by CHARLES MCMILLAN - Commentary
as published in The Guardian - Oct 23, 2008
Every generation, Islanders take a refreshing look at policies and legislation affecting this province’s glorious history, heritage, and natural landscape. As the summer-fall season closes, and almost 1.5 million visitors leave the Island, it is appropriate to examine the province’s entire approach to culture and heritage, and how best to preserve and exploit the Island’s ‘way of life’. The Ghiz government is now dealing with potential new directions for heritage policies, including a much-needed storage site for the Island’s collection.
Hopefully, the issues will be dealt with on a non-partisan basis and address ideas and suggestions with a long-time horizon, perhaps up to 10 years or more.
Successive governments, from the Conservative administrations of Walter Shaw, Angus MacLean and Pat Binns to Liberal administrations of Alex Campbell, Joe Ghiz, and now his son, Robert Ghiz, have cultivated policies towards the natural environment — shorelines, parks, protected areas — as well as heritage buildings, archeological sites, and provincial museums.
Indeed, the entire province is really a national park, with plants, animals, birds and trees of immense beauty. Jacques Cartier, perhaps the first European to write down his thoughts on the Island, touring the entire north shore on July 1, 1534, referred to the climate, land, and landscape, “the finest land one can see, and full of beautiful trees and meadows, the fairest that it may be possible to see.” George Brown, a celebrated Father of Confederation who also tried to wrestle with the Island’s transportation challenge when he returned to Charlottetown in 1865, called P.E.I. “as pretty a country as you ever put your eye upon.”
By my count, there are seven categories of the Island’s heritage landscape: lighthouses, churches, community and provincial museums, sites-in-waiting (e.g. the Julian Jaynes-Admiral Bayfield House in Keppoch), Parks Canada historic sites, natural historic sites (e.g. Greenwich, North Cape Peat Bog and archeological sites) and National Historic Sites.
The IRIS Group, a consulting firm that produced a welcome study on heritage policy and justified the need for additional resources (money, staff and facilities), did not provide financial estimates, either on a low- or high-budget scenario. My guess of required funding for capital plus annual upkeep, ignoring the source of the money, is about $250,000 minimum for lighthouses ($10,000 operating per site), $3 million to $4 million for churches ($10,000-$25,000 operating for some 60 heritage churches), $50-100,000 for 16 community and provincial museums ($25,000 for operations), $500,000 for natural history sites, and $2 million per year for national historic sites.
This capital budget, about $10 million in total, is not entirely about provincial funding. Or federal-provincial funding. Or about a separate line item in the provincial ministry of culture and heritage. Why? First, the Island’s heritage landscape is an enormous drawing card for provincial tourism (a $350-million industry) and the associated small business sector, including restaurants, hotels, bed and breakfast, and provincial tours.
Second, as the poor, rural areas of Maine and New Brunswick readily indicate, decrepit buildings and farms isolate communities from economic vitality, including the capacity to attract business and associated land values.
Third, while there is a natural economic magnet towards cities, especially Charlottetown where most government and professional (law, finance, academic) activity is located, the drawing card is the Island itself, including the rural lifestyle and heritage that truly create the Island way of life — fresh air and water, thriving villages (e.g. Rustico or Montague), family values, and a real sense of community.
Clearly, the government should devote more resources to the Island’s heritage, perhaps doubling the present expenditure of $2 million, and reducing the amount spent to attract new businesses (but also spending more on skills training) — the Maritimes’ sinful weakness.
The government could also change the incentives to invest in heritage, such as the following. For churches, whose real estate is not taxable, introduce a regulation that encourages heritage preservation, or lose the tax advantages.
For certain kinds of heritage buildings, provide public money on a cost-shared basis, say 25 per cent public (perhaps in kind, like roads, culverts, and bypasses) and 75 per cent raised privately, by individuals, volunteer groups, or communities. In certain areas, lighthouses, heritage signs, and outdoor interpretive signs allow the Island’s high school students to learn the tools of manual training to overcome the woeful shortage of trained workers.
And finally, given some of the new subdivisions, force Maritime Electric to bury wires in the Island’s soft ground, with the goal of copying from Scandinavia the idea of underground wiring — the heritage equivalent of the Campbell government getting rid of ugly billboards in 1973.
Heritage is a public good. Once lost, it is difficult to get back. Thoughtful Islanders should protect our history and heritage with a vengeance.
