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Fire, floods, neglect and decay destroy hundreds of heritage properties every year. To halt the erosion of our country's stock of heritage buildings, the Heritage Canada Foundation has introduced a Landmark Preservation Program. This new initative is designed to help heritage groups raise the funds needed to buy, protect or restore a cherished landmark. For each project mentioned below, the foundation will publicize a national appeal for donations which they will collect and forward onto the projects' organizers. In this way, fundraising for an endangered heritage site is no longer limited to the local community, but can be expanded nationwide – and beyond. Pemberton Memorial Operating Room National Historic Site of Canada, Victoria, British Columbia Kogawa House, Vancouver, British Columbia St. Ninian's Cathedral, Antigonish, Nova Scotia St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church, Ottawa, Ontario McAdam Railway Station National Historic Site, McAdam, New Brunswick Coqualeetza Big House, Chilliwack, British Columbia Humboldt Water Tower, Humboldt, Saskatchewan Montreal Memorial Masonic Temple, Montreal, Quebec Pemberton Memorial Operating Room National Historic Site of Canada, Victoria, British Columbia
A compatible addition to house archives, library, research facilities and the Victoria Medical Heritage Society offices will ensure an ongoing function within the hospital complex. The Victoria Medical Heritage Society is currently raising funds for a $900,000 project which will include restoration and preservation of the existing building including roof, windows, door replicas, removal of hazardous materials, seismic upgrading and interior/exterior restoration and refinishing. The Victoria Medical Heritage Society is seeking $800,000 in donations through the Landmarks Preservation Program. Kogawa House The Land Conservancy of British Columbia has launched an appeal to purchase the Historic Joy Kogawa House situated at 1450 West 64th Avenue in Vancouver. Renowned author Joy Kogawa lived there as a child, and used it as one of the settings in her books, such as Obasan and Naomi's Road, about the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. The modest, wood frame house has become a symbol of this dark era, but it also a place for learning. The Land Conservancy's theme is, "Reconcile Past Wrongs - Bring Hope." After acquiring the Kogawa House, the Land Conservancy plans to spend some $500,000 to restore it and to convert it into a retreat for writers with an interest in human rights and multiculturalism. The total cost of the project is estimated at $700,000. The Land Conservancy of British Columbia is seeking $225,000 in donations though the Landmarks Preservation Program. St. Ninian's Cathedral Built of local stone, this Roman Basilica-style structure was completed in 1874. Although restoration work began two years ago to prevent further deterioration of the stonework in the west tower, similar work now needs to be done in the east tower. As well, the whole cathedral needs repointing, the roof replaced to prevent rain seepage which has already caused extensive damage to the cathedral's interior, and the interior needs repainting. The total estimate for restoration is about $785,000. This includes $582,000 for masonry, $100,000 for the roof and another $105,000 for painting. The interior features wall and ceiling paintings by renowned Quebec-born artist, Ozias Leduc. Conservation of the north shoreline of the St. Lawrence Seaway and adjacent lands in South Dundas, Ontario
St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church
In 1908, the interior was redecorated by celebrated church painter, Toussaint-Xenophon Renaud, whose work included murals, faux stonework and scagliola, as well as gilding and stenciling. In the 1960s, it was repainted and much of Renaud's artwork was lost. Three of his murals, however, were uncovered by a conservator in 1988-89. The original English-style Gothic fan vaulting was also preserved. St. Brigid's Church has launched a major fundraising campaign for a four-phase restoration program. The first phase project includes exterior work on the stone and masonry, interior work on one of two murals still covered with beige paint, an investigation of the concealed scagliola and stenciling, as well as dealing with essential health and safety issues. The fundraising goal of the first phase is over $700,000. Altogether, the four-phase project is estimated at $3 million. McAdam Railway Station National Historic Site
In 1994, the station was closed and subsequently sold to the St. John and Maine Railway Company, which in turn, transferred ownership to the McAdam Historical Restoration Commission Inc.
Coqualeetza Big House The Coqualeetza Cultural Education Centre Association is hoping to raise $400,000 through the Landmark Preservation Program, to help pay for the restoration and conversion of the Big House into the Coqualeetza Artist Studio, Teahouse, Archives and Museum. Built in 1894 by Thomas Hooper, this Romanesque-style building was originally the home of the principal of the Coqualeetza Indian Residential School. The Coqualeetza Cultural Education Centre Association is a charitable organization which promotes, preserves and documents the heritage, culture and traditions of the Sto:lo peoples. Humboldt Water Tower
The non-profit organization Friends of the Water Tower is determined to preserve thie historic tower - a symbol of the struggle to obtain an adequate water supply on the Prairies. They have ensured its municipal designation as a heritage site and have applied for a provincial heritage designation. A restoration and adaptive reuse project is under way. Formed in 1997, the Friends of the Water Tower have raised more than $80,000, including $21,000 from the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation, $33,000 from the City and to date, about $26,000 from loyal supporters. The first phase of restoration began September 2003 on the tower's exterior (roof, siding, windows) and foundation to prevent further deterioration. Dan Steiner, one of the Friends, said that the tower's projected cost for the full restoration/adaptive reuse is now around $250,000. Future plans include building an interior staircase to the top and adding a new door and reinforced railing to the viewing platform. The tank interior is to house an interpretive centre, small gift shop and art gallery. Montreal Memorial Masonic Temple
Due to years of minimal repair work, this Mont Royal landmark is beginning to show its age. As means of arresting and preventing further deterioration, the Masonic Foundation of Quebec is seeking emergency funding to repair, restore and stabilize the roof and exterior masonry. The total estimate for the first phase of the project is $260,000. The foundation is seeking $60,000 through the Landmarks Preservation Program. |
The Pemberton Memorial Operating Room (PMOR) is a rare and remarkably well-preserved late 19th century surgical facility. It was designed and constructed specifically to provide a clean or ‘aseptic’ operating environment. General anesthetics developed 50 years earlier benefited both patient and surgeon, but operations remained limited due to a 50% mortality from ‘hospital gangrene’ – cause unknown. Joseph Lister, an Edinburgh surgeon demonstrated that invisible airborne germs were responsible. He developed complex measures to exclude them from the wound. The clean operating room was a major step in the evolution of hospitals into the scientific institutions of today.
