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Curley pushes for statue at the 'White House'

When city council was presented with a plan to distribute historical statues and artifacts around Timmins, there was an obvious omission to Ward 2 Councillor John Curley.

When city council was presented with a plan to distribute historical statues and artifacts around Timmins, there was an obvious omission to Ward 2 Councillor John Curley.

At the city council meeting on July 28, Paul Loreto of L360 Architecture outlined his proposal for the Gold Mine Tour asset relocation.

The sites that were chosen for statues were Victor M. Power Airport, Golden Manor, the Timmins Police Services building, Bannerman Park, Timmins Public Library and the Timmins Chamber of Commerce building.

Loreto explained that these sites were chosen based on criteria such as location and the ability to optimize the Timmins Self-Guided Geo Tour.

“What we did is we put them to a review of criteria based on visibility, availability of site, low maintenance costs, environmental issues, security and historical context” said Loreto.

Curley asked Loreto about the lack of a statue in South Porcupine.

“One site I was really hoping to see something is what’s known as ‘The White House’. That was the township building, the police building, and actually some of the furniture in City Hall today came from that building. There is a lot of history that comes from the Tisdale area. The Dome mine has been in operation for over 100 years is in that area. There’s nothing being placed in that community” noted Curley.

Loreto explained to Curley that there were several factors for the site’s omission.

“We looked at that building, we know the prevalence of that building, and the only reason it failed in terms of score was its close proximity to the main thoroughfare, the salt on the statues and the maintenance. If that is not a concern, it definitely is a site we could re-consider. The maintenance aspect of it was the main concern for us, but we knew that would be a very, very hot point at council,” explained Loreto.

Curley later spoke to TimminsToday and elaborated on the significance of the 75 year old building.

“It was built in 1939. It was everything for the community. It was the municipal offices, the police and the courts. Everything was under one roof, and it served quite well until amalgamation. The owners are doing more and more to upgrade the building. We have the time capsule here and a statue would really help” he said.

As for the concerns of L360 regarding the site, Curley said that the issue of road salt would affect many of the other proposed sites including the Victor 

M. Power airport. 

City council awaits the final decision on the placement of the statues, which will be announced in the near future. 

The next council meeting takes place on August 25.

(PHOTO: The 'White House' is pictured. Andrew Autio for TimminsToday)