What to See in Richmond Hill - Top Sights and Attractions

Country's largest optical telescope. The David Dunlap Observatory is an astronomical observatory site in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1935, it was owned and operated by the University of Toronto until 2008. It was then acquired by the city of Richmond Hill, which provides a combination of heritage preservation, unique recreation opportunities and a celebration of the astronomical history of the site. Its primary instrument is a 74-inch reflector telescope, at one time the second-largest telescope in the world, and still the largest in Canada. Several other telescopes are also located at the site, which formerly also included a small radio telescope. The scientific legacy of the David Dunlap Observatory continues in the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, a research institute at the University of Toronto established in 2008.

The DDO is the site of a number of important scientific studies, including pioneering measurements of the distance to globular clusters, providing the first direct evidence that Cygnus X-1 was a black hole, and the discovery that Polaris was stabilizing and appeared to be "falling out" of the Cepheid variable category. Located on a hill, yet still relatively close to sea level at 730 feet (220 m) altitude, and now surrounded by urban settlement, its optical astronomy ability has been reduced as compared to other remote observatory sites around the world. On July 31, 2019, the DDO was accepted by the National Historic Board as a National Historic Site of Canada.^[1]

Kettle in Ontario, Canada. Lake Wilcox is a kettle lake in the Oak Ridges neighbourhood of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. The lake measures 1.5 kilometers across and covers 55.6 hectares or 0.55 square kilometres, making it the largest kettle lake on the Oak Ridges Moraine. Lake Wilcox, Lake St. George and their associated wetlands form a "provincially significant wetland".

The lake is named after William Willcocks (1735/36-1813), who was a merchant in York, Upper Canada and became mayor of Cork, Ireland in 1793 (after his return from Upper Canada). Willcocks and his family moved to Upper Canada, where his cousin Peter Russell became interim administrator after the departure of John Graves Simcoe in 1796. Willcocks "was an active land speculator" who acquired significant holdings in Upper Canada, including 800 acres (3.2 km2) surrounding the lake. The name of the lake was originally Lake Willcocks, but it was corrupted over time to its present spelling.

Willcocks resided in York and Markham, but died in the former in 1813.^[2]

United church of canada in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Richmond Hill United Church, at 10201 Yonge Street, is a designated heritage building in the town of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. The main body of the building dates back to 1880, then as Richmond Hill Methodist Church, with later additions built in 1932 and in 1957. Originally the Methodist Church, it was renamed the United Church in 1925 when the Methodists, the Congregationalists, and the Presbyterians entered into a union.

The church is, and always was, first and foremost a place of worship. In its early days there is a possibility that, aside from general church related uses, it could also have served as a Sunday school. With time and with the extensions the functions expanded in range. The church began to gain recognition not only as a religious venue but also as an important community marker. This church has a strong social justice orientation, and became an affirming ministry in June 2013. Currently, the church has tenants that use parts of its space, which include a dance school, a drama group, ESL training, and a math enrichment program. Occasionally the building is also used as a place for committee meetings and as a gathering space for community groups concerning cultural, social, or other issues.^[5]

Temperanceville is an unincorporated community in the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada, straddling two geopolitical jurisdictions, King and Richmond Hill. It is located at the southeastern edge of King and northwestern part of Richmond Hill, east of King City and adjacent to the western part of Oak Ridges.

The settlement became home to James and Mary Love in 1804, the former being a cobbler and farmer who was also a teetotaler. Their home would be used for church services, leading to the settlement being named 'Love's Corner'. The settlement also had an active temperance movement, with at least five temperance societies active in the area by the 1890s. Its name was changed in the early 1900s when the prohibition campaign became popular through the promotion of 'temperance values'. This campaign would later help cripple the hotel industry in the area.

Temperanceville would grow to boast a post office, several businesses, and a market.

Today, the most popular part of Temperanceville is the Temperanceville Park, which now has ample parking, a soccer field, and a large children's play area.

In King Township, it is part of electoral Ward 1.^[8]

Oak Ridges is an unincorporated community of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, and has been part of that city since 1971. It forms the northern portion of the municipality's boundary, where it borders Aurora. Located about 20 km north of Toronto, it has a population of 38,140. The community developed around Lake Wilcox, the largest lake in the area, and has continued to expand slowly since its annexation by the Town of Richmond Hill. In the 1990s, Oak Ridges experienced moderate growth, which spurred environmental action by numerous organizations. Population has grown significantly as a result of development initiatives along Bayview Avenue. The Oak Ridges Community Center was built and completed in June 2012 to accommodate community demand.

It is located north of the main urban area of Richmond Hill (which begins just south of Lake Wilcox), east of King City, immediately south of Aurora, and west of Whitchurch-Stouffville.^[9]