Juneau House has finally been reopened after extensive renovations to the historical property forced it to be closed to the public for more than a year. The house is one of the city’s Municipal Historical Resources and one of the city’s oldest homes.
Originally constructed more than 120 years ago, the two-storey wood-framed house was moved to its current location at 9 Mission Ave. by 1890 and housed various prominent members of the early community including village overseer Frank Juneau and local medical practitioner Dr. Arthur Giroux.
The city purchased the building from its last residential owners by 2000 and it has been occupied by the Michif Cultural and Resource Institute, now known as Michif Cultural Connections, for the last 13 years.
The house features several now uncommon methods of construction including hand-hewn log floor joists, beams and columns.
“The house was on its original foundation,” explained Michif representative Sharon Morin. “In order to preserve the house properly, they had to redo the basement and get it set up with concrete. The house was not going to survive on that wooden foundation.”
A 2009 report by Stantec found dry rot in the floor joists and window frames, a sagging roof and significant deterioration in the building's foundation.
Restoration of the building began in August last year and finished a few months ago. In addition to those foundation repairs, the extensive project included window conservation and exterior restorations, roof replacement, sanitary sewer service and a full kitchen reconstruction, which first required the complete demolition of the old kitchen. The veranda was also rebuilt and new peach-coloured stucco siding was added to match the home's colour back in the 1930s and ’40s when it was owned by the Giroux family. The site was landscaped and new sidewalks were added as the finishing touches. The building is also now fully accessible.
Now that the organization has moved back in, Michif Cultural Connections looks forward to a bright new future with a new name and a new direction. It’s going to be more of a learning institute, Morin noted, with the main floor now devoted to the library that came from former senator Thelma Chalifoux, the founder of the organization. The collection of artifacts will move to the upstairs.
“I’m looking at talking with some of the places that offer museum studies and having our collection to research so they can learn more about MĂ©tis specific artifacts and lifestyle and so forth. The gift shop will be back better than it ever was before too, I think.”
New programs are on the way as well, with the first one focusing on traditional finger weaving to arrive in November. People can call Morin at 780-994-1528 for more details.
