Heritage Vancouver president Donald Luxton wins provincial heritage award

One of Vancouver's most dedicated heritage advocates, Donald Luxton, has won an award from the B.C. government.

Tourism, Culture and the Arts Minister Bill Bennett announced this weekend that Luxton is the winner of the 2009 British Columbia Heritage Award, which is given annually.

The province includes a $10,000 grant to a heritage-related nonprofit organization selected by the recipient. Luxton chose Heritage Vancouver, of which he is president.

Each year, Heritage Vancouver releases a list of the top 10 endangered heritage sites in the city.

This year, the 102-year-old Pantages Theatre at 150 East Hastings Street topped the list, followed by Kitsilano secondary school, which was built in 1928, and historic projects in Gastown, Chinatown, and along Hastings Street.

Luxton, a writer and a heritage consultant, has also been an outspoken advocate of preserving the Burrard Bridge.

In 2007, he blew the whistle on how the city underestimated the cost of widening the bridge deck by nearly $40 million. He was vindicated by a city report that was released the following year.

Comments

1 Comments

Theo

Jun 17, 2009 at 10:21pm

Why does Vancouver constantly allow be it's history to demolished?