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rfmcdonaldIn a guest post at Spacing, writer Tim Falconer discusses his perception of the problems of Dawson City, a municipality in the Yukon famous for its origins in the Klondike Gold Rush.
One major problem facing Dawson City is that its population is so much smaller than it was at its peak during the gold rush; at home at forty thousand people at one point, Dawson City is now permanent home to just over thirteen hundred people according to the last census. Keeping even the core of such a vastly reduced urban area intact must be a huge, possibly unconquerable, task.
The climate, too, must be problematic from the perspective of preserving the city intact, since--as a commenter notes--melting permafrost can do serious damage indeed to building foundations.
This is not a love letter to Dawson City, though I certainly could have written one of those. After all, the Yukon town is totally charming: distinctive architecture, buildings that date from the Gold Rush of 1898 and wooden sidewalks alongside wide dirt streets—and enough bar seats for every full-time resident (or so the legend goes).
But I suppose we always want to change the people and places we adore, at least a little bit. As a naive urbanite, what surprised me during my three months in this Northern town of about 1,300 is that the problems I wish I could solve are ones I thought were blights only in big cities.
Despite a severe and long-standing housing crisis, for example, NIMBYism and an irrational fear of increased density recently helped scuttle a proposal to build six small, but affordable homes.
Unused—or underused—heritage buildings are another challenge. Several are owned by a private landowner who seems content to watch his real estate portfolio rot; alas, the town can’t do much about that. Others, though, are the property of the federal government, which can be just as frustrating.
Parks Canada owns 26 sites in the Klondike and has faithfully restored most of them to serve as popular tourists attractions, offices or housing. But a few deserve “can do better” on their report cards. Harrington’s Storefor instance, displays a historical exhibit called “Dawson As They Saw It.” Pleasant enough, I guess, but hardly the most productive activity given the prime centre-of-town location.
I visited a few other landmarks during Doors Open Dawson in May. The 1901 post office, a turn-of-the-century jewel, is partially open to the public during summer tours but the Dawson Daily News building, which Parks has done some work on, remains closed, the printing press and other equipment shielded by sheets and tarps. Even more disheartening was the sight of Lowe’s Mortuary and Billy Bigg’s Blacksmith Shop (photo above); without the funds to do more, Parks Canada has been reduced to merely trying to keep these structures erect.
One major problem facing Dawson City is that its population is so much smaller than it was at its peak during the gold rush; at home at forty thousand people at one point, Dawson City is now permanent home to just over thirteen hundred people according to the last census. Keeping even the core of such a vastly reduced urban area intact must be a huge, possibly unconquerable, task.
The climate, too, must be problematic from the perspective of preserving the city intact, since--as a commenter notes--melting permafrost can do serious damage indeed to building foundations.
