A painting by artist Oryst Sawchuk now hangs in Sudbury Secondary School.
Sawchuk attended the school in the 1940s, and visual arts students unveiled his painting in the school’s foyer on Sept. 28.
The 11 by 16 painting of Elm Street circa 1949 depicts the Nickel Range Hotel, which is the title of the piece. The hotel was located where the downtown Shoppers Drug Mart is today.
Sawchuk created the piece using pen, ink and watercolor.
“The result is a vibrant historical scene in bold yet muted colours that stand the test of time,” according to a media release issued by the Rainbow District School Board.
“Oryst was passionate about Sudbury, its people and its history,” partner Vicki Gilhula said in the media release.
“He advocated for a healthy downtown and the importance of preserving heritage buildings for future generations. He would be so pleased to have his art proudly displayed in a place that nurtured his interest in art and design while he was discovering his calling in life.”
Principal Heather Downey credited Sawchuk as being one of the school’s most prominent graduates, adding, “We are so pleased that this beautiful piece of art has found a new home at his school.”
Born in Winnipeg in 1928, Sawchuk was raised in Sudbury, spending most of his life in the city’s West End.
After high school, Sawchuk studied at the University of Manitoba, graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master Degree in Community Planning. He practised architecture with Sawchuk Peach Associates in Sudbury, Architects-Planners from 1957 to his death in 2019.
Sawchuk is credited with designing the Sudbury Transit Terminal and Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School. He also championed the establishment of the Art Gallery of Sudbury.
The five-storey Nickel Range Hotel had a ballroom on the second floor, and cost $75,000 to build in what the Sudbury Journal newspaper described as “a magnificent structure built in the Renaissance architecture style.”
One of its prestigious guests was American writer Ernest Hemingway, who stayed at the hotel in 1923 while covering a story in Sudbury for The Toronto Star.
Longtime host of the television game show Jeopardy, Alex Trebek, another Sudbury Secondary School alumni, wrote in his memoir that his father, George, a Ukrainian immigrant, worked at the hotel as a pastry chef.
The hotel was torn down in 1976.
