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Over
the past 30 years, Canada has lost 23% of its early buildings in
urban areas and 21% of building stock in rural areas. This rate
of destruction is disturbing both in terms of lost heritage and
increased environmental waste. The following represent only a small
number of buildings and structures that have disappeared forever
from the Canadian landscape. Heritage Canada Foundation Deplores Loss of Ontario Heritage Landmark to Fire  Photo: Robert Chaulk, Sun Media Corp. Designated a heritage site by the municipality in 1994, the college spent the intervening years deteriorating as development plans repeatedly surfaced and floundered. The current owner, Alma Heritage Estates, appealed city council’s decision not to issue a demolition permit to the OMB last year. The city subsequently negotiated a deal with the developer—that was endorsed by the OMB in mid-January—allowing for the demolition of everything but the central tower. That agreement was overturned last week in favour of full demolition although any new construction would have had to include a replica of the tower. “The tragic loss of Alma College is a microcosm of all that is wrong with the heritage conservation system in Canada,” stated Natalie Bull, HCF executive director. “Fundamentally, it shows a lack of commitment to reusing our existing building stock—something countries like the U.S. actively encourage through financial incentives for rehabilitation.” HCF included the distinctive high Victorian Gothic Revival landmark on its 2006 Top Ten Endangered Places list and just this past January urged the Ontario Minister of Culture to intervene on its behalf to ensure protection by designating it a provincial heritage site. The Heritage Canada Foundation is a national, membership-based, non governmental, charitable organization with a mandate to promote the preservation of Canada’s historic buildings and places. For further information: Carolyn Quinn, Director of Communications, cquinn@heritagecanada.org Telephone: 613-237-1066 ext. 229; Cell: 613-797-7206 News coverage:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080530.walma http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2008/05/29/5702351-sun.html http://stthomastimesjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1049412 http://stthomastimesjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1051450& http://stthomastimesjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1056440& http://www.lfpress.com/perl-bin/publish.cgi?x=galleries&p=2453 http://www.lfpress.com/perlbin/publish.cgi?x=articles&p=234961 http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/05/alma-college-burns-down.php West Vancouver Loses Modernist Arthur Erickson-Built Landmark A distinctive piece of West Coast Modernist architecture designed by prominent Canadian architect Arthur Erickson is gone. Erickson’s breakthrough David Graham House, a stunning multi-storey wood-and-glass house balanced on the rocky bluffs over the Pacific in West Vancouver, was demolished last December.  David Graham House Photo: Esto Photographics Inc. “The living room is a hovering glass platform with marvellous twisted pines clinging to the rock around it,” Erickson wrote in his 1975 book The Architecture of Arthur Erickson. “The master bedroom hangs over the sea and its bathroom opens on submarine windows into the swimming pool.” In recent years, the house had fallen into disrepair. It had been vacant for some time, and the owner had been accused by conservation specialists of not maintaining the structure. The house was recognized as a “primary” building on West Vancouver’s survey of significant architecture from 1945 to 1975, but the list has “no teeth,” according to Mayor Pamela Goldsmith- Jones, so the government could not stop the demolition. Her council issued the demolition permit, despite a last-minute request to have the house put on the city’s heritage registry. Along with the Arthur Erickson Conservancy and Heritage West Vancouver, Mayor Goldsmith-Jones had been exploring options to try to save the structure. City planner Stephen Mikicich said that “in the end, this is private property we’re talking about, so we’re really looking to encourage conservation by the tools that are available to us. We really don’t have, as a local government, any legal authority to further delay a demolition permit.” While it is too late for the David Graham House, the controversy has motivated Mayor Goldsmith- Jones to take steps to protect the remaining architectural gems in West Vancouver. She hopes to have a new policy in place by March. According to Mikicich, the district is also working with the Arthur Erickson Conservancy to fully document the importance of 11 other Erickson homes in West Vancouver. Globe and Mail, Ont., 12/03/07; North Shore News, B.C., 12/03/07 and 12/07/07; Vancouver Province, B.C., 12/03/07. Blaze Guts Row of Historic Toronto Buildings Flames consumed a block of heritage buildings on Toronto’s Queen Street West between Portland and Bathurst in February, collapsing one historic structure and leaving several others gutted. More than 150 firefighters and 40 trucks fought the blaze that eventually consumed the row. Built using “balloon construction,” the long timber frames were