The Academy

Ancestry

16.5 x 20 More widely known as The Academy, The House of Providence, opened in 1873 as a school and orphanage in Vancouver, Washington USA and was said to be the largest building north of San Fransisco at the time. It was designed by Mother Joseph (sister of Providence) and built of bricks supplied by local Hidden Brick Company. The Academy operated as a school until 1966 when it was sold to the City of Vancouver. It remained dormant until 1969 when Robert Hidden, the grandson of Lowell Hidden (founder of Hidden Brick Co.) purchased it. The Hidden family still owns this prominent historical landmark where they lease out office spaces to local business, and has turned into a popular place for weddings. I have a personal connection to The Academy as my great grandmother, Mary Jane Vermeire, and her three siblings lived here shortly after arriving from Belgium and losing their mother in a typhoid epidemic early in the 20th century. As life often makes big changes hinged on curious ancestral decisions/occurrences, i feel i owe a deep gratitude of thanks to all who have had a hand in creating and maintaining this significant piece of local historical architecture. For, if not for The House of Providence and its mission, i may have never come to be and you would probably not be reading this right now.......