Hamilton City Hall, an internationally recognized, and designated, example of the International Style of architecture, is in danger of being defaced - forever.


Hamilton City Council has voted to remove the white Cherokee marble and replace it with pre-cast concrete. A compromise to replace the damaged marble with limestone was dismissed as too expensive. As a result, the well-respected heritage architects on the project E.R.A. have resigned in protest. Councillor Lloyd Ferguson who chairs the renovation committee dismissed this: "They are heritage architects, they don't consider costs."


At stake is an important and iconic building that is the seat of our local government. It is a symbol of our City to its citizens, visitors and investors. In 2005 many of these same councillors voted to designate City Hall to protect its heritage. Who knows what other alterations they plan for the interior.


Architect Stanley Roscoe considers City Hall his masterwork.

Speakers, special guests and words of support will be shared by Joan Roscoe (wife of architect Stanley Roscoe), Brian Pigott, Graham Crawford (Hamilton HIStory+HERitage) and others.

Local historian, Bill Manson, in a recent letter to the Hamilton Spectator, put it well, "The Romans invented concrete and subsequently used this material to construct magnificent public buildings befitting their advanced civilization. The Romans also clad these structures in marble, which the barbarians later ripped off."

A walking tour around the perimeter of the building will follow the speakers. We encourage all photographers to capture the building's beauty and architectural details and to post their images on our Flickr page afterwards - www.flickr.com/groups/899319@N25/