1. Can You Help Me Re-launch and Broaden Built Heritage News? Catherine Nasmith
Catherine Nasmith hoping others can help strengthen BHN
Since I retired from Built Heritage News, you haven't heard much from me, except for the occasional email, and posts to Facebook and Twitter. (Are you a follower)
Having hit the pause button for a year, I miss it. Do you?
Did you know that anyone can post an article or an event you think would be of interest to others. Would you or your organization be interested in sharing what is going on in your area through Built Heritage News? Would you be willing to sponsor an issue or two or guest edit an issue from time to time?
I have had conversations with a few people about what the publication could/should do, who might become partners in production or even take over its production. As those conversations evolve it becomes clear that having an independent voice has value for many organizations across Canada.
Many subscribers see it as a newsletter only, but it is also a website that should be updated daily, and could be with help.
Herb Stovel once told me that his students found the archive extremely useful, that Google doesn't really cover heritage all that well. Several main stream reporters say they found story ideas here. BHN's archives, nearly 7000 items, cover nearly 20 years of heritage history in Canada. There are more than 2700 subscribers. The software makes it easy to produce, easier than mailchimp or other newsletters, and it is set up to archive everything that is posted.
But it is too much for one person to do as a part-time project; BHN would benefit from having more people involved in its production and management; in short BHN needs to be more broadly supported editorially and financially to be viable, particularly as your intrepid editor ages :-)
With a view to re-launching BHN, I have gone ahead and updated the website and the technology we use to put out the newsletter so that it can be read on cell phones, be AODA compliant, and easier for people to contribute. We have capacity for more photographs now.
BHN is a work in progress and will continue to evolve. If you are interested in becoming more involved, posting articles, sharing ideas on who can sponsor, edit, or how you think the publication could be more helpful, I would really appreciate hearing from you. On the other hand, it may be that social media has supplanted BHN, and that is where we should all focus our efforts? Please let me know what you think, you can email me at cnasmith@builtheritagenews.ca or better post your comments on BHN facebook page where others can weigh in.
2. Delayed by COVID-19: Implementation of Changes to Ontario Heritage Act and Consultation on Regulations Kevin Finnerty
Kevin Finnerty, Assistant Deputy Minister
I am writing to inform you that in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries (MHSTCI) has decided to postpone consultation on the Ontario Heritage Act regulations. As you know, these regulations are required to support the amendments made under the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019.
As many of you are aware, MHSTCI had originally proposed a July 1, 2020 proclamation date for both the legislative amendments made through the More Homes, More Choice Act and the regulations. This was based on the expectation that consultation on the draft regulations would commence in March 2020. Due to the rapidly changing situation since the emergence of the COVID-19 virus, meeting these dates is not possible. To proceed with our original proposed schedule would distract municipal efforts to slow the spread of the virus and would impose an unfair burden on stakeholders whose focus should be on responding to this unprecedented health challenge.
Ministry staff will continue to work on drafting the regulations and on updates to the Ontario Heritage Tool Kit. We plan to post drafts for comment as soon as it is appropriate, and are now aiming for a proclamation date of January 1, 2021.
The existing Ontario Heritage Act and associated guides continue to apply. Ministry staff are available to answer questions. Feel free to reach out to your regular ministry contacts. If you do not know who to ask, send an email to heritage@ontario.ca and the appropriate staff person will respond.
We appreciate your understanding during these extraordinary circumstances.
Thank you,
Kevin Finnerty
Assistant Deputy Minister
Heritage, Tourism and Culture Division
3. Anthony Butler OAA FRAIC Order of Da Vinci: An Architect's Architect has died Bill Curran, Rob Hamilton, Catherine Nasmith
James Anthony Butler, OAA President 1986-7
Anthony Butler, a highly regarded Hamilton architect, died on Saturday March 28, 2020, after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife, Peggy, and their three children.
Tony, as he was known to many, was an early member of the Ontario Association of Architects Order of Da Vinci (1996), a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (1983). He made major contributions to the profession, was an editor of the Canadian Handbook of Practice for Architects (Senior English editor, 1999) and wrote several OAA practice bulletins. He worked tirelessly to help foreign trained architects get established, including researching the initial report (2008-09) for the proposed Broadly Experienced Foreign Architects national program. Tony was a President of ACO Hamilton in the early 1970's, served as President of the OAA (1986-7), as well as on the Hamilton Municipal Heritage Committee, then called LACAC.
