After two years of renovation, the old Delta museum has been given a face lift and new purpose.
On Saturday, Feb. 24, the City of Delta held the grand opening of the new Ladner Community Police Station at the old Delta Museum building (4858 Delta Street).
“Today I feel it’s a little bit like Christmas day,” Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord said at the ceremony, “because I’ve had a present under the tree for two years now and I finally get to open it.”
The building was originally constructed in 1912 as the municipal hall for Delta, and contained a number of public services, including a police station, school board offices and part-time morgue. In 1969, the building was turned into the Delta Museum.
“The building has come full circle,” Mayor Lois Jackson said. “First it was a municipal hall, a police station, then a museum and archives. And now we’re back to a municipal facility.”
In 2016, the historic building underwent an extensive rehabilitation project, stemming from concerns about the settlement of the building and noticeable cracks in the walls.
“We knew we had to preserve this heritage jewel, and we worked long and hard to make this happen,” Jackson said during the opening. “This building is a proud symbol of the origins of civic government in Delta.”
In total, the renovation cost over $2.5 million, with $2 million coming from the City of Delta, $500,000 from the federal Western Economic Diversification fund and $50,000 from the federal Enabling Accessibility fund.
The renovation included structural and aesthetic work, as well as the inclusion of two public washrooms and an elevator.
Although the historic museum building is now a police station, the museum exhibits should soon have a new home on Clarence Taylor Crescent, next to the current city hall. An opening date was originally set for March 2018, although last May Delta’s culture and museum services manager Reg Wilford called that an ambitious start date.
RELATED: New Delta museum to be focused on engagement
editor@northdeltareporter.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter