Archival displays were one of the celebration’s draws. (Liam Razzell/ Oak Bay News)
50 years ago today, the Oak Bay Rec Centre swung open its doors for the very first time – a moment that staff, local officials and members of the public celebrated Oct. 24 at the Bee Street community centre.
“This is a super important day,” said Coun. Andrew Appleton. “It just underlines how important the building has been and still is.”
Since Oct. 24, 1975, the Oak Bay Rec Centre has offered residents a reliable place to keep fit, have fun and most importantly, connect.
“It’s a gathering place for families, has been for decades,” said Appleton. “We’ve got food, we’ve got events, we’ve got swimming lessons – we’ve got all the things that really make a community tick.”
To celebrate that decades-old legacy, the celebration boasted 1975 admission prices and activities for folks of all ages, including a bouncy castle, music bingo and even a 70s-themed swim.
Archival displays were part of the fun, too. These included a fall/winter program guide from 1975, which showed pictures of the space all those years ago, swimming and skating schedules and even a blurb highlighting the benefits of exercise.
Also inside: a message from Oak Bay’s then mayor Brian Smith, who called the community centre “the finest of its kind in Western Canada.”
“The regulation ice arena and curling rink will be heavily used and the social lounge will be popular,” he said. “This beautifully designed building is a credit to the community and will serve citizens of all ages.”
Five decades later, the district’s current mayor Kevin Murdoch expressed a similar sentiment.
“Oak Bay Recreation Centre has remained a pillar of the community, bringing people together from across the region for 50 years,” he said in a news release. “We’re proud that it remains a destination for so many in 2025.”
A time capsule opening was also part of the event. Filled and sealed away in 2000, the container included drawings, stuffed animals, Pokemon cards and even 25-year-old copies of the Oak Bay News.
One of the folks there to witness the opening was local Beryl Saxelby, who moved to Oak Bay from England just two months before the community centre opened. For her family, the space has been a community hub – one where she has fond memories bringing her kids to the pool.
“It was a big thing for us to bring them here to learn to swim,” she said.
The district’s parks, recreation and culture department has kept those swimming lessons and everything the Oak Bay Rec Centre has to offer going all these years, and it hopes to keep doing just that well into the future.
“It’s just a really, really special place,” said Appleton. “We’re looking forward to the next 50 years.”
