I am immersed at the moment in researching the history of the Town hall and the buildings that were there before. Oh, how Porty has changed! The old map from 1894 shows the tram lines coming in from High Street through what I think is the Turkish hairdressers, into what is now the drying greens for the flats on the High St and Rosefield Ave. There seems to be a shed where I believe they were washed and maintained.
There must have been such excitement seeing the Town Hall rise from the rubble of Inverey House. On the other hand, most of the Town hall was built over the beautiful front garden of the house. I wonder if there was a group of people that tried to save Inverey House at that time. The gardener in charge was known to win prizes for the gardens.
But we must always look to the future, whilst preserving what is beautiful from the past. Porty Town Hall is an iconic building dominating Porty and is the natural centre of the town. They just don’t build like this anymore. We are fortunate to have our architects Munro Allison who are experienced at working sympathetically with older buildings. They totally understand the need to make the spaces work for the needs of a modern community, whilst maintaining the majesty and historical feel of the building.
We , as a community, can lead the way to what this building will be used for. Nothing is set in stone. It will be what you want it to be. We all bear a certain responsibility for the future of this building. We must make sure we use it and use it well. We have a second chance to make this building a hub of action and activity.
Make it sing and cast light on a dark high street!
Happy Sunday
Morag ❤