Charles McMillan, raised in Charlottetown, is an economist and professor of international business at York University in Toronto. He is author of Eminent Islanders.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Recommedations - Charting a Course: A Study of Heritage in Prince Edward Island Draft Report
While Charting a Course: A Study of Heritage in Prince Edward Island
Draft Report, provides the context for all recommendations and should be consulted, this compilation is being posted to provide the recommendations as a list:
Charting a Course: A Study of Heritage in Prince Edward Island
Draft Report
1. We recommend that responsibility for heritage remain in the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Division, that it be strengthened by giving it greater clarity and profile of mandate, that it be given sufficient resources to realize its mandate and provide leadership and expertise on heritage matters provincially.
2. We recommend that heritage concerns be given greater consideration in the decision-making of the Province by:
• Tasking the Council of Deputy Ministers with the development of measures to give heritage concerns a higher profile in the decisions of the Province
• Making heritage impacts become more prominent in the Environmental Impact Assessment process
• Requesting that the Commissioner on Land and Local Governance (announced in the April 4, 2008 Speech From the Throne) develop mechanisms for the protection of heritage features in unincorporated areas as well as in communities that do not have official plans
3. We recommend the development of a three-to five-year capital funding program to improve the condition of the buildings at the seven Provincial Museum sites and to invest in new, high-quality exhibitions at the sites. Further, a budget and plan should be established for ongoing operations and annual site maintenance for these Provincial sites.
4. We recommend that the Government provide sufficient base-level funding to Provincial Museum sites to enable all of them to remain open a minimum of two months longer to accommodate school visits and the tourism shoulder seasons.
5. We recommend that the provincial government increase support to the community museums by expanding the standards-based community museum operating grant program and administer this program in partnership with the Community Museums Association.
6. We recommend that the Province make greater use of existing landscape protection legislation; include more public education, building local capacity and heritage expertise in related areas; and develop new mechanisms to encourage owners in heritage preservation, including better financial incentives such as tax accommodations, loans, grants, and outright compensation.
7. We recommend that the powers of the Heritage Places Protection Act be used more effectively to promote and regulate the protection of heritage property, especially in the designation of places, and coordination of the Act with enhanced planning and development control legislation.
8. We recommend the appointment of at least one full-time Heritage Officer within the Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour.
9. We recommend, in light of the pending discontinuance of federal government funding, that a plan be developed for future management of the Historic Places Initiative.
10. We recommend the following actions regarding administration for archaeology:
• Immediate proclamation of the Archaeology Act, preparation of the necessary regulations and the undertaking of adequate publicity and
enforcement
• Reconsider the 150-year BP (Before Present) time limit as a qualifier for designating sites and artifacts, so that the natural and cultural historic importance of the site or source is the deciding factor
• Greater use by the Minister of the power to designate or temporarily designate archaeological sites in peril, and a reconsideration of the legislation to allow the Minister to extend the initial stop-order period if necessary
• Specification in the Regulations for Permit Applications that the applicant is obliged to carry out a conservation evaluation of the site prior to excavation, and to demonstrate that appropriate conservation support can be provided for excavated materials
11. We recommend that the Government of PEI undertake a professionally-led study that:
• Identifies the functional requirements for a new Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives
• Projects the financial costs associated with building and operating a new Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives
• Assesses potential locations and recommends a preferred site for the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives
12. We recommend that changes be made to the existing crown corporation, renaming it the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives (PMA); that the corporation be governed by a Board of Governors that includes the minister (or representative); that the board report to the minister; and that the corporation be given clear responsibility for management of endowment funds, governance of the provincial museum sites and management of tangible and intangible provincial collections of archival, natural, and cultural history materials.
13. We recommend that the Board of Governors of the re-mandated corporation, drawn from the various communities of interest, should be a policy board and would be responsible for administering endowment funds, including those to be transferred from the PEIMHF. The Chief Executive Officer of the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives should report to the minister through the Board.
14. We recommend that the Government of PEI develop a human resources plan that gives priority to and sets out timelines for filling the need for additional capacity in the following areas: curatorial (natural history, archaeology, and architectural history), conservation (artifact and archival), archives, and education.
15. We recommend an updated provincial museums and archives collections policy to meet professional standards and broaden cultural representation in collections; as well as an acquisitions policy to delineate collections mandates among the provincial heritage institutions with criteria to ensure each collects according to its mandate.
16. We recommend that the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives curatorial and conservation staff meet with Aboriginal representatives to determine how best to assist in building capacity for care of and access to Aboriginal collections, both in provincial collections and in their communities.