An accomplished practitioner, Tony was also one of Hamiltons most important preservationists. He practiced from 1960 to 2003, and afterwards continued his very active volunteer life with several heritage passions like the Burlington Canal Lighthouse and helping save the Lister Building, serving on the Lister Advisory Working Group (2006-2008) along with Clinton Brown (Clinton Brown Company Architecture, Buffalo) and Julian Smith, conservation architect, who consulted on the restoration of the Vimy Monument, France.
Tony's architectural path began as a teenager at the Bank of Montreal, Hamilton main branch, while working for Husband, Robertson & Wallace during 1946-47. Decades later, his timely and critical advocacy on behalf of one of our finest surviving bank buildings eventually lead to the prevention of its demolition and eventual designation in 1979. Tony was drawn to the works by architects such as Louis Kahn, and yet participated during 1951 in Prof. Eric Arthur U of T Student heritage drawings project in Hamilton.
He is remembered by his friend and colleague Bill Curran, "Tony was among the first local Modern architects to truly treasure heritage, and especially industrial architecture. His story of his teenage job riding his bike through the industrial core inspecting traps for dreaded Japanese beetles leading him to fall in love with industrial architecture is a great story of how he was hooked on architecture. He became an expert on Hamilton's industrial heritage, which remained a passion for him and he often gave tours of it, including for the 2015 OAA Conference in Hamilton.
He was a truly gentle soul, always dapper and very polished, and Tony always had a kind word or helpful suggestion.
To me he epitomizes the highest compliment of being considered an Architect's Architect."
4. cbc.ca Questions Regarding the Centre Block Project in Ottawa Karina Roman, Chris Rands
Parliament Hill is getting the reno of the century — and some MPs say they're being kept in the dark
Construction will continue on Parliament Hill for years to come - one of the biggest renovation projects in Canadian history. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
For starters, they want to know what's going to happen to the lawn
Construction will continue on Parliament Hill for years to come - one of the biggest renovation projects in Canadian history. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
MPs are being asked to make some important choices about the decade-long renovation of the Centre Block of Parliament Hill — choices that could have a significant impact on the House of Commons and how Canadians experience the nation's capital.
But experts with knowledge of the project say MPs are not getting all the information they need to make those calls — and it's still not clear who has the power to make final decisions that could reshape the most iconic piece of public real estate in Canada.
The project to restore and modernize Centre Block — which includes the House of Commons and Senate chambers, the Library of Parliament, offices for MPs and party leaders and the Peace Tower — is underway and will unfold over the next 10 years.
The project aims to upgrade the buildings' seismic resilience, systems and security, and to make them more energy-efficient and accessible, all while preserving their heritage.
'The theatre of our democracy' "On a contemporary basis, I don't think there is a more important construction project that's happening in the country," said Liberal MP and Chief Government Whip Mark Holland. "It's a place where the theatre of our democracy has played out over the last 100 years.
"We're making a decision now for the next 100 years. So it's an incredibly important decision."
But while the project has been in the works for years, MPs are only now starting to see what the final product could look like. They have a lot of questions — and some fear they're not being shown the whole picture.
"So far, I have not been impressed by the level of information that's been available," said NDP House Leader Peter Julian. He's a member of the powerful Board of Internal Economy (BOIE), one of the committees that received a presentation on the renovation plans at the end of February.
"The only way to ensure we're not spending money on frills or a Cadillac version of the Centre Block renovation is to make sure that there's full disclosure ... as we make these decisions."
The most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expedience.
~ W. Somerset Maugham
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds… ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
You would have to have been living under a rock not to have heard about the province’s proposed changes to the Ontario Heritage Act. [1]
The proposals are part of a much bigger omnibus bill introduced on May 2, 2019. Bill 108, which may have already cleared Second Reading, is on a fast track and expected to be passed into law by June 6, when the Legislature rises for the summer recess. [2]
The government is seeking comments on the bill via the Environmental Registry until June 1. [3] Since the bill’s introduction, heritage groups, municipalities, the development industry and others have been scrambling to understand and assess the potential impacts of the proposed changes — to the OHA in particular — and to put together a response.
What should we make of these proposals?
The last significant changes to the Ontario Heritage Act were made in 2005 when the Act underwent a major overhaul. A common complaint up to that time was that the legislation had been amended very little since its passage in 1975 — a whole generation earlier. There was a justifiable feeling that legislation that is not periodically updated — not deemed worthy of taking up time on a government’s busy legislative agenda — must not be seen as important. The neglect of the OHA, where needed changes were identified pretty much from the start, seemed indicative of a bigger neglect of cultural heritage and its conservation as a government priority.
