Capturing a dark beauty
Peterborough’s historic YMCA is transformed by moody photos and a new lease on life as rental lofts
PETERBOROUGH— A dank basement . . . creaking floorboards . . . a spider-filled turret: When it comes to creepy old buildings, the Peterborough “Y” has it all.
But the once-popular family haunt is about to be transformed back into a friendly place as Toronto-based Atria Developments prepares to gut the historic, 1896 structure — while preserving its best features — to create 120 rental lofts.
The builder wasn’t about to bury the Peterborough Family YMCA’s storied past in the rubble. So Atria unleashed 15 photographers in a contest to shoot the maze-like interior before demolition begins.
Many of the photographers have a personal connection to the facility and that was the case with first-prize recipient Patrick Stephen, who noted the 31⁄ 2- storey building “has a lot of character.”
Stephen,18, was the clear winner with his images of decrepit corridors and long-forgotten spaces, according to Robert Boudreau, one of the judges in the contest co-sponsored by the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area.
“Patrick’s unique use of light and shadow to convey emotion separated these images from all other contestants,” he says.
A selection of the photographers’ pictures are on display at Offices that Work, next door to the Y. Vacant for eight years, the downtown landmark dates back to 1896 with additions built in the 1930s, ’50s and ’70s. Atria, which specializes in repurposing old buildings, plans to preserve its red brick facade and historic entrance.
Y Lofts at Confederation Square, as the $30-million conversion project is called, will include street-level retail shops anchoring 120 condo units.
“What’s most important about this particular building is that it was the centrepiece of the community for a long time,” explains Atria president Hans Jain. “There’s a generational attachment to it and people speak of it fondly.”
Atria Developments unleashed 15 photographers in a recent contest to shoot the interior of the Peterborough YMCA. Here are some of the people whose cameras told the YMCA’s stories — and, just possibly, caught a ghostly presence in the process.
Who: Julie Douglas, 27, Peterborough What: Auto-parts salesperson with aspirations to become a professional photographer
Connection to the Y: Had a part-time job there as a cleaner during high school 10 years ago What she shot: The dungeon-like laundry room and its ancient, rusty dryer held special interest for Douglas, who once spent a lot of time there, washing towels for the change rooms.
But the empty landmark beckoned her because “abandoned buildings are my thing — that’s what I shoot,” said Douglas, who used both film and digital cameras for close-ups of pool bottoms, loose tiles and signs.
Who: Justin Ross, 19, Peterborough What: College photography student; frequent Instagram user
Connection to the Y: “My Nana and Papa used to come here in the ’50s for dances in the gym.” Growing up, he went to birthday parties at the Y, and swam or used the gym there.
What he shot: Without a plan going in, he focused on “whatever catches my eye.” Ross roamed the dank bowels — “kinda spooky” — all the way up to the stifling turret. “This would be a sweet house,” he says of the octagonal room with original beams and wainscotting.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “The pool’s pretty cool.”
Who: Wendy Moore, 42, Peterborough What: Full-time student and amateur photographer
Connection to the Y: “I used to come here as a kid to take swimming lessons and come to the teen dances. It’s been almost 20 years since I was here.”
What she shot: Moore liked the original pool and faded old gym. But she braved a trek through a pitch-black tunnel to the boiler room where a yellowed, type-written outline of the mechanical system caught her attention.
She also trained her lens on a shower room where a burst pipe had left a pile of debris, and on a scale model of the building created by a maintenance worker in his spare time.
Who: Pauline Ferguson, 68, Ennismore What: Strictly amateur personal picture-taker
Connection to the Y: Thirty years ago, Ferguson’s “very artistic” late father William T. Windsor, a Peterborough carpenter, painted cartoons on some of the walls.
What she shot: Ferguson wasn’t part of the photo contest but jumped at Atria’s invitation to see the cartoons. “He would say, ‘Why don’t you drop over to the Y and see my artwork?’ but I never did,” she recalled, clicking her pocket camera for pictures of still-colourful characters to show her grandchildren.
“I think of my living room wall when I was a kid,” she said. “We had Elmer Fudd and a giant-sized Bugs Bunny that he painted.”