17. We recommend that a provincial conservation policy be developed, and that assessments be prepared by conservators for each provincial museum site and the Public Archives to identify critical collections care needs. We further recommend that the Government provide the necessary support to address these needs.
18. We recommend that purpose-built museum and archival storage facilities for the provincial collections be provided to replace existing storage. We further that recommend conservation facilities and equipment be provided as part of the new PMA.
19. We recommend that the proposed new Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives take the lead to develop joint action with UPEI, to collect, preserve and make accessible to the public the intangible heritage of the Island, including the creation of a sound and film/video recordings archives.
20. We recommend that the Province review and develop provincial cultural policies and programs in consultation with cultural communities to help promote PEI’s intangible culture by:
• Improving co-ordination among cultural programs, and including diverse cultural perspectives into mainstream projects, such as heritage sites, landscape and architectural conservation.
• Liaising with representatives of the two main Aboriginal organizations in PEI, the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI and the Native
Council of PEI, to ensure equitable representation of Aboriginal culture.
• Increasing support to community programs for recording and preserving intangible heritage in areas like traditional knowledge, arts, dance, music and languages of diverse Island cultural communities like Mi’kmaq, Francophone, Lebanese, Scottish, Irish and recent immigrants communities; and in consultation with cultural communities, explore the possibility of a government office for multi-cultural affairs and policies.
• Supporting cultural venues, such as those provided by the rural community halls, and Aboriginal and Francophone and other
21. We recommend that natural heritage be more fully integrated into the seven sites of the existing provincial museum system, as well as the proposed new Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives
The provincial natural heritage collection be expanded
Natural heritage curatorial expertise be added as a priority as noted in the Human Resources section of this report.
22. We recommend that the Province mandate the proposed Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives to conduct research necessary for exploring, interpreting and revising knowledge about Prince Edward Island and to tell a more complex version of the Island story. We also recommend that the PMA pursue opportunities to establish partnerships with individuals and institutions to conduct research that contributes to the objectives and programs of the PMA and other similar institutions.
23. We recommend that the provincial government mandate a role for education in the new PMA, so that for the benefit of students and the wider community, contact is maximized between institutional educational representatives, Island schools and the community at large.
24. We recommend that the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives provide permanent and temporary exhibition space and support facilities for the provincial collections to meet the highest professional standards and practices in exhibition concepts and design.
25. We recommend that an interpretive master plan be developed to identify the key natural and cultural themes that constitute the ’Island story’; and that protocols are established to ensure appropriate cultural representation and collaboration so that the story is inclusive.
26. We recommend that the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives expand its resources and services to serve the public interest in genealogical research by establishing a Family History Room, and by collaborating with non-governmental genealogical organizations to the same end.
27. We recommend that the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives, the Department of Tourism, and the heritage community work together to target the Island diaspora in promotion and programs.
28. We recommend that the “Island Studies” course mentioned in the Speech from the Throne (April 4, 2008) include environmental awareness and the importance of local citizenship and the global community. It should be offered in all high schools.
29. We recommend that the Province encourage Holland College and similar educational centres to explore providing training in traditional trades in order to make such occupational options more available and to ensure succession in areas that are part of Island heritage.
30. We recommend that the Province create a provincial heritage strategy; take immediate steps to address some of the most pressing needs recommended in this report; and prepare annual reports on the progress in implementing the new provincial heritage strategy during its first five years.
Immediate (within eight months):
• Develop a heritage strategy to guide government action
• Make more effective use and enforcement of existing legislation (e.g., Heritage Places Protection Act to protect heritage places; proclaim the Archaeology Act and develop regulations)
• Strengthen and clarify the mandates regarding administration of provincial heritage resources
• Give more prominence to heritage concerns within government as part of the decision-making process
• Establish the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives as a re-mandated and enhanced heritage crown corporation
Short-term (one to two years):
• Build capacity throughout the system -- which involves developing a human resources plan, and hiring professional curators, archivists, conservators and an educator. These professionals will initiate programs within the existing infrastructure and plan future facilities, programs and policies
• Undertake a study for the proposed new PEI Museum and Archives facility to identify functional requirements and financial costs, and to recommend a preferred site
• Increase the operating funding to the seven provincial museum sites to expand their operating season and improve programming
• Increase support for community museums through the Community Museums Association
• Develop collections policies
• Develop mechanisms to protect natural and cultural landscape and built heritage through the use of economic instruments
• Develop an inclusive interpretive master plan integrating natural and cultural themes in consultation with cultural communities
Medium-term (three to five years):
• Develop a capital funding program for the seven provincial museum sites
• Ensure the new PMA fulfills the natural heritage mandate of the Museum Act
• Move personnel and stored collections into the new Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives facility
Long-term (six to ten years):
• Continue to build, conserve and manage collections, while developing exhibitions, programming and educational resources
• Maintain the physical infrastructure
Draft Report, provides the context for all recommendations and should be consulted, this compilation is being posted to provide the recommendations as a list:
Charting a Course: A Study of Heritage in Prince Edward Island
Draft Report
1. We recommend that responsibility for heritage remain in the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Division, that it be strengthened by giving it greater clarity and profile of mandate, that it be given sufficient resources to realize its mandate and provide leadership and expertise on heritage matters provincially.
