1. SAVED!
Catherine Nasmith, President of Toronto Architectural Conservancy

This house should not be disposable

Does this Look Like a Tear Down to You?

Quick work on the part of Sandra Shaul, and Councillor Adam Vaughan have resulted in the withdrawal of an application to demolish this house. It turns out it was designed by architect Hamilton Townsend and sits in the centre of a group of three of his houses built by one developer on Walmer Road.

The Annex Residents Association were opposing the application to demolish, but even though the area has been identified as a potential HCD,  the house was not yet listed or designated. City staff advised it would take til July for them to even be able to open a file, let alone process the building for protection. Luckily, Councillor Vaughan, armed with the research done by Sandra Shaul, was able to persuade the developer to withdraw the application.

Thanks everyone. Can't wait for the research to start on the rest of the Annex. 

2. Persistence and Persuasion Leads to Success in Carrville, Maple Ontario

Saving the old Post Office and General Store
Ann Crichton-Harris

Before and After

 In November of 2004 I was upset to read in The Toronto Star of the burning of Thomas Cook’s 1833 house in Carrville. The house had been empty but a decision about its future was imminent. “Pre-development fires, arson presumed” the detective said.

If one more Carrville property were to be destroyed, the village history would vanish. I had an emotional attachment: from 1961—1979 my family also lived in that house.

In 2008 a friend in Maple called to say the old post office was boarded up, graffitied and looked ready for demolition.

Tomorrow, The City of Vaughan, is awarding both Mrs. Eluned MacMillan and me an Ontario Heritage Award for our work to save the 1845 Carrville Post Office and General Store, also constructed by Thomas Cook. We are pleased the town of Vaughan will plaque the site, but for now the building is neither Listed nor Designated and we continue to work on this aspect.

The village of Carrville was a thriving community with a general store and post office, church, school, cooperage, two mills and at least two fine homes. Thomas Cook’s handsome brick house at the end of winding lane had marble fireplaces and a widow’s walk on top. In 1833, Thomas and William Cook bought the Fisher Mill and land, Concession 2 on Carrville Road, Maple. In 1838 Thomas added a saw mill on this tributory of the Don River. Thomas was a respected entrepreneurial citizen and his business prospered. Wanting an outlet for his flour and lumber, in 1845 he built a large wooden general store and later incorporated a post office. The post office moved in 1919 and the building was bought by an Italian immigrant, Luigi Del Brocco, as a home for his expanding family.

2008 initiated my campaign to save this developer owned building. Success took six years. There were three key points:

First: My collaborator, Mrs. MacMillan, deeded her 120 acres and 1847 brick farmhouse (built by Thomas’s brother, William) to the Nature Conservancy. Her property is part of the village of Carrville.

Second: ‘The Italian Connection’. The Del Brocco family who lived for thirty-one years in that Post Office were the first Italians in Vaughan. This was Italian heritage, and we urged them to preserve it. Vaughan Council is predominantly Italian heritage, as is the developer in question. 

Third: My involvement. If you care passionately about something, you will probably succeed.

The work to keep vandals and squatters out was an occupation in itself. Finally, Council suggested better fencing which proved the temporary answer. The heritage survey advocated for preservation and an architect hired by the developer, using the Del Brocco photos, drew up final plans. Because of a road widening, the building had to be moved back and set on a newly poured basement—an enormous and expensive operation. The interior will be built to suit and suggestions for finding a tenant are welcome. 

The developer, Mr. Rudy Bratty, expressed his thoughts at our celebration in September saying his involvement was an act of charity. If this is so, we are grateful for charity.

Editor's Note:
Congrats to both, Vaughan is a place where heritage buildings disappear far too often. It is a pity the building was renovated without much concern for the original heritage fabric. Designation would have helped, but nonetheless a record exists which would permit future restoration.

3. Smart Address: Catalogue available for Purchase
Alec Keefer

Smart Address, the catalogue of the superb, recently closed show on Art Deco Toronto with some side trips to the history of Mount Pleasant and Chorley Park is available for purchase from the Toronto Architectural Conservancy c/o Toronto's First Post Office for $20.00 plus taxes and shipping and handling, or you can pick up from the Market Gallery in person.

To order contact Janet Walters tfpo@total.net

Retailers can arrange a wholesale rate by contacting Ms. Walters. 

