Issue No 148    October 1, 2009

FEATURE STORIES:

1. Local Colour at the Alton Mill Creative Arts Centre
5. 2009 Heritage Toronto Awards Nominees
7. Heritage and Sustainability: Heritage Canada Conference - Toronto
8. Nova Scotia Heritage Trust: No Public Money for Convention Towers to Block View,
20. Toronto Star: The State of the Gardens
22. Waterloo Record: OHT Church Inventory launched

IN THIS ISSUE:

EVENTS    submit an event

1. Local Colour at the Alton Mill Creative Arts Centre
2. Toronto: The Age of Industry
3. Exhibition: Eric Arthur Gallery
4. History on the Grand 2009

NEWS | ACTION    submit a news or action item

5. 2009 Heritage Toronto Awards Nominees
6. New Community Group Launches Bid to Save Historic St. Nicholas Street
7. Heritage and Sustainability: Heritage Canada Conference - Toronto
8. Nova Scotia Heritage Trust: No Public Money for Convention Towers to Block View,
9. Professor Tom Seebohm honoured post-humously

LINKS    submit a link

10. army.dnd.ca: Pembroke Armouries to receive upgrades to preserve historical significance
11. Blogto.com: Leaside Train Repair Shop
12. Chatham Daily News: Church Recycled
13. guysboroughjournal.com (Canso): Commercial Cable Building gets new lifeFunding secured for Phase I of revitalization
14. London Free Press: Sentencing for Alma College Arsonists
15. Kitchener Record: Former Comfort Station
16. Northumberland Today:Pier Group is in it for the long haul
17. northumberlandtoday.com: Editorial - VIA's plan on the wrong track
18. Richmond Hill Liberal: Observatory bylaw goes back to the drawing board
19. St. Catharine's Standard: Parking Issue in Port
20. Toronto Star: The State of the Gardens
21. Toronto Star: Yonge Street Banks
22. Waterloo Record: OHT Church Inventory launched
23. Windsor Star: Protect Windsor's heritage sites
24. CBC New Brunswick: Historic train station plans worry architect
25. Kelowna Capital News: Historic Kelowna Packinghouse given new life
26. Montreal Gazette: Green group issues Mount Royal warning
27. Saint John Telegraph-Journal: Commentary - Don't destroy uptown jewel - Carnegie Building houses Saint Johns Arts Centre

SUPPORT

28. Support Built Heritage News

CONTACT

29. Contact the Editor

flyer


Gallery interior, Alton Mill

1. Local Colour at the Alton Mill Creative Arts Centre
And take a look at an Award Winning Project

The Headwaters region boasts one of the largest concentration of artists in the province, each inspired by the picturesque landscapes and tranquil, yet sophisticated lifestyle, that can be found in this rural oasis, less than an hour northwest of Toronto!

The Alton Mill is thrilled to mount a group exhibition entitled Local Colour, showcasing works by four of the region’s most prominent artists: Lucille Weber, Pete Paterson, Arnold De Graaf and Rosalinde Baumgartner.

Lucille Weber attributes an intense connection to nature as the main source of inspiration for her abstract paintings. She frequently makes spontaneous use of available materials, incorporating elements such as sand, gel, pastels, pencil crayons, matte medium, screening, fabrics and foil papers to add interest and texture to her work. Recent trips to the Yukon and the Bay of Fundy have provided fresh perspectives for her creations.

Pete Paterson’s photography and post production is all digital, ranging for 16 mega pixel DSLR to a 39 mega pixel camera capture size. While Pete has a busy commercial photography studio, he often trains his lens on other subjects that catch his eye. His series or rare-breed chickens is exquisite. How he ever got the birds to stand still long enough to snap the shot remains a mystery!

Arnold De Graaf, who lives in the hills of Mulmur, has captured the fields and waterways of the surrounding countryside during all seasons. His oil landscapes reflect the hues of the land. His portraits reveal the very essence of his subjects.

Rosalinde Baumgartner studied fine art at the University of Guelph. Although her work ranges from complex landscapes to flowing watercolours and simple charcoal sketches, in this exhibition she explores the human figure in oils on canvas and oil stick figurative drawings.

As one of the principal venues for the Headwaters Arts Festival, the Alton Mill is at the centre of artistic excellence in the region. This magnificently restored heritage mill is home to a creative arts centre featuring studios, galleries, a heritage museum, café and unique retail shops and is the perfect venue to showcase the works of these four Headwaters artists, in an exhibition of Local Colour.

Join us for Local Colour at the historic Alton Mill from September 26th to October 12th.

For interviews, photographs or further information, please contact:

The Alton Mill
1402 Queen Street, Alton
519-941-9300 www.altonmill.ca

Editor's Note: If BHN readers are curious about the day job of the editor, Catherine Nasmith Architect, a visit to the Alton Mill will give you a sense. I am proud to say this project garnered two awards last week, The Heritage Canada National Achievement Award, and an Award of Merit from the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals. I will do a full story on the mill in the next issue of BHN.

