Keep an eye out for heritage photos around town that tell a Chilliwack story.
Six utility kiosks are set to be wrapped with historically significant images after a vote by council on Tuesday.
“Our existing kiosk-wrapping program has been successful at deterring vandalism and brightening public spaces,” said Mayor Popove. “Being able to blend this program with a celebration of Chilliwack’s heritage is a small way to achieve a big win for our city.”
One of the photographs depicts a military event at the former City Hall, now the Chilliwack Museum, with a sea of soldiers on the grounds. That image will be wrapping a kiosk on Railway Avenue at Young Road.
A kiosk on Progress Way near Lickman Road will be covered with an image of a Ts’elxwéyeqw woman in a canoe.
The four other locations include Wellington Avenue near College Street (Strand Theatre), Yarrow Central Road across from Yarrow Pioneer Park (Tractors on the floor of Sumas Lake), Vedder Road near Storey Avenue (General Store) and Yale Road in Chilliwack Proper (Chinatown 1948 Flood).
READ MORE: Wraps are doing a good job
Council approved the Heritage Advisory Committee recommendation to wrap six kiosks with meaningful images to promote Chilliwack heritage and beautify the area at the same time.
“We conducted extensive community consultation as part of the Heritage Strategic Plan development process, and it quickly became clear that there is a deep, shared desire in the community to learn more about our city’s rich heritage,” said Councillor Sue Knott, chair of the heritage advisory committee in a release.
The committee decided the kiosk wrapping program would be “an excellent opportunity to share more of our heritage” with residents of Chilliwack, she said.
In 2017, council approved the wrapping of 12 city-owned kiosks and 13 utility kiosks. Beautiful images of flowers and trees from parks and trails around the community now decorate those boxes.
Each image or photo goes through an approval process with either the heritage advisory committee, or the public art advisory committee, Chilliwack city council and BC Hydro to ensure it has some relevance to the location.
READ MORE: One of the wrap designs came from a contest
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