On the agenda of the next Brandon city council meeting is a report that recommends the permanent closure and demolition of the 73-year-old Park Community Centre located at 1428 Louise Avenue. The administration cites the dilapidated condition of the building, most notably the failing centre floor beam, as the reason for its recommendation.
Replacing this beam and related structural work is estimated to cost at least $130,000. On top of that, there are accessibility issues and other repairs, such as $90,000 to replace the roof and up to $55,000 for a new HVAC system, that would still be needed. Demolition, on the other hand, would cost between $70,000 and $100,000.
The council meeting takes place Monday night at Brandon City Hall. An online petition has been created urging councilors to vote in favour of fixing the centre rather than demolishing it.
Here's a look back at the Park Community's Centre's early history.
October 13, 1953, Brandon Sun
As the Second World War drew to a close, cities across Canada knew that they would soon have a large population of young, athletically fit men returning home to reunite with their spouses and start a family. Addressing the recreation needs of the men and their families became a priority for many cities.
Winnipeg, for instance, hired Charlie Barbour away from Montreal to be its first director of recreation in 1946. He was tasked with taking the patchwork of playgrounds and athletic clubs run by private groups, churches and service organizations into a network of city-sanctioned and funded playgrounds and community centres.
Something similar happened in Brandon's Park community which is located in the city's centre.
October 10, 1946, Brandon Sun
The Park Community Club had existed for a number of years. It was a group of residents who managed the winter rink and summer baseball diamond on Park School's greenspace. Community meetings took place in the summer of 1946 to discuss the creation of a more permanent amenity that would be separate from the school and have its own building so that additional programming could be offered.
These talks culminated at a meeting at Park School on September 17, 1946 when residents voted in favour of establishing the Park Community Centre. Stephen A. Magnacca, president of the old club, was instrumental in putting forward the creation of a new community centre and was elected as its first president.
The funds for the new centre had to be raised by community members. They got a break when the Kinsmen offered to donate part of a building at one of its rinks at McTavish Avenue and Eleventh St. to the cause. An additional $2,800 was spent to expand the building to 80 x 16 feet so that it could include a hall, canteen and washrooms.
Construction was underway by the first week of October when the partial basement, which would hold the furnace, was dug. The rest of the construction took place over the next 10 weeks.
Park Community Centre was officially opened on Wednesday, December 18, 1946 by mayor Frank Williamson. The local MP and MLA were also there for the ceremony. The building and its grounds still needed about $1,500 to put the finishing touches on the centre, but that would have to wait until spring and another round of fundraising.
March 23, 1967, Brandon Sun
The centre had three rinks: one regulation size for hockey and two smaller ones for skating. Mr. J. J. Ross was the first rink manager. In May 1947, he hosted a work bee inviting residents to come remove the boards and prepare the grounds for the baseball season.
Organized hockey was one of the more popular activities at the centre. Its best year hockey-wise was likely 1966 - 67 when it won both the city Tom Thumb and Pee Wee championships.
February 20, 1948, Brandon Sun
One of the centre's longest-running traditions was its Winter Carnival, the first of which was held in February 1948. The evening event included ice races, costumes and the crowning of a Park Community Centre Queen who would go on to face off against the other community centre winners for title of Ice Queen. The carnivals lasted at until at least the early 1980s.
The money to host these events and upkeep the centre came through a variety of events. The largest was an annual door-to-door canvass of the Park Neighbourhood. Eventually all community centres in Brandon did such a drive and even synchronized them so that they would all be on the same night.
February 5, 1962, Brandon Sun
The centre was not just a place for families, it was an important community hub for people of all ages.
In the early 1960s, the Brandon Council of Women hosted seniors afternoons twice a month. There were also regular whist tournaments and coffee parties to appeal to the older crowd.
The Park Teen Committee hosted regular dances there through the 1960s, but by 1965 they had become so popular that they were causing trouble in the community.
At a town hall meeting at In October 1965, 30 adults and 300 teens packed the hall to discuss the issue. Residents complained of noise, fights and other disturbances outside the centre during and after the dances. The youth countered that the troublemakers were people who had come but were not allowed in, something they couldn't be responsible for. Besides, they argued, cancelling the dances would just mean that there would be a couple hundred more teens hanging out on the street getting into trouble.
The dances were allowed to continue, but had to be approved on a month by month basis by the centre's board.
In a public relations masterstroke, two months after the community meeting the Park Teen Committee paid off the remaining $3,800 of an $11,000 loan the centre's executive took out seven years earlier to do renovations to the centre. It helped offset the wear and tear of the dances and showed that they took the centre and the community seriously.
Related:
Park Community Centre City of Brandon
Park Community Centre Facebook
Park Community Centre faces Closure Brandon Sun
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