VANCOUVER’S HERITAGE SCHOOLS
Under Pressure Schools and school buildings are an important part of the heritage and history of every community. Vancouver, as British Columbia’s largest city, has a lot of schools. There are 109 active school sites within the Vancouver School Board, and a great many more individual buildings. Schools are more than just buildings, just warehouses full of classrooms. The 2007 report, “Vancouver Schools: Establishing Their Value”, prepared for the School Board by Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Limited, noted: “When communities could afford them, schools were more than expedient classrooms. They were public buildings that expressed the community’s aspirations. Most school buildings were substantial in appearance as well as in size, reflecting architectural styles of their day.” Caring for this legacy of significant heritage icons is a challenge. Costs are going up, money is hard to find, and the Vancouver School Board this year is projecting a large deficit, something it is not supposed to do. With demographic shifts we are seeing schools in many communities heading for closure. And the provincial seismic upgrading fund for schools, which should be a boon to vintage buildings, is in some cases turning out to be an unintended threat. . . . more on pages 7-8 ThE eight-room school building, completed in 1909, is one of three historic structures at Sir Guy Carleton Elementary that may be closed by the Vancouver School Board. Photo: Barbara Van Hee
fall 2010 HERITAGE WEEK 2011 heritage bc awards 2 HERITAGE IN CRISIS 3 PEOPLE IN THE NEWS 4 HERITAGE TOURISM ALLIANCE 100 HBC WORKSHOPS 5 SAVING THE SYBIL ANDREWS COTTAGE 6 VANCOUVER HERITAGE SCHOOLS 7-8 AROUND BC 9 MESSAGES 10-11 CHC CONFERENCE NOVEMBER 27 2010 12
www.heritagebc.ca