The iconic chimney behind Raymond Field has finally been dismantled.
It was commissioned for the Central Heating Plant in 1949 and was ultimately decommissioned in 2014 when the boilers were converted to No. 6 Fuel Oil. With the virtual elimination of particulate, NOx and SOx emissions, in addition to a 30% reduction in GHG emissions the smokestack was no longer required.
In a statement to The Athenaeum, Executive Director of Facilities and the K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre Marcel Falkenham noted that “It was considered surplus since then and slated to be demolished. There are no current plans to relocate the central heating plant and there is no intended impact to the Athletics program as a result of this demolition.”
The smokestack was made famous in Alex Colville’s iconic 1973 painting Professor of Romance Languages, depicting Dr. Charles Bentley who taught French at Acadia and passed away in the winter of 1986.