A nod to the past while moving forward

Golden is rebirthing a heritage building that will be the community's premier performing arts venue

The Golden Civic Centre is aiming for a fall opening once all the work is finished. — Trevor Crawley photo

The Golden Civic Centre is bustling with activity as the 60-year-old building is being reborn into a larger space for arts and culture; the renovations are being done in a way that acknowledges and retains the centre's heritage roots.

Kicking Horse Culture (KHC), which is the local arts organization, and volunteer groups identified a dedicated performing arts centre as the number 1 priority during a community culture consultation—and the civic centre was the obvious choice for such as facility, said Bill Usher, executive director for KHC. But to save the building and extend its life, there needed to be what Usher called a rebirth—a way to keep the heritage feel of the building while shoring up the structure and improving the performing arts space.

"This is something that does go way back," said Usher. "Weddings, funerals, christenings, dances and events have gone on in that hall for the last couple of generations, so it has a lot of meaning for the community."

To get the project started, there had to be a bit of deconstruction and removal of hazardous material like asbestos. The trusses of the building were constructed with old roof trusses and floor joists transplanted from a local lumber mill that was deconstructed in 1911—details that tell a story of its past and place in the community, believes Usher.

Exposing the trusses so people can see them from the floor was one of the goals of the rebirth. This required replacing the roof and moving insulation to rest on top of the roof deck. The original floor beams were also shored up and strengthened, while keeping and exposing the original pillars in the basement.

Enhancements are being made to the civic centre's stage; the addition of a backstage area will help theatre groups and musicians manage their productions more efficiently. Dressing rooms and storage and workshop space in the basement can also be accessed by a backstage stairway.

Roughly 50 years is the expected life span of the civic centre upon completion of the renovations.

The heritage aspect was an important factor when the decision was made to renovate instead of build a new centre, but economics and environmental concerns also played a role. It will cost about $2.2 million to renovate the Golden Civic Centre, while a completely new structure would have been double that figure, said Usher.

Raising that kind of capital may seem like a daunting challenge, but once funding organizations heard the story of the civic centre, money started flowing in.

“We've been really fortunate in making our case to regional funders like the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT), the Province of B.C., the Department of Canadian Heritage and other pots of money,” Usher said, “because we had a really good story that made sense for us to do this.”

The federal department of Canadian heritage granted $500,000—the maximum amount eligible for this type of project. Funding also came from two different programs through the provincial government, as well as from the CBT, the regional district and private donations. The municipal government is currently left holding about eight per cent of the tab, which is a testament to the success of the fundraising efforts for the centre, said Usher.

Construction began in October of 2010 and is scheduled to wrap up sometime this fall. Usher hopes the community will be proud of the work done to retain the atmosphere and heritage of the centre while fusing it with updated architecture and building practices. 

“Touring artists love to come and perform in that hall because it has such a beautiful feeling inside of it,” he said. “You just can't get that in something that's brand new and modern.”