Editor's Note: This article to refresh your memory as to what is in Bill 108, if you haven't been following it. Dan Schneider, former chief policy advisor at Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport, chairs the Architectural Conservancy Ontario's policy committee, and writes about heritage policy in his blog, now hosted at University of Waterloo's Heritage Resource Centre. If you haven't yet subscribed to the RSS feed, here's how. https://uwaterloo.ca/heritage-resources-centre/blog/subscribe-oham
6. Heritage Resources Centre: OHA + M, Cultural heritage in the PPS, 2020 — some good tweaks Dan Schneider
Cultural heritage in the PPS, 2020 — some good tweaks
The new Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, replacing the PPS, 2014, comes into force on May 1, 2020.1
What do you need to know?
Overall, the changes to the cultural heritage policies are minor, but do represent improvements. They clarify and simplify existing provisions while in some cases extending the application of the policies. Most are refinements of the cultural heritage-related definitions. Let’s have a closer look.
7. TO Built---Torontonians - Get Out There and Explore the Architecture in your Neighbourhood Catherine Nasmith
The first few of hundreds of properties in Rosedale
As long as we are allowed to go out for walks, one art form still available to us is architecture. During the pandemic you might want to search TO Built to see what is there in your neighbourhood and make up your own walking tour. TOBuilt is an online database of Toronto properties developed and managed by the Toronto Branch of the Architectural Conservancy Ontario. You might also want to check out the walking tours that ACO Toronto has been putting out about once a week since the pandemic isolation period began. You can have them emailed to you by subscribing.
On TOBUILT you can explore the city from your desktop, search by architect, period, style, date, neighbourhood and many other combinations of the above. If you search Rosedale for example, hundreds of buildings come up.
TOBuilt is a long way from being finished, and it may never be, but there are over 11,000 buildings in the database already. Some have a lot more information than others. If you have an interest, you can help to build knowlege of Toronto's architecture. You can add material about the buildings you know by submitting posts, any member of ACO can login and add buildings, and ACOToronto is offering a year's free membership to anyone who would like to do this. The website offers advice on how to research buildings as well. If your house isn't in the database, why not take a picture and find out what you can by going to the online resources available. You might not find who designed it or built it, but you never know who else might know and be able to edit your entry.
If you are not already familiar with TOBuilt, now is a great time to explore. As the past-president of the Toronto Branch I couldn't be prouder of this facility.
8. Globe and Mail: ACO's TOBuilt: A Window to Toronto Architecture Dave LeBlanc
How to engage with architecture while self-isolating
The Toronto East General Hospital, (now, Michael Garron Hospital) was completed in 1951, designed by architect K.S. Gillies
With self-isolation, there isn’t much to do. Walk the dog. Walk yourself. All while keeping social distancing in mind, of course.
But for those of us who live in dense urban areas, there’s something that’s all around us, all the time: architecture.
But what do I do, I hear you ask, if I don’t have an architectural guidebook?
Go to the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario’s “TO Built” website, a database of more than 11,000 buildings, which span from the city’s earliest, Scadding Cabin from 1794, to multiple entries from 2017 – a Google search for “TO Built” should work, or type in www.acotoronto.ca/tobuilt_new_detailed.php – and type in the name of a street near you.
That’s all fine and good, you might say, but there’s nothing near me to justify changing my dog’s favourite sniffing route. Not true! Let’s look at my neighbourhood as an example. Using the site’s user-friendly search tools, I type “Coxwell” into the Street Name box and click Search. Up pop six entries, one of which is a building I remember from my childhood (because my mother worked there), the former Toronto East General Hospital (now Michael Garron Hospital).
While the wing-shaped, glass-blocked and speed-striped building looks straight out of 1935, I learn that it was completed in 1951 and that its architect was “K.S. Gillies.” I also learn it has no heritage status and is classified as “art deco.” I can choose to look at “more buildings in this style” or I can click on the architect’s name, which I do. This transports me to Gillies’s entry on the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada website, where I discover that Kenneth Stevenson Gillies was born in Guelph, Ont., and spent “nearly fifty years” working for the City of Toronto building department, where he helped pen the Waterworks Maintenance Complex at 505 Richmond St. W. (now undergoing restoration as a food hall and condominium by MOD Developments) and the Symes Road Municipal Incinerator (recently restored).
“I used TO Built a lot as a researcher so I understood the asset that we had there,” says Pauline Berkovitz, 27, who has recently become site co-ordinator while working on a master’s thesis in historic preservation at Boston Architectural College. “I use it as a sort of jumping off point … some of [the listings] have an immense amount of information right there, like something like Ontario Place or one of our research projects like Toronto schools or places of worship, and then there’s other listings that have less information but they have links to other resources.”.......
