Category: Historic Places Stewardship Section

The ABC’s of Heritage Conservation (Part 1 of 3)

Alberta's Historic Places

 

The words of our trade can confuse and bemuse – below is a brief glossary of key terms designed to clarify and inform. 

Statements of Significance are used to understand how historic places should be conserved after a designating authority (i.e., a municipality – City, Town, Village or Municipal District, or the Government of Alberta) designates a place as a Municipal Historic Resource or a Provincial Historic Resource. 

  • Historic place:  A structure, building, group of buildings, district, landscape, archaeological site or other place that has been formally recognized for its heritage value. 
  • Statement of Significance (SoS):  A statement that briefly describes the historic place, identifies the heritage value or values associated with the place and lists the corresponding character-defining elements that must be conserved. 
  • Heritage value:  The aesthetic, historic, scientific, cultural, social or spiritual importance or significance for past, present or future generations. The heritage value of an historic place is embodied in its character-defining elements. 
  • Character-defining elements:  The materials, forms, location, spatial configurations and cultural associations or meanings that contribute to the heritage value of an historic place, which must be retained in order to preserve its heritage value. 

Village Treasures, in the Village of Mannville, is an example of a historic place. In January 2010 the Village designated it a Municipal Historic Resource. To read the Statement of Significance click here.

To learn more about the above terms or to read about additional conservation terms, please review the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada. The Glossary section of the Municipal Heritage Partnership Program website is also a great resource. 

Written by: Brenda Manweiler, Municipal Heritage Services Officer (with definitions from the Standards and Guidelines).



Heritage Training Day for City of Medicine Hat

Matthew Francis

 

The Municipal Heritage Partnership Program (MHPP) provided a training session for the City of Medicine Hat’s Heritage Resources Committee on Friday, March 18, 2011. The meeting took place at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre in downtown Medicine Hat, and focused on expanding the Committee’s capacity to evaluate the City’s places of heritage interest. Matthew Francis, Manager of Municipal Heritage Services for Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, presented on “Values-Based approaches to Heritage Resource Management,” as well as on “Understanding and Using Statements of Significance.” Case studies of four potentially significant places in Medicine Hat were explored during the workshop.

City of Medicine Hat Heritage Advisory Committee

Pictured from Left to Right:  Malcolm Sissons, Chair; Philip Pype, Archivist, Staff Resource; Kathy Eden, Heritage Assistant, Staff Resource; George Webb, Vice-Chair; Jeanie Gartly, Planning Superintendent (Policy & Heritage) Staff Resource; Dennis Baresco, Member; Barry Finkelman, Ex-Officio Advisor; Mark Dumanowski, Member; Earl Morris, Member; Carol Beatty, Cultural Development Manager, Staff Resource; Andrea McIntosh, Member (not in photo); Alderman Graham Kelly, City Council Representative (not in photo).

Formed in 2009 by Medicine Hat City Council to advise on issues relating to heritage conservation, the Committee has enthusiastically embraced its task. Already, the Committee has provided valuable advice relating to the 2010 designation of Medicine Hat’s first Municipal Historic Resource – the Hargrave-Sissons Block. Heritage Advisory groups like this are being developed by municipalities all across Alberta, and MHPP staff are available to provide orientation and training to acquaint communities with “best practices” in heritage conservation.

For more information on establishing or training municipal Heritage Advisory groups, please contact Matthew Francis, Manager of Municipal Heritage Services at (780) 438-9502 or matthew.francis@gov.ab.ca.

Diverse Sites Tell Distinct Stories of Alberta’s History

Alberta's Historic Places

 

Three sites from Alberta’s past – one that precedes the railway, one that was made possible by the railway and one that made the railway run – were recently designated as Provincial Historic Resources for their historical and architectural significance.

The McDonald Stopping House, a pre-railway lodging place in Smoky Lake County.

The Red Brick School, an imposing structure in Didsbury, built to accommodate the railway-fuelled population boom before World War One.