4. Adaptive Reuse of pre-Civil War Era Pumping Station/Louisville, Kentucky
Christine Caroppo

Restoring the Past: Renovation Project Breathes New Life into Century-Old Pumping Station and Water Tower

Note: article is on 3 pages: 24, 26 + 59.

Sorry, BHN subscribers The article is on 3 pp of a .pdf newsletter and it won't let me copy the text here.

I think it's worth a read, though. It hits all the right notes for adaptive reuse of a community landmark heritage building.

Christine

Click here for Link

5. Raise the Hammer: Accidental Demolition Order for Gore
Ryan McGreal

Gore Property Owner Accidentally Gets Demolition Order

Wilson-Blanchard received an Order to Comply for 18-28 King Street East instructing them either to fix the property standards violations of their vacant heritage buildings ... or apply for a demolition permit.

Heritage advocate Diane Dent had a meeting today with David Blanchard of Wilson-Blanchard, the company that owns 18-28 King Street East, to discuss the fate of the buildings after Council voted last December to designate them under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Blanchard surprised her by saying he just received a notice from the City to demolish the buildings.

Dent sounded the alarm, contacting Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr to ask what was going on. Ed VanderWindt, chief building official for the City, quickly clarified, "The City has not issued a demolition permit for the property."

Soon after, Farr explained what had happened in an email reply.

A Municipal Law Enforcement (MLE) staffer inspected the vacant buildings in mid-January and issued a standard "Order to Comply", which states that that property owner must either fix the identified violations or request a permit to have the building demolished.

The staffer who inspected the buildings did not know that they had recently been designated. Farr confirmed that the property owner would have to apply for a permit before proceeding with demolition. "At that stage, the error would have been flagged by our Building Department."

Farr apologized for the mishap. "We are sorry for any confusion that this issue has caused and can assure you that at this time both bylaw and Heritage staff are working in tandem as it relates to these Property standards issues."

Editor's Note:
OOPS, nice catch Diane

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6. Toronto Star: Ron Thom show at Gardiner Museum
Vicky Sanderson

Ron Thom inspired local furniture maker

Rob Tuckerman spent seven years at Trent University, where — in addition to the usual intellectual fruits one gathers at a seat of higher education — he picked up a love of mid-century modern furniture.

That’s not surprising, given that the campus was designed by Ron Thom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Thom , who also oversaw its furnishing. If the name’s not familiar – you’re not alone. Too many Canadians don’t know about Thom. We should. Gardiner Museum curator Adele Weder says that, “few architects have helped shape Canadian architecture as poetically as Ron Thom.”

A show about Ron Thom, focusing on his work and influence between 1947 and 1972, will be at the beautiful Gardiner Museum http://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/exhibition/ron-thom until April 27.

Tuckerman says that, back in the day, Trent was home to one of the largest collections of modern design in North America, with the initial order or furniture placed with giants like Eames, Jacobsen, and Wegner. It’s a legacy Tuckerman thinks is worth preserving. Watch this space for developments there.

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7. Toronto Star: Big Idea Tower Renewal and Mixed Use Suburbs
Graeme Stewart, partner ERA architects

Realize the postwar suburban vision: Graeme Stewarts Big Idea

illustration, Raffie Anderian

What if …… our suburbs are our future? What if the communities of Scarborough, North York and Etobicoke are the Toronto Region's greatest urban asset, holding the key to achieving the sustainable, resilient and connected community we demand today?

Not everyone realizes it, but the GTA’s suburban form is unique to North America, reflecting progressive ideas that were perhaps the “smart growth” of the postwar era. They were intended to provide a spacious and green, yet dense and dynamic city of the future. An essential aspect of this alternative suburbia are the thousand-odd "tower in the park" apartment buildings that arose among the bungalows and shopping plazas, providing housing choice and the density to support transit and local economies. Together they form hundreds of Apartment Neighbourhoods, housing over a million people and giving the GTA a regional density nearly twice that of greater Chicago.

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8. Globe and Mail: Development North of Fort York
John Bentley-Mays

Garrison Point: Great plan for an odd Toronto space

During Toronto’s rapid Victorian build-out, the tidy, right-angled grid of streets and roads being pushed across the landscape frequently collided with the railway corridors that sweep diagonally through the city. Among the results of this mismatch were numerous small, oddly-shaped crannies and nooks of land, backed on to the tracks, that residential developers have traditionally been reluctant to build on.

