Revelstoke City Hall interior, exterior, landscaping renovations in the works
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 50° 59.894 W 118° 11.747
11U E 416090 N 5650309
Art Moderne in style, the present Revelstoke City Hall reached completion in 1939.
Waymark Code: WMVJK5
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 04/25/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member saopaulo1
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Art Moderne, a late type of the Art Deco architecture and design emerged in the 1930s, emphasizing curving forms and long horizontal lines. Revelstoke's City Hall follows this scheme to a great extent, with a curved corner on an extension on the southwest side of the building and large expanses of masonry broken by multiple horizontal lines. The flowing script of the numbers, 1939, on the southwest wall of the building bespeak their Art Deco heritage, as well. A somewhat odd feature of the building is its tall tower with vents at the top, suggestive of a bell tower.

Designed by architect C.B.K. Van Norman, the building is now considered a heritage building, primarily for its exterior Art Deco design. The building was originally "a flat finish Monterey White, while the window sash, windows and door trim were a high-gloss finish Strathcona Mahogany". The "Then" photo here, from the early 1960s, though black & white, depicts the building as it was originally.

Back in 2010 the Canadian Art Deco Society put a halt to repairs of the exterior stucco, protesting that any repairs should be done in a sympathetic style so as to retain the building's architectural integrity. Several options were presented, with the option of replacing the failing stucco being accepted and implemented.

In 2015 architecturally sympathetic renovations to the southwest side of the building were completed at a cost of $410,651, a good deal more than the initial budget of $285,000 but substantially less then the first bid of $598,000. A year or two prior to that interior renovations had been carried out.

One of several news items on the renovations, both interior and exterior, was published by the Revelstoke Review in July of 2013. Excerpts from that story follow.

Revelstoke City Hall interior, exterior,
landscaping renovations in the works

by Aaron Orlando - Revelstoke Times Review
posted Jul 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM
A renovation inside Revelstoke City Hall is underway, and a new entranceway and landscaping are planned for the Second Street.

The plans for the new Second Street entrance include four new benches, new sidewalks, environmental drainage systems, a large sign, improved doorways and a bicycle rack.

The cost for the renovations project? That’s unknown – city staff are finalizing the plan and should have an estimate by the end of the summer, when parts of the ongoing renovations will already be completed.

Times Review readers will recall the exterior renovation plan concept began in 2010, when council planned to fix the stucco on city hall; some of it was falling off. They wanted to add an exterior insulation material.

That process is ongoing, and is a parallel, but essentially separate process to the interior renovations.

Back in 2010, a protest from the Canadian Art Deco Society halted the stucco replacement in its tracks. Society president Donald Luxton pleaded for thoughtful conservation of the “modernist gem.”

Council opted for a $23,000 study of the exterior materials, and a historical study of the building. That culminated in a report from Donald Luxton, who in the time since he protested the ill-advised stucco repair job went on to earn the contract to report on heritage values for the building.

He presented his 34-page final report to the City of Revelstoke’s heritage commission on June 24. The expansive report details the history of the building and its architect, C.B.K. Van Norman.

As for the exterior question, the report found the stucco is failing. The exterior insulation option would improve the insulation value, but isn’t deemed to be necessary, but an option. Luxton found this the least-desirable option because it would alter the building’s exterior from its original form. He concluded much of its heritage value lays in its exterior.
From the Revelstoke Review
Photo goes Here
Revelstoke City Hall - 1960-2017
Photo goes Here
Revelstoke City Hall - 2017-1960
Type of publication: Newspaper

When was the article reported?: 07/18/2013

Publication: Revelstoke Review

Article Url: [Web Link]

Is Registration Required?: no

How widespread was the article reported?: local

News Category: Business/Finance
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