The heritage conservation district designation is often the conservation tool preferred by municipal planners. Increasingly, however, new development pressures in and around these areas are threatening the heritage character that makes them unique—as well as highly desirable places to live, work and visit. Monster homes and massive high-rise towers are challenging the policies and guidelines put in place to protect districts’ cultural heritage value and to ensure compatible development. One feature article looks at what is driving these trends and why district designation alone is often not enough. The challenge for all parties concerned is finding ways to accommodate expansion without sacrificing heritage character. Turn to page 20 for “Heritage Conservation Districts Under Pressure.”

Our other feature celebrates the rehabilitation of New Brunswick’s majestic landmark McAdam Railway Station and Hotel. It’s a story of what a community can achieve by combining new uses for a once thriving station with a determination to succeed. It’s also a good example of how financial investment from different levels of government can help to leverage private sector support. That story begins on page 4.

Other examples of our railway heritage haven’t fared so well. Canada’s historic roundhouses continue to disappear. Included in this trend was the loss of the Dominion Atlantic Railway roundhouse in Kentville, Nova Scotia this past July. HCF had urged the town council to delay demolition to allow more time to find a possible solution. Currently, the roundhouse that helped to establish the town of Biggar, Saskatchewan nearly 100 years ago is facing a similar fate. The effort to protect the structure has reached Parliament Hill. Turn to Endangered Places on page 32 for the full story.

The section of the magazine that deals with materials conservation has been given a lift. Renamed Nuts and Bolts, it brings you the first of two articles on the maintenance and preservation of wood siding—an important contributing factor to a building’s heritage character. Its conservation helps to keep the aluminium and vinyl siding contractor from the door, and wood siding out of landfill sites. “Keeping Wood Siding on Historic Buildings” begins on page 40.

Carolyln Quinn, Editor

The McAdam Train Station, a Place For People - The restoration of the McAdam train station is a story of community pride and collective will.
by Ronald J. Roy

Through the efforts of many community members, this landmark, located on Saunders Road in the village of McAdam, New Brunswick, just an hour’s drive from Fredericton, has been sensitively restored and adapted for new uses.

Built in 1900 using locally quarried granite, with extensive additions in 1910-11, this large, impressive building (87 by 14 metres) was designed by architects William and Edward Maxwell, two of Canada’s most creative station designers, and constructed by Joseph McVey. It once supported a first-class five-star hotel and dining room. It is a rare surviving example of the Château style favoured by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) during the early 20th century, as well as being one of the few to incorporate a hotel in its plan. At the time, the town of McAdam was the principal junction for trains travelling east and west between Montréal and the Maritimes, and north and south from St. Stephen to Edmundston. At its peak, up to 16 passenger trains a day came through, filling the waiting rooms to overflowing. According to the Canadian Register of Historic Places, it was this strategic position—and the importance of the clientele—that prompted the CPR to erect an impressive and imposing station offering telegraph, dining and hotel facilities. It even included a single prison cell.

The structure has held National Historic Site status since 1976, became a Provincial Heritage Site in 2003 and is designated under the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act. The last regularly scheduled passenger train passed through McAdam in December 1994, and the station was subsequently closed. When the CPR abandoned all of its operations east of Montréal, the station was acquired by the New Brunswick Southern Railway Company, which in turn transferred it to the McAdam Historical Restoration Commission.

The commission’s early efforts focused on fundraising, roof upgrades and necessary repairs. One of the first major transformations for the station was the repair of its platform overhang, which had suffered years of structural damage as a result of snow buildup from the main roof.

To keep the momentum growing for the rebirth of the station, the commission recognized that it was essential to engage the community. On the Canada Day weekend in 2000, McAdam staged Celebration 2000: Village of McAdam Homecoming. To help celebrate both this and the 100th anniversary of the station, the commission opened up a small part of it to the public. That event helped launch a new tradition: since then, McAdam has celebrated July 1 as “Railroad Days” with activities in and around the station.

As community interest and involvement increased, the station became firmly established as a hub of activities. This brought into sharp focus the building’s need for repairs. In order to open additional areas of the station, the community estimated more than $380,000 was needed in restoration costs.

The project’s finances received big boosts in 2005 and 2006 when the federal Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s (ACOA) Strategic Community Investment Fund committed $235,000. The New Brunswick provincial government followed with $30,000 through the Heritage Branch and $65,000 from the Regional Development Corporation.

The McAdam Historical Restoration Commission, however, still had to raise the remaining $50,000. This was an intimidating challenge for a village with a population of just over 1,500. Despite the odds, the community came together to get the job done. Fundraising events included guided tours, space rentals, expanded activities and festivals, themed luncheons and dinners, a donations campaign, membership fees and a personal donations program. More recently, the commission launched the Chair Campaign, through which individuals or businesses purchase a replica chair in honour of a past railway worker.

The station’s open-door approach increased community participation. Showing the public how their donations were being spent increased momentum for more fundraising.

In September 2007 the station held a railway workers reunion that was not only well attended by past workers, but allowed them the opportunity to recall their histories of the railway in Canada.

The McAdam Railway Station story shows that adequate funding is essential to the ongoing conservation of Canada’s historic buildings. Federal and provincial support for entrepreneurial projects can leverage private sector investment in historic structures. Investment in historic structures ensures the retelling of our history while creating places for new stories that help build communities.

When provincial funds for the station were announced in May 2006, the Premier of New Brunswick said “The railway station has become a defining symbol of the village of McAdam.” The station is a symbol not only of the rich railway heritage in this country but also a symbol of the efforts of a small village that continues to foster a strong sense of identity. The McAdam station is once again a place for people.

Ronald J. Roy is a native of New Brunswick and a graduate student at Carleton University in Ottawa studying heritage conservation and urbanism.