2. Toronto: The Age of Industry
In celebration of Toronto's 175th Anniversary

Historian Christopher Andrea presents the remarkable story of how the nineteenth century railway age allowed Toronto to increasingly dominate Ontario and transform itself into Canada's industrial powerhouse. Covering the development of the city's industrial foundations and urban infrastructure from 1850 to 1900, he captures the spirit of Toronto's rise from colonial outpost to metropolis.

Dr. Andreae is Senior Built Heritage Specialist for Golder Associates Ltd. and a contributor to the popular new book Toronto, An Illustrated History of Its First 12,000 Years.

3. Exhibition: Eric Arthur Gallery
Monuments + Bits - Work by Khoury Levit Fong

4. History on the Grand 2009
Industry and the Environment, Local History Symposium

Speakers will discuss a variety of topics relating to industry and the environment. The programme is available for viewing on the City of Cambridge website.

5. 2009 Heritage Toronto Awards Nominees
Heritage Toronto

Heritage Toronto is pleased to announce the nominees for the 35th Annual Heritage Toronto Awards. The Awards celebrate outstanding contributions by individuals and community organizations, as well as industry professionals and associations, in promoting and conserving Toronto's history and heritage landmarks. Award recipients will be announced at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 13th at the historic Carlu.

This year, nominations were solicited from the public in four categories: the William Greer Architectural Conservation and Craftsmanship Award; Book; Media; and Community Heritage.

Independent juries reviewed the nominations and recommended the award recipients. In each category (except the Community Heritage Award, which is a cash prize) there are two possible levels of award: Award of Excellence (the highest) and Award of Merit.

Heritage Toronto will also be presenting its Special Achievement Award to long-time heritage advocate Stephen Otto.

In addition to our Awards ceremony, Heritage Toronto is hosting The Great Toronto Roast, our birthday party for our City's 175th year. Special guests of roasters and toasters-including former Mayor David Crombie, actor and director Albert Schultz, dub poet dbi.young and more - will celebrate both our triumphs and our foibles in a lively one-hour program.

Tickets are now available: Members and Heritage Partners - $25, General Admission - $30, and special pre-event Mayors Reception - $100.

Nominees for the 2008 Heritage Toronto Awards

WILLIAM GREER ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION AND CRAFTSMANSHIP CATEGORY
This category honours projects that have restored or adapted buildings or structures that have been in existence for forty years or more. In addition to the quality of craftsmanship, appropriateness of materials, and the use of sound conservation principles, the jury considers how well the project meets current needs while maintaining the integrity of the original design vision.

Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie Street
Commissioned by: Toronto Artscape Inc.
Architect: du Toit Architects Ltd
Heritage Consultant: E.R.A. Architects Inc.
Crafts Persons/Contractors: The Dalton Company Ltd. and others

Scottish Tower & Garden Wall - Casa Loma, 1 Austin Terrace
Commissioned by: Cultural Services, City of Toronto
Architect: Taylor Hazell Architects
Crafts Person/Contractor: Clifford Restoration Limited and others

Dufferin/St. Clair Library, 1625 Dufferin Street
Commissioned by: Toronto Public Library
Architect: Makrimichalos Cugini Architects
Heritage Consultant: E.R.A. Architects Inc.
Crafts Person/Contractor: MJ Dixon Construction Ltd., Restorart Inc. and others

Eglinton St. George's United Church, 35 Lytton Boulevard
Commissioned by: Eglinton St. George's United Church
Architect: E.R.A. Architects Inc.
Crafts Persons/Contractors: Clifford Restoration Ltd.; Vitreous Glass

John A. Gallagher House, 443 Broadview Avenue
Commissioned by: Chen, Xiaojiu
Architect: Chen, Xiaojiu and others
Crafts Person/Contractor: Chen, Xiaojiu and others

Max Gluskin House, 150 St. George Street
Commissioned by: University of Toronto
Architect: Hariri Pontarini Architects
Heritage Consultant: E.R.A. Architects Inc.
Crafts Persons/Contractors: Steelcase Construction Inc.; Colonial Building Restoration

Gerstein Reading Room - Gerstein Science Information Centre, 9 King's College Circle
Commissioned by: University of Toronto
Architect: Diamond and Schmitt Architects
Crafts Persons/Contractors: Ross Clair Contractors Inc; Halcrow Yolles; Smith + Anderson Consulting Engineering

Joy Oil Gas Station, Sir Casimir Gzowski Park, 178 Lakeshore Boulevard West
Commissioned by: City of Toronto, Parks, Forestry & Recreation
Architect: McGillivray-Architect
Crafts Person/Contractor: Phoenix Restoration

