By Cecilia Nasmith/Northumberland 89.7 FM/Today’s Northumberland
Attending Cobourg council in November to lobby for the preservation of the former Brookside Youth Centre, historian Rob Mikel returns March 3 as part of Cobourg’s Architecture and History Lecture Series for a look at what has already been lost.
Cobourg’s Lost Heritage is hosted by the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario Cobourg East Northumberland, offering a look at some of the town’s buildings, structures and landscapes that are no more.
Mikel’s council presentation was a plea for the historical designation that he believes that once-majestic building deserves, as well as a couple of significant auxiliary buildings. While the property has since been sold and there is no word of such a move happening, its loss would be the latest on a long list.
The Globe and Mail once declared Cobourg “the prettiest town in Canada,” but the intervening years have seen an amazing array of stunning architecture, gardens and streetscapes lost to posterity. Mikel’s talk and slideshow will clarify why it’s imperative to preserve what is left.
“I realize, after many years away, people don’t know what Cobourg used to look like,” the historian said.
This will be an update on the same talk he gave about 15 years ago, but at a pivotal time and for a newer audience.
The talk will take place in a building that was saved after a vote was taken at council to bulldoze it and replace it with a parking garage because of the massive scale of repairs it needed. Victoria Hall, built in 1860, was rescued at that 1971 council vote and reopened about a dozen years later.
The event begins at 7 p.m. in the second-floor Concert Hall. Tickets are $20 for ACO members and $25 for non-members, available at 372-2210 or at the door or at https://tickets.cobourg.ca/
Refreshments and wine will be available at intermission.
