new life, old buildings
Vancouver Heritage Foundation
plays such a vital role in the life of our city.
—Philip Owen, Former Mayor,
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While the most consistent & obvious activity in Vancouver over the past 100 years has been CHANGE, it doesn’t follow that we should ignore all that has gone before. This is why the
City of Vancouver
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598 union street
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saving old buildings matters
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600 block of east georgia street
Imagine Vancouver without its older buildings. Historic neighbourhoods such as Yaletown, Gastown, Commercial Drive, Mount Pleasant, and our unique streetscapes of Craftsman and Mid-Century Modern houses would not exist. Each structure pays tribute to our colourful past by telling the stories of the people and enterprises that built our city. Heritage buildings also make our city distinct for tourists, and their redevelopment creates popular places to live and work. Older buildings are a wonderful complement to Vancouver’s spectacular new developments whether they stand alone or are wrapped into redevelopment projects. Saving a heritage building conserves resources and energy already invested in a building. Our heritage is a non-renewable resource.
Once a building is demolished it is gone forever. The Vancouver Heritage Foundation is a registered charity that supports the conservation of Vancouver’s built heritage because of its contribution to the city’s economy, culture and sustainability. The VHF does this in two important ways: +
Motivating people to preserve heritage buildings by giving them the
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Celebrating the city’s heritage by creating opportunities for the public to
practical tools, information and incentives to be successful
access and learn about Vancouver’s historic buildings
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award-winning, innovative programs Over the past 10 years the Vancouver Heritage Foundation has developed award-winning, unique programs that support our mission of conserving heritage buildings. Public Events
such as the Heritage House Tours, Sacred Sites Tours, the MidCentury Modern Walking and Bus Tours and neighbourhood walking tours bring thousands of people each year into rarely seen spaces. The tours raise public awareness, inspire restoration projects and educate visitors about the history of our city.
Public Resources
through vancouverheritagefoundation.org, the VHF Reading Room, and the On-Line Homeowner Forum create opportunities for the public to ask questions, exchange ideas and learn about building restoration in Vancouver.
Publications such as New Life Old Buildings: Green Guide for Heritage Conservation and map guides for Modernist Downtown Architecture, Chinatown, Japantown and Carrall Street encourage the public to visit historic neighbourhoods.
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Granting Programs such as True Colours which is an exterior paint program that formulated a palette of 35 original Vancouver colours including Strathcona Mahogany, Kitsilano Gold, and Pendrell Green. Grants for the application of authentic colour schemes have been awarded to 60 projects, and more than 4000 gallons of paint have been distributed by Benjamin Moore. Restore
it! is a house restoration grant program to help building owners with the increased costs of repairing and maintaining older buildings. Conservation Plans awards grants for the development of rehabilitation, restoration, repair and maintenance strategies for heritage buildings.
Old School: Courses for Building Conservation is a certiď€ cate program for professionals, trades and building owners to learn about the theory and practice of conserving heritage buildings. Special Projects include moving, restoring and selling a turn of the century lane
house; studies to look at relighting landmark structures like the Burrard Bridge and the Marine Building; and researching the comparative tax assessment values of heritage and non-heritage buildings.
1548 kitchener street
This is particularly true in Canada where the bulk of our architectural heritage is found in the dense urban Victorian cores of our cities, sensible and efcient buildings that are easier to heat, cool and illuminate naturally than more contemporary structures.
I have always found ways to preserve and add to our shared architectural heritage in the pursuit of environmentalism. — Peter Busby, Architect 8 / new life
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Heritage conservation and sustainable design are very often perfectly aligned.
inform interiors,
50 water street
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you can help Coining a phrase from local author and artist, Michael Kluckner, we live in “Vanishing Vancouver.” Vancouver’s heritage buildings are a non-renewable resource. Once they are gone, they are gone forever. The VHF has been able to accomplish so much due to the generosity of our Founding Pillar and Building Heritage donors, the City of Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia. But to ensure we leave a legacy of heritage buildings for future generations there is so much more to be done.