Leadlay House, 25 Augusta Avenue
Commissioned by: Felician Franciscan Sisters, Tau House Convent
Crafts Persons/Contractors: Historic Restoration; Fine Restoration and Painting

Maitland Residence - Canada's National Ballet School, 105 Maitland Street
Commissioned by: Canada's National Ballet School
Architect: Goldsmith Borgal + Company

McGregor Hosiery Mills, 401 Wellington Street West
Commissioned by: Stantec Architecture Ltd./Stantec Consulting Ltd.
Architect: Stantec Architecture Ltd./Stantec Consulting Ltd.
Crafts Person/Contractor: GovanBrown Construction Managers

Porch Re-Creation, 5 Cross Street
Commissioned by: Martin Weigelin & Leslie Mah
Architect: Anthony Belcher Architect
Crafts Person/Contractor: Sandilands Woodworking

St. George Campus Central Exam Facility, 255 McCaul Street
Commissioned by: University of Toronto
Architect: Montgomery Sisam Architects Inc.
Crafts Person/Contractor: Eastern Construction and others

BOOK CATEGORY
This category recognizes excellent non-fiction books published in 2008 that explore Toronto's
archaeological, built, cultural and/or natural heritage and history.

For the Record: The First Women in Canadian Architecture
Editors: Joan Grierson and the For the Record Committee
Publisher: Dundurn Press

HTO: Toronto's Water from Lake Iroquois to Lost Rivers to Low-flow Toilets
Editors: Wayne Reeves and Christina Palassio
Publisher: Coach House Books

Historical Atlas of Toronto
Author: Derek Hayes
Publisher: Douglas + McIntyre Ltd.

Rare Plants of the Endangered High Park Black Oak Savannah
Authors: Janet Schmidt, Sharon Lovett and Lisa Kemp
Publisher: High Park Volunteer Stewardship Program

Toronto: A Short Illustrated History of the First 12,000 Years
Editor: Ronald F. Williamson
Publisher: James Lorimer & Company Ltd.

Toronto's Distillery District: History by the Lake
Author: Sally Gibson
Publisher: The Distillery Historic District

Toronto: The Way We Were
Author: Mike Filey
Publisher: Dundurn Press

Unbuilt Toronto: A History of the City That Might Have Been
Author: Mark Osbaldeston
Publisher: Dundurn Press

MEDIA CATEGORY
This category salutes non-fiction projects such as videos, websites, exhibits, magazines and other publications that educate the public about aspects of Torontos archaeological, built, cultural and/or natural heritage and history.

Historicist, Torontoist
Series of History Columns
www.torontoist.com
Authors: Jamie Bradburn, Kevin Plummer
Publisher: www.torontoist.com

History of West Toronto Junction Fire Station No. 1 Multimedia Exhibit
Authors/Directors: Duncan Brown, Greg Schultz

Local Flavour: Eating in Toronto, 1830-1955 Exhibit and Virtual Exhibit
Exhibit Curator: Sheila Carleton, Toronto Reference Library
Producer: Toronto Public Library

New Toronto Historical Society Website
www.newtorontohistorical.com
Author/Director: Laurie Caron
Producer: New Toronto Historical Society

Novae Res Urbis News (NRU) Articles
Publisher: NRU Publishing Inc.

Weston Heritage Conservation District Website
www.heritageweston.com
Authors/Directors: Philip Keirstead, Stephen Foster
Producer: Weston Heritage Conservation District

COMMUNITY HERITAGE AWARD
This award is open to one volunteer community-based organization in each of the four Community Council areas as defined by Toronto City Council. The organization must be currently active, and have either initiated and/or completed a significant activity that promotes, protects and/or preserves cultural and/or natural heritage in its specific Community Council area. This is a cash award and no organization is eligible to receive it more than once every 5 years.

Cabbagetown Preservation Association

Guildwood Village Community Association

North York Historical Society

Revue Film Society

For a complete list of nominees, descriptions and photos, and how to order tickets, please visit
www.heritagetoronto.org.

Editor's Note: Don't forget to get your tickets for this year's event. I will be there to cheer for all of Stephen Otto's many contributions, hope you will too.

6. New Community Group Launches Bid to Save Historic St. Nicholas Street
Press Release: Save St. Nick's

A community group formed to stop the construction of a 29-storey condo tower that threatens to ruin one of the last remaining Victorian streets in the Yonge-Bloor area has launched a new initiative to save the street. Save St. Nick, a group of homeowners, architects, urban planners and city residents concerned about the degradation of Toronto’s heritage, was founded in the fall of 2008. In anticipation of City Council voting on the proposal on October 13, the group has launched a website, www.savestnick.com, as its first salvo in its battle against the development.

