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Topaz Heights Update by Beth Macdonald:
The Topaz Heights Project is a study of the development,
design and use of 101 family houses (5 styles) built in 1947
for returning veterans by Housing Enterprises Canada Ltd.
At first glance these small, pleasant-looking houses would
not seem to be of much interest, however research has proven
otherwise. What makes these houses remarkable is that they
epitomize local, national and international changes in the
financing and design of housing, urban planning and post-war
culture.
In the fall of 2002 the History in Art Honours class at the
University of Victoria researched a post-war subdivision in
Victoria called Topaz Heights. In a self-directed study, January
to April 2003, an exhibition, "The Living House"
was developed by Beth Macdonald and Alana Brooks. In the summer,
Karen Waugh, in a CURA student position, continued researching
newspapers and renovation details along with acquiring photographs,
all of which set the housing development in context.
As scholarly research is only able to access limited information,
Beth Macdonald organized a gathering of former Topaz Height
residents and interested parties on September 27, 2003. The
research was presented through a lecture and display enabling
residents to correct or embellish findings. Residents were
invited to contribute photographs and artefacts to
to a future
exhibition. In 2004 Macdonald will continue interviewing
residents, identifying artefacts for exhibition and following
new lines of research.
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