Antique glass bottles. A 1969 Playboy magazine. Magic cards. A vintage sign.
These are among the quirkier items emerging from the rubble at a downtown Chilliwack site.
Crews have been dismantling buildings on a four-acre site ahead of the phased construction, while retaining fa莽ades sa国际传媒� and a few historic finds.
Jarrett Enns, construction lead for Algra Bros., has been supervising commercial sites for years.
sa国际传媒淏ut this is one is different because we are dealing with much older buildings,sa国际传媒� Enns.
Theysa国际传媒檝e found some really cool vintage pieces, some from an old Woolworths store, and others from a building that once housed the Imperial Theatre.
sa国际传媒淔rom the walls wesa国际传媒檝e stripped off layers and layers,sa国际传媒� Enns said.
sa国际传媒淚t seems that back in the day people werensa国际传媒檛 too concerned about recycling or not littering because they would just sort of leave stuff in the walls, under the floor, on the roof. Anywhere.sa国际传媒�
Some items havensa国际传媒檛 seen the light of day for decades sa国际传媒� or more than a century.
One of the buildings coughed up an ancient posterboard with paint chips in drab colours like slate, yellow, red, or dark slate, as well as choices for varnishes and stains.
| Some early paint and varnish colours to choose from.(Jennifer Feinberg/The Progress) |
They found things more on the surface initially, such as in cupboards, back rooms, or on shelves.
sa国际传媒淏ut now at this stage wesa国际传媒檙e getting into the real guts of it,sa国际传媒� Enns said.
Digging deep they came up with old tools, and lots of trash, like some empty tomato tins under the floor joists.
sa国际传媒淢ost of it we think they were just trying to dispose of as they were building,sa国际传媒� he said, sa国际传媒渂ut in other cases we think they were definitely trying to hide stuff.sa国际传媒�
The June 1969 edition of Playboy might fit the bill. The vintage magazine, with a rather tame cover by todaysa国际传媒檚 standards, was discovered tucked away inside a furnace equipment room.
Algra has also been posting images for all to enjoy on their DowntownChilliwack Instagram account.
One of them is a well-preserved sign for a tailorsa国际传媒檚 shop from the 40s that was being used as a shim in the ceiling of the old theatre building.
| A sign for the Central Tailor Shop |
Several empty bottles were brought up from the depths. They once contained alcohol, ink or herbal medicines.
One of them still had some oozy brown residue in it. It dates back to 1910-20, with the words sa国际传媒渕edicinesa国际传媒� in relief alongside sa国际传媒淟ydia E. Pinkham.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e been learning a lot more about glass bottles than I ever imagined,sa国际传媒� said Jon Kinneman, marketing and artdirector for Algra Bros. sa国际传媒淛ust trying to figure out the connections, and how old they are and when they couldhave been put there.sa国际传媒�
Certain characteristics can help date the bottles, like makerssa国际传媒� marks.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 fascinating what you can find out about a silly little bottle,sa国际传媒� Kinneman said.
The old bottle contained a herbal tonic from a company founded by Lydia E. Pinkham, which specialized in a vegetable compound to treat myriad sa国际传媒渇emale complaints.sa国际传媒�
There were also several sa国际传媒楳cdonaldsa国际传媒檚 Nightcap Scotchsa国际传媒� bottles found, which apparently was a pretty popular libation in the U.S. during the 1920-33 when alcohol prohibition was in effect.
sa国际传媒淲e found about two dozen in the floor. Someone was really enjoying those,sa国际传媒� Enns said.
They have no real clue why the empty tin cans and booze bottles ended up under the floors. Under the floor joists of one of the buildings, they found what they think is rusted shaving brush and a chisel.
sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 think anyone has touched this stuff since the late 1920s,sa国际传媒� Enns said.
One of the buildings used to house Chilliwacksa国际传媒檚 oldest theatre, The Imperial Theatre. Phyllis Martin, a teenager sent a message to the world by penning it onto a wooden two-by-four frame, that they removed from the theatre building and kept.
| Phyllis Martin left a message for Chilliwack in 1924 |
The next year, Miss Martin had the honour of winning the coveted prize for sa国际传媒渕ost improvement shown in arithmaticsa国际传媒� by any student in the entrance class, according to the Progress in 1925. A sa国际传媒済old eversharpsa国际传媒� pencil was her prize.
Other finds? A Beautiful British Columbia magazine from the 80s was still in good shape, and a vintage 1970s GEclock radio, as well as pack of cards labelled sa国际传媒淪vengalisa国际传媒檚 Magic Cards.sa国际传媒�
The concept of connecting a community to its history through redevelopment comes up in this Algra Bros. description of their ambitious project: sa国际传媒淭his isnsa国际传媒檛 a mall or a shopping centre.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 the citysa国际传媒檚 downtown being rediscovered, reimagined, rebuilt and reconnected. Chilliwack is back sa国际传媒� be a part of it.sa国际传媒�
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