The West Canadian Collieries Mine Site in the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, which sold virtually all of its 13 million tonnes of coal to the Canadian Pacific Railway.

   

Click on the above links to read the sites’ Statements of Significance on the Alberta Register of Historic Places. Alberta currently has over 330 Provincial Historic Resources.  These sites embody the richness and variety of our province’s history and include medicine wheels, tipi rings, fur trading and mounted police posts, coal mines, farmsteads, ranches, railway stations, grain elevators, churches, schools, government offices, commercial blocks and private residences.   

For more information on Alberta’s Provincial Historic Resource Designation Program, click here.

Written by: Matthew Wangler, Manager of Historic Places Research and Designation Program

The Power of QR Codes

Alberta's Historic Places
 

Most people interested in historic places enjoy learning about site history. For instance, the public may like to learn about detailed historical information, heritage values and information pertaining to site location. Throughout Alberta (and listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places), there are 339 Provincial Historic Resources, two Provincial Historic Areas, 211 Registered Historic Resources and approximately 157 Municipal Historic Resources. How could information about these sites be shared with the public? 

What are QR Codes? 

The emergence of small adaptable square bar codes called QR codes could be an option. QR (Quick Response) codes are funny looking square bar codes that can be scanned from your cell phone’s camera, provided your phone is enabled with decoding software. Each code can be embedded with all kinds of information including text, URLs or other data. 

QR Code (bottom right-hand corner) featured on a Government of Alberta advertisement.

My first experience with QR codes was three years ago when I participated in an urban race in Edmonton. The race was part scavenger hunt and part puzzle solving, which largely involved finding particular locations by solving riddles about Edmonton and completing certain tasks. A portion of the race involved using your cell phone to find QR Codes.  Since the race, I have noticed a gradual increase in the use of QR codes. They are in advertisements and located on the packaging of various consumer products. 

The Japanese, creators of the QR code, wanted a way to embed content that could be quickly decoded. Created in 1994, the Japanese have integrated the QR code into their everyday life. In a place so densely populated, where lack of space is an issue, the QR code allows for much more information to be available to those who want it. Although QR codes are most commonly used for reading a URL and accessing a website, QR codes in Japan are also being used in unique ways. QR codes can be used to allow people to purchase items from cashless vending machines by scanning QR codes with their cell phones. 

Check out the QR Code for Ophelia Liew's email address.

QR Codes and Historic Places: 

Could QR codes be used to provide information on individual historic places, and also for walking tours, historic districts and areas? The compact size, the ease in generating new codes and the popularity of camera enabled cell phones are all factors that suggest the ease of using QR codes. It would be interesting to investigate if QR codes could be used as a new and effective medium for displaying and accessing information about Alberta’s historic places. 

Heritage Conservation Advisors would find this technology useful as we refer to two main conservation management tools on a daily basis: the Statement of Significance (SoS) and the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada. Each designated historic resource in the province has a Statement of Significance, a one or two page document that outlines the site’s heritage values and character-defining elements. Anyone with an appropriate type of cell phone would have the ability to retrieve the Statement of Significance by being directed to the Alberta Register of Historic Places. 

Written by: Ophelia Liew, Heritage Conservation Advisor

Read about where we work! Check out the QR Code for Old St. Stephen's College's Statement of Significance.

Orange Hall, Edmonton

Alberta's Historic Places

 

The Orange Hall in Edmonton was designated a Provincial Historic Resource in 2007. In order for a site to be designated a Provincial Historic Resource, it must possess province-wide significance for either its history or architecture. To properly assess the historic importance of a resource, a historian crafts a context document that situates a resource within its time and place and compares it to similar resources in other parts of the province. This allows staff to determine the importance of a resource to a particular theme, time, and place. Below is some of the historical information used in the evaluation of the Orange Hall.

