ieritage hound Jack Watts fights in the present to save the past for the future ‘Evelyn Jacob SPOTLIGHT FEATURE HEY CALL him Mr. Heritage. Jack Watts’ family history is so tightly bound up in the de- velopment of the local ship- building industry it might be more fitting to call him Mr. Shipwright. “(like to say that my grandfa- ther was the second boat-builder in Vancouver after the natives,”’ declares the snowy-haired Watts. ' His grandfather was a pleasure craft builder who founded Watts and Trott at Coal Harbour (which became Vancouver Shipyards in 1900). He learned to love the sea and everything associated with it from his father -- Watts’ great- grandfather — who was also a ship-builder. . ‘Jack Watts hasn’t gone the way of his patriarchs, but he has fought to preserve his birthright. A past director of Vancouver's Maritime Museum and Heritage - Society of B.C.,.Watts has been one of the North Shore's most dili- - gent workers in the ongoing" challenge to preserve the built en- vironment. He fought hard to save the Stoker farm at-29th and Lonsdale from demolition (he lost the fight however, when the farm was raz- ed in September 1986) and the 83-year-old Harbour Manor — North Vancouver's first apartment building — which still stands to- ja Uy And while Watts believes great strides have been made in some of B.C.’s smaller communities, he says urban centres aren't doing enough to save the best examples of heritage architecture. “Our heritage is important because it tells the history of our - past, how we lived, communi-. cated. If we don’t save it, how will we be able to illustrate it? “You can talk about it in ~ books, but | believe the best ex- amples from every period should CORRECTION NOTICE In our BS-4A Home Sale flyer, York Powerflex 220 Home Gym & York Folding Stepper prices on page 5 are reversed ~~ Home Gym should read “Our reg. 199.99. Sale 139.99 each” & Stepper should read “Our reg. 159.99. Sale Price 129.99 each.” In our B8-1 Fall Fashion flyer, Suede Handbags on page 27; Boys’ Rugby Shirts, Canvas Pants on page 34 will be late - sainchecks will be available at the store. In cur 88-1B One Day Sale flyer, Door Crasher Kids’ Seersucker PJ's on page 1 are in limited quantities — will be substituted at the store. Already Low-Priced Fine China on page 8 is only 10% off — not An Extra 10%. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. be preserved, just as the best art from every era is saved.” The demise of the Georgia Medical Building and the rise of the structure that stands in its - place is a prime example of what Watts says should never happen. “1 don’t always like what f see,” he says, calling Cathedral Place ‘‘a horrendous thievery of the original structure and a “god-awful mix of architectural styles.” While Watts has witnessed a considerable loss of heritage buildings, he considers West Van- cuuver's Gertrude Lawson Hause/Museum an unquesticnable “win,” along with the Vance House in North Vancouve;. But there are remaining challenges. The most important being, in his mind, the preserva- tion of North Vancouver's Burrard NEWS photo Pau! MeGrath | JACK WATTS has been one of the North Shore's most diligent workers on the heritage front. Watts, an interior designer himself; has managed to sniff out various engaging tidbits about the house, a modest (for Shaughnessy) 1910 arts-and-crafts-style structure Gé Jack Watts hasn't gone the way of his patriarchs, but he has fought to preserve his birthright. 99 Dry Dock. “A lot of it is worth preserving - no matter what goes in there ... when you consicler the number of people employed there during the war (roughly 20,000), it was North Vancouver's biggest employer.” After years of invelvement, Watts has taken a break from championing heritage issues. . These days he is up to his ears.in paperwork researching the history of the old CPR home at 1575 Laurier St. in Shaughnessy, this year’s Designer Home ‘93. Organized by the Interior De- signers’ Institute of B.C. as a fund- raiser for the Junior League of Greater Vancouver, the idea is to showcase the work of the pro- vince’s top designers as well as romoting renovation over demo- ition. which in its day sold for $3,000. The grassroots group fighting to preserve houses like the designer home has been one of Van- couver'’s mosi vocal, but just how successful it has been, says Watts, is still unclear, “When | see that the house across from the designer home was torn down | question that ... the big problem, of course, is compensation: how can a person. afford to save a building? That has to be written into the new heritage legislation. “My own philosophy is, you Jose some and you win some,”’ he says stoically. ‘“What the preser- vationist movement has done is raise awareness among the public of saving our. past, and that’s what it’s all about. Because without a past, there’s no future.” One order, one invoice..: for up to 18 newspapers covering Hope to Whistler. Call your display advertising representative for more.information on how you |: can expand your market. 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