The Armond Town Hall
The Vision
The Vision
This restored movie theatre is a central,
civic, all-season meeting place which welcomes residents, tourists, young and
old. This repurposed Cranbrook Town
Hall provides the perpetual spirit in Spirit Square year round and all
weathers.
The four unique spaces contained within the
Armond building provide a hub and a healthy pulse to the downtown core, linking
City Hall with the public in a way that has not been possible before. Through public events, the nurturing of our
creative youth, a mass of local information, where to go, what to see, who is
here, when things are happening and how to access them, this one stop shop for
‘what is happening,’ in the heart of the city brings a new, consistent
and consolidated energy and vibrancy to Cranbrook’s center.
The cultural, clearing house, situated in the
lobby/store front has the ability to tie the community together linking the
Chamber of Commerce booths at either end of the ‘strip’ to the city core. It enables tourists to have a reason to
leave the highway, either on bicycle, by foot or by vehicle. Bicycle rentals can be deposited or
collected here and returned to any of the other participating locations. By having a central agency for the
registration of all events, courses and classes offered by private individuals,
groups, the City and the College of the Rockies, it is easy for residents and visitors
alike to find the information which will satisfy their interests.
The unique Town Hall with its lofty ceiling
provides a space with an ambience unlike any other in the city – a replacement,
albeit aesthetically different, for the much-loved Bluebird, which the city
lost in a fire. As our Town Hall, it
has the ability to provide a larger and alternative space for well attended
Council Meetings or Open Houses. For
our blossoming small and home businesses, it provides an affordable and
occasional marketing space downtown.
Exhibitions and displays can be set up for several days at a time.
Farmer’s Markets have an available space for rent in the shoulder and winter
seasons. A small commercial kitchen
enables self-catering, (occasional license only), to community events where
entertainment, eating and dancing are combined. The high ceiling offers acoustics and atmosphere providing an
ambience unlike any other, where food and beverages are permitted and there is
dance floor. The relaxed and flexible
nature of the space provides an opportunity for informal and formal gatherings
alike and for all demographics in our community.
The provision of a permanent home for the
Youth Arts Centre at the mezzanine level enables this building to have not only
constant activity downstairs but a regular rental income and energy upstairs
that this age group can provide. The separate entrances and exits give this
rental space the luxury of independent comings and goings without having to use
the storefront public space. Plenty of
washrooms are available on the lower level.
The convenience of the Arts Council in the
Fire Hall will make joint projects in all these spaces easy to coordinate with
added bonus of extra temporary display, demonstration, performance or
exhibition space close at hand. When museum exhibitions are held in the
Cranbrook Museum and Exhibition Galleries Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, it is
possible to coordinate more hands-on displays, workshops or relevant
entertainment in this less formal space.
Last but not least, the roof of this, one of
the tallest buildings in the downtown, provides a fabulous opportunity to view
Cranbrook from the piazza like setting around a large glass skylight which
floods light into the interior space.
The view, through the roof top trees is not available from any other
downtown location. Through the use of industrial reservoir planters, small
trees line the inside of the clear safety railing and surround the roof. Access to this space is via a spiral
staircase located in the The Youth Arts Centre. The use of vegetation in contained planters, assist with climate
control for the building. This showcase
roof project puts Cranbrook on the map for innovation and recognition of its
Rocky Mountain Trench location.
Plenty of parking is close by, beside Rotary
Park on Tenth Avenue and behind the Credit Union on Baker St.
An Opera House/Auditorium preceded the Armond Theatre on
the very same site and two movie theatres, The Star and then The Armond have
existed on this block of Tenth Avenue in the time Cranbrook has existed.
By seizing this opportunity for the
continuity of our history, Cranbrook has recognized the necessity for its
heritage preservation. There is much
love in the city for this solid old building.
It holds memories and marks part of Cranbrook’s history. Community use with a look into the future
makes it special once again.
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