159-year-old Laskay Hall to officially reopen to public at new location

A grand reopening ceremony for the 159-year-old building is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. at the new location at 2920 King Rd.

Yorkregion.com
August 29, 2018
Sheila Wang

The Laskay Hall is going to be officially reopened to public in September in its new home at the King Heritage and Cultural Centre.

A grand reopening ceremony for the 159-year-old structure is scheduled for Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. at the new location at 2920 King Rd.

A year ago, the hall was lifted off its original site on Weston Road and moved three kilometres to its current location. The $300,000 move took around four hours.

“Moving Laskay Hall will rejuvenate an underused, aging structure," said Mayor Steve Pellegrini.

The old building was identified as being underused in 2016. Some of the major factors impacting Laskay Hall are parking, traffic and lack of community use. The inefficiency of the existing services like water, hydro and sanitary also impact opportunities for expanded use on the current site, according to the township.

The decision to move the hall came after extensive consultation with a number of community groups and organizations, including the King Township heritage advisory committee, Arts Society King (ASK), the King Township Historical Society, the Community Museum Board, the Nobleton Children's Theatre Company and the Laskay Hall Board.

"We felt this is the best move because we’ve moved it to the museum ground, and we already have other buildings moved from other places," said Kathleen Fry, museum curator at King Township.

The structure was built in 1859 by a local division of the Sons of Temperance. In 1910, the Laskay Women's Institute took over the hall. It was designated a heritage site in 1986, according to the Ontario Heritage Trust.

The hall, close to 50 parking spots now, is expected to get a new lease on life and be more heavily used.

"We’re really hoping it’d be used a little bit more. It’s a lovely building and we want people to have access to it and be able to enjoy it," Fry said.