Three panels depicting the history and architecture of Woodlands School will be unveiled in the spring, but it’s too soon to tell the individual stories of those involved with the institution.
A task force has been working on concepts for interpretive panels that will find a home at the former Woodlands site. Three panels – called Architecture, Decision-making and From Asylum to Community Panels – will be unveiled in the spring at a ceremony at city hall.
The Centre Block Tower task force, which reviewed the four interpretive panels proposed, suggested the Individual Voices panel be eliminated for the time being.
While the proposed Individual Voices panel contained some important content, the task force felt it would be better to take a step back and wait before approving content for that panel, said John Stark, the city’s senior social planner. He noted that Woodlands still invokes bad memories for some of the former residents of Woodlands School.
“To deal with something like this is emotional at the least,” said Mayor Wayne Wright. “The individuals you are talking to, they are still living. The things they have some gone through…”
Stark said there may be an opportunity to revisit the Individual Voices panel in future years, but the memories are too fresh to be included in the panels at this time.
New Westminster city council previously approved the use of up to $20,000 from the $600,000 contribution made by the Onni Group of Companies to the city’s heritage fund for the creation of interpretive panels.
“I think it was a very positive move forward,” said Coun. Betty McIntosh. “It will be really good to see these panels, and get them into place.”
New Westminster city council recently approved the text that will be included on the panels.
“The panels, based on the revised text as endorsed by council, need to be reformatted. This will take about six to eight weeks,” Stark said. “After reformatting, there will be an unveiling ceremony at a regular council meeting. This ceremony will involve task force members.”
Richard McDonald, a former Woodlands resident and a member of the task force, wants to ensure the panels tell the true story of Woodlands.
“It’s a very good thing,” he said about the project. “I don’t want no fabrication on them.”
McDonald told The Record he looks forward to the day when the panels are unveiled for the public to see, as they’ll provide legacy to those who lived in Woodlands.
The Woodlands Centre Block was destroyed by fire in 2008, with only the tower left standing. While the city had originally intended to retain the tower, it later approved its demolition – a move encouraged by many former Woodlands’ residents and organizations seeking closure for residents.
On Oct. 18, 2011 a demolition ceremony took place at the Woodlands site. Following some emotional speeches by former residents, demolition of the Centre Block tower got underway – to cheers from those gathered at the site.
McDonald, a member of the We Survived Woodlands group and numerous advocacy groups, had the honour of giving the command to start the demolition of the Centre Block tower.
Julie Schueck, the city’s heritage planner, said the panels will go up on the former Centre Block site at Victoria Hill once the new development is completed. The interpretative panels will be incorporated into an area that includes benches for relaxation and reflection.
“In terms of their exact location, the panels will be placed at the front edge of the development site, on the south edge. The idea is that if you are standing reading the panels, you can look straight ahead to where the entry tower used to be,” Schueck wrote in an email to The Record. “The entry tower foundation will be outlined in granite, flush with the ground, as part of the landscaping of the development. People will be able to walk up to see the foundation outline.”
