NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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The Ontario Historical Society is pleased to present the 2018 Heritage Conservation Award to Kirk Roberts and Peregrine Wood, for their lead in the Tyrcathlen Partnership, which undertook The Petrie Building Restoration in Guelph.
The Heritage Conservation Award recognizes an exceptional contribution toward the conservation, preservation, or restoration of a built-heritage or natural-heritage site in Ontario.
Built in 1882, the Petrie Building is the last machine-stamped metal-clad building in Canada. It is also one of only three metal buildings constructed prior to 1890 with full metal facades. Prior to the restoration, the structure was labelled as one of the National Trust’s top-ten most endangered buildings. At the time of the restoration, some parts of the upper floors of the structure had been vacant for nearly a century.
In 2015, Mr. Roberts and Ms. Wood brokered the purchase of the Petrie Building and undertook a three-year restoration project to bring the building back to its former splendor.
This effort included a year-and- a-half of in-depth research and professional consultation, undertaken to ensure accuracy and quality in the restoration effort. A successful fundraising drive enabled the significant repair and restructuring work to begin.
Particular restoration was required on the upper façade of the building, which had suffered decades of damage from exposure to weather and neglect. This restoration effort
also provided valuable training and practical experience to students from the Willowbank Restoration School in Niagara-on-the-Lake. After the years-long restoration project was completed, seven tenants were secured to inhabit the structure.
The project has been the recipient of a number of awards to date, including the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario’s Peter Stokes Restoration Award, which recognizes the exemplary restoration of a significant heritage structure.
The Ontario Historical Society is pleased to present the Heritage Conservation Award to Kirk Roberts and Peregrine Wood for the restoration of The Petrie Building.
Founded in 1888, the Ontario Historical Society is a not-for-profit corporation and registered charity dedicated to the preservation and celebration of Ontario’s history for people of all ages and cultural backgrounds.
To learn more about the OHS’s Honours and Awards Program, or to submit a nomination, please visit the awards page.
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