I attended an Oak Bay Heritage Commission meeting this week, where the owners of the old Oak Bay Theatre building shared with the Commission new paint colour, window casings for the second floor and trim materials proposed for the exterior of the building. As you know, the owners are making necessary renovations to the building to upgrade to modern building code standards. The owners have established a good working relationship with our community and with the Commission as they restore the building and protect it from any further deterioration. They obviously care a great deal about doing a good job, one that protects the building and street scape and ensures that improvements are in keeping with the history on the Avenue. The Commission recommended approval of the proposed improvements and thanked the owners for voluntarily working with the Commission on these items. Improvements to the former theatre will be a real asset to the Avenue.
We are getting a lot of positive feedback about the public art installation of three pianos, one at Oak Bay Ave. and Foul Bay Rd., one on Beach Dr. at McNeill Bay and one near the Oak Bay Marina. The one at Beach Dr. gets a lot of attention and whenever I have passed by, someone is playing something. Drop by any one of these three locations and tickle some keys. A wonderful interactive idea, first seen in Victoria a few years ago.
