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Heritage preservation and a revitalized downtown
Perceptions by Gerry Warner
Perhaps Joni Mitchell said it best – “They paved paradise to put up a parking lot.”
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it’s “paradise” behind Cranbrook City Hall. In fact, it’s kind of grubby behind the old brick edifice built in 1911 originally featuring a fourth-storey spire and a small balcony facing what was then Norbury Street between the second and third floors.
How many Cranbrookians even know that today? Not too many, I’d wager. But that’s the way it is with heritage. One day you have it and the next day it’s gone. And if you don’t believe what our venerable City Hall used to look like, take a look behind the Mayor’s chair the next time you attend a council meeting because there’s a lovely framed picture of it on the wall beside the City’s Coat of Arms.
What got me going on this is a couple of encounters I had recently with two prominent city residents; one a former banker and the other a man of the cloth, fine gentlemen both of them. And to my surprise, and I have to admit to my chagrin, they both have something in common, an unadulterated distain for our city’s heritage. Or at least one piece of our heritage that is still proudly standing but may not remain in that condition for too long.
Yes, I’m talking about the former Electrical and Waterworks Building behind City Hall most commonly referred to today as “The Brick Building,” and a political hot potato if I may be permitted to use the old cliché. No argument that the gnarly old structure is showing its age with its boarded-up windows and crumbling bricks scattered like tears on the ground around it. But bear in mind this derelict old building has shouldered the snow of almost 80 winters since it was built in 1936 and seldom, if ever, shovelled.
The bricks themselves came from the Cranbrook Brick Company, one of the city’s earliest industries and the same company that provided the bricks for our historic City Hall on what’s now known as 10th Avenue in the heart of downtown. And it also supplied the bricks for the grand, old post office which was unfortunately demolished in 1971 along with so many other of the city’s most ornate buildings like the Court House, the YMCA residence, the original Royal Bank building, the stone highway arches and who could forget the wonderful Baker Park outdoor swimming pool, which isn’t a building per se, but at one time was the largest outdoor pool in Western Canada and the coolest spot in town for kids and adults alike.
All gone. Lamented by some, but not the two gentlemen I spoke of earlier. And that’s a shame because heritage has always been given short shrift in the Key City and frankly it shows. Now the most outstanding feature of our city is Cranbrook Street, or the “Strip” as it’s commonly known, and as far as strips go, our Strip can compete with any in terms of the stores, restaurants, hotels and businesses it offers. But it doesn’t offer heritage nor should it because it’s a commercial artery and a darn good one. If you want heritage, history or character in Cranbrook, you have to look elsewhere because you won’t find it on the Strip. There’s some left downtown, but not all that much and we can’t afford to lose anymore or we might as well throw in the towel and realign Baker Street with the Strip and put up some more parking lots as Joni would say.
The only thing stopping this is a small, but determined group known as the Cranbrook Heritage Association, who took on the project after merging with the Cranbrook Baker Hill Heritage Association and by doing so inspired many Cranbrookians to start thinking about the city’s proud heritage again. So far the group has raised $13,564.00 in donations and grants and City Council will consider at its next meeting in July to give them until January 2015 to raise enough money, likely in the $40,000 range, to stabilize and secure the building so that it won’t be destroyed by the wreckers’ ball as council voted to do earlier in the year.
Phew! But the battle isn’t over yet. Heritage costs money and forty or fifty thousand isn’t small change. But if you value heritage and would like to ignite a movement with the potential to revitalize downtown Cranbrook through heritage restoration you can make your contribution at Cranbrook City Hall and get a tax receipt.
It worked for the Studio Stage Door. It just might work again with the Brick Building.
– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist and a Cranbrook City Councillor. His opinions are his own.
