Report to discuss removal or relocation of gazebo and sculpture at Old Boy’s Entrance
Administrator | Jul 06, 2025 | Comments 2
By Sharon Harrison
The gazebo and inukshuk sculpture adjacent to the Old Boy’s Memorial Entrance on Picton Main Street at the Picton Fairgrounds site, was on the agenda at the recent built and cultural heritage advisory committee meeting.
The committee discussed a request received from County resident and former councillor Ernie Margetson regarding the Old Boys’ Memorial Entrance, a designated heritage building. He suggested the adjacent gazebo and stylized inukshuk be removed, “so as not to crowd the building with inappropriate clutter or compromise the aspect from Main Street of this designated structure”.
Margetson explained in his request how the gazebo and inukshuk sculpture were built for the Olympic torch relay in December 2009 – the inukshuk being the symbol of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
“I believe they were only intended for the ceremony at that time, largely held within the Fairgrounds, and not intended to remain indefinitely; they just don’t fit there anymore.”
He said, it might be an appropriate time to move on from that event, and “restore the dignity to this most worthy little building (Old Boys’ Memorial Entrance), and to remember those taken in the Great War.“
His request comes on the heels of the committee’s May meeting where the disrepair and deterioration of the Old Boys’ Memorial Entrance were outlined and discussed at length, along with what repairs may entail. (Story linked below.)
Discussion ensued on how far they should be moved, and where they should be moved to, something committee chair Sandy Latchford said should be well thought out and reasoned.
“What’s interesting here is, we have three features close together, which are therefore very different; the Old Boys’ Entrance has been there forever, the gazebo was put up in 2009 for a specific purpose, and the inukshuk then in 2010 for a specific purpose,” noted councillor John Hirsch. “I‘m no expert, but how does heritage legislation deal with that, and the potential to move a couple of those features, so the Old Boys’ Entrance can be more like it used to be?”
Committee member Edwin Rowse said he didn’t think they were approved at the time, and were put up as a temporary installation.
“I would not remove them from the site for reasons to other people’s sensitivities, and commemoration even of those particular events that took place on the site,” said Rowse. “I don’t personally have a feeling they impact very strongly on the value of the Old Boys’ Entrance building, but I have no objection if they want to move the gazebo and inukshuk a little further away, and perhaps put their own little commemorative plaque on them.”
Latchford said given how the Old Boys’ Entrance is a designated building, she doesn’t understand how they put the other (gazebo and inukshuk) so close to it back then.
“They were looking at it practicality because of the Olympic flame going by, which was coming through Picton, but it’s not a good match.”
Rowse said because the whole site (fairgrounds) is designated, approval would have to be obtained to remove the two pieces.
He said the two options are to stay as they are “and accept the small impact”, or to move them perhaps 10 or 15 metres away and set them up as their own commemoration of the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver.
Committee member Ross Hamilton suggested if they are moved, they don’t have to be moved far.
“To move them to some other location, I think would probably benefit both those items that were put up to commemorate the torch run, as well as the Old Boys Entrance, in terms of allowing both of them to have their own context and their own space,” expressed Hamilton, who added that the idea of a commemorative plaque for the 2009 touch run is a good one.
Bob Waldon, committee member, echoed Rowse’s comments about if they were removed, who else would be affected by them.
“It doesn’t strike me as a wise course of action to remove something without reaching out for some sort of consultation to ensure we don’t hit another problem,” said Waldon. “I like the idea of perhaps giving them a little space and some sort of interpretative plaque to explain why they are there, could be helpful.”
Latchford said she wanted to see a staff report, because this is a step beyond repairing the roof to protect the Old Boys’ entranceway from more rot and rain coming in.
“I would like to hear what the rationale is, and what are we going to do with the Old Boys’ Entrance, are we going to make that more functional to where it was when it was original or not; they virtually closed it down because the foot traffic didn’t go through there anymore, but it could, we need to get the bigger picture here for what’s happening for it, and for the sites.”
Latchford then spoke to if the gazebo and the inukshuk where to be moved, a decision would have to made on where on the fairgrounds they could be moved to, or move them somewhere else.
Rowse indicated how staff have advised that the gazebo has a potential future use as a green room for performances at the Crystal Palace, but noting that the first task is to get the roof fixed before looking at other repairs.
“For reasons of respect to these other two pieces, they should be moved not out of context of the existing immediate neighbourhood so they still can be seen; I don’t think they should be moved off-site, ” he said. “I don’t think they should be moved 150-metres away, I think they should be moved 10 or 15 metres. They are just very cheek-by-jowl of the Old Boy’s building.”
Hirsch said the gazebo, a wooden structure, looks like it’s starting to fall apart, and asked if someone is going to say they need to spend some money to restore it, whether it’s moved or not.
“It clearly has a historical function, and perhaps we do need some report from staff on what the future holds and what could be done to retain the sensitivities and yet be further away from Old Boys’ Entrance,” added Hirsch.
Waldon said the next step is to find out why they are there, what the purpose was, with some homework to be done before any recommendation or conclusion can be reached.
Ben Thornton, council and committee coordinator, suggested a staff report would typically provide some historical context on the original purpose and the thinking behind it.
The committee voted in favour of an amending motion that council direct staff to explore the relocation or removal of the gazebo and inuksuk sculpture, and return to a future built and cultural heritage advisory committee meeting with recommendations.
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The ‘County Fairgrounds’ is a designated and protected property (all four buildings: Crystal Palace, Fruit Barn, Grandstand, and the Old Boys Memorial Entrance).It is my understanding that the property is designated and protected, not just the stand-alone individual buildings. As such, any new changes to the heritage fabric of the property should be first reviewed by the Cultural and Built Heritage Advisory Committee, which will advise County Council. Typically, “Heritage Impact Statements” are needed for such changes. Was this protocol followed when the gazebo and inukshuk were installed? I wonder. Today, these one-time use structures confuse the integrity of the heritage site. They distract from the Memorial Entrance (while its maintenance is neglected). Finally, they greatly interfere with the cultural heritage viewscape of a generally cohesive collection of late 19th and early 20th-century fairground buildings. These recent additions have no relevance to the long history of the agricultural fair on this site. The one-time installations have served their purpose, and should be placed elsewhere, where they do not detract from the Crystal Palace/Fruit Barn/Memorial Entrance/Grandstand environs. They are incongruous. There should be no need to seek a staff report for the removal: they are not identified on the Official Reasons For Designation”. Do these installations even belong in a heritage-designated setting? I don’t believe so.
The gazebo and inukshuk never should have been sited where they are. They had nothing to do with the Old Boys entrance and certainly did not add to it. How many people today have any idea of what they commemorate? Nice that there is discussion of a plaque for them. Far more important and long overdue is a plaque explaining who the Old Boys were and what the gateway memorializes. The fairgrounds is a big property with lots of room to site the inukshuk and the gazebo elsewhere in their own space where they do not detract from heritage buildings. By the time council figures out what to do about the Old Boys entrance and actually acts the ticket booth is likely to have succumbed to the ravages of time. Either put the inukshuk somewhere else on the fairgrounds or move it to the parkette beside Shire Hall. The memorial gateway should be front and centre.