BY MARK WEBER
Lacombe Express
Lacombe City council passed second and third readings approving the designation of both the Michener House and the Kanngiesser Building as Municipal Historic Resources during the regular meeting this past Monday evening.
First readings were granted at a council meeting in June.
Council approved designation of the Michener House which, according to council notes, is the oldest remaining documented building in Lacombe.
Once a building or site is designated as a Municipal Historical Resource, that building or site will be preserved and protected. Any alterations must be approved by the council-appointed Heritage Resources Committee through a formal application process.
Since 2009, the City has worked toward documenting heritage resources in the community through the creation of a Municipal Heritage Survey and a Municipal Heritage Inventory.
This past January, the owner of the Kanngiesser Building submitted an application to designate the site as a Municipal Historic Resource. According to council notes, the building was constructed in 1907 as part of the triangular flatiron block and has a long history as a department and clothing store.
According to notes, the building is also typical of Alberta’s early commercial design, featuring the division of the façade into a main floor with recessed entrances, large display windows surmounted by transoms and bulkheads; a second storey separated from the first by sign bands and featuring the symmetrical arrangement of multi-paned windows and crowning cornices surmounted by parapets and a central pediment.
And finally, in March, the Lacombe and District Historical Society submitted an application to designate the Michener House site as a Municipal Historical Resource as well.
The original building was constructed in 1894 and served as a manse to the Grace Methodist Church until 1922.
The Michener House, as mentioned, is the oldest remaining documented building in Lacombe and is an example of early residential architecture in the City of Lacombe.
editor@reddeerexpress.com