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A temporary Reading Room was established in half of a store building, with the other half occupied by the Fire Department, including its horses. Unfortunately, the beautiful new library building was doomed to a short existence. On the night of September 10, 1898 the building was destroyed in the Great Fire.
The tour also includes a First Shaughnessy mansion, a Kerrisdale Craftsman and several other lovingly restored and maintained heritage and character homes. The Library has many resources to help you find information on historical figures and residents of New Westminster. Library staff are also available to help you access our resources. Library use continued to increase and by the late 1940’s it was clear that a larger space was needed to house the ever-growing and popular library.
New Westminster Heritage House Tour
That proud accomplishment now houses the kitchen, office and a deck overlooking Triangle Park, the hidden gem of the neighbourhood. On entering the home one senses the mastery with wood that is evident throughout the house from the mouldings to built-in drawers and closets. We had the honour of having the Wood Be Art show house on tour this year along with two other homes we recently did work in. The weather was super and the volunteers amazingly enthusiastic.
The Carnegie Corporation donated $15,000 for the library building on condition that the City of New Westminster would provide the site and a minimum of $1,500 per year to support it. This was readily agreed to and the cornerstone of the Library was laid on October 1st, 1902 in a ceremony attended by many New Westminster citizens. This situation existed from 1899 until 1901 when it was finally decided that the Library’s former Columbia Street site should be used for a new civic building. The City Hall and Police Department were to be housed on the main floor with the Library to be on the second floor. Only one month after the Great Fire, New Westminster residents were lobbying to open a new library.
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The NWHPS is a registered charity supporting the conservation of heritage stock in honour of its contribution to the City’s economy, sustainability, culture and aesthetic appeal. We do this by advocating on behalf of buildings in need of preservation, restoration or access to funding and promoting constructive conversations with our partners in the community. Sometimes you get the seriously funky Strathcona or East Van gem on the same tour as triple-A heritage Shaughnessy mansions and beautiful West End apartment buildings. There are some avid cyclists who are always present, but they obviously do not have arthritis.
Second, heritage buildings often retain their value with more resiliency as property markets shift through time and support tourism. Bowing to public pressure, the City Council decided to take action. The Dominion government agreed to donate the Columbia Street property where the Mint building stood, on the condition that a proper library building would be built and maintained by the City as a free public library.
Heritage Conservation
The only items not burned were those books checked out and a few saved by Alderman William A. Johnson, among them the Queen’s book. The Vanity is a wood and stone sculpture anchoring the whole room – far more than I imagined and certainly the best expression of the design I started with. Without your referral to your contractor Joe, the rest of the project could easily have been a disaster. I’m both grateful and delighted with the final product and I look forward to working with you again.
Also, let’s not be so Vancouver-centric and forget about the equally impressive and original New Westminster Heritage Homes Tour, conveniently held the Sunday prior . The devotion to heritage and the blood, sweat, tears and wheelbarrows full of cash that go into renos by aficionados is inspirational and neatly counters the house-as-commodity attitude out there. My only quibble with the NW tour is the volunteer burnout which caused them to cancel the tea. Rogers as we open the restored principal rooms of Shannon Estate along with the Shannon Gatehouse.
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The old Mint building was demolished and following an architectural competition, work began on Architect G.W. Grant’s winning plan for a three-storey stone and brick building. Books were ordered from England and the new Library opened in 1892. The Library holds the distinction of being the first public library in the province of British Columbia. In 1865, New Westminster was the capital of the mainland colony of British Columbia, recently carved from the forest on the banks of the Fraser River by the Royal Engineers. When the Regiment disbanded, it donated its collection of books brought from England to create a public library for the City. At the same time, Queen Victoria offered a copy of her late husband Prince Albert’s speeches “to the public libraries of her more important colonies”.
A thoughtfully designed front yard and walkway leads to the tile entrance, opening to a spacious open plan living space featuring a vaulted tongue & groove ceiling, a window wall with clerestory windows and a limestone fireplace. An open kitchen with pendulum lights over the quartz capped island and sink, stainless steel appliances, an induction cooktop and a mosaic glass backsplash tie together this warm living space. Engineered hardwood floors flow through to the main floor primary bedroom with a glass enclosed ensuite shower and double sink vanity.
Featured are a mid-century modern stunner, Edwardian beauty, and a Georgian Revival favourite. The Wood House was well received and tour goers were surprised and delighted at every turn with all the attention to detail and whimsical touches making our house feel like a home most anyone could comfortably embrace. The grand ol’ Queens Park houses, Mid-Century Modern renovation, the uber Modern almost art gallery house and of course our modest Victory Heights home.
We would recommend them for your kitchen project and built-in cabinetry. The Library keeps copies of the New Westminster City Directories dating back to 1860. These directories list New Westminster resident’s names and sometimes addresses and occupations. The City Directories are a great resource to track the movement of people around the city. Listings will often include names or initials of all members of a household.
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