Vancouvers oldest schoolhouse was one meeting away from demolition. The province had already committed $75,000 to flatten its charred remains. Then the artistic director of Green Thumb Theatres wife, actress Leslie Jones, read an article about the building in the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News and told her husband, Patrick McDonald, shed found the company that produces educational plays for elementary and high school students a home.
McDonald phoned Carleton teacher Scott MacDonald whod worked to delay the old schoolhouses demolition and 10 days later McDonald pitched restoring two adjacent Carleton buildings for Green Thumb to the Vancouver School Board.
Green Thumb launched a capital campaign in 2011 to raise $1 million for the project.
The historic Carleton Hall reopened after an environmentally friendly retrofit, a restoration of its exterior heritage character and with two large modern rehearsal studios inside last week.
Its not very often in this day and age where a new facility is opened, said McDonald. And so to have two new buildings, a 1908 building and the 1896, the oldest schoolhouse in Vancouver that was charred beyond ruins, restored for community use and for arts use, its a huge addition to the arts scene in Vancouver in terms of smaller groups, in particular, having accessible, wonderful space, not accessible basements somewhere.
The nearly 40-year-old award-winning theatre company holds a 20-year lease on the space. McDonald said a local choir is interested to rent the small hall every Sunday for the next year and professional theatre companies have already rented rehearsal space for their upcoming seasons.
Green Thumb intends to offer classes to youth in dance, acting, playwriting, directing, set and costume design in a year.
The project cost $1.5 million and was aided with money from the federal, provincial and city governments. Green Thumb needs to raise $200,000 to see its debt disappear.
crossi@vancourier.com
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