Here is the speech in its entirety that I delivered at a lecture at the Museum of Vancouver on Thursday, June 14, 2011. Sponsored by Heritage Vancouver, the subject of the talk was preserving the built Modernist architectural heritage in Vancouver. I was there to talk about the case of preserving and refurbishing the Vancouver Public Library's Collingwood branch library, designed by Vancouver based architects Harold Semmens and Douglas Simpson.
As a long time resident of East Vancouver, sometimes it’s difficult to find beauty where I live. Unlike the downtown core, East Vancouver’s Renfrew Collingwood neighbourhood tends to exist in anonymity. Some residents see Renfrew Collingwood as a transition point, a place that exists on the literal journey from point A to point B. Some residents see it also as a place where one resides before moving up economically and socially in the Lower Mainland. However, the beauty exists. It’s there waiting quietly, waiting to be discovered and appreciated by its local residents.
That is the case of Vancouver Public Library’s Collingwood branch library on Kingsway. You might have overlooked this building; a small, low-slung structure sitting at the northwest corner of Kingsway and Rupert. On any given day, the library is a hub of activity: seniors reading newspapers share the tables with children reading picture books; young adults check their email at the computers. The lone librarian on duty sits at a corner desk. It is the Clark Kent of Vancouver’s library branches, faithfully serving the intellectual needs of the local residents for almost sixty years with little appreciation. However, unlike Clark Kent’s ability to disguise his identity with black rimmed glasses and a business suit, the library building’s design has a distinctive elegance that’s difficult to hide. Just who designed this building and what is it doing here in East Vancouver?
A little bit of detective work yields a colourful history for Collingwood branch library. Designed by the local architectural partnership of Harold Semmens and Douglas Simpson, the branch opened in July 1951. Against a sparsely urbanized backdrop, the pair unveiled a library so confident of its time. Stripped of all needless ornamentation, the library’s design emphasized rectangular lines, natural stone, glass, and a modest scale that suited the humility of the area. With such a friendly face to the neighbourhood, Collingwood branch library soon became the most visited Modernist building in Vancouver, and also racked up the highest circulation rates for children’s material among all the branch libraries in Vancouver. The design of Collingwood branch library made it possible that a library could be an attractive and welcoming place for all citizens.
Nowadays, the status of this little library branch is a little less certain, and a lot less appreciated. Ironically, it almost closed in the 1990s. The heritage status of the library is overshadowed by equally urgent concerns such as the proposed closure of Guy Carleton Elementary School. Even proper maintenance cannot be ensured. Damage to the library’s brickwork has not been fixed since a vehicle crashed into it in 2007. The original signage is gone, and the library’s deep rust colour has been painted over. So the very idea of protecting and refurbishing Collingwood branch library is a low priority.
What is to happen to this library? It’s difficult to say. Certainly its physical and mental distance from the city’s power brokers is a mixed blessing. It has been ignored and overlooked for so long that in many ways, it survives relatively intact compared to other Modernist buildings from the same era. A few improvements could render it into a civic highlight and a point of pride for the area. But it only takes the collective amnesia of the community and of those in power to doom it to a grim fate. Deterioration through neglect is already occurring, and it’s important for those in the community to act to preserve it.
Preserving and refurbishing Collingwood branch library would certainly add something wonderful to the history of our city. Sometimes Vancouver feels like a place where people reside between cross-border shopping excursions and trips to Asia or Europe. Don’t get me wrong; having a city and its citizens look outward has resulted in a city that is embracing of multiculturalism and diversity. However, at times it feels like some city residents are ignorant or indifferent of the city’s history. This ambivalence does not do much to encourage a love and appreciation of where we live. I’m sure there are some residents who might be surprised to discover a library branch of Modernist design on the east side of Vancouver. To preserve and refurbish it would remind citizens of the importance of the library in our community as well as the importance of our local history.
So if you haven’t done so already, go and visit this tiny library on the edge of Vancouver. Check out the Modernist lines and scale of this building before going in. Take some pictures of this building from different angles; find the beauty. Bring your library card, peruse its collection and borrow some library materials. Most importantly, turn community concern into action. Send a letter or email to Vancouver City Hall and to the Vancouver Public Library’s Board to ask them, at the very least, to properly maintain the building.
For those with a greater passion for the heritage of Vancouver, persuade those in power to move the library onto the city’s heritage register as a modern landmark. Perhaps with some creative fundraising and help from the community, the library’s Modernist roots could be enhanced with the signage and furnishings of the mid-century era. For an area and for a building that has existed in anonymity for so long, a little recognition would go a long way to raising Vancouver’s Modernist legacy.
