What to See in Mississauga - Top Sights and Attractions

Civic center in Mississauga, Ontario. Celebration Square is a 290,000 square foot outdoor civic centre, park and amphitheatre located on City Centre Drive in Mississauga, Ontario. The project was first announced to begin construction in 2007 and completed in 2011. The two firms, CS&P architects and Janet Rosenberg + Associates were responsible for the design and construction of the park. The park was commissioned as a demolition and renovation of the two previous ‘library’ and ‘city hall’ squares in the downtown area of Mississauga. The design features an expansive turf grass field with adjacent amphitheatre, a surrounding stone path, benches, canopies and secondary stage. The square's large water feature becomes ice rink in the winter and doubles as an event space when needed. The project is said to juxtoposition small intimate spaces with large open areas of turf. The transformation has dramatically increased the use of the property for daily civic life.^[1]

Civic center in Mississauga, Ontario. The Mississauga Civic Centre is the seat of local government of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The 37,280 square metre complex is a prominent example of postmodern architecture in Canada, finished in 1987 by Jones and Kirkland. It stands at 92 metres or 302 feet. The design was influenced by farmsteads which once occupied much of Mississauga as well as historical features of city centres. The building, for instance, includes a prominent clock tower. It was chosen as the winner of a design competition that included 246 submissions. Mississauga Civic Centre is located in the City Centre near Square One Shopping Centre and is home to the Mississauga City Council. The civic center building is considered one of the most iconic and recognizable buildings and cultural icons of Mississauga city.^[5]

Library branch. Courtneypark Library is a library branch under the Mississauga Library System located in Meadowvalle Village. The library was established in late 2004 to respond to the needs of the large and growing Courtneypark community of 75,000 residents. The Courtneypark Library serves as both a community library with resources and programs geared to the everyday requirements of all ages of users, and a school library for St. Marcellinus Secondary School. This library is a shared facility between the City of Mississauga and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.

The building is also an Active Living Centre including amenities such as a triple gymnasium, a multi-purpose room, and a dance studio. Recreation & Parks programming at the facility includes yoga, pilates, karate, volleyball, badminton, basketball, tennis, soccer, track and field, and more.^[6]

Library branch. Meadowvale Community Centre and Library is a library branch under the Mississauga Library System and a community centre located in the Meadowvale neighbourhood of Mississauga, Ontario. The Meadowvale Community Centre was officially opened in January 1982. The original building was 43,500 square feet, including a pool, fitness centre with racquetball and squash courts, meetings rooms and lobby space.

In 2014, the community centre was closed for redevelopment by the City of Mississauga. The redevelopment of Meadowvale Community Centre was a priority for the City with an estimated budget of $37 million (CDN). The demolition and rebuilding of the centre were aimed to improve public accessibility, update mechanical systems, enlarge program space and add a therapeutic pool in response to the changing recreational needs of the community. The redevelopment was also an opportunity to incorporate the Meadowvale Library into this expanding facility.

The Meadowvale Community Centre and Library were re-opened in September 2016 after 2 years of construction. It is the City of Mississauga's first Community Centre to pursue a LEED certification (silver).^[7]

Performing arts theater in Mississauga, Ontario. The Living Arts Centre is a 225,000 sq ft multi-use facility which opened in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on October 7, 1997. The complex houses two theatres for the performing arts, Hammerson Hall and RBC Theatre, an exhibition gallery, seven art studios and facilities for corporate meetings.

The Living Arts Centre was designed by the Zeidler Partnership, who were awarded an Award of Merit in the City of Mississauga Urban Design Awards in 1998 for the complex. The building was funded by donations by corporate, community and individual sponsors, as well as the City of Mississauga and the Government of Canada.

Glass artist Stuart Reid designed a piece made of etched and enameled glass, blown by mouth, for the main foyer titled "Dance of Venus", which won an international competition. It measures 30 ft (9.1 m) by 150 ft (46 m).

The Hammerson Hall is the larger of the two theatres, providing tiered concert seating for 1300 people, while the RBC Theatre has a flexible seating arrangement, allowing for cabaret-style seating at tables or up to 400 people for theatre performances. The complex once included a 100-seat theatre known as the Rogerson Hall, but that is no longer in existence.

