Heritage Acton is gearing up to mark a milestone at its beloved Acton Town Hall Centre.
The local group will host a special evening on Saturday (Oct. 21) to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Citizens Hall - a large addition on the south side of the Town Hall building.
A three-course meal served by chef Dale McCarthy and music by jazz/pop vocal artist Adi Braun awaits those who want to enrich the senses while appreciating local history. Doors open at 5:45 p.m, with dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased here and in person at Acton Optical.
In 2010, renovations on the original Acton the Town Hall Centre - a formerly derelict historical building - were completed. Lloyd and Anne McIntyre of Heritage Acton celebrated that occasion the best way they knew how, by getting the band back together.
“Anne and I had both played in a rock and roll band back in the '60s and '70s,” Lloyd said.
The group, dubbed The Shanes, reunited to play at the opening of the renovated Town Hall Centre.
But celebrating quickly turned into looking at the future. As the older building lacked modern amenities, accessibility fast became an obstacle. There was no way for people with mobility issues to enter the upper level of the building.
As the Town Hall Centre’s Willow Room and stage, Bower Room and Mill Meeting Room, among others, are all major bookable venues, this was a considerable problem.
A plan was hatched to create an addition to the Town Hall Centre, going on to become the Citizens Hall. It boasts an elevator to provide accessibility, with the shaft surrounded by red brick having an unexpected benefit - it became a popular spot for wedding photos.
Some interesting details around the building are waiting to be found by those who know where to look. The two clock faces - one inside the Citizens Hall, and the other outside on the facade of the addition - used to belong to the now torn down Acton post office, located just around the corner from the Town Hall Centre.
“The wife of the owner of the Acton Free Press was watching it being torn down. She retrieved the two clock faces and stored them,” Anne McIntyre said. The clock faces spent some time in a Milton museum before coming to the Town Hall.
The stately Town Hall was erected at 19 Willow St. in 1883. It housed the local council chamber, constable’s office, jail and firehall. There it functioned in service to the people until the '70s.
The 1974 creation of Halton Hills amalgamated Acton with Georgetown and various surrounding hamlets. But it was also a dissolution of Acton’s local government, which left the building unused.
A group of local citizens - who eventually formed Heritage Acton - saved the building from demolition that same decade.
For further details, visit actontownhallcentre.ca.
