Willowbank School of Restoration Arts is a non-profit, registered career college in Queenston, Ontario, focused on heritage conservation.
The School of Restoration Arts at Willowbank was founded in 2003 in the village of Queenston, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Willowbank is a non-profit, registered career college. Its mission is to advance the stewardship of historic places and sustainable communities through an innovative balance of theory and practice. Willowbank is located halfway between Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Laura Dodson led The Friends of Willowbank, whose leadership brought about the founding of the school. The school began accepting students in 2006, and welcomed its first intake for its Heritage Conservation Diploma that year. The Willowbank mansion was commissioned in 1834 by Alexander Hamilton and wife Hannah Jarvis, who named the property Willowbank. Canada named Willowbank a National Historic Site in 2003.
Willowbank offers a three-year Diploma in Heritage Conservation. The first two years feature intensive, eight-month sessions between September and April. The school's values include being leading edge, believing in ecology, appreciating everyone's place in history, evolving and adapting, and being independent. Graduates achieve a 95% rate of employment.
The campus is set within 13 acres at one of Canada's National Historic Sites, including its 1834 Greek Revival mansion and a 10,000 year-old portage route. The Willowbank Estate House is available as an event rental venue. His Majesty The King has been Royal Patron of Willowbank since 2014.
Applications for the Diploma Program are submitted via email. The school's address is 14487 Niagara Parkway, PO Box 212, Queenston, Ontario, L0S 1L0.