TO Built will soon be sending weekly walking tours of neighbourhoods or parks to help keep Torontonians engaged during this period. Like the ACO on Facebook or e-mail them at info@acotoronto.ca to get on the mailing list.
9. Hamilton Spectator: Heartbreaking Loss of Brandon House, Ancaster Shannon Kyles
Brandon House: Canary in a coal mine?
The Brandon House, an iconic Victorian farmhouse at the north entrance to the village of Ancaster, was demolished the first week of April. Social media erupted in tears at the loss of a much-loved building as well as cries of incompetence and even malpractice on the part of the authorities in charge.
Many people assume that the built heritage in Hamilton is in good hands, that there is general agreement that maintaining local character is good for both citizens and tourism. In fact that is not the case. It is relatively easy to get a demolition permit and almost impossible to save a building.
The best way to protect a building from demolition in Hamilton is to have it “designated.” Designation means that the street facade of a building cannot be changed. It seems easy, but the process is long and involved. If you submit a ‘request to designate’ in Hamilton in 2020, the wait time will be a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of ... who knows?
How does designation work? In short there are three steps. First a building is ‘inventoried’ or added to the inventory of buildings noted for their heritage value. Heritage volunteers provide documentation for them to be “listed” or added to the register. If they are added to the register, then a demolition permit will be met with a hold of 60 days for heritage professionals to place it first on the list and get it ‘designated.’
The Brandon House was an inventoried property, not a listed or designated property. As a key residence on Wilson Street, it was identified as an important historical building by the Ancaster LACAC (Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee) before amalgamation in 2000. Upon amalgamation it, like most other Ancaster buildings, was put at the bottom of the heap in Inventory. Only five buildings in downtown Ancaster are designated. The rest can be demolished as soon as we are out of lockdown.
What about those heritage people? With amalgamation, the LACAC groups who advised town council were disbanded and a Hamilton Municipal Heritage Committee (HMHC) was established. Instead of having five to 10 dedicated local people presenting to their neighbours, you have 11 volunteers from the Greater Hamilton area who report to the City of Hamilton Planning Department.
Before designation, a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) is provided by an inventory research group who report to the HMHC. These are all volunteers. Once completed, the city hires a consultant to designate the property. Constraints in this process are clearly time and budget. There is rapid turnover in the hard working and capable, but junior ranks of the Heritage office who are often hired only on contract. There is no Chief Heritage Planner with either local familiarity or the clout have an impact.
In addition, both the volunteers and the chair of the HMHC are chosen by a panel of city officials and councillors. The mandate of the city is, essentially, to produce a larger tax base and more density. The chair of the HMHC is not a heritage professional but instead is currently employed in construction.
10. Please Sign Petition to Save Ancaster's Heritage Catherine Nasmith
Petition: Save Ancaster's Built Heritage
The loss of Brandon House has people spitting mad, such an important local landmark, it should never have happened. Since amalgamation, Ancaster citizens have been struggling to protect their heritage, with only one vote on the larger Hamilton City Council. Ironically, the heritage that is treasured attracts people who want to live there and developers wanting to sell to them. Brandon house was torn down to make way for a condominium, and residents fear what will be next. You can support their efforts by signing the petition.
11. Urban Toronto: A New Design for York Square at 33 Avenue Road
33 Avenue Road Condo Tower Proposal Changes in New Design
Architect's Rendering
A proposal to redevelop the northeast corner of Avenue Road and Yorkville Avenue first appeared on UrbanToronto's front page in 2012, and after another change to the project's team, a new version of the proposal has appeared in a new rezoning application. Before we dive into what's being proposed by developers First Capital and Greybrook Realty Partners, let's take a look back at the various designs and teams that preceded the current plan.
Editor's Note: This time the developer and their architects have decided to completely ignore the designated heritage building on the site....its too bad. Now that the site is larger the possibility of consolidating the development at the east side of the site to conserve the heritage square should be opening.
12. Urban Toronto: Redevelopment on Planetarium Site Marc Matanis
Heritage Value of Shuttered Planetarium Further Assessed for U of T Redevelopment
Just over a year after plans were unveiled for the University of Toronto's proposed Centre for Civilizations, Cultures and Cities (CCC) at 90 Queen's Park Crescent, the City has received additional materials in support of the rezoning and Site Plan applications. In response to comments from Heritage Preservation Services, heritage consultants ERA Architects have supplemented the initial Heritage Impact Assessment with additional background information and rationale for the proposed site alterations, which include the demolition of the long shuttered McLaughlin Planetarium.
