Heritage

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The Kincardine Arts Centre just prior to the restoration



Plaques at the entrance to the Kincardine Arts Centre depict the old town hall (L) as it looked before it was ravaged by time, and as it looks now



Kincardine's old town hall is pictured in its glory days before the building was changed over the years and much of the architectural heritage lost





A view of the lake and Queen's Lookout from the Kincardine Arts Centre auditorium



Another view of the lake from the upstairs in the Kincardine Arts Centre

Kincardine's old town hall has been beautifully restored and now anchors Queen Street and the downtown commercial core of Kincardine.

Now home to the Kincardine Arts Centre, including several arts and theatre groups, the building no longer looks like a barn, but welcomes residents and visitors inside the aesthetically-pleasing heritage structure.

While the building maintains its original splendour, the entrance has been changed to reflect more of an arts centre appearance, featuring mounted plaques which show the old town hall and the restored building.

Steve Murray, manager of economic development and tourism in Kincardine, says preserving this building shows the value of heritage to the municipality.

The $1-million project was done with funding from the federal and provincial governments, says Murray. The only part of the original building that was not done was the cupola on top which would have cost $168,000, he says.

The restoration included replacing the windows and doors, removing the fire escape from the west side of the building, taking down the addition on the north side (which housed the Bluewater Summer Playhouse office) and replacing it with a veranda, and rebricking the structure.

"All the tenants of the building have been very understanding," says Murray. "They've had to put up with a lot during the construction."

The biggest challenge, he says, was restoring the windows to their original look. Plus, the gable on the west side had to come out two feet to match the historic appearance of the building.

Three new air-conditioning units have been installed, and the two public washrooms were upgraded, to the tune of $2,000 each, and were open in time for the Kincardine Scottish Festival on the Canada Day weekend. The washroom work was done by Bruce County Flooring and Devin Design.

The main entrance, with its new windows and doors, is more conducive for the current use as an arts centre, says Murray. The door at the south end is an exit only, and the double doors at the north end lead to the auditorium upstairs.

The servery area and theatre box office have both been renovated, and some clean-up is still being done in the Scougall Gallery.

The project contractor was Roof Tile Management, and the architect was Ventin Group Architects, says Murray, noting that both were great to work with, and did a good job.

When workers removed the old Bluewater Summer Playhouse office, they discovered a set of stairs that led to the basement, he says. However, the exit was so small that only a child would be able to get through it. The stairs were filled in and covered with the wrap-around veranda.

Murray says the contractor was meticulous in maintaining the heritage aspects of the building. He was even able to source historic brick from the area and time period. 

When he was driving back to the Greater Toronto Area, he noticed a farmhouse in Greenock that was coming down.
He pulled over and asked about the yellow brick and was able to get the majority of brick needed for the restoration at below market rate, and may have kept it out of the local landfill of one of Kincardine's neighbouring municipalities.

"That old house in Greenock now becomes part of the local history at the arts centre/old town hall," says Murray.

The project has met all expectations, Murray says. "It's a big boost for the downtown and we're receiving a lot of compliments about it. It's a beautiful heritage building and we hope more people will come in and look around."

He says it was ironic that the municipality was urging downtown businesses to fix the facades on their buildings. "Meanwhile, ours was the worst in the downtown. Well, not any more."

Murray says the municipality was to meet with the architect and contractor to walk through the project and determine if there were any deficiencies and then it would be completed.

Major work is required on the inside of the arts centre but Kincardine council will have to determine that at a later time.

The old servery used by the theatre groups

The old entrance to the servery and the theatre box office

The old entrance to the arts centre, complete with the fire escape

The new entrance to the Kincardine Arts Centre auditorium

The public washrooms have been upgraded; the toilet in this one was cleaned up and re-installed

These steps were discovered under the old Bluewater Summer Playhouse office
historic and 'before' photos courtesy of Steve Murray

The new servery

The new box office window

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Friday, July 08, 2011