Celebrate Heritage Week
at the seniors’ centre
CHELSEA NOVAK - Fri Feb 17th, 2017 4:00pm - COMMUNITY
Celebrate Heritage Week by learning more about the work being done to save one of its heritage buildings, the Glazan Block — more commonly known as the old BC Tel building or the Rossland Seniors’ Centre.
The Rossland Seniors’ Association and the Rossland Heritage Commission will be celebrating Heritage Week with an open house at the Seniors’ Center (1916 First Ave.) on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. The event will feature historical information about the building and the Seniors’ Association, and information about the work being done to the building this year.
The building that currently houses the Rossland Seniors’ Association appears on the Rossland Heritage Registry as the Glazan Building — so named because it was first constructed by Samuel Glazan in 1902, after the original building located on the lot burned down in the fire of 1902.
“That fire prompted the city council to put in a bylaw that new commercial construction had to be brick,” explains Jackie Drysdale, president of the Rossland Heritage Commission.
An old photo, circa 1910, shows the original brick work of the Glazan Block, but sometime in the 1970s the façade of the building was stuccoed over. Restoring the original façade is part of the work being done this year.
The City of Rossland, which currently owns the building, submitted a grant application to the BC-Canada 150: Celebrating B.C. Communities and their Contributions to Canada Fund, which “aims to invest $8 million in museums and heritage sites throughout the province,” to restore the original façade.
But while the work on the front of the building will make it more attractive to the eye, it’s the other work being done this year that Les Anderson, president of the Rossland Seniors’ Association, hopes will make it more attractive to seniors.
The building was once filled with mold due to a drainage problem and the floor in the back room had collapsed, but the seniors have since embarked on a 10-year plan to restore the building, which will culminate in the final work to be done this year...
From the Rossland News