Town council introduced a notice of intention at its Aug. 26 meeting to designate the building housing the Different Strokes art gallery on 50 Avenue as a Municipal Historic Resource.
Once 60 days has passed, town council may declare the building a Municipal Historic Resource and protect it through bylaw. After that time, the building's owner, Henry Sonnenberg, may apply for matching funding to the provincial government to refurbish the building to its 1920s character. The town has already designated nine other buildings as Municipal Historic Resources in Olds, four of which are on 50 Avenue.
Michelle Jorgensen, the town's heritage advisor, said the property holds significance as one of the buildings that was reconstructed following a major fire in 1922 that destroyed all but two buildings along 50 Avenue. Robert Armstrong rebuilt the structure later that year and operated a bakery out of the building.
“The 1922 Armstrong Bakery building is significant for its association with the post-fire reconstruction of Olds and for its association with continued commercial development in Olds,” Jorgensen said.
The building was one of 25 structures in town placed on the Olds Heritage Inventory in 2008.
Sonnenberg said wooden-framed windows and the wooden floor in the back of the building have yet to be restored to their original character.
He is eligible to receive matching funding from the provincial government for the window improvements.
“It benefits the downtown to get all these buildings restored,” Sonnenberg said.