“This proposal is a disaster, plain and simple,” said Hy Rosenberg, a spokesman for the group. “It would slam down a 29-storey condo tower on a street that consists almost entirely of two-storey Victorian cottages. It makes absolutely no concession to the existing context—not to its height, not to its density, not to its heritage character. It simply ignores what is already there. It is the epitome of the kind of planning that is ruining Toronto.”

The proposal, which has been submitted by Urban Capital, a residential real estate developer, first began as a 44-storey tower. The reaction to that design was community outrage. Notwithstanding the fact that it was held on November 4th, the night of the historic election of President Barack Obama, a city planning hearing about the proposal drew over 300 people, who packed the meeting to express their heated opposition. This forced the City’s Planning Department to reject the application. Urban Capital then returned to the Planning Department some months later with an application for a 29-storey development on the site.

“It’s clear they just didn’t get it,” said Rosenberg. “They’re told that Godzilla is unacceptable, so they come back with Godzilla’s nephew. From the point of view of a two-storey cottage, there is no difference between a 29-storey condo and a 44-storey condo. It has the same destructive effect on the neighbourhood.”

While opposition has been fiercest among residents of the street itself, others who are concerned about development in the city have joined in. "I am shocked by this proposal," commented David Lewis Stein, longtime Toronto journalist and novelist, now teaching urban studies at Innis College and the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies.
"I believe it will overwhelm one of the last streets between Bloor and Wellesley that still functions at a human scale and change the character of the whole neighborhood. I can see no good reason why this building needs to be so big."

The Save St. Nick group is now preparing for the upcoming public meeting of City Council on October 13. The group launched a website that it hopes will galvanize opposition to the Urban Capital submission, and has also produced a video showing the proposal in relation to the street. The video can be found on the website, and on youtube, under the title Save St Nick. The group is also organizing a letter-writing campaign to Council members, and is pressing Kyle Rae, Councillor for the area, to clarify his position.

The group’s concerns are not limited simply to the size of the building. Save St. Nick has also drawn people who are opposed to the relentless drive to increase density in the downtown with no heed to open space, traffic problems and the blocking out of sunlight. "The scale of this building will bring too many cars to streets that are already clogged with traffic and strain what little open space still remains in the area. The city should send this project back to the drawing board," added Professor Stein.

So far, the residents’ proposal to cap the height of buildings on the street at 10 storeys has fallen on deaf ears.

Further information can be found on www.savestnick.com.

-30-

For more information and to book interviews, please contact Hy Rosenberg at 647-999-3521, or Shawn Tracy at 416-480-5048.

7. Heritage and Sustainability: Heritage Canada Conference - Toronto
Catherine Nasmith

The Heritage Canada Conference over the weekend in Toronto brought environmentalists and heritage advocates face to face. An important dialogue on heritage and sustainability has begun. There was a sense that there were shared values and goals for the planet, but not as much consensus on how to get there.

Several heritage conferences in different areas have dealt with the theme, APT in Halifax, ACO/CHO in Collingwood, Heritage Canada in Winnipeg. What made this conference unique was the inclusion of representatives of major environmental organizations such as The Sierra Club of Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation and the commitment to a dialogue.

Environmentalists are correctly focused on reducing the carbon emissions of buildings, but do not have a full understanding of how structures built with traditional technologies fit into that goal. Many engineers fail to understand the potential negative impacts of mixing new and old technologies, and that short term energy benefits may be outweighed by the potential for damage to the building fabric. Replacement windows bedevil heritage conservation, and this was an area where the gulf is very wide indeed. It will take much repetition of our message to overcome prejudice against traditional wood windows.

Thomas Homer Dixon began with an Al Gore type presentation of the impending environmental crisis, and the need to cut carbon emissions by 80%. His presentation included his personal struggle to make his older stone house more energy efficient. Alas, there was consensus among the heritage architects in attendance that in his quest to insulate he may have created conditions that would lead to the deterioration of key components of the building structure and envelope.

Shortly afterwards, Carl Elephante, a LEED certified preservation architect, countered by leading the audience in a chant of “The greenest building is the one that is already built”. He points to embodied energy and thermal mass properties, as well as the reasonable performance level of historic windows. Buildings that are built to last are a key advantage of pre-war building stock, whether it has a “heritage” label or not.

By Saturday morning there had been sufficient presentations of the challenges on both sides for a lively exchange on the dangers of pushing a building beyond a reasonable level of performance. As a participant on that panel discussion I took the position that the focus on end energy consumption of the building is too narrow a lense with which to evaluate the green benefits of heritage buildings. For example, it doesn’t take into account the benefits of construction built without any petroleum products, built to last for centuries. Lloyd Alter, the President of ACO took on Nicholas Heap of the Suzuki institute about the dangers of treating all buildings the same way, of considering operating costs without taking into account the damage done to the environment in any construction process, renovation or new construction.

