Where the bricks in some of Kelowna’s oldest buildings came from

Old buildings all around Kelowna have bricks that were produced in the city, and local historians say it's all too easy to forget that. Kelowna Brick Works turned the clay at the foot of Knox Mountain into many of the city’s historic buildings. The brickyard operated between 1905 until it closed down in the late 1930s. The old brick facade on the former Kelowna Courier building downtown is being torn down and that sparked some local historians to speak out about protecting heritage buildings and remembering where the construction material came from. The president of the Kelowna branch of the Okanagan Historical Society Margot Pridham said pieces of history like bricks made at the base of Knox Mountain are important to preserve. “If we lose our history, where are we going to know where we came from?” Pridham said. “It's important that we keep our history. How is the next generation going to know that, yes, we did have a brickwork, but where can we find any bricks around the city that were made in that brickwork?” Buildings like the Laurel Packinghouse, the First United Church at Richter Street and Bernard Avenue, BNA Brewing Co. which used to house a tobacco company, Pridham’s own home and other buildings all around town have Kelowna-made bricks. READ MORE: Once a piggery, only rubble remains on historic Tranquille site in Kamloops https://infotel.ca/newsitem/once-a-piggery-only-rubble-remains-on-historic-tranquille-site-in-kamloops/it107433 Kelowna Brick Works was built where Knox Mountain Metals currently operates. It was started in 1905 by Charles Harvey, and later bought by Herman D. Riggs whose home is now a heritage building. The brickyard shut down during the First World War, but it was started up again in 1919 and made bricks until the 1930s.  Pridham said the best way to protect heritage buildings is to vote. “Vote people into council that believe in heritage,” she said. “Being a historical person and coming from a family that was a pioneer and early settler here, it's disheartening to me to see all this stuff being torn down.” To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. Find our Journalism Ethics policy here. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/code-of-ethics/it106782 We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .