Little Brick Building - a Letter

When a person looks at the “value” of a building such as this Works and Electrical Building behind City Hall it becomes necessary look beyond the purely monetary value of the structure.  It is also necessary to take into account the historical significance of this building and then determine in the whole scheme of things as to whether Cranbrook wishes to preserve and promote its historical past.  It would appear that there are some in Cranbrook who are proud of its history and are prepared to showcase what we have left to offer.

By conserving and celebrating these places, we show that we value our community, our past, our future, and ourselves.  How many of us are still bemoaning the fact that Cranbrook lost the Old Post Office, The YMCA, The Old Government Office and several other significant buildings which defined our downtown area.  We would have lost the Masonic Hall if a volunteer group had not come forward to promote and work hard for its preservation.

We are fortunate that there are members of our community prepared to financially support the preservation and reuse of historic buildings such as the Masonic Hall, the Cranbrook Photo Building, The Bedroom complex and Cranbrook Hotel to name a few.  There are those who have put money into items that have formed part of Cranbrook’s history such as the Rotary Clock Tower, The Cranbrook Arch and Cranbrook Ed.  Both of these latter structures were in Cranbrook for less time than the Works and Electrical Building has been.  Cranbrook Ed was in town only a few hours!  We should be grateful for homeowners on Baker Hill who value historical significance such that they fight to preserve the structure of their homes and so preserve the ambiance of this area of Cranbrook.

The Works and Electrical Building has a very definite historical connection to both City Hall and The Old Fire Hall.  It was built and operated by taxpayers’ funds and was an integral part of the operation of the City.  There are still people living in our city who worked in this building, or had connections to how it was used, who are better able than I to tell of its place in the complex operation of city administration.

As an architectural structure this building preserves the style of that time period and was certainly built to compliment both City Hall and Fire Hall.  It was built with locally produced bricks and preserves a style of architecture that is only seen in maybe one other building in our city.

There is a group willing to raise the funds and work at preserving and restoring this building at no cost to the Taxpayers of our city.  An engineering study has been completed by the city which lists those things necessary to bring the building up to code.  This study does include hydro and heating.

What can it be used for?  There are people with imagination who see it could be used as storage for materials needed for outdoor gatherings in Rotary Park. It could be used by food services or to house other vendors during summer months.  It could be used to compliment whatever activities the future may hold for the new occupants of the Old Fire Hall.  It could be used to promote the historical visual points of this part of downtown along with City Hall, the Old Fire Hall and St. Mary’s Church.  Presently it helps provide a good sight line from Rotary Park as we look in that direction.  We have already shown that there are recent structures placed in Cranbrook purely for their visual appeal.  Examples … the Cranbrook Arch, Cranbrook Ed, The Spirit Tree, Rotary Clock Tower, the fountain at the new fire hall, the new West Entrance to our City, and the planter in Rotary Park (actually maybe we should strike this last one as an example of visual appeal!)

I do understand that there are those who want to see additional commerce or a financial reward for any outlay of well-earned dollars.  I believe that we, as citizens showing that we value our heritage and are prepared to preserve that which we are able, will show outsiders that we are a place worth visiting and also a place to call our home.  Let’s give this forward-thinking group of concerned citizens the opportunity to raise the funds necessary to retain this building and so protect its heritage significance in your and my community.

Thanks for this space to air my viewpoint.

Sincerely submitted

Dave Humphrey