Heap countered with everyone has to do their part to meet 80% reduction targets. But he was listening, and had made a presentation the previous day on how energy efficient traditional walkable neighbourhoods are.

Stephen Hazell from the Sierra Club of Canada spoke about what the heritage community needs to do to get its needs on the political agenda. He noted that even though it is clear cousin to the environmental movement no one sees it that way.

Bruce Cox of Greenpeace talked about how to get attention of politicians, noting that we will always have challenges as long as the development industry continues to dominate political decision-making. Both stressed the need to get a clear message out to politicians about how heritage conservation fits into the broader conservation movement. Cox suggested a message along the lines of Heritage: Greener than “New”- a proposal that shows that at least Greenpeace understands how conservation of an inherited built resource puts us ahead of the game in sustainability.

They have first hand experience. Greenpeace has just finished retrofitting a 1950’s modernist building, taking a middle ground approach retaining the buildings major components and upgrading certain elements.  Interestingly, MPP Peter Tabuns, a former Executive Director of Greenpeace is now the Ontario Culture critic for the NDP. He has been a strong voice in the Ontario legislature for heritage conservation.

In Toronto Mayor David Miller has commented on the rehabilitation of 215 Spadina being the greenest of projects because it re-uses an existing structure. So even though the heritage movement’s message is not on everyone’s agenda, the work we have been doing in the last few years is starting to register.

We must keep talking!

NSHT rendering

8. Nova Scotia Heritage Trust: No Public Money for Convention Towers to Block View,
NSHT Press Release

Halifax, NS- It would be wrong to use tax dollars to assist a private developer to block the view of Halifax Harbour from historic Citadel Hill, says the Coalition Save the View.

“It’s just not smart business to exchange cultural and historic assets that attract thousands of tourists for a commercial development providing a financial windfall to one developer”, said coalition member Peter Delefes, president of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia.

"Government money should not benefit one developer over another by subsidizing development, especially when these subsidies are providing financial leverage for the construction of high rise hotel and office towers,” he continued. "In this way the public would actually foot the bill to block the view."

Municipal, provincial and federal officials have discussed funding a possible new convention centre in downtown Halifax. If this happens then the developer has the green light to attach to the convention centre two massive towers (a 14-storey office building and an 18-storey hotel), blocking out the view of the harbour including George's Island and rising higher than the Citadel itself.

A public survey held on May 31 showed that 91% of those polled oppose the construction of the towers.

“There is no process for citizens to express disapproval of the proposed convention centre towers,” said Beverly Miller, coalition member and co-chair of the Friends of Halifax Common.

The Coalition to Save the View is made up of individuals and groups. The Coalition is not opposed to a new convention centre, if a strong financial case can be made and provided it does not result in towers blocking the view.

For information on Save the View visit: www.savetheview.ca

For high resolution images for downloading visit: www.savetheview.ca/multimedia.html

Facebook site is: Help Save the View From Citadel Hill

For more information contact:
Peggy Cameron, 492-4372

9. Professor Tom Seebohm honoured post-humously
Rick Haldenby

I am very proud to announce that Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) has selected the late Professor Tom Seebohm a long time colleague at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and founder of the school's computing enterprise to posthumously receive the 2009 ACADIA SOCIETY AWARD, for extraordinary contributions and service to the ACADIA community.

The Awards Committee recommended late Professor Seebohm from a list of several nominees, and the Steering Committee unanimously approved the nomination. Inaugurated in 1998, the Award program represents recognition, by colleagues worldwide, of consistent contributions and impact on the field of architectural computing. This year, one award was given in each of four categories (Innovative Research, Teaching Excellence, Emerging Digital Practice, and an ACADIA Society Award). More information on the Awards program is available at www.acadia.org/?g=awards.

This year, the organization has decided to allocate a $2,000 honorarium to accompany each award, to help one of Professor Seebohm's family members or a designee to defray travel, accommodation and registration costs should you decide to attend the conference and receive the award in person. The ACADIA conference is being held this year in Chicago, Illinois, from October 19 to October 25, with an Awards Ceremony scheduled for Saturday, October 23.