The financial partners in Garrison Point are Cityzen, Fernbrook Homes and DiamondCorp. These conspicuous players in the local real-estate market – all three have sponsored architecturally significant condominium towers – cobbled together Garrison Point’s wedge-shaped site from bits and pieces of old industrial land at the junction of two rail lines immediately east of Liberty Village. Both lines carry GO commuter trains. One will be the route of the express transport connecting Union Station and Pearson Airport, which suggests that anyone thinking of taking up residence in Garrison Point should be a fan of the railways, since he will have trains on two sides.

Their negative attitudes toward these orphaned spaces have been changing, however, as the downtown area’s ongoing intensification gobbles up the last properties that are easy to develop (such as large parking lots), leaving only the more problematic ones up for grabs.

Editor's Note:
Nice to see the project including the bridge and development of Garrison Creek Parks.

Click here for Link

9. Globe and Mail: Proposal to Rename Toronto's Union Station
Elizabeth Church

Councillor wants Union Station renamed after John A. Macdonald

A move is in the works to rename Toronto’s Union Station after the country’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, in time for his 200th birthday next year.

Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong is pushing for the name change, arguing that “the George Washington of Canada” deserves more recognition in the country’s most populous city.

Macdonald was born on Jan 11, 1815, and Mr. Minnan-Wong wants the change on the city-owned station to take place before then.

“Sir John A. Macdonald was known for Confederation. He was a nation-builder for building a railway from coast to coast,” the councillor said Tuesday. “We do not give enough recognition of some of our prime ministers and Sir John A. Macdonald is the George Washington of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald deserves this type of recognition in terms of his accomplishments and I think Union Station would be a great recognition of his contribution to Canada.”

Editor's Note:
Commemorating Sir John A. Macdonald a worthy idea, and the association with railway clear, but perhaps consider naming the fancy new train shed after him. Union Station is the historic name, and should remain. Or perhaps we should offer naming rights like Okeefe, no Hummingbird, no Sony.......

Click here for Link

10. Globe and Mail: Parks Canada State of Bad Repair
Dean Beeby

Internal report says Parks Canada buildings in worse shape than claimed

Parks Canada’s crumbling forts, historical houses and other heritage structures are in much poorer shape than the agency estimates.

That’s the finding of an independent consultant asked to review a comprehensive inventory created by Parks Canada to determine how much repair work is needed for its varied infrastructure across the country.

The agency’s 2012 inventory found that 47 per cent of all its assets — from dams, bridges and roads, to old stone forts — are in poor or very poor condition.

But Opus International Consultants Ltd. said its own sampling of hundreds of assets pushed that overall level to 53 per cent.

And so-called cultural assets — the historical houses, fortifications, locks and other heritage gems from Canada’s past — are in even worse shape.

Opus estimates 61 per cent of these 2,000 structures are in poor or very poor shape, compared with Parks Canada’s more rosy assessment of just 33 per cent.

“Results indicate that at the portfolio level the value of (Parks Canada) assets in poor condition has increased from condition reported in the 2012 National Asset Review,” says the Opus report, which cost taxpayers $316,000.

A copy of the Dec. 16, 2013, document was obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

Editor's Note:
Our heritage, sacrificed on the alter of deficits

Click here for Link

11. Globe and Mail: Eaton's Restaurant on Annual List of Threatened sites
Ingrid Peritz

Future uncertain for famed Montreal Art Deco restaurant

Click here for Link

12. Heritage Montreal: Top Ten Endangered sites in Montreal

Click here for Link

13. Montreal Gazette: Montreal's top 10 endangered landmarks
Marian Scott

Pierre du Calvet house is one of four sites to make first appearance on heritage groups annual list

MONTREAL, QUE.: FEBRUARY 10, 2014 -- Maison du Calvet at 409 rue St-Paul, Montreal is one of 10 sites Heritage Montreal recently announced as endangered. Dave Sidaway - Gazette

Fifty years after Old Montreal was designated a provincial historic site, heritage advocates are worried about the fate of one of the district's oldest houses.

Built in 1770-71, the Pierre du Calvet house at the northeast corner of Bonsecours and St-Paul Sts. — now part of the Pierre du Calvet Hotel — is an exceptional example of traditional French architecture.

