A good idea never gets old and W. Allen Fisher would be proud to see his legacy will live on.
W.A. Fisher Auditorium, the last remnant standing of the venerable Barrie Central Collegiate Institute on Dunlop Street West, was home to the school’s legendary concert band, which Fisher (a member of the Order of Canada) founded.
That's not to mention the innumerable other concerts, plays and community gatherings that brought residents and students together in the 650-seat facility over the years.
Central’s history is more than bricks and mortar and the grounds around the former high school — now levelled — are clearly changing.
The site is large and involves two separate ownership groups. The city owns and will develop the Dunlop Street West frontage area just west of High and Bradford streets — where Fisher Auditorium sits — and HIP Developments owns and will develop the Bradford Street frontage and former Red Storey Field portion of the site, which is the former sports field behind the school and near the current Barrie Fire and Emergency Services facility.
HIP’s current proposal for its portion of the site, which will be considered by the city’s planning committee on March 3, includes 600 rental apartments in three buildings, two 20-storey buildings and a 10-storey building and the site will also be home to Barrie’s new YMCA.
But the Fisher Auditorium remains standing, and will stay that way, although how its future and the surrounding property will eventually unfold might not be quite certain, yet.
City staff are confirming what the size, layout and design of the proposed Fisher facility will be “based on market feasibility, user groups and potential funding opportunities,” according to Andrea Miller, Barrie’s general manager of infrastructure and growth.
“We are working with an architect to refine a conceptual design for the facility, incorporating feedback from council and the stakeholder community,” she says in an email to BarrieToday.
But the history-laden auditorium has a place in the downtown’s future, she adds.
“The intent is for the existing Fisher Auditorium to be re-purposed to house a theatre to accommodate approximately 650 seats in addition to some meeting/conference space. At a minimum, the ‘bones’ of Fisher are intended to be retained. Design work that is currently underway will determine how much of the existing Fisher can be used," says Miller.
Development of the sites is not tied together, although the city continues to seek co-ordination and collaboration to achieve the desired outcome of a “well-planned and community hub” for the western area of the downtown, Miller adds.
“The city’s parcel represents a key gateway into our downtown and the development on the adjacent lands is proposed to be the home to hundreds of residents and also the new Barrie YMCA,” she says. “The Fisher project provides opportunity for residents to engage in theatre and other key events and public spaces in the downtown core.
“It has the potential to enhance a large-capacity performance space in the downtown core: a space that has long been featured in the city’s Cultural Master Plan from 2006,” Miller says. “The City of Barrie does not currently have a large capacity theatre or events centre in the downtown core and relies on the lease of the Georgian Theatre to support large audience performances.
"The downtown location can deliver opportunities for economic benefits from associated retail and restaurant spending by audiences that can support the arts and culture scene," she adds. "There may also be the ability to attract a broader range of performances.”
That’s good news to Iain Moggach, Theatre by the Bay’s artistic director, who says he’s looking forward to seeing the how the ‘new’ Fisher comes to fruition. He sits on the city’s steering committee involving a group of volunteers from the arts community who are providing input into how the building might eventually look like and what it might entail.
“A renovation, a restoration perhaps, a re-imagination: I am extremely excited about it,” he says of the Fisher’s future. “It’s exactly what our community has been looking forward to for quite some time.
“Anybody who has attended live performances in the community knows there’s really only been the Five Points Theatre (downtown) and Georgian Theatre, with Georgian being the much bigger of the two. Having the W.A. Fisher restored, rejuvenated, whatever you want to use — and as a separate entity — I think is incredibly exciting and important for the growth of our community.
