By Erika Anderson
All of the celebrations for Canada 150 brings to mind the big plans in Campbell River for Canada’s Centennial in 1967.
Beginning in 1965, Campbell River was looking for a project to be completed for Canada’s 100th year. Some of the proposed projects included a skating rink and a tourist campsite in the Willow Point Park area. The idea that quickly gained interest was for a building to house the museum, library and a Tourist Information Centre. At this point, the museum and library were occupying cramped quarters in the basement of the Municipal Hall. A series of meetings was held with the Rotary Club, the Historical Society, the Centennial Committee, the Chamber of Commerce and the owners of the Tyee Plaza. Based on these meetings, a new building was proposed to house the three organizations.
The need for more space for the museum and library had been identified years prior, so the new building would address this need. Another advantage of this project was the availability of government grants to help with the cost of building facilities for these services.
Former owners of the Tyee Plaza had offered to donate a parcel of land for a museum and Tourist Information Centre. The new owners at the time agreed to honour this promise, and agreed to the additional space required to house the library. At the time the library required 2,000 square feet of space and would be able to pay up to $125 monthly in rent for using the space.
The filling of the Tyee Plaza was a controversial project, with a vote from the community choosing in favour of the project 344 to 168. Chairman Baikie from the village commission was one of the voices opposing the Tyee Plaza project. In the August 15, 1956 Campbell River Courier-Islander he is quoted as saying, “I didn’t think it was in the best interests of the people of Campbell River. The beach is owned by every person in the country. If we decide to go ahead with the plan it would be turned into a commercial area for very little gain for the community.”
Due to the contentious history of the plaza, there were many people in the community who refused to set foot upon it. As a compromise, the Centennial Building was raised on land that was once the beach and technically not fill, so those community members who were unhappy about the plaza could still visit the museum and library.
The new building was designed by Vancouver architect Reno Negrin, who had also designed the Discovery Inn as well as the Tyee Plaza. The building was constructed by H.E. Polglase Contractors Ltd. of Campbell River for a cost of approximately $75,000. The first sod was turned on May 20, 1966 by Lieutenant Governor George Pearkes and longtime Campbell River resident Carol O. Thulin.
In 1966, during construction, a totem pole carved by Sam Henderson as part of the Route of the Totems was erected in front of the building. The official opening of the building took place in April 1967. Tom Bennett, Member of Parliament for the region, flew out from Ottawa to cut the ribbon at the celebrations. The dedication of the building was done by Rev. Trevor Williams.
The current look of the Centennial Building is the result of 2004 updates to the building. The siding was removed at that point and the outside of the building was clad with rough cut, BC-sourced cedar siding set into a slanted metal rack to create a “louvered” effect. Today it still houses the Tourist Information Centre, but the museum and library have both moved on to larger facilities and their former locations are now utilized by the Campbell River Public Art Gallery.