The Dalglish Family Foundation is donating $1.2 million toward the new Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough.
Officials made the announcement on Tuesday at the current museum on Monaghan Road. The funds will go toward the $65-million project to build a new 83,400-square-foot museum near the Peterborough Lift Lock along the Trent-Severn Waterway.
Camilla and Peter Dalglish, foundation directors and longtime supporters, said the gift will support capital costs.
“Kirk Wipper realized the importance of protecting these historic boats, as do I,” Peter Dalglish said. “The Dalglish Family Foundation is a small, family-run organization, and this is our biggest donation to-date. Our family members were unanimous in their desire to support The Canadian Canoe Museum.”
In recognition of the gift, the new museum’s 1.5-acre green roof will be named after the couple. The roof will feature up to 50 plant species.
Camilla Dalglish told Global Peterborough that she and her husband have been avid canoeists.
“It means that our heart is in it,” Camilla said of the donation. “My husband has been a great canoeist all his life and I’ve been keen on gardens, flowers and wildflower meadows, so it seemed natural to support the museum because of his love of canoes and to support the green roof.”
The museum is being designed by Heneghan Peng of Ireland and Kearns Mancini Architects of Toronto.
“The roof is the largest external surface of the facility — the fifth façade,” said Roisin Heneghan, lead architect. “It will be very visible from the Lift Lock. Meanwhile, from the roof itself, there will be sweeping views of the waterway. The creation of this bio-diverse roof will also ensure that green space is retained on this park-like site.”
Official say thanks to its green roof, the new museum is expected to be invisible via Google Earth.
“With this new space will come an incredible array of opportunities for everyone who will visit,” said Bill Morris, museum campaign chairperson. “The museum community and beyond is so grateful for the Dalglish’s vision for the facility, and for the green roof, in particular. We look forward to welcoming visitors to the Dalglish Family Foundation Green Roof in 2022.”
Camilla says she was thrilled to visit the existing museum that already boasts a “tremendous amount of character.”
“I hope we are helping in a small way,” she said. “It’s a very ambitious goal they have but I think they’ll get there.”
The new museum will showcase more than 600 watercraft, thousands of small artifacts and an archive.