2. We recommend that heritage concerns be given greater consideration in the decision-making of the Province by:
• Tasking the Council of Deputy Ministers with the development of measures to give heritage concerns a higher profile in the decisions of the Province
• Making heritage impacts become more prominent in the Environmental Impact Assessment process
• Requesting that the Commissioner on Land and Local Governance (announced in the April 4, 2008 Speech From the Throne) develop mechanisms for the protection of heritage features in unincorporated areas as well as in communities that do not have official plans
3. We recommend the development of a three-to five-year capital funding program to improve the condition of the buildings at the seven Provincial Museum sites and to invest in new, high-quality exhibitions at the sites. Further, a budget and plan should be established for ongoing operations and annual site maintenance for these Provincial sites.
4. We recommend that the Government provide sufficient base-level funding to Provincial Museum sites to enable all of them to remain open a minimum of two months longer to accommodate school visits and the tourism shoulder seasons.
5. We recommend that the provincial government increase support to the community museums by expanding the standards-based community museum operating grant program and administer this program in partnership with the Community Museums Association.
6. We recommend that the Province make greater use of existing landscape protection legislation; include more public education, building local capacity and heritage expertise in related areas; and develop new mechanisms to encourage owners in heritage preservation, including better financial incentives such as tax accommodations, loans, grants, and outright compensation.
7. We recommend that the powers of the Heritage Places Protection Act be used more effectively to promote and regulate the protection of heritage property, especially in the designation of places, and coordination of the Act with enhanced planning and development control legislation.
8. We recommend the appointment of at least one full-time Heritage Officer within the Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour.
9. We recommend, in light of the pending discontinuance of federal government funding, that a plan be developed for future management of the Historic Places Initiative.
10. We recommend the following actions regarding administration for archaeology:
• Immediate proclamation of the Archaeology Act, preparation of the necessary regulations and the undertaking of adequate publicity and
enforcement
• Reconsider the 150-year BP (Before Present) time limit as a qualifier for designating sites and artifacts, so that the natural and cultural historic importance of the site or source is the deciding factor
• Greater use by the Minister of the power to designate or temporarily designate archaeological sites in peril, and a reconsideration of the legislation to allow the Minister to extend the initial stop-order period if necessary
• Specification in the Regulations for Permit Applications that the applicant is obliged to carry out a conservation evaluation of the site prior to excavation, and to demonstrate that appropriate conservation support can be provided for excavated materials
11. We recommend that the Government of PEI undertake a professionally-led study that:
• Identifies the functional requirements for a new Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives
• Projects the financial costs associated with building and operating a new Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives
• Assesses potential locations and recommends a preferred site for the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives
12. We recommend that changes be made to the existing crown corporation, renaming it the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives (PMA); that the corporation be governed by a Board of Governors that includes the minister (or representative); that the board report to the minister; and that the corporation be given clear responsibility for management of endowment funds, governance of the provincial museum sites and management of tangible and intangible provincial collections of archival, natural, and cultural history materials.
13. We recommend that the Board of Governors of the re-mandated corporation, drawn from the various communities of interest, should be a policy board and would be responsible for administering endowment funds, including those to be transferred from the PEIMHF. The Chief Executive Officer of the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives should report to the minister through the Board.
14. We recommend that the Government of PEI develop a human resources plan that gives priority to and sets out timelines for filling the need for additional capacity in the following areas: curatorial (natural history, archaeology, and architectural history), conservation (artifact and archival), archives, and education.