But with news the property is up for sale, Heritage Montreal has added the house to its list of the city's top 10 endangered landmarks.

"Since this house is so exceptional and since it is not recognized or classified (as a historic site) and there is no plan for it, this is why, after discussion, we decided this is very worrisome," said Heritage Montreal policy director Dinu Bumbaru.

Ronald Dravigné, co-owner of the Pierre du Calvet Hotel and Les Filles du Roi restaurant, confirmed the property is for sale for $9.5 million but said he was insulted the heritage organization put it on the endangered list without consulting him or his partner, Gaëtan Trottier.

"This is a denial of all we've done," he said.

Dravigné said he and Trottier have worked for years to maintain the house and adjoining buildings but simply can't keep up with rising costs, including property taxes of $85,000 a year and $120,000 a year for heat, electricity and insurance.

"I don't have the means to keep paying for this house, which I adore," said Dravigné, who started the hotel and restaurant with Trottier in 1993. The Trottier family acquired two buildings next to the Calvet house in 1962 and Trottier and Dravigné bought the Calvet house in 1982.

Dravigné accused Heritage Montreal of raising alarm bells over the house because Heritage Montreal founder Phyllis Lambert lives next door.

Click here for Link

14. City of Toronto: Survey on Gardiner East Take Down

Last Chance to Have Your Say

I include this because I was chair of the Gardiner Lakeshore Task Force for 15 years, alongside Jack Layton. Our work together brought vast improvements to the Gardiner (Now Lakeshore Blvd) east of the Don River. We should take this section down in Jack's memory, and put lots of Jack bicycle statues alongside to remind us it was Jack Layton and John Sewell who founded the City Task force to study this idea in 1985. Its been nearly 30 years....even for Toronto that is a long time to dream.

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15. CTV News: Parks Canada buildings in worse shape than claimed: report
Dean Beeby, The Canadian Press

Parks Canada's crumbling forts, historical houses and other heritage structures are in much poorer shape than the agency estimates.

That's the finding of an independent consultant asked to review a comprehensive inventory created by Parks Canada to determine how much repair work is needed for its varied infrastructure across the country.

The agency's 2012 inventory found that 47 per cent of all its assets -- from dams, bridges and roads, to old stone forts -- are in poor or very poor condition.

But Opus International Consultants Ltd. said its own sampling of hundreds of assets pushed that overall level to 53 per cent.

And so-called cultural assets -- the historical houses, fortifications, locks and other heritage gems from Canada's past -- are in even worse shape.

Opus estimates 61 per cent of these 2,000 structures are in poor or very poor shape, compared with Parks Canada's more rosy assessment of just 33 per cent.

"Results indicate that at the portfolio level the value of (Parks Canada) assets in poor condition has increased from condition reported in the 2012 National Asset Review," says the Opus report, which cost taxpayers $316,000.

Editor's Note:
This seems to be a pattern. For more of the same, see the Opus Internatinal Consultant's 2009 report, http://www.slideshare.net/Jacknickelson/microsoft-word-evaluation-of-parks-canada-asset-management

Click here for Link

16. Ottawa Citizen: Plan to replace Clarence Street heritage building draws fire from community
Michael Woods

Originally built as a warehouse, it

Rendering/National Capital Commission, supplied by Lowertown Community Assocation. A proposed building to replace the heritage building at 7 Clarence St., with view from the courtyard.

A proposal by the National Capital Commission to demolish a heritage building on Clarence Street and build a new one in its place is already raising the ire of nearby residents and community leaders.

Those voicing opposition to demolishing the two-storey stone building at 7 Clarence St. — formerly the site of Memories Restaurant — say the modern-looking building that could replace it doesn’t fit with the rest of the neighbourhood.

“Our view is that both in size and design, the building’s completely out of whack with what would be expected in a heritage district like the ByWard Market,” said Lowertown Community Association president Marc Aubin.

The NCC, which owns the building, says the structure is at the end of its life cycle and demolition is the best option for the site. Memories was forced to vacate the building about a year ago. Now, the NCC has officially applied to the city for permission to demolish it and rebuild on the site.

“We’ve done what we could to salvage the building. It’s really at the end of its life cycle,” said Sandra Pecek, the NCC’s director of communications. She added that the proposed replacement is “very conceptual at this point,” and far from final.