Rick Haldenby FRAIC
O'Donovan Director
Waterloo Architecture Cambridge
7 Melville St. S.
Cambridge, Ontario
Canada
N1H 2S4

e: erhalden@uwaterloo.ca
w: www.architecture.uwaterloo.ca
t: 519-888-4544
f: 519-622-3525

Si duri puer ingeni videtur
Praeconem vel architectam facias

Pembroke Armouries located at 177 Victoria Street, Pembroke

10. army.dnd.ca: Pembroke Armouries to receive upgrades to preserve historical significance

NEWS RELEASE NR-12.09 September 14 , 2009

click here for the URL

Editor's Note: For two audio interviews of Chief Construction Engineering officer Major Ron Porter on the renovations go to, http://www.myfmradio.ca/1049/wire/news/00800_P_Armouries_Reno1-web_082452.php

from Blog TO

11. Blogto.com: Leaside Train Repair Shop

Exploring the Wrong Side of the Tracks at the Leaside Locomotive Shop

In 1919, the Canadian Northern Railway opened its locomotive house and repair shop in what would develop into Toronto's Leaside neighbourhood. With the increasing importance of the rails in the latter part of the 19th century, the Leaside Junction (as it was known then) gained increasing importance, and grew from that point.

click here for the URL

from Chatham Doors Open Site

12. Chatham Daily News: Church Recycled
forwarded by Marlee Robinson

Former church could be seniors' housing

The historic Park Street House of Worship is destined to become a senior citizens' housing project.

At least that's the immediate plans Victor Boutin has for the former Park Street United Church, where the late Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson lived for a short time.

Boutin, who owns a construction firm and holding company in Brampton, paid $500,000 for the facility during an auction Saturday.

The auction attracted several dozen spectators but only three bidders -each had to post a $25,000 certified cheque in order to qualify as a bidder.

"I almost forgot about the sale,' said Boutin, minutes after the purchase. "It's a good thing my son reminded me of the event.'

Boutin said he was impressed with the architecture of the church when he came across it in a real estate magazine.

It's not the first church Boutin has purchased.

He said a Hamilton church he purchased is also being converted into senior citizen living space.

click here for the URL

The Commercial Cable Company telegraph building, west and south sides photographed on 8 November 2005. Photo by Ivan Smith

13. guysboroughjournal.com (Canso): Commercial Cable Building gets new lifeFunding secured for Phase I of revitalization
Helen Murphy

CANSO – A historic Guysborough County landmark will soon be revitalized thanks to an investment by all three levels of government.

click here for the URL

Editor's Note: for more images please see http://ns1763.ca/guysbco/commcable.html; for a history and further images see http://atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/CCC/index.htm

14. London Free Press: Sentencing for Alma College Arsonists
forwarded by Rob Hamilton

Teens found guilty, sentenced for burning down Alma College

Two teenagers did exactly what they started out to do on May 28, 2008 — burn Alma College to the ground.

With clear evidence that was their intention, Justice Donald Ebbs found the pair guilty of arson today in the Ontario Court of Justice and sentenced them to two years probation, the maximum allowed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

In addition, they will undertake 240 hours of community work, to be completed within one year, and must abide by several other conditions, including a two-year weapons ban.

click here for the URL

from Kitchener Record

15. Kitchener Record: Former Comfort Station
Jon Fear, forwarded by Brian Dietrich

Comfort Station was a Kitchener landmark

If you remember Kitchener’s grand old city hall at King and Frederick streets, you probably also remember the “comfort station” in front of the building, fronting on King Street East.

That’s the building shown in last week’s mystery photo, probably taken in the 1960s. Like the city hall building, it was demolished in 1973 to make way for Market Square.

click here for the URL

16. Northumberland Today:Pier Group is in it for the long haul
Cecilia Nasmith

It will be a long battle to preserve the heritage buildings of Port Hope's centre pier

PORT HOPE -- It will be a long battle to preserve the heritage buildings of Port Hope's centre pier, Chris Wallace acknowledged.

But the Pier Group is in it for the long term.

Interviewed just prior to a Sunday barbecue for volunteers of the group he cochairs with Rod Stewart, Wallace was optimistic.

For one thing, he said, hey have almost 400 members. Some are even from Cobourg, Gore's Landing and Grafton, he said, "people who spend time in Port Hope and care about the issue.

"Our basic mandate is to save the heritage buildings on the centre pier. We have been at that for over a year now. Our Pier Group formed in June 2008," he said.

"The city did a presentation of their draft waterfront master plan. A lot of us took one look and decided it was absolutely awful, particularly the fact that they are going to bulldoze the heritage structures on the waterfront."

They have made limited headway at this point, he said, but they planning for the long haul.

The cleanup of this portion of the harbour could take three years of engineering and finalizing details, he estimated, then five to six years of physical clean-up of the harbour, the pier and other strategic sites.

"Because there's government behind it, it means whatever time it ought to take doubles," he added.

"There's no real urgency in terms of something having to happen to the buildings until the cleanup is finished. The actual pollution is very low-level, very safe. Even so, just from a marketing perspective, you don't want to open up something next to a construction site. And believe me, the cleanup will be a construction site."

Wallace said that the current council wants the buildings razed, and have said it is necessary to make physical room for the harbour cleanup. Preliminary layouts from 2008 show the buildings absent. A 2005 layout, however, showed all the buildings currently present remaining in place.

