New walking tour teaches Kitchener's forgotten Black history

A new walking tour in downtown Kitchener wants toteachpeople about some of the the city's forgotten Black history.

Black Presence in Berlinisbeing run by Stroll Walking Tours in honour of BlackHistory Month.

Tour company ownerJuanita Metzgerand Peggy Plet who did theresearch for the specializedtour say they hope to restore and preserve the contributions Black settlers hadin early Kitchener, which then would have been known as Berlin.

"It's a part of our Waterloo region history that is missing in the telling of how this community was formed and who was here in the 19th century," Metzger told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.

Plet said extensive research went into the project and it was "quite achallenge" looking through old directories to track downformer Black residents and their stories partly because little remains of the original structures.

Ultimately, Plethopes people who take the tourdiscover a deeperconnection to their community and learn more about downtown Kitchener'srich Black history.

New walking tour highlights Black history in downtown Kitchener

3 years ago

Duration 1:10

A new walking tour, launched this month by Stroll Walking Tours, is led by Peggy Plet and it highlights Black history in downtown Kitchener.

"Former Black residents walked the same streets I am walking on today and that is very exciting," Pletsaid."After all, this is part of local history. It's not separatehistory."

CBC Kitchener-Waterloo joined Plets and Mertzer on a mini-tour, to learn more about three sites on King Street.

The North American Hotel

Emancipation Day celebrations and eventsuse to be held at theformerNorth American Hotel, just across from the CBCKitchener-Waterloo station.

Today, a condo building isbeing built there, but Plet said back in the early 1900s, many would make the trip to downtownto celebrate.

"People would come out to Kitchener to celebrateEmancipation Day, a remarkable day in Black history," she said.

The Walper Hotel

In 1953, the sound of Louis Armstrong's trumpet could be heard through downtown Kitchener. He stayed at the Walper Hotel that year.

"There use to be a balcony right above the Coffee Culture sign," said Plet, pointingto the windows above whereCoffee Culture is now located on the corner of Queen and King streets.

"He performed at the Auditorium and at night he use to play his trumpet from the balcony."

Behind the Walper Hotel, you can seean old painting of Louis Armstrong a tribute to this moment in the city's history.

Near TheMuseum

On astretch ofKing Street between Ontario and QueennearTheMuseum, isbelieved to be the locationof several businesses formerlyowned by Blackentrepreneur, Peter E. Susand, Plet said.

"It would have been the site where [Susand] would have had his barber shop in 1861," she said, adding that Susand also owned a coffee shop on the same stretch of King Street.

Plet saidlawyer, Robert Sutherland, also had an office in that block of King Street.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.