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 鈥� and a few historic finds.
Jarrett Enns, construction lead for Algra Bros., has been supervising commercial sites for years.
鈥淏ut this is one is different because we are dealing with much older buildings,鈥� Enns.
They鈥檝e found some really cool vintage pieces, some from an old Woolworths store, and others from a building that once housed the Imperial Theatre.
鈥淔rom the walls we鈥檝e stripped off layers and layers,鈥� Enns said.
鈥淚t seems that back in the day people weren鈥檛 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.鈥�
Some items haven鈥檛 seen the light of day for decades 鈥� 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.
鈥淏ut now at this stage we鈥檙e getting into the real guts of it,鈥� Enns said.
Digging deep they came up with old tools, and lots of trash, like some empty tomato tins under the floor joists.
鈥淢ost of it we think they were just trying to dispose of as they were building,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut in other cases we think they were definitely trying to hide stuff.鈥�
The June 1969 edition of Playboy might fit the bill. The vintage magazine, with a rather tame cover by today鈥檚 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 tailor鈥檚 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 鈥渕edicine鈥� in relief alongside 鈥淟ydia E. Pinkham.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e been learning a lot more about glass bottles than I ever imagined,鈥� said Jon Kinneman, marketing and artdirector for Algra Bros. 鈥淛ust trying to figure out the connections, and how old they are and when they couldhave been put there.鈥�
Certain characteristics can help date the bottles, like makers鈥� marks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 fascinating what you can find out about a silly little bottle,鈥� 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 鈥渇emale complaints.鈥�
There were also several 鈥楳cdonald鈥檚 Nightcap Scotch鈥� bottles found, which apparently was a pretty popular libation in the U.S. during the 1920-33 when alcohol prohibition was in effect.
鈥淲e found about two dozen in the floor. Someone was really enjoying those,鈥� 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.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone has touched this stuff since the late 1920s,鈥� Enns said.
One of the buildings used to house Chilliwack鈥檚 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 鈥渕ost improvement shown in arithmatic鈥� by any student in the entrance class, according to the Progress in 1925. A 鈥済old eversharp鈥� 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 鈥淪vengali鈥檚 Magic Cards.鈥�
The concept of connecting a community to its history through redevelopment comes up in this Algra Bros. description of their ambitious project: 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a mall or a shopping centre.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the city鈥檚 downtown being rediscovered, reimagined, rebuilt and reconnected. Chilliwack is back 鈥� be a part of it.鈥�
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jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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