"I asked senior people at the Port Hope Area Initiative if this was based on environmental grounds or engineering grounds. Their response was there is no engineering need for this change, there's no environmental need. It was changed because the harbour commission asked them to," he said.

Wallace urges anyone interested to look for details of two November events.

"A speaker's night will bring in some high-level people who have been involved in industrial and brown-field clean-up and done some extremely successful projects," he said of the Nov. 19 event at the Capitol Theatre -- which will be followed Nov. 21 by a day-long ideas workshop or charette.

"It's for anybody who wants to get involved and toss around ideas about the ideal long-term use of the pier buildings.

"We want to engage as many people as possible. It's not something where you have to be a design professional with a master's in urban design and 17 waterfront projects under your belt. You just have to care.

click here for the URL

17. northumberlandtoday.com: Editorial - VIA's plan on the wrong track
ROBERT WASHBURN, professor of e-journalism at Loyalist College

The current building appears to be sufficient and underutilized. It also represents an important piece of architectural history for the region. The quaint interior is full of character. New is not always better. Modern does not equal improved.

Cobourg - When tough economic times exist, it is really hard to dish out any criticism toward those bringing big spending announcements. So, when Northumberland MP Rick Norlock, Cobourg Mayor Peter Delanty and VIA Rail chief operating officer John Marginson stood on the platform of the Cobourg train station late last week to announce a $7-million plan to build a new station and improve the tracks, it would be considered blasphemy to be critical.

click here for the URL

18. Richmond Hill Liberal: Observatory bylaw goes back to the drawing board
ADAM MC LEAN

 What was expected to be a monumental step forward in the preservation of the David Dunlap Observatory Monday night, became a step sideways to review the controversial bylaw.

A draft bylaw created by Town of Richmond Hill staff to authorize the designation of the David Dunlap Observatory lands under the Ontario Heritage Act will be sent back to the town think-tank for another look, following a lengthy council meeting with numerous delegations.

The about-face is due in large part to a revised version of the town bylaw submitted by the Richmond Hill Naturalists, in which numerous additional recommendations and clarifications were added to the town's original draft.

The Naturalists' version of the bylaw had been submitted to council last Friday after the town's draft bylaw was presented last week at a committee meeting.

The draft bylaw, which was expected to be given the go-ahead by councillors, will instead be revisited by staff over the next two weeks, taking into consideration the many concerns brought forward by residents in attendance Monday.

"We are thrilled council decided to be prudent and we thank them for listening to their residents," said Karen Cilevitz, chairperson of the DDO Defenders following the decision.

"The referral of the bylaw back to staff is the first important step in getting it right. This bylaw has to be rock solid and air-tight in order to fully protect the Dunlap site from any development or encroachment. We look forward to the following discussions regarding the Dunlap heritage bylaw with renewed hope," Ms Cilevitz added.

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19. St. Catharine's Standard: Parking Issue in Port
Marlene Bergsma

Developer storms out of city hall after council delays Port parking lot vote

St. Catharines councillors’ decision to delay voting on a parking proposal for the Port Place condo project is “outrageous,” the project’s developer says.

Dan Raseta, one of the partners in Port Dalhousie Vitalization Corp., stormed out of council chambers Monday night after councillors stalled on making a decision on his company’s plan to reconfigure the Lakeside Park parking lot.

Raseta’s proposal, which was recommended for approval by city staff, would see the parking lot made narrower and longer, and would add 38 parking spaces.

The extra spaces are needed to satisfy a February ruling of the Ontario Municipal Board, which said the controversial 17-storey condo tower, hotel, shopping and theatre project could be built in the heritage district’s commercial core if the developer accommodated all the necessary theatre parking.

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photo from Toronto Star

20. Toronto Star: The State of the Gardens
Daniel Dale

A trip down memory lane at Maple Leaf Gardens

Tie Domi walked the empty, eerie halls by himself on Monday, a fighter alone with his memories.

He ambled through the second-level concourse, where yellow caution tape now surrounds the single-file-only escalators. He passed the nooks behind the boards where he occasionally hid from waiting fans and reporters, the close-to-the-exit-ramp spot where he would park his car, the little room behind the net where Harold Ballard once sat and watched and stewed.

He looked up at the corner blues, where he sat when he attended his first game as a 10-year-old. He looked up at the west-side greens and reds and golds, or where the west-side greens and reds and golds used to be before they were ripped out and carted away and sold off.

And, for a couple of reflective minutes, he looked around the former Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room – always tiny, never charming, now empty, still moving.

"I walked around everywhere," Domi said. "I know every shortcut in here. Walking around – it's not a creepy feeling, but it's definitely a strange feeling. I won't lie to you."

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photo from Wikipedia

21. Toronto Star: Yonge Street Banks
Kenneth Kidd

Bookends on Yonge

A pair of landmarks has resisted revitalization. What gives?