15. We recommend an updated provincial museums and archives collections policy to meet professional standards and broaden cultural representation in collections; as well as an acquisitions policy to delineate collections mandates among the provincial heritage institutions with criteria to ensure each collects according to its mandate.
16. We recommend that the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives curatorial and conservation staff meet with Aboriginal representatives to determine how best to assist in building capacity for care of and access to Aboriginal collections, both in provincial collections and in their communities.
17. We recommend that a provincial conservation policy be developed, and that assessments be prepared by conservators for each provincial museum site and the Public Archives to identify critical collections care needs. We further recommend that the Government provide the necessary support to address these needs.
18. We recommend that purpose-built museum and archival storage facilities for the provincial collections be provided to replace existing storage. We further that recommend conservation facilities and equipment be provided as part of the new PMA.
19. We recommend that the proposed new Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives take the lead to develop joint action with UPEI, to collect, preserve and make accessible to the public the intangible heritage of the Island, including the creation of a sound and film/video recordings archives.
20. We recommend that the Province review and develop provincial cultural policies and programs in consultation with cultural communities to help promote PEI’s intangible culture by:
• Improving co-ordination among cultural programs, and including diverse cultural perspectives into mainstream projects, such as heritage sites, landscape and architectural conservation.
• Liaising with representatives of the two main Aboriginal organizations in PEI, the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI and the Native
Council of PEI, to ensure equitable representation of Aboriginal culture.
• Increasing support to community programs for recording and preserving intangible heritage in areas like traditional knowledge, arts, dance, music and languages of diverse Island cultural communities like Mi’kmaq, Francophone, Lebanese, Scottish, Irish and recent immigrants communities; and in consultation with cultural communities, explore the possibility of a government office for multi-cultural affairs and policies.
• Supporting cultural venues, such as those provided by the rural community halls, and Aboriginal and Francophone and other
21. We recommend that natural heritage be more fully integrated into the seven sites of the existing provincial museum system, as well as the proposed new Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives
The provincial natural heritage collection be expanded
Natural heritage curatorial expertise be added as a priority as noted in the Human Resources section of this report.
22. We recommend that the Province mandate the proposed Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives to conduct research necessary for exploring, interpreting and revising knowledge about Prince Edward Island and to tell a more complex version of the Island story. We also recommend that the PMA pursue opportunities to establish partnerships with individuals and institutions to conduct research that contributes to the objectives and programs of the PMA and other similar institutions.
23. We recommend that the provincial government mandate a role for education in the new PMA, so that for the benefit of students and the wider community, contact is maximized between institutional educational representatives, Island schools and the community at large.
24. We recommend that the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives provide permanent and temporary exhibition space and support facilities for the provincial collections to meet the highest professional standards and practices in exhibition concepts and design.
25. We recommend that an interpretive master plan be developed to identify the key natural and cultural themes that constitute the ’Island story’; and that protocols are established to ensure appropriate cultural representation and collaboration so that the story is inclusive.
26. We recommend that the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives expand its resources and services to serve the public interest in genealogical research by establishing a Family History Room, and by collaborating with non-governmental genealogical organizations to the same end.
27. We recommend that the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives, the Department of Tourism, and the heritage community work together to target the Island diaspora in promotion and programs.
28. We recommend that the “Island Studies” course mentioned in the Speech from the Throne (April 4, 2008) include environmental awareness and the importance of local citizenship and the global community. It should be offered in all high schools.
29. We recommend that the Province encourage Holland College and similar educational centres to explore providing training in traditional trades in order to make such occupational options more available and to ensure succession in areas that are part of Island heritage.
30. We recommend that the Province create a provincial heritage strategy; take immediate steps to address some of the most pressing needs recommended in this report; and prepare annual reports on the progress in implementing the new provincial heritage strategy during its first five years.