The Orange Order was founded in Ireland in 1795 as a fraternal social organization devoted to upholding the cause of the (Anglican) Church of Ireland and exposing and denouncing the purported evils of Catholicism.  It was named for William of Orange, who, with Queen Mary, was King of England from 1688 to 1696.  The Order began as a grass-roots organization, but made inroads into upper-class British Society in the 1820’s, when the King’s brother, the Duke of Cumberland, became a member and was elected Grand Master.  On the whole, with its rituals and penchant for secrecy, it appears to have served as an Anglican counterpart to the Presbyterian oriented Masons.  In time, however, it attracted people from all areas of British society who had strong anti-Catholic feelings.  Read more →

Village of Holden: Holdin’ their Heritage!

Alberta's Historic Places
 
The Village of Holden, a community of 398 residents in east-central Alberta, is currently completing a Municipal Heritage Survey and Inventory project with funding assistance from the Municipal Heritage Partnership Program (Alberta Historical Resources Foundation). Approximately 60 sites within Holden have been documented through the survey phase of the project and 24 sites have been evaluated for historical significance as part of the inventory. Completing this project has allowed the Village to get a better hold on their heritage.
 
At an information session held in January 2011 owners of evaluated properties were able to learn more about the project and discuss the possibility of Municipal Historic Resource designation. 
 
Written by: Brenda Manweiler, Municipal Heritage Services Officer
Village of Holden, Heritage Committee (Left to Right: D. Maruszeczka, K. Stokowski, P. Nahirniak, B. Manweiler (MHPP), K. Whiteside)

 

Not Just a Pane: Historic Windows

Alberta's Historic Places
 

Windows are an integral part of a building system. They transmit light, control heat flow, are a means of egress, frame exterior views, and are significant elements that contribute to the design of the building. Windows are complex units and are made up of many different components that can be decorative, functional or both. 

Why are historic windows important? 

Historic windows are often character-defining elements. Character-defining elements are the materials, form, location, spatial configurations, uses and cultural associations or meanings that contribute to the heritage value of a historic place and must be retained in order to preserve its heritage value. Furthermore, historic windows are elements that directly reflect a site’s craftsmanship and design and are usually constructed out of particular materials. They are usually quite detailed and in some instances retain original glazing units.

Left to Right: Beatty House, Rimbey; Cronquist House, Red Deer; Pine Lake Holy Trinity Church, Pine Lake

Common misconceptions about historic wood windows 

On a daily basis I field questions about the replacement of historic wood windows. A typical case is a historic site with historic windows that have not been looked at in some time and have deteriorated to some extent due to weathering. A common misconception is that replacement of these historic windows with a modern unit is cheaper and will increase the thermal efficiency of the building through higher R values. 

Research in performance standards for timber sash and case windows in Scotland has taught us that estimated costs including painting of window components, repairing damaged putty and re-caulking where necessary within a regular maintenance program eliminated the cost of a major restoration project every five years. Another thing to consider is that modern sealed units, when they fail are not maintainable and must be replaced outright. 

It is also interesting to learn that a single glazed window in conjunction with an exterior or interior storm window is comparable to a modern sealed unit. A single glazed window has an R value of 0.6 while a single glazed window with wood storm has an R value of 2.0. The top of the line triple glazed window with low E coating and argon has an R value of 3.5. Overall windows in general are thermally inefficient in comparison to a typical wall with 4” batt insulation that has an R value of 12. 

Planning for historic wood window conservation work 

When planning for any conservation work we always take the approach of minimal intervention. Preserving historic material and maintaining historic material is the first step and outright replacement, if necessary, is the last option. 

In most cases simple epoxy repairs to wood, adequate prepping of the wood surface (manual scraping), the application of an appropriate primer and brushed on layers of exterior paint is all that is needed to repair historic windows and to prevent deterioration.

For more severe cases, putty replacement, replacement of broken or damaged glazing, and dutchman (splicing in of new wood) may be required. 

Conclusion 

  • Historic windows have heritage value.
  • Historic windows have demonstrated good durability and maintainability.
  • Always assess and document each window before proceeding with conservation work.
  • Compile historic photographs and refer to the Statement of Significance in your planning process.
  • Minimal intervention should be the first approach.

