Local lawyer Peter Lillico hosts a haunting and rare virtual tour of the remains of what was Peterborough’s most elegant 19th-century hotel – the Oriental on Hunter Street.
Who knows what mysteries await in the long-locked, hard to access but still surviving rooms in the upper floors above his law office? Who knows what dramas unfolded behind the hallway doors – do long dead guests still return to the scenes of past tragedies, ecstasies – or maybe just a good night’s sleep?
If you are brave enough, come to the Peterborough Historical Society’s October Speakers Series meeting – Halloween edition: Tuesday Oct.15, 7:30 p.m. at the Peterborough Lions’ Centre on Burnham Street. Admission is free and so are the light refreshments.
Peter Lillico
Peter grew up in Peterborough attending Queen Mary School and PCVS. He was called to the bar in 1979 after attending Queens University and McMaster University where he graduated with a degree in History, going on to Law School at the University of Windsor. He has since practiced law with Lillico Bazuk Galloway Halka, one of the city’s oldest law firms, specializing in estate planning law and known as Canada’s foremost expert in cottage succession law. He has taught at Sir Sandford Fleming College, has written columns on estate planning for Peterborough This Week and for Cottage Life — appearing on camera in Cottage Life TV. Active in the Ontario Humanist Society, Peter probably does not believe in ghosts – yet.
The Oriental Hotel
The Oriental Hotel was built on Hunter Street west of George in 1875 and was Peterborough’s largest and most elegant hotel. The western portion of the building was demolished in 1974 when it housed the second Trent University bookstore. To find out what happened in between, you’ll have to join us on Oct.15!
