Morinville has a lot of history, if you know where to find it.
Take the yellow-sided home on the corner of 100 Street and 99 Avenue, for example. It looks just like any other house on the street, but the tiny metal plaque alongside it reveals that it was once the home of the Billo family, and that it's 103 years old.
It's a piece of Alberta history, yet very little has been done to preserve it. Were it not for a council decision this summer, this home would likely have been moved or destroyed to make way for a duplex.
There are hundreds of potentially historic buildings in Morinville, according to the province, and most are like the Billo home: old, storied and ready to be wrecked at their owners' whim.
But that could change next year. Officials are working on the town's first-ever heritage preservation policy, a plan that could preserve these historic buildings and bring the past back to life in downtown Morinville.
A plan for the past
Lloyd Bertschi, the town's mayor, flips through a copy of the town's Historic Homes and Heroes tour book. In it, he learns, are the locations of some surprisingly old homes in town.
Stop by the train tracks on 100 Street and you can check out the Leduc House. Built in 1885, this unassuming grey obelisk was the first house in town.
Many of these buildings are nearing the end of their lives, Bertschi says, and need to be rebuilt or replaced. Town council wants to make sure that they're fixed in a way that preserves their historic character.
The town plans to create a heritage preservation policy next year as part of an area structure plan for the downtown, explains Tim Vrooman, a planner with the Town of Morinville. The policy will likely create design guidelines for certain historic districts and give some buildings formal legal protection.
"We would be looking for character-defining elements that are authentic and respect the history of Morinville," Vrooman says: elements like "classic 1920s design" or "the first mayor lived here."
The idea for a heritage plan has been brewing for years. Bertschi's not sure what will be in the plan, but suspects it will focus on 100 Avenue and 100 Street and that it won't be too prescriptive.
"I'd really hate to tell anyone what they can do with their property.
"Remembering your heritage is important to giving you a sense of place and a sense of identity," he says, when asked why the town needs a heritage plan. "If you don't either protect your heritage or remember it, you're bound to become a very non-descript community."
Time Travel Avenue
Morinville isn't the first community to try and create a historic district, says Matthew Francis of Alberta Culture and Community Services. His department disperses about $300,000 a year to help communities identify and protect historic buildings.
Historic preservation can boost a community's sense of pride and identity, Francis says, and draw tourists.
"It's really through conserving historic places that you get any sort of a sense of uniqueness."
One example is Vilna. A village of about 300 people located about two hours east of Morinville, it's home to the world's largest mushrooms and what looks like a localized time warp. The town's main street is filled with restored 1920s-era wooden storefronts done up in bold reds, blues and greens that pull you back to the past. Wooden sidewalks and a pool hall — the oldest one in Alberta and equipped with vintage ads and tables — complete the effect. It's all so western that you expect John Wayne to mosey down the street at any moment. Step off Main Street and the village's thoroughly modern school and village office boot you back to the present.
Unlike most prairie towns, says former mayor Carol Trider, Vilna has managed to hold onto most of the original buildings on its main street. Still, those buildings were in bad shape when she became mayor during the 1990s, as their owners couldn't afford renovations. In 2000 the village signed up for the province's Main Street Programme, a provincial fund meant to restore commercial districts where over half the existing buildings have heritage value.
The village used archival photos and local historians to reproduce the old looks of the buildings. In many cases, all they had to do was rip down the modern storefronts to reveal the originals hidden behind them.
The village has now restored about 20 buildings on its main street, Trider says, and has seen about a 30-per-cent jump in tourism as a result.
Lethbridge has had similar success with its downtown restoration efforts, says Ted Stilton, executive director of the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone.
"We had over 100 buildings that were 50 years of age or older in our downtown and a lot of them were falling into disrepair."
Many were also empty. The downtown was struggling as mega-malls drew people away from its shops. Starting in 2001 the city started restoring some 35 historic buildings downtown, drawing cash from the Main Street Programme. Property owners put up historic plaques, restored original brick and metal facades, and replaced stained glass windows.
The results were dramatic. Stilson says the renewed buildings drew new tenants to the region and according to a provincial report likely caused property values to jump 31 per cent from 2003 to 2009. The initiative had cost $1.77 million, according to that same report — money the city got back in two years due to higher tax revenues.
Business owners now face design restrictions as a result of the restoration, Stilson notes: new structures have to match the look of their neighbours, be built with traditional materials (such as red brick), and use traditional raised-letter signs (i.e. no neon). However, those owners can tap into cash supports from the city (such as a $1,000 sign grant) if they play along.
Preserving the past
Francis says Morinville has a lot of historic potential to build on. A 1989 provincial survey found 213 buildings in town that were more than 50 years old.
The town's first step will be to determine which of these buildings are worth preserving, Francis says. Next, it will have to find the necessary cash. "Historic places are not cheap to conserve."
While provincial grants are available, Francis says the best solution is to make active use of historic buildings once they're renovated.
"They need to be places people can live, work and play," he says, so they can pay their own way through taxes.
Resident support was a crucial part of Vilna's success, Trider says. The village held many visioning sessions to guide the restoration process, and Trider says she personally spoke to each of the town's shop owners to convince them to take part. "It took a lot of talking!"
Business owners have to see an economic benefit to preserving history, Stilson adds. In his city, owners bought into preservation because it gave them a way to compete with the big-box stores. "What we're selling is character."
To Trider, history is a way of making sure her home has a future. "I want to see the community survive," she says. "I want to live in a town I can say I'm proud of."