Immediate (within eight months):
• Develop a heritage strategy to guide government action
• Make more effective use and enforcement of existing legislation (e.g., Heritage Places Protection Act to protect heritage places; proclaim the Archaeology Act and develop regulations)
• Strengthen and clarify the mandates regarding administration of provincial heritage resources
• Give more prominence to heritage concerns within government as part of the decision-making process
• Establish the Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives as a re-mandated and enhanced heritage crown corporation
Short-term (one to two years):
• Build capacity throughout the system -- which involves developing a human resources plan, and hiring professional curators, archivists, conservators and an educator. These professionals will initiate programs within the existing infrastructure and plan future facilities, programs and policies
• Undertake a study for the proposed new PEI Museum and Archives facility to identify functional requirements and financial costs, and to recommend a preferred site
• Increase the operating funding to the seven provincial museum sites to expand their operating season and improve programming
• Increase support for community museums through the Community Museums Association
• Develop collections policies
• Develop mechanisms to protect natural and cultural landscape and built heritage through the use of economic instruments
• Develop an inclusive interpretive master plan integrating natural and cultural themes in consultation with cultural communities
Medium-term (three to five years):
• Develop a capital funding program for the seven provincial museum sites
• Ensure the new PMA fulfills the natural heritage mandate of the Museum Act
• Move personnel and stored collections into the new Prince Edward Island Museum and Archives facility
Long-term (six to ten years):
• Continue to build, conserve and manage collections, while developing exhibitions, programming and educational resources
• Maintain the physical infrastructure
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The chairs enhance the square
by KATIE MCINNIS
Charlottetown
as published by The Guardian Oct 14, 2008
Editor:
In response to the letter from Darlene Hughes about the chairs in King’s Square (‘These chairs no bargain’, The Guardian, Oct. 4, 2008): these are accurate representations of chairs made by famous Charlottetown furniture maker, Mark Butcher, and as such, are works of art — pieces of sculpture meant to enhance the cultural spirit of the city as well as honour an historical figure. They are a unique method of showing off the creativity of our city and much more appealing than a sculptured figure of the person.
I live across from them and I love them. There are not meant to be comfortable seating and yet I often see people sitting on them. I have watched people posing beside them and taking pictures. Artistic taste is subjective, but these chairs, so wonderfully accurate in every detail, are beautiful. They enhance King’s Square and are worth every penny. I commend Kim Devine and city council for taking this project on and for all of the wonderful projects happening to enhance the visual appeal of downtown Charlottetown.
Charlottetown
as published by The Guardian Oct 14, 2008
Editor:
In response to the letter from Darlene Hughes about the chairs in King’s Square (‘These chairs no bargain’, The Guardian, Oct. 4, 2008): these are accurate representations of chairs made by famous Charlottetown furniture maker, Mark Butcher, and as such, are works of art — pieces of sculpture meant to enhance the cultural spirit of the city as well as honour an historical figure. They are a unique method of showing off the creativity of our city and much more appealing than a sculptured figure of the person.
I live across from them and I love them. There are not meant to be comfortable seating and yet I often see people sitting on them. I have watched people posing beside them and taking pictures. Artistic taste is subjective, but these chairs, so wonderfully accurate in every detail, are beautiful. They enhance King’s Square and are worth every penny. I commend Kim Devine and city council for taking this project on and for all of the wonderful projects happening to enhance the visual appeal of downtown Charlottetown.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Bronze chairs adorn square as tribute to furniture make
Agnes MacInnis sits of one of the five bronze chairs that are in Kings Square in Charlottetown. The City of Charlottetown spent just under $13,000 on the chairs, which honour a former city councillor and businessman from the 1800s. Guardian photo
by DAVE STEWART
The Guardian - published Oct 2, 2008
Five large bronze chairs now adorn a historic square in Charlottetown as a tribute to a former city councillor and businessman.
The city spent just under $13,000 for the chairs in Kings Square to honour Mark Butcher, who history buffs may remember as a big furniture maker in the 1800s.
Butcher operated a factory on the corner of Kent and Hillsborough streets, now the site of the Maritime Christian College. [note this was later corrected - the building is owned by Central Christian Church and operates as a christian education centre.]
Coun. Kim Devine, chair of heritage, said Butcher had a very strong presence around Kings Square and the idea arose to design bronze sculptures that honour some of the furniture Butcher was known to have created.
“Residents in the area were very interested,’’ Devine said of talks that have gone back a year.
“Now we need a interpretive panel explaining who Mark is, what he did and why the chairs are in Kings Square.’’
In addition to chairs and other types of furniture, Butcher also designed caskets.
The factory, which he bought in 1869, was destroyed by fire in 1887. The brick building, which replaced the Butcher factory, still stands today.
Devine said in 1867, the factory employed 40 people. In 1874, 20 additional joiners and cabinetmakers were needed.
One of his employees specialized in designing figureheads for ships while another was good at making coffins.
In addition to Butcher’s retail store in Charlottetown, he also had branch businesses in Cardigan and Georgetown.
“I think this is a great way to promote city art and celebrate a talented artist in our history as well as beautifying one of our lovely city squares at the same time.’’
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