Lunenburg Academy nearly ready for new tenants
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 44° 22.801 W 064° 18.813
20T E 395361 N 4914920
Thrice designated a historic building, the old Academy in Lunenburg has been designated a Canadian National Historic Site, a Nova Scotia Heritage Property and a Town of Lunenburg Heritage Property.
Waymark Code: WMPJ3F
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Date Posted: 09/05/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member silverquill
Views: 6
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Opened November 7, 1895, the Lunenburg Academy served the community as an educational facility until March 21, 2012, when the new Bluenose Academy opened. Built at a cost of $30,000 in 1894-95, the four floor building was in continuous use as a school for a remarkable 117 years. Perhaps equally remarkable is the fact that it is a wood frame building and has withstood the use and abuse of thousands of students through those years. A real survivor, it is the last of the academy style buildings that were built in towns throughout Nova Scotia in the nineteenth century.

Designed by well-known New Brunswick architect H.H. Mott, the building has a mansard roof topped with four towers, one of which contains a 600 pound bell, cast locally by the Lunenburg Iron Company. Standing atop "Gallows Hill," one of the highest points in the town of Lunenburg, the Academy has been a local landmark, visible for miles around, since its completion in 1895. Today it is one of the highlights of the Architectural Tour of Lunenburg, which also includes many other notable structures, many of which are also Canadian National Historic Site, as well as Nova Scotia Heritage Properties.

Recently restored at a cost of $750,000, the building is scheduled to house the Lunenburg branch of South Shore Public Libraries, the South Shore Genealogical Society, the Lunenburg Academy Foundation heritage interpretive classroom and possibly an art gallery with a cafe-gift shop attached to the library space. At present it houses LAMP, the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance.

While the building was undergoing renovations The Halifax Herald News, on April 16, 2015, ran an article on the venerable old building and the plans afoot for its future. The story is reproduced below.
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Lunenburg Academy
nearly ready for new tenants
DAVENE JEFFREY STAFF REPORTER
Published April 16, 2015 - 9:17pm

Lunenburg’s iconic hilltop school building will soon be looking for tenants.

Earlier this week, town council approved a business plan that they believe will help support the building and turn the site into a town cultural hub.

“It’s certainly a draw tourism-wise,” said Lunenburg Academy Development co-ordinator Scott Burke.

The large wood structure has been designated a municipal, provincial and federal heritage site, and until 2012, it had operated steadily as a school since 1895.

The schoolhouse is now in the midst of a $750,000 renovation that includes the addition of several bathrooms, updating electrical and communications wiring, and making the building more accessible, Burke said in an interview Wednesday.

The main floor will contain the Lunenburg branch of South Shore Public Libraries, the South Shore Genealogical Society, the Lunenburg Academy Foundation heritage interpretive classroom and hopefully an art gallery and a cafe-gift shop attached to the library space, Burke said.

The building’s top floor is home to the Lunenburg Academy of Musical Performance.

The second floor will be rental space that the plan sees as a creative enterprise centre renting space to arts, culture, heritage, educational programs and small businesses and creative industries.

A request for expressions of interest will go out in the next few months.

Once the library moves into the school, the town plans to sell the former Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. store that the library now calls home.

Once the building is fully rented, the annual cost to the town of maintaining the building likely will be in the $100,000 range, Burke said.
From the Halifax Herald News
Type of publication: Newspaper

When was the article reported?: 04/16/2015

Publication: Halifax Herald News

Article Url: [Web Link]

Is Registration Required?: no

How widespread was the article reported?: regional

News Category: Arts/Culture
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