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A hope beyond
the shadow of a dream ...
John Keats, Endymion
_________________________
The Pas Regional Library is housed
in a building of unique design:
a town landmark for over seventy years.
This choice for the library's home gave new life
to a building whose history parallels the history
of The Pas itself.
Until the late 1950's, the present-day library building
was occupied by the town's power house,
weigh station, water plant and fire-hall.
The power house, the first for our town,
was a wood-frame structure built in 1913.
It housed a diesel unit which provided power
to the town from six in the morning to midnight.
At midnight, the main power switch
was turned off,causing the lights around town
to flicker and signaling the town residents
to either go to bed or light up their oil lamps.
As The Pas grew, it became obvious to town officials
that this power system would have to be replaced.
A new power house, the brick and concrete structure
that houses the library today, was designed by
Underwood and McClelland and built in 1928.
In 1959, the rights to distribute power to The Pas
were purchasedby the Manitoba Power Commission
and the power house, per se, became obsolete.
However, the building was given new life in 1966
when it was renovated to serve as
the Municipal Offices.
At this time, the engineering department,
council chambers and a welfare office
occupied the top floor of the building
while the main floor contained the town administration,
general office and a vault.
The rear of the building housed
the Regional Works department.
In 1973, a new town office was built and in 1974,
the Regional Works department took over
the entire power house building.
On January 7, 1975, The Pas Library Board
agreed to locate the proposed library
in the old power house.
By agreeing to use this structure, the Board felt
they would be providing The Pas residents
with a convenient and accessible library
in the downtown area and making good use
of a historic building.
As well, due to the nature of the building,
the Board had the opportunity to design a library
that would be unique to The Pas.
Large-scale renovations to the power house
began in 1975 and were financed in part by
a Department of Regional Economic Expansion
(DREE) grant and in part by
the Manitoba Department of Northern Affairs.
The overall cost of $300, 000 included furnishings,
special equipment and audio-visual materials,
as well as a comparatively large book budget.
GBR Associates (Architects and Engineers)
and Graham Construction Ltd. (General Contractors)
were responsible for all renovations necessary
to create an appealing, functional library for The Pas.
The library opened its doors to the public
on December 13, 1975.
In 1980, further renovations by local contractor
Simon Arsenault saw the completion of the rear portion
of the building: the Annex.
Funding for this stage
of the power house renovations which included
a multi-purpose room, board room, staff room,
archives room and supply room was provided by
the Town of The Pas and by
the Library (Rural) Capital Grant Program
sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs
and Historical Resources.
With renovations complete, the library was in full operation.
It was our intention that renovations to the interior
of the building would result in a warm, cheerful atmosphere
for library users:a contrast to the somber appearance
of the building's exterior.
In designing the interior, the combination
of indoor plants with a clever color scheme
of warm bright colors (yellows, oranges, reds)
and alternating arrangements of library furnishings
created a cozy and spacious feeling.
Rather than hide the evidence of history
in this older building, the ductwork was instead painted
in bright colors to complement
the rest of the interior.
To ensure access for all, ramps were installed
to provide for a gradual transition
from the ground floor to the mezzanine.
with numerous places along the way
to stop and browse or relax.
At present, the library has an inventory
of approximately 34,000 books.
Our library is a well-used facility.
Over 72% of the town's population are members
of the library,and that number increases every year.
There are also a large number of non-resident members.
The administration and staff
of The Pas Regional Library welcome all visitors
and are happy to offer assistance, answer questions,
provide tours of the facility
or show films or slides on the history of The Pas and area
on request.
______________________________________________________
See you soon at the library.
