TIMMINS - Growing up, Amanda Mackechnie spent summers in the big closets of her grandparents' home pretending she was going to Narnia.
Now she calls the historic green house on Wilson Avenue home.
The Mackechnie house, located at 438 Wilson Ave., is the first property ever designated as a heritage property by the City of Timmins. The bylaw to declare it of cultural value or interest was passed in 2021, and today the plaque was unveiled. It hasn't been installed yet but will be prominently featured outside the house.
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Amanda is the great-granddaughter of Dr. Graeme Mackechnie, who purchased the home in 1947 from Harry W. Darling, who built it in 1925.
Growing up, Amanda always enjoyed her summer visits with her grandparents.
“(There was) a lot of hide and seek, we used to play in the closets pretending we were going to Narnia because some of the closets are pretty big,” she said.
She's been living in the home for about a year.
Wanting a change from living in Alberta, she got a job in Timmins and asked to move into the family home and they were excited to have someone to take care of it.
There are multiple reasons the property was added to the local heritage registry.
The location is near the Mattagami River, the exposed logs showcase the original construction, the windows and enclosed porch are of note, as well as the stone mantelpiece inside and the outside construction of the chimney.
For Amanda, though, the living room is her favourite spot.
“You know how you see in all the old movies, the really old fireplace and you have the crown moulding and the lights are along the top of the ceiling, it’s actually pretty cool seeing that. It’s kind of cool in the winter ... if you wanted to you could have a fire with the lights along the ceiling. It’s pretty homey,” she said.
Coun. Andrew Marks, who chairs the Municipal Heritage Commitee, and Timmins Mayor Michelle Boileau were part of the plaque unveiling.
“Standing here, next to the Mattagami River, this is a good symbol of the evolution of the City of Timmins, going from an old mining town to the city that is today. And it’s nice that standing here, it’s as if time has stood still and so, it’s a bit of a nod of what we used to be, where we’re coming from and especially important at this time as we move forward into the future and we develop and grow as a community,” said Boileau.
Marks has a family connection to the house from when Doc Mackechnie had it.
After Marks' father stood a high stick to the forehead during a hockey game, he was stitched up — without freezing — in the basement of the home.
His dad was back in the game for the third period.
“I think he said they won the hockey game,” said Marks in a news release.
Timmins has doubled its heritage property registry this year.
The city hall building at 220 Algonquin Blvd. has also been designated as a property with cultural heritage value or interest.
SEE: Timmins doubles its heritage property list
In 2022, six municipally owned properties — including city hall — were added to the municipal heritage register list as non-designated properties.
The properties are the McIntyre Headframe, the McIntyre Community Building, the dome-shaped ore bin at the Hollinger property on Water Tower Road, city hall, the City of Timmins Engineering Building (that's also the old post office), the Timmins Transit terminal that was the old railway station, and the H.R. Bielek building that houses the Timmins Senior Recreation Centre.
A non-designated property doesn't have the same protections as a designated property.
Properties can be nominated for the municipal heritage register. The application is available online here.