Remember, you can save on costs and achieve the same thermal efficiency through conservation.

Written by: Ophelia Liew, Heritage Conservation Advisor 
 

Municipalities: To Conserve and Protect

Michael

In every city, town, village and county you find special places illustrating each community’s heritage. Have you ever wondered how locally significant historic places are recognized and protected?

In Alberta, municipalities can designate these places as Municipal Historic Resources. Each Council decides what deserves to be designated. A designated site remains private property—the only difference is that the owner needs to have the municipality’s permission before altering it.

Sites like the D.U. Ranchlands Cabin gives us a glimpse of how homesteaders lived in the southern foothills around 1900, while the Trapper’s Shack shows us how fur traders lived in Fort Vermilion around the same time. The Acadia Block has been part of downtown Lethbridge’s business district since 1909. The Mill Creek Trestle Bridge reveals how we traveled before cars were affordable. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church north of Lamont is full of beautiful artwork painted by famed iconographer Peter Lipinski.

You can find 154 Municipal Historic Resources (including the ones mentioned above) on the Alberta Register of Historic Places with more added all the time. Check out the Register to learn more about some of the special places that can show us how Albertans have lived. 

Written by: Michael Thome, Municipal Heritage Services Officer

Welcome to the Family!

Alberta's Historic Places
R.T. Barker Building, Fort Macleod
Union Bank Building, Fort Macleod
 
Alberta’s Historic Places Research and Designation Program is pleased to announce two new members of the Provincial Historic Resource family – the Union Bank Building and the R.T. Barker Building, both in Fort Macleod. These two buildings are vital contributors to the heritage character of the Fort Macleod Provincial Historic Area. This area includes a wealth of pre-World War One brick and sandstone buildings that embody the architecture of early twentieth century Alberta towns. This distinctive identity has established Fort Macleod as a tourist attraction and a shooting locale for major motion pictures. Learn more about the Union Bank Building and the R.T. Barker Building on the Alberta Register of Historic Places. For more information on Fort Macleod, click here. 

Written by: Matthew Wangler, Manager of Alberta’s Historic Places Research and Designation Program

Fort Macleod Provincial Historic Area

Calgary Fire Hall No. 1

Alberta's Historic Places

 

CalgaryFire Hall No. 1 was designated a Provincial Historic Resource in 2009. In order for a site to be designated a Provincial Historic Resource, it must possess province-wide significance for either its history or architecture. To properly assess the historic importance of a resource, a historian crafts a context document that situates a resource within its time and place and compares it to similar resources in other parts of the province. This allows staff to determine the importance of a resource to a particular theme, time, and place. Below is some of the historical information used in the evaluation of the Calgary Fire Hall No. 1.

The first attempt to provide an orderly method of firefighting in the frontier community of Calgary came with its incorporation in 1884 when a volunteer fire committee was established.  One of its first acts was to acquire a horse drawn wagon for a volunteer bucket brigade.  In 1886, a major fire devastated the downtown and, as a result, most new commercial buildings were made of brick or stone, but these were still vulnerable to internal fires.  A serviceable fire hall was obviously required. 

In 1887, a wood frame fire hall was erected on 122 – 7th Avenue East.  This served the town well at first, but Calgary continued to grow rapidly, and the need for another facility was soon apparent.  It was not until 1905, however, that another fire hall was erected, this being another wood frame structure on 1801 Macleod Trail to serve the south side of the city.  Even this was hardly adequate, for Calgary continued to grow at a frantic pace, its population rising to over 43,000 in 1911.  

In 1911, both Calgary fire halls were replaced with modern brick facilities.  Other fire halls were also soon built in other parts of the city.  By this time, a Fire Department was a part of the civic administration, and paid fire fighters were stationed right at the halls.  Reports on fires were sent in through the newly installed telephone system, and responses were handled by motorized fire trucks with pressurized pumps. 

Read more →