One of Manitoba’s most significant agricultural buildings may soon be renovated because the federal government has committed $425,000 to restore Brandon’s Dominion Exhibition Display Building No. 2., a national historic site and rare example of prairie architecture.
“This building is a symbol of the excellence of agriculture that has been an important mainstay of Brandon,” said Karen Oliver, general manager of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba.
The domed building located on the provincial exhibition grounds was constructed for the Dominion Fair, held in Brandon in 1913.
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After that exhibition, it was used for years as a display space for the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, the Manitoba Summer Fair and the Manitoba Livestock Expo.
However, it is now used for storage and the exhibition hall has deteriorated. There are holes in the walls and the building is in danger of collapse.
High risk
Earlier this summer, the Heritage Canada Foundation placed the display building in its top 10 most endangered places in the country.
“This is the only building remaining in Canada from the Dominion Fairs and we intend to return it to its former glory,” Stanley Cochrane, president of the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, said in a news release.
Parks Canada’s funding for the project, announced Aug. 13, is part of the federal government’s economic stimulus plan but will only cover a small portion of the building’s restoration, which is estimated at $7.5 million.
Fundraisers needed
Oliver said the $425,000 would provide a kick start for a fundraising campaign directed at other levels of government and private contributors.
The long-term goal is to use the building as office space for the provincial exhibition and other agricultural groups. As well, there are plans for a permanent agricultural exhibit.
“There will be a fairly large area that will be made into what we’re calling an agricultural experience,” Oliver said, explaining that it would provide an interactive and dynamic education for visitors.
Aside from the intent to create something unique, the project would also preserve a piece of Brandon’s history, Oliver noted.
“Like many cities of this vintage, we have failed to maintain a lot of our historic buildings,” she said.
“Here’s an opportunity to keep one that has a lot of significance and make it into a hive of activity for the agricultural community.”
Merv Tweed, MP for Brandon-Souris, said if all goes well the historic building could be open by 2013.
