Members of an association in Cranberry have almost completed renovations on a piece of Powell River history and now they are asking for the public’s help to find old pictures of the 63-year-old building.
Ann Trousdell is on the Cranberry Hall Association’s board and she and other board members have spent weekends over the last six weeks working on an interior renovation project.
“Out-of-town musicians come here and love it because it’s just the right size for acoustic contemporary music,” said Trousdell. A number of musicians have commented that everywhere across the country small community halls are disappearing, she added.
Cranberry Community Hall, built in 1951, has seen a wide variety of uses over the years, said board member Pamela Brown. The hall is located at 6828 Cranberry Street. When it was built, its original use was as a pool hall/candy store/barber shop. It has been used by a variety of groups including the fraternal order of the Knights of Pythias and the Pythian Sisters, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Unitarians. Recently though it has become a popular venue for coffee houses, spoken word recitals and acoustic music concerts.
Powell River Public Library has used the space to hold its poetry slams and 420-word story night, said board member Sonia Zagwyn. Community choirs and a Celtic fiddle group also regularly use the space.
Hosting monthly coffee house events at the hall again is another hope of the association.
“Ultimately we’d like it if more people are aware we’re here,” said Trousdell. “Also we need funding to keep going.” The association recently completed putting a new roof and deck on the building. Now it is looking at having new gutters installed.
“It’s kind of an endless task to keep up an old building,” she added.
Volunteers took down the large mirrors, gave the walls some fresh paint and added in some trim around the hall to make it easier to hang pictures and other improvements. The association also recently bought new chairs.
The hall has a capacity of 70 people, which makes it perfect for smaller shows, said board member Jo Seidl. “You get 70 people in here and it’s packed elbow to elbow and you feel like you’re the hottest thing,” she added.
Trousdell said she hopes that once the venue is complete, it will be booked this summer for smaller PRISMA (Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy) and International Choral Kathaumixw shows and as a rehearsal space.
The association’s website provides the hall’s calendar and information about how to book the venue for events. The association has charitable status.
Readers can contact Trousdell 604.483.8954 if they have old photos and stories to share about the hall.
