Campus
The Chronicle
November 29, 2011
13
Building bridges in Pickering Tracey Fidler The Chronicle
A bridge to the future. At least that’s what the City of Pickering hopes it will be. The new pedestrian bridge under construction just east of Liverpool Road and spanning 14 lanes of the 401, will link the Pickering GO station on the south side of the 401 to the newly constructed office tower on the north side. Durham and Centennial Colleges are also a part of the project, with a joint learning centre at the foot of the bridge scheduled to open in the fall of 2012. The two-storey structure will feature classrooms, student space, a computer lab and offices, and will offer eight programs, four from each college, as well as continuing education courses. “It will be Pickering’s first post-secondary presence,” says Mark Guinto, the public affairs co-ordinator for the City of Pickering. The $23 million bridge is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2012, however pedestrians and cyclists will have access as early as the end of this
year. “There will be a soft opening late this year or early next year, but not all the features will be installed yet,” says Guinto. Those “features” will include a mesh covering, enveloping the entire bridge, and LED lights, which will illuminate the bridge at night. The bridge will also provide access to much needed additional parking for the GO station. The newly constructed parking garage attached to the office building on the north side will create 500 more parking spaces. For over 15 years, the idea of this bridge has been tossed back and forth. Guinto says there was “difficulty gaining the political support to get the [project] off the ground.” However, in 2006, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), which occupied a building on the northeast corner of Liverpool Road and the 401, outgrew its space. When MPAC considered moving their office out of Pickering, officials knew they had to take the steps to keep the business.
Tracey Fidler
BUILDING A BRIDGE: A pedestrian bridge is being built east of Liverpool Road. So, in 2009, Pickering mayor Dave Ryan announced the construction of a 10-storey office building in part of the Pickering Town Centre’s parking lot, with MPAC as the anchor tenant. Several months after this announcement, the decision was swiftly made to also begin construction on the bridge. “When the office tower was
secured, it gave the City of Pickering a window of opportunity to lobby the government,” says Guinto. The provincial and federal governments have given $10 million toward the project, and Metrolinx, the company behind GO Transit, has provided $13 million. But the bridge is only the beginning.
Guinto says it is a “catalyst” for further development, with talks of a hotel or convention centre down the road. He also hopes it will attract people from outside of Pickering, and make the city stand out. “Driving down the 401, communities tend to blend together,” says Guinto. “This will be our landmark.”
Archiving our local history
Nancy Ellis The Chronicle
What’s just around the corner, has three houses, and is full of knowledge? —The Oshawa Community Museum and Archives. The Henry House, the Robinson House and the Guy House are all part of the museum at Lakeview Park. The three buildings are used to bring history to life. The Henry House is decorated as a fully functioning Victorian home and dates back to 1849. The Guy House dates back to 1835 and hosts the administration part of the museum, gift shop and Verna Conant Galley—a section devoted to Oshawa’s industrial roots. Robinson House dates back to 1846, and houses the semipermanent exhibits including a 19th century one-room schoolhouse and local archeological findings. “What’s unique about our buildings is that they are standing on their original foundations,” said Melissa Cole, museum curator. Cole has worked as curator for 11 years and designed the popular exhibit Mourning After
about the Victorian customs of life after death. The exhibit ran from May to November 2009 and exceeded expectations. When the constructors widened Harmony Road in the 1950s they discovered graves from a pioneer gravesite underneath where they were digging, Cole said. The “coffin jewelry” found in the graves was used in the Mourning After display. “I’ve always had a particular interest in gravestones,” executive director Laura Suchan said. She has worked at the museum for 22 years and cites Mourning After as one of her favourite exhibits. The museum recently received a collection of artifacts from the mortuary program at Humber College that included Victorian era items used in Canadian morgues. Suchan said these pieces and new information will be included in the next Victorian exhibit hopefully on display in 2013. The museum also offers programs for children, using archeology, wizards and pirates to entice learning. The programs incorporate crafts, activities and sharing. The museum even offers birthday parties with programs,
Nancy Ellis
LEFT TO RIGHT: Laura Suchan (executive director), Melissa Cole (curator), Jennifer Weymark (archivist), Lisa Terech (visitor experience co-ordinator). loot bags and dress up clothes, available by request. Lisa Terech has been the visitor experience co-ordinator for a year but a volunteer since 2007 and she encourages students to involve themselves in their town’s history. “If you’re not from the Oshawa area, it’s nice to learn about where you live,” Terech said. She explains that a lot of people end up settling in the town or city where they attended school. And if you’re curious about what happened to your family, long lost relative or friend, you can explore the archives. The archives include local history and Oshawa’s newspa-
pers up until 1965, anything more recent can be found at the library. Jennifer Weymark has been the archivist since 2000 and if you’re looking for information on local archival history she is the one to talk to. Although “sometimes you just can’t find an answer,” she said. She cares for the collection, researches and makes sure the museum’s facts are correct. “I enjoy the research, digging thorough and finding new things,” Weymark said. Currently she is working on the museum’s online exhibits, both new and already existing exhibits. The online exhibits are used
to attract viewers and encourage people to visit; they can also be used as a research tool. The archives cost $5 to view. Printout and photocopies are available from 50 cents to $2. Archival assistance is $25. Next year is the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 and Weymark is designing an online exhibit about the war and its impact on Durham Region. Currently Milk Stories, an exhibit detailing the history of dairy farmers, occupies part of the Robinson House, and next year a new exhibit will open about Oshawa’s shipping industry, which the staff is excited about because of the museum’s location on the harbor.