Heritage buildings are our historical works of art. Many remain actively used, places in which people live and work. Others are abandoned. The passage of time naturally takes a toll. A leaking roof, a leaning staircase, unhinged doors and cracked foundations. What do we do with a heritage building threatened by the ravages of age and neglect? We can tear it down. Our landfill sites are filled with demolition debris. Or we can rescue, repair, and restore.

Saving Places is a television series about saving Canada’s heritage - one building at a time. Each episode documents the hands-on restoration of a desperately endangered but historically meaningful building – a building that tells a story about important people and events in our collective past. Restoration means repairing and renewing an old building, taking it back to its glory days. It aims for as much historical authenticity as possible, using the materials, designs and craftsmanship of a bygone era. Restoration work takes a special kind of tradesperson – skilled in methods that are foreign to most modern building construction, forgotten by generations. But it also takes a special kind of character – to recognize and care for work done by the toil of those no longer with us. These are classic artisans, capturing the spirit, values and beauty of our ancestors through the buildings they’ve left behind.

But Saving Places isn’t just about the sentimental feelings for old-fashioned architecture. It’s about the conflict, egos, headaches and high stakes of saving a piece of irreplaceable history from the wrecking ball, while trying to mix the right kind of plaster, match the right tone of milk paint or carve the right curve in a staircase banister.

The dramatic backdrop is a primal battleground between old and new, novelty and conservation, demolition and salvation, refuse and re-use, private interest and common memory.