry Whelan remembers coming to Amherstburg’s historic Belle Vue House with her sisters as kids for an annual summer barbecue.

She and Susan were there again Thursday, although flurries and cold temperatures made the idea of summer fun seem like a distant memory.

They huddled on the front steps of the 200-year-old home to present officials from the Belle Vue Conservancy with a $20,000 donation in memory of their late parents Eugene and Elizabeth Whelan.

The historic Belle Vue home is being lit up for the holiday season.

The River Lights Winter Festival has stepped up and helped decorate the home with festive decorations and solar lights. Jennie Lajoie, who is involved with River Lights and the Belle Vue Conservancy, said the former agreed to take on the project.

“River Lights has kindly agreed to light up Belle Vue for the festival,” said Lajoie. “Most of the greenery came from the back of the property.”

Conservancy member Linda Jackson said they are “very excited” that River Lights took on the project.

Over the weekend, the front lawn of Belle Vue was filled with old teacups, paintings, jewelry and other donated things by the community to assist the Belle Vue conservancy in raising more money for the restoration.

Belle Vue is in the running to win $40,000 in “This Place Matters” Competition

The competition is heating up!

“To everyone who has shown support for Belle Vue, the 200 year old National Historic Site in Amherstburg, now is the time to step up and Vote! Vote! Vote!” urges Linda Jackson, Chair of corporate outreach for the Belle Vue Conservancy.

One million dollars at stake! The twice designated national historic site (NHS); Belle Vue House, sits patiently as the property may finally get its chance to be restored and open for public use. Recently listed as one of the top 10 endangered properties in Canada by Heritage Canada National Trust, Belle Vue matters!

A group dedicated to the restoration of the historic Belle Vue House in Amherstburg has released a promotional video to encourage donations towards its $1-million campaign.

Just over four minutes long, the video gives viewers a glimpse of the once-lavish interior of the 200-year-old house built just after the War of 1812. In it, Amherstburg Mayor Aldo DiCarlo urges viewers to help “keep a Canadian heritage and legacy alive.”

Artist to create Belle Vue painting to raise funds for the building's restoration. Nov 2016

After rejecting a proposal to buy Bellevue House, Amherstburg town council decided to take over the historic mansion.

Councillors agreed Monday to purchase the house for $1.1 million, which will be paid over the next five years.

No trespassing signs discourage the curious from getting too close to this once-lavish home that sits forlornly on the Detroit River shoreline in Amherstburg.

Shedding tears of peeling white paint, the still stately structure on Dalhousie Street has lingered in quiet decay ever since its purchase by a numbered company for nearly $800,000 in 2003.