Delta will be celebrating the reopening of the fully renovated historic Municipal Hall building on Delta Street for new uses next weekend, so let’s head back through the decades with photos from the Delta Archives.
The photo below shows two men standing at an earlier Delta Municipal Hall on Elliott Street at Ladner's Landing. It was combined office and jail. From 1885 to 1894 the Town Hall further up Elliott Street was used for council meetings. In 1894 this building was erected at the foot of Elliott Street at the wharf for municipal council business. Council moved into the impressive new Delta Street Municipal Hall in 1913. The building at Ladner’s Landing was later used as Duncan Gilchrist's home and a storage shed.
Half brick and half timber, the new multi-gabled building was intended to be an imposing structure that reflected the wealth of the municipality, no less than the T.E. Ladner or Burr homes reflected the wealth of their owners.
The Wilkes James' totem pole was added in the early 1930s, and removed a few years ago after more than 80 years outside. The William Ladner Memorial Clock Tower was also added outside in 1932 and is still there today.
The new hall was built at cost of about $14,000. It contained the clerk's office, two large vaults, a spacious council chamber and the municipal engineer's office, all on the main floor. The ground floor housed a meeting room, police office and jail. The attic was large enough to be used eventually as living quarters for municipal clerk J. Percy Smith and his family.
Later additions at the rear included public toilets and the morgue. Former reeve Clarence Taylor said he regretted the building was not built at Memorial Park.
The building that stood next to the new hall was the home of Mrs. Rose Wilson, who rented it from the Catholic church. After her death the home was demolished and a new building was constructed that would have many different stores and restaurants over the decades.
The renovated Municipal Hall will now be home to a community police station with public washrooms. Here's a few more photos of the building over the many years.
Following the completion of the Deas Island Tunnel in 1959, Delta experienced remarkable growth. The need for a more spacious municipal building became increasingly apparent and on Nov. 1, 1968, the Corporation of Delta opened one in what has now become the civic precinct.
Discussions about establishing a museum in Delta began in 1958, although nothing much was done about it for almost a decade. However, with news of the municipality's intention to vacate the Delta Street building, the efforts of the Delta Historical and Museum Society became focused on taking over the old building.
On Nov. 10, 1969, then premier W.A.C. Bennett officially opened the Delta Historical Museum. The archives opened 10 years later.
The museum has now vacated and a new museum called the Delta Cultural Centre will open next year at the Ladner civic precinct.
The grand reopening of the historic Delta Municipal Hall will be held Saturday, Feb. 24 at 11 a.m., 4858 Delta Street.