Looking northwest from Queen's Park Crescent, image via submission to the City of Toronto
The site is located on the west side of Queen's Park Crescent south of the Royal Ontario Museum. The 6,780 m² property is currently occupied by the planetarium, the 119-year-old Falconer Hall, and the open space east of the two buildings. The new nine-storey building, designed by New York-based architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Toronto's architectsAlliance, would be integrated with the west elevation of Falconer Hall. The project is planned to house a number of programs under one roof, including History, the School of Cities, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, the Institute of Islamic Studies, the Archaeology Centre, and an arm of the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies. The development would also include a music recital hall and a 400-seat events space, both with views looking south to the financial district skyline.
Rendering looking southwest from the Gardiner Museum, image via submission to the City of Toronto
The CCC would require the demolition of later additions to the Falconer Building located at the northwest corner and a vestibule at the southwestern corner. Falconer Hall is to be designated as a heritage building through the subject application.
13. YouTube: 1979 Michael Hough lecture on Landscape of Ontario Place University of Manitoba
We are lucky enough to have received this fantastic video from Bridget Hough, Michael Hough's widow. It has wonderful images of the construction and an explanation of the design and construction process. It offers insight into the dilemma of a designer watching their creation changed by others.
14. Globe and Mail: Restoration of Tile Work on Fireplace at Darwin Martin House Dave LeBlanc
Restoration by microscope: Buffalo’s Darwin Martin house
I don’t care what season it actually is, step into the Darwin Martin House in Buffalo (1904-05), and it’s perpetual fall. Maybe that’s because its architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, worshipped Mother Nature, and fall is when she is at her most showy and triumphant.
Like a long-shadowed stroll through a leaf-strewn park, light and shadow are more pronounced, greens give way to browns and golds, and there is a wistful feeling of loss. Yes, even after a full restoration of this treasure, this masterwork, a bittersweet feeling hangs in the air … a happy-sad realization that nothing, absolutely nothing like this could ever be built, or rebuilt, again.
But that’s not to say one shouldn’t visit. One must, when the world resets to semi-normal again.
Editor's Note: It's behind a paywall, so only available to Globe and Mail subscribers, but you can at least peak at the delicious photograph of this restored fireplace...unbelievable research to achieve.
15. Former Minister of Culture, Aileen Carrol dies at 75
'We've lost one of our most prominent citizens': Former Barrie city councillor Aileen Carroll dies
BARRIE -- Well-known politician and Barrie community activist, the Honourable Aileen Carrol has died.
"Aileen was a fiery and funny person and an inspiration to many," Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman tweeted on Monday. "We've lost one of our most prominent citizens."
On a day already filled with difficult news, Barrie is mourning the passing of the Hon. Aileen Carroll.
Aileen accomplished many firsts - the first Federal Cabinet Minister from Barrie and serving at all three levels of government including both Provincial and Federal cabinet 1/
Carroll was the first Federal Cabinet Minister from Barrie and served at all three levels of government. She resigned from politics in 2011 and focused her energy on charitable activities and her family.
She leaves behind her husband, two children and six grandchildren.
Carroll passed away on Sunday at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie.
She was 75.
Editor's Note: Aileen Carroll served as Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sport at the beginning of the second term of the McGuinty government, succeeding Caroline DiCocco.
Explosions heard as 2-alarm fire engulfs abandoned building in downtown Toronto
Fire crews were called to the scene of a two-alarm fire at Wellington Street West. There were reports of someone working inside the abandoned building. (Paul Borkwood/CBC)
Fire crews are working to put out a two-alarm fire at an abandoned building on Wellington Street West in downtown Toronto.
Crews were called to the scene near Front Street West and Spadina Avenue just after 11:30 a.m. Monday for reports that smoke was seen coming out of the boarded-up building.
Toronto police reported smoke billowing from the roof of the building, and that a small explosion was heard.
Smoke can be seen coming from the abandoned building on Wellington Street West. (Mathieu Simard/Radio-Canada)
Toronto Fire Capt. David Eckerman told CBC Toronto that when firefighters arrived, explosions could be heard coming from the building.
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The Brandon House, an iconic Victorian farmhouse at the north entrance to the village of Ancaster, was demolished the first week of April. Social media erupted in tears at the loss of a much-loved building as well as cries of incompetence and even malpractice on the part of the authorities in charge.