In
response the VHF has established three new funds that will help strengthen its capacity to sustain and promote Vancouver’s rich heritage:
1. education & public awareness FUND 2. repair & maintenance FUND 3. rescue FUND
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3589 commercial street, 2008 true colours grant recipient body: kitsilano gold trim: comox green (soft gloss); window sash: comox green (high gloss oil); photo: martin knowles
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education & public awareness $1 million to mount lectures and workshops, develop public tours, and undertake research and writing projects. Raising awareness about the city’s history and developing diverse education opportunities can change the public perception that old buildings are archaic liabilities.
Plans for the future include: +
Launching annual public lectures that offer donors naming opportunities.
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Continuing to publish map guides on topics such as Art Deco Vancouver and specic neighbourhoods targeted to both the local and tourist markets.
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Publishing
and enhancing our communication efforts with pamphlets,
books and online materials
“I enjoy working on exciting projects with the Vancouver Heritage Foundation because it gives me the opportunity to ensure that the structures important to me throughout my life remain as a legacy for my children." —Yosef Wosk, VHF donor, established the Yosef Wosk Publishing Endowment dominion building,
198 west hastings street
morris j. wosk centre for dialogue,
580 west hastings street
repair & maintenance $1 million to ensure heritage houses, commercial buildings & sacred sites receive the special exterior restoration and repair they require. The VHF currently awards more than $35,000 in grants to legally protected heritage homes for exterior projects such as painting in original colours; roof, window, siding, and porch restoration, as well as facilitating conservation plans and assessments. The demand for VHF grants exceeds the capacity to make awards.
An annual granting fund of $50,000 would bridge the gap between demand for grants and the VHF capacity to assist in building restoration. Residential neighbourhoods have been the focus of the early programs of the VHF because unlike commercial buildings they do not receive incentives and support from other sources. Sacred Sites, because they are exempt from most funding sources, are part of the VHF granting plans for the future. Over the coming decades our heritage buildings will continue to need maintenance and repair. A legacy fund will ensure they receive the care & attention they need into the future.
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jim stiven, instructor, old school: windows
+ their conservation
“Our company specializes in the repair and restoration of wood windows. Having our employees enrolled in Old School helps to give them a broad understanding about working on older buildings. It encourages them to think beyond windows. The accreditation received reassures customers that our experience is backed up by training.� — Jim Stiven, Vintage Woodworks Ltd, Victoria old buildings \ 1 5
rescue $1 million Save the Buildings Fund, a self-sustaining fund to rescue threatened heritage buildings by purchasing and holding them just long enough to nd a sympathetic purchaser who will undertake their re-development.
The benets of conservation are far reaching Heritage buildings are a legacy of the city’s history for future generations. + they serve as an economic generator by attracting tourists; + they add richness and colour to our city; + and their reuse is part of good environmental practice. With our three-pronged fund strategy, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation will have sustainable resources, enabling the organization to fulll its mission in the future.
this page: the marine building, opposite page:
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355 burrard street; 251 east hastings street old buildings \ 1 7
things in our society that cannot be purchased nor can it be transferred. It is a totally non-transferable asset. Heritage buildings are so called because they are the buildings—the actual physical embodiment—of our heritage. It is like our body is to our soul. If we value our heritage we must value our heritage buildings. —Carol Lee from her presentation to City Council regarding the restoration of Society-owned buildings in Chinatown, February 2008
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chinatown, vancouver
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Heritage is priceless. It is one of the few
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For more information on how you can help preserve Vancouver’s history, contact the Development Ofce at the Vancouver Heritage Foundation 402 - 510 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1L8 604.264.9642 www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org
There are places I remember all my life, / Though some have changed / Some forever, not for better / Some have gone and some remain. / All these places have their moments —"In My Life," Paul McCartney and John Lennon
front cover: keith levit, worldofstock.com left: plaza theatre,
vpl accession no:
881 granville street, july 22, 1930 11050
printed on 100% recycled paper