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Sunday, November 7, 2010
NEWS â–ź KELOWNA
Packinghouse facelift finally unveiled to public Jennifer Smith STAFF REPORTER
“I always like to think if you scratch an urban person down one or two layers, you’ll find a farmer.� These were the words of wisdom Wayne Wilson, head of the Okanagan Museums, imparted to his guests as he revealed the masterpiece his staff, architects, contractors and several levels of dedicated government personnel have spent their
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new sexy.
last year studiously working toward. The reopening of Western Canada’s oldest packinghouse—after an extensive $2.5-million structural upgrade— paid homage to the rural roots of Kelowna and its surroundings as Wilson told those gathered he too grew up working in packinghouses like the building Kelowna’s Orchard Museum and Wine Museum will share. “Most people actually save churches and houses. Rarely, I would say even to the extreme, is an industrial building saved,�
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said Wilson. Known as the Laurel Packinghouse, the building was intended to serve as a large warehouse where the fruit industry could load up its goods for shipment. Today, it forms the centerpiece of Kelowna’s Cultural District. Many North American cultural districts sit within industrial areas, Wilson said, though no other community in Canada can lay claim to a beautiful packinghouse hub like the Laurel. Opened in 1917, it is built with bricks from a foundry at the base of
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Wilson, head of Okanagan Museums, looks over the new renovations to the Laurel Packinghouse. SEAN CONNOR/ CAPITAL NEWS
Knox Mountain, and timber from the surrounding hills. And now it even has its original single-pitch roof back after several years worth of less historically sensitive renovations were removed. The previous rounds of renovations had actually compromised the structural integrity of the building. “The building you’re in is certainly a different building from the one that was here before,� said Bill Berry, director of design and construction services for the City of Kelowna. The new expanse of floor—once cramped with stairs leading to second floor offices, two raised false floors and walls cordoning off the different museums—ensures the
building can hold up to 400 people for an event— twice as many as before. But rebuilding the floor on a single level accomplished one far more important point as well as help restore the building’s structural stability. Three years prior to Friday’s opening, City of Kelowna staff suggested to council the building was so vulnerable its roof could collapse with a heavy snowfall and it might not survive a strong wind. Given the ever-present effects of climate change, both options were thought possible. As such, the city was able to tap into federal funding, winning a $1.1-million grant from the Canada Cultural Spaces fund to helped foot the $2.5-million bill.
The renovations included building a steel frame into the building to ensure the walls can withstand an earthquake and financing extensive joist work which balances both the functional needs of the building and some of the tricky demands of its heritage components. In order to keep the original beams running from floor to ceiling, when the roof was placed, the joists holding everything in place had to have individual joints built which would compensate for the extreme discrepancies in height, settling and the warping of the wooden beams. And of course, there are some aesthetic components to what Mayor Sharon Shepherd calls the building’s “refresh� as well.
Kelowna’s Orchard Museum now shows off its cherry pitter and various bits of machinery from behind a glass wall, keeping the sight lines of the building open enough for someone standing in the middle of the large room to see right through the glass to a glass-encased honeycomb where live bees can travel through a pipe to the street outside. The Wine Museum, as always, is stocked with unique vintages from all over the Okanagan Valley, separated from the new event space by a heavy wooden door which slides like a barn door along the front of the displays. A large reception, priced at $60 a ticket, was held Friday to celebrate the building’s great reveal. jsmith@kelownacapnews.com
Foundation hosts rally against genetic foods
Our carrier of the week wins an Extra Value Meal, compliments of McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada. If you feel your carrier is doing a great job, then call and let us know. 250-763-7575
The True Food Foundation is taking its public awareness campaign about the dangers of ge-
netically engineered foods to the streets this weekend. The group will host a rally on Sunday, 2 to 3:30
p.m., at The Sails on Bernard Avenue. The foundation says supporting Bill C-474 is
Plus additional manufacturer’s rebate of 5%.
crucial, as it would require an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted, legislation that local MPs Ron Cannan and Stockwell Day voted last week to end debate on. For more information see the website www.truefoodfoundation.org. Turning old furniture into
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