quick to burn. “Those buildings were the best and biggest examples of balloon construction in the city,” said Alec Keefer, president of the Toronto branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario. “They were very rare. We’ve lost a crucial piece of history.” Last fall the city designated the area a heritage conservation district. Councillor Adam Vaughan has made a pledge to business and property owners that the reconstruction of the street would see the stretch just east of Bathurst Street revived into one of North America’s finest Victorian-era shopping districts. “The hope here is to recreate not just the physical architecture in a way that’s sensitive to heritage, but also the social architecture that’s here,” said the councillor. The goal of the designation was “to stop the march of the mall from the Eaton Centre along Queen West, and to start to protect this heritage.” Brothers Brad and Trevor Moss owned a twostorey building dating back to the 1850s that most recently housed a clothing store as well as two residential tenants. Trevor Moss said his insurance company estimated reconstruction would likely take two years. He added that although city officials “didn’t really commit” to a time-frame, Mr. Vaughan suggested a rebuild could take as little as nine months. A week after the fire, Duke’s Cycle—a Toronto institution since 1914—was, like all the other damaged businesses, still under the fire marshal’s control and inaccessible. The cause of the blaze is still undetermined. Originally called Lot Street, the strip was laid out in 1793. It divided the industrial and commercial area from the more rural residential area. It was renamed in honour of Queen Victoria in the 1840s and by 1860 it was abuzz with small businesses. National Post, 02/ 27/08; Councillor Adam Vaughan (www.adamvaughan.ca) 02/21/08; Toronto Star, 02/23/08. Another Saskatoon Heritage Building Lost to Development On November 11, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 63 members held the last Remembrance Day gathering at their Saskatoon hall. Despite a dedicated letter-writing campaign to the editor of the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Remai Ventures announced that it would demolish the 77-year-old downtown property. Only the 1929 cornerstone and the Legion coat of arms plaque will be preserved and incorporated into a memorial to the building. Built by veterans of the First World War and designed by local architect David Webster (who designed many of Saskatoon’s early schools), the hall is equipped with one of the last horsehair dance floors in Saskatchewan. It is also the last remaining building on the River Landing site where Remai Ventures is planning to build a luxury hotel and spa. This multimillion-dollar development project has already resulted in the demolition of the historic Gathercole Building and old electrical buildings. In early 2004, Councillor Elaine Hnatyshyn proposed turning the hall into a veterans’ museum. Council considered the Legion’s proposed terms (not having responsibility for renovations, upgrades, and costs of day-to-day operations) in a closed-door executive committee meeting. No further discussions with the Legion took place. Unable to pay the bills, the branch members voted in the fall of 2005 to sell the property to Remai Ventures. “It breaks my heart to sell the building, but … the reality is that we don’t have the money to pay the bills,” said branch president John Davidson at the time. Demolition is expected to start in Spring. The Star Phoenix, Saskatoon, Sask., 04/11/06, 06/02/06, 11/11/06 and 11/22/06. Worst Losses List of 2006Officer's Mess and Quarters, Work Point Military Base, Esquimalt, A federally “Recognized” heritage building, the Officer's Mess and Quarters was the last of its kind in Canada. It was listed as surplus to the needs of the Department of National Defence, and despite heritage and cultural groups working tirelessly to save the building with a possible conversion into a visual arts complex, it was “deconstructed” last spring. Lessard House, Edmonton, Alberta Demolished last June, this historic house associated with Prosper Edmond Lessard, a leader in the city's francophone community, was a victim of outdated planning decisions and zoning bylaws as well as weak heritage legislation. Although plans were under way to relocate the building, WAM Development Group demolished it without notice. Inn on the Park, Toronto, Ontario Opened in 1963, it quickly became a landmark along the Don Valley Parkway and one of the city's famous destinations. Demolition began the day before the modernist hotel's heritage designation was to be debated at North York's community council. The owner, Rowntree Automotive Ltd., is developing a car dealership on the site. St. Jude's Anglican Cathedral, Iqaluit, Nunavut Damaged by arson in November 2005, St. Jude's—one of the best known buildings in Nunavut—was demolished June 1, 2006. Engineers determined it to be structurally unsound and irreparable. Designed by Toronto architect Ron Thom in 1970, it was built in 1972 using volunteer labour. St. Jude's was the second loss of built heritage in Nunavut this past year. Igloolik's St. Stephen's Catholic Church, one of the oldest buildings in the territory, was demolished in August for safety reasons. |