Architect Michael McClelland is ensconsed in the window seat of a Yonge St. Starbucks, gazing across the traffic at two former temples of banking, their neoclassical columns strangely radiant in the morning light of September.

"They're fantastic cakes with icing, so rich in detail," he says of the vacant piles. "There's so much to look at."

McClelland's enthusiasm bubbles with each mention of a design element, each sighting of craftsmanship in the carved limestone. "I think they exhibit just plain fun," he finally concludes. "For me, they've lost the meaning of being stern bank buildings."

That his vantage point happens to be a coffee shop in the Eaton Centre is no slight irony, given that Starbucks has, until recent downsizing, been an assiduous saviour of disused former bank branches. McClelland somehow seems to be on the wrong side of the street.

Except that these are no ordinary bank buildings. Their biographies cover decades of glory and some of the city's richest history. But their most recent chapters have been filled with misfortune and a staggering failure of imagination.

Now they sit aching to be embraced, putting exclamation marks around what could be the last, best chance for inspired redevelopment downtown, a great gesture of urban civility. It lies in what they now hide as much as what they reveal.

An old jazz emporium, the Colonial Tavern, used to sit incongruously between the Bank of Toronto and Bank of Commerce buildings, as they were originally called. The Colonial is gone, replaced by a parkette whose wall of trees at the sidewalk seems oddly threatening rather than inviting.

But go past them, and there in the back is what amounts to a courtyard oasis waiting to happen, a potentially magic square now filled with rough tarmac and a few dozen parked cars.

Just there to the left sits Massey Hall and straight ahead, the great curved wall of the Elgin and Winter Garden theatres, its blond bricks checked with several storeys of black, wrought-iron fire escapes.

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22. Waterloo Record: OHT Church Inventory launched
Mirko Petricevic

Provincewide inventory of places of worship is launched

The Ontario Heritage Trust launched an online inventory of the province's historic places of worship recently and is asking people of faith to help fill in the blanks.

“We're really hoping that the public in general and people who visit the website . . . will tell us more,” said Sean Fraser, manager of acquisitions and conservation services for the provincial government agency.

To be included in the inventory buildings must have been constructed in Ontario specifically for religious worship and be more than 25 years old.

Creating the inventory, costing $1 million, started in 2006 and was launched online on Sept. 1. Much of the information has been gleaned from public records and collected during site visits by Ontario Heritage Trust staff.

So far it includes about 1,600 places of worship, from 55 different religious communities. Fraser said the agency hopes to have a total of about 5,000 listings within a year.

The oldest buildings in the directory are mostly European Christian denominations—such as Anglican, Presbyterian, Mennonite and Baptist—started by waves of immigrants and settlers, he said.

“That's just the nature of the history of the province,” Fraser said. “The history of faith in Ontario is the history of Ontario.”

The Inventory can be found at the following address:

http://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/placesofworship/

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Editor's Note: This is a great beginning, and the work will continue. If you have information to add, or additional listings to share contact Sean Fraser at OHT.

23. Windsor Star: Protect Windsor's heritage sites
Anne Jarvis

Windsor, Ont.. -  The luxurious Norton Palmer Hotel, described as "one of the most beautifully furnished hotels in the Dominion," was where big businessmen stayed. Built in 1928, it dominated the corner of Park and Pelissier. Until it was razed for condos.

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A graphic illustration of what the new NB Liquor store will look like, incorporating the historic Fredericton train station. (Province of New Brunswick)

24. CBC New Brunswick: Historic train station plans worry architect
Staff

A Fredericton architect is criticizing NB Liquor's designs for the city's historic train station as resembling an appendage of just another big box store.

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25. Kelowna Capital News: Historic Kelowna Packinghouse given new life
Jennifer Smith

There’s a row of twisted beams in the Laurel Packinghouse that can pretty well tell you the story of the historic monument.

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26. Montreal Gazette: Green group issues Mount Royal warning
Anne Sutherland

Montreal ­ Unless concrete action is taken to protect Mount Royal, creeping condominium construction could threaten the jewel in our midst, a group of concerned citizens say.

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Noel Chenier/Telegraph-Journal Archive. The Carnegie Building houses Saint Johns Arts Centre; plans for development in the area would bury the first four feet of the structure.

27. Saint John Telegraph-Journal: Commentary - Don't destroy uptown jewel - Carnegie Building houses Saint Johns Arts Centre
Grant Heckman

plans for development in the area would bury the first four feet of the structure

Public consultation on important issues affecting Saint John has been a lively topic, especially since the LNG tax deal, an episode that continues to rankle many citizens years after the fact and that probably helped to unseat former mayor Norm MacFarlane.

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Cheques are payable to:
Built Heritage News
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29. cnasmith@builtheritagenews.ca