The historic building, believed to date to the 1860s or 1870s, is part of Tin House Court, one of the courtyards behind the buildings that line Sussex Drive.

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17. Paris Star Online: Arlington Hotel to Reopen in May
Michael Peeling

Arlington Hotel due to open in May

 After being closed for half a dozen years, the Arlington Hotel will open again in the spring after being purchased by four investors and friends.

One of those investors is Nils Foss, a real estate agent from Hamilton with years of experience opening restaurants behind him.

Foss has taken the lead on getting the 160-plus-year-old hotel in the heart of downtown Paris ready for a new life.

Foss and his longtime friends were in Paris last year when they noticed the "Closed for renovations" signs on the Arlington and an idea started to take shape.

"We all fell in love with Paris," he said. "We love the vibe and the feel."

Foss said the quartet got in touch with the County of Brant's tourism and community development coordinator, Russell Press, and he was "very enthusiastic and excited" about their plans.

"So was everyone we talked to," Foss said. "We learned that there really isn't a nice hotel where people can bed down in Paris."

In addition to re-opening the 24-room hotel, Foss and his partners are opening the restaurant off William Street.

"We want to make it a more approachable place to come and eat, more casual," Foss said.

The Arlington is looking to hire a chef with a "farm fresh" approach to food with ingredients coming from nearby growers.

As part of their research, the partners ate at all of the other local restaurants with a goal towards finding a niche.

"We want to offer something that's not here already," he said.

On the other side of the lobby will be a bar and cafe.

Foss said the aim is to make both establishments a regular attraction to residents and visitors to Paris, not just a place for special dinners and events.

Renovations to the building are underway and include "freshening up" the carpet, paint and other interior decorating items. 

Photos and info about the Arlington at

Editor's Note:
Great News! Its an example of heritage protection leading to adaptive re-use. Congrats Paris

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18. Shameless Promotion: Vacation in A Muskoka Heritage Cottage
Catherine Nasmith

Nasmith Allsopp Cottage: Short Term Rental

Welcome home

If you fancy a lovely few days in our charming guest cottage, next door to the Windermere office of Catherine Nasmith Architect, you can rent The Roost, lovingly restored and decorated by your BHN editor and her wonderful husband, Robert Allsopp. 

For more info, go to: 

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19. The Record:Hurrah - Main Street Re-habilitators
Terry Pender

Bringing new life to Galts Main Street

CAMBRIDGE — David Gibson and Craig Beattie are walking down Main Street in Galt talking about the challenges of restoring and renovating old buildings.

They are surrounded by one of the biggest concentrations of heritage architecture anywhere in Ontario as they stop and chat in front of 57 Main St. — built in 1895 and carefully restored by their company, Perimeter Development Corp.

"What we wanted to do is show people what can be done with these older buildings, if you really take the time and put the effort into it — and the money," Gibson said.

Gibson is doing all three.

In March 2010, he announced the purchase of eight old buildings along Main Street for more than $3.5 million.

The block between Water and Ainslie streets is like a living museum for a 19th century Ontario mill town. Everywhere there are limestone buildings and church spires in what the former director of the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture called the best urban landscape west of Venice.

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20. Windsor Star: Amherstberg Rectory Threat

St. Josephs Church Rectory

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21. New York Times: Belles of the Wrecking Ball
Christopher Gray

NYT - Picketing protesters tried to save the Brokaw Mansions but they were torn down in 1965.

The Museum of Modern Art’s decision to tear down the quirky little American Folk Art Museum, barely a decade old, has generated outrage; only the loss of Penn Station in 1963 and the fight that saved Grand Central in the 1970s have been more bitter.

But of the structures that have come down since Penn Station fell, there are many candidates for greatest loss, from Beaux-Arts skyscraper to cast-iron loft building.

It was on the smashed remains of Penn Station that Nathan Silver, an architect, put together the 1964 exhibit, “Lost New York,” which he later developed into the book of the same name. His book is the Old Testament for the New York preservation movement, with vanished architectural beauty on every page and indignation on every other. Half a century later, Mr. Silver is most aggrieved by the demolition in 1967 of the 1883 Metropolitan Opera House, on 39th and Broadway, in part because he went to the opera there when he was a teenager.

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