Every year for almost two decades, the Downtown BIA has immortalized a famous Barrie building in its Christmas ornament collection. For Year 17, it was Prince of Wales Public School’s turn.
The engraved pewter decoration featuring the former school on Bradford Street hearkens back to a long-gone era, as a horse and sleigh sit dormant in front of the structure, which today is a shell of its former self.
Only the four exterior walls remain standing today, as developers say they plan to incorporate the building into an open-air educational garden.
But for the purposes of the BIA’s ornament, it should conjure up memories of Christmases past.
“The key is we try to find a building that is obviously significant to downtown,” Stacey Zubczyk, the Downtown BIA’s office and events administrator, tells BarrieToday.
Prince of Wales closed in 2011.
“Every year we keep a list of buildings that are in the news, and obviously with Prince of Wales, just like last year with Barrie Central Collegiate, they just were so timely,” she added.
The ornaments were first issued in 2002 with the Allandale Railway Station, followed by Old Town Hall & Market Place (2003), Royal Victoria Hospital (2004), Carnegie Library (2005), Barrie Fire Hall (2006), The Opera House (2007), Wellington Hotel (2008), Barrie Arena (2009), Mulcaster Street Armoury (2010), Simcoe Hotel (2011), Memorial Square (2012), Barrie Central Collegiate (2013), Steele’s China and Gift Shop (2014), Court House Hill (2015), Old Barrie Gaol (2016) and the Queen’s Hotel (2017).
“These are all buildings that capture a moment in time of the downtown,” Zubczyk said.
Creating each year’s ornament is no easy task, and usually begins at the end of the summer.
The first step is the simple idea, which often comes from a running list, Zubczyk said, followed by “diving into the history” of the building and then locating a historic picture from several years ago to use for the engraving.
The picture used for the Prince of Wales engraving is from around the turn of the last century.
Downtown BIA staff then begins writing drafts for the text that appears on the back of the ornament, something which wasn’t included the first few years they were issued, instead included on an accompanying card. The manufacturer now engraves the information on the back for later editions.
“The history is really what makes them, because it’s all in your hand,” Zubczyk said.
“There’s not a lot of room,” she added. “It’s right to the point, so you want to capture the significance in about 199 words at the most and it might even be less than that. You don’t want to lose out on the significance because you are limited (to space).”
Several drafts later, the ornament begins to take shape.
It’s then sent to a company in London, Ont., where it’s mocked up, followed by a prototype and eventual manufacture featuring a three-dimensional relief.
“Most of the time they nail it and we’re quite pleased,” said Zubczyk, adding there have been some instances where some tinkering was required.
The finished product, which is limited to approximately 500, came back in late-November and were quickly distributed to various businesses for sale.
“I think it’s gorgeous,” Zubczyk said. “We don’t call it necessarily a Christmas ornament, because really you can purchase them at any time. But when you do have a winter scene like this with the sleigh, how could it not become a Christmas ornament? It just so happens that this one captures the holidays and the Christmas spirit.”
In years past, the ornaments may reflect a building that has long since been torn down, although the BIA has been shying away from that. There are some examples of a razed building, however, such as the former Steele’s China Gift Shop on Collier Street and Bayfield Street.
Other examples include Memorial Square before its redevelopment, with the scene also including the Station Gore and the old Post Office building, as well as the Wellington Hotel at the Five Points, which burned down in December 2007.
“When I look at the ornament, it’s a happy time, but it’s a significant time,” Zubczyk, a former radio reporter, said of the Wellington Hotel ornament.
When asked if she has a favourite, Zubczyk says she’d lean toward Memorial Square, because “it captures more than just the significance of one piece.”
Individual ornaments cost $17.50 and are available at several downtown shops. The set of 17 ornaments, including this year’s Prince of Wales, is $189.99.
Money raised through ornament sales goes back to the businesses and the Downtown BIA.
“It’s not about us, it’s about driving people downtown,” Zubczyk said. “This is another way to get people into the retailers that sell them.”
The BIA is always looking for new ideas.
“Not that we want to switch up the program, but it would be interesting to get people’s feedback, maybe when we get to Year 20,” she said. “Do we continue with the significant buildings? Or do we do a spin on it?”
The original box only had room for 10 ornaments, so things have grown far beyond what the BIA originally expected.
“We didn’t really anticipate that this would be so popular and that it would go on to be Year 17,” Zubczyk said.