The PMOR, built to Listerian principles in 1896, was the first such facility west of Winnipeg. It was designed as a freestanding brick octagon with attached sterilizing rooms connected to the hospital by a 50 foot corridor. The room included six large windows, controlled heating and ventilation and a separate furnace for the sterilizing room. In 1926, the PMOR ceased to function as an operating room. Today, the building is vacant.
The
Dundas, Iroquois Area, Matilda, Ontario, Natural Development, Seaway,
(D.I.A.M.O.N.D.S.) Conservation Land Trust is a not-for-profit organization
dedicated to conserve the north shoreline of the St. Lawrence Seaway
and adjacent lands in South Dundas, Ontario. Projects include operating
the St. Lawrence Seaway Interpretative Centre in the Lockmaster's
House on Iroquois Point; restoring and preserving the historic Galop
Canal between Iroquois and Johnstown, Ontario, stewardship with
Domtar of the 700-acre Two Creeks Eco Forest for education, recreation
and research; the Grand Trunk Railway and CNR (1856-1958) bridges,
stations, route and other shoreline sites as opportunities for heritage
conservation; planning public parks and facilities such as boat
launches, museums and nature trails for community and visitor use
and enjoyment; conserving marshlands for wildlife habitat.
The
total cost of the project is estimated at $275,000. D.I.A.M.O.N.D.S.
is seeking $19,500 in donations through the Landmark Preservation
Program.
St.
Brigid's Roman Catholic Church was built in 1890 to accommodate
the English-speaking Catholics, largely Irish, of Lowertown Ottawa.
Located at the corners of St. Patrick and Cumberland Streets, the
limestone Romanesque Revival structure was designed by Ottawa architect
James R. Bowes. Its interior features a series of stained glass
windows, by Messrs. Castle of Montreal depicting the symbols of salvation, as well as a window over the altar representing St. Brigid, and a
four-light window in the organ loft portraying Saint
Patrick, Ste. Anne, The Virgin, and Saint Joseph.
Designed
by Edward Maxwell, one of Canada's most prolific station designers,
the former Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Station on Saunders Road
in McAdam, New Brunswick is a rare surviving example of both a station
designed in the Château Style, as well as one that incorporates
a hotel in its plan. Built in 1900, at a time when the CPR was emerging
from a period of depression to begin nearly two decades of growth
and expansion, the construction of this attractive two-storey stone
edifice reflected the improved financial status of the railway industry.
Two wings were later added in 1910-11 for dining, hotel and increased
baggage facilities. 
The
commission is currently raising funds for a $317,000 project, which
will include repairing and reinforcing the station's platform overhang,
which has suffered years of structural damage as a result of snow
build-up from the main roof. In some areas, the excess weight has
caused the canopy to separate from the building, which in turn,
has allowed water to penetrate the masonry resulting in significant
damage to the interior of the station. The commission is hoping
to raise $275,000 through the Landmarks Preservation Program. 
The
Humboldt water tower, built in 1914-15, is one of only four remaining
in Saskatchewan. Although technically a standpipe water reservoir,
the tower is designed in a coastal lighthouse style. It is also
distinguished by a wooden shell pierced by four slender windows
spiralling to the top, suggesting an interior spiral staircase.
The inner steel tank is enveloped by timber housing measuring almost
7.5 m (20 ft.) in diameter and 29 m (80 ft.) high, and topped with
a conical cedar shingle roof. The structure was abandoned in 1977
when a new water treatment plant came on line. 
Designed
in the Beaux-Arts Neoclassical Revival Style by John Smith Archibald
Architect, Montreal's Memorial Masonic Temple is an allegoric representation
of the beliefs of the Masonic Fraternity. Built in 1929 to honour
the Freemasons who had served and fallen in the First World War,
today it is the meeting place and headquarters of the Grand Lodge
of Quebec. The Masonic Foundation of Quebec, which owns the temple,
is looking into having it formally recognized as a heritage resource
with the province of Quebec and the City of Montreal. 