A range of exhibitions, events and performances are hosted by both the Living Arts Centre and community partners, including the Mississauga Choral Society, Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Mississauga International Children`s Festival, and several resident artists occupy the studio spaces. The centre has averaged over 400,000 visitors each year.^[8]

River in Ontario, Canada. The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment near Orangeville and Caledon East to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately 1,000 square kilometres. The total length of the river and its tributary streams is over 1,500 kilometres.

Despite urbanization and associated problems with water quality on the lower section of this river, it provides spawning areas for Chinook salmon and rainbow trout. There is a fish ladder on the river at Streetsville. Much of the river can still be travelled by canoe or kayak. The headwaters of the Credit River is home to a native self-sustaining brook trout population and an introduced brown trout population.

Credit Valley Conservation, the local watershed management conservation authority, operates several Conservation Areas including Belfountain, Island Lake, and Terra Cotta.

Forks of the Credit Provincial Park is located on the upper part of the river between Brampton and Orangeville, and is near the Bruce Trail.

Communities in the river's watershed include the following:^[9]

Mosque in Mississauga, Ontario. The Baitul Hamd is a mosque in Mississauga, Ontario west of Toronto run by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Canada. It was purchased in 1999 from Trinity Club House. much of the exterior of the building has remained the same. The interior has been transformed into a place of worship. This building houses separate places of worship differentiated by gender, A large Islamic Library, A Homeopathic clinic, A large cafeteria and commercial kitchen and several offices along with a full size basketball court as well as volleyball net on the exterior. This Building has also served as the Jamia Ahmadiyya for North America from 2003 - 2010. This mosques serves the needs of the communities of Mississauga.^[11]

Religious organization in Mississauga, Ontario. Fo Guang Shan Temple of Toronto was built to serve as a cultural, educational, community and spiritual centre for Chinese Buddhism and those interested in Buddhist teachings and practice. Founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun in 1991 and completed in 1997, Fo Guang Shan Temple of Toronto is one of the over 400 Fo Guang Shan Temples worldwide. It was founded with the intention to propagate Humanistic Buddhism to the local community in the Greater Toronto Area, which emphasizes bringing Buddhist teaching into our daily lives and maintaining harmony with the environment, society, each other and within ourselves.

The Toronto Buddhist temple branch is located in Mississauga, Ontario, and also operates satellite Dharma centres (Buddha's Light Center) in Markham and Kitchener-Waterloo. The Mississauga facility is approximately 50,000 square feet, and provides many modern functions and services while presenting traditional Chinese temple architecture and style. The building includes a magnificent main shrine, tea house (Water Drop Teahouse), traditional Chan meditation hall, Buddhist cultural museum, library, and bookstore. The Buddha's Light Centres were built to offer members in the eastern portions of the Greater Toronto Area who may not be able to travel to the Mississauga branch.^[12]

Neighbourhood in Mississauga, Ontario. Port Credit is a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Its main intersection is Hurontario Street and Lakeshore Road, about 0.6 kilometres east of the river. Until 1974, Port Credit was an incorporated town. Its approximate boundaries are the Canadian National Railway to the north, Seneca Avenue to the east and Shawnmarr Road to the west. It had a population of 10,260 at the 2001 census.

Port Credit was originally a settlement of the Mississauga Ojibwe First Nations band and a trading post established in 1720 for the exchange of goods from the Europeans for furs trapped by the Mississaugas. After the War of 1812, a harbour was established by the Mississaugas together with European and Jamaican settlers. In 1847, the Mississaugas left the village to relocate on the Six Nations Reserve to be with other band members and first nations. Industry was established on the village periphery including an oil refinery, but the neighbourhood is no longer a substantial industrial district. The village survived into the 20th century, becoming an independent municipality in 1909, until it was merged with the City of Mississauga in 1974.

Today, the original core village is now a heritage conservation district. The harbour is mostly used for recreational boating.

In recent years, the population of Port Credit has increased significantly from condo developments as well as gaining summer attraction from other Mississauga neighbourhoods. On the old site of an oil plant at Mississauga Road and Lakeshore, a massive condo complex named Brightwater has been planned to accommodate over 15,000 residents. The complex will include shopping, groceries and a college campus. Protests have taken place due to concern over the ratio of the size of Port Credit to the amount of traffic it will bring. There have also been delays over construction due to the continual readings of toxicity in the soil hence why the base has been blocked off from the public for decades.^[15]