By Cathy English, Revelstoke Museum & Archives
February 15 to 21 is Heritage Week in British Columbia and the theme for this year is Distinctive Destinations: Experience Historic Places.
The whole community of Revelstoke can be considered a historic place, and we can be proud of how well we have preserved and honoured our history. Many of our historic downtown buildings were restored to their original glory during the Heritage Revitalization project of the 1980s, and more recently a Heritage Conservation Area was created to give some protection to the many heritage homes from Mackenzie Avenue going east to Vernon Avenue.
Still, there is much work to be done to ensure that we retain our valuable built heritage. The City of Revelstoke has a Heritage Committee made up of volunteers from the community to advise the city on heritage issues. We are fortunate to have the number of heritage buildings that we do, and we need to do everything we can to preserve them. Our built heritage is a big part of what makes Revelstoke a distinctive destination.
This Saturday, February 20, Revelstoke Museum & Archives is celebrating Heritage Week with free admission to the museum all day, and a presentation on Revelstoke’s Heritage Neighbourhoods at 2:30 p.m.
From 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., curator Cathy English will help homeowners find information on their heritage homes, using the historic tax records and early fire insurance maps. Everyone is welcome to come and explore the museum and try the Then & Now game to match heritage buildings.