1. Built Heritage News Needs Reporters--You can Self Post Catherine Nasmith
Catherine Nasmith Editor, hoping you will start to contribute to Built Heritage News
Built Heritage News reaches over 2700 subscribers across Canada, and some in other jurisdictions, making it the most read journal of its kind. We have recently made a major investment in the back-end of the site to improve our ability to include photos, links and to make it easier for the editor, Catherine Nasmith to produce.
Having made that investment, it would be great to build a network of reporters, people like you across the country who are committed to conservation of the built environment as both a cultural and environmental pursuit. Built Heritage News is only as good as those who contribute, and it is always so much better if you write stories about what is going on in your community. If you look down the side of the newsletter you will see links to post either a news, event or link to a website news story. Its easy to do, and it will be made live to the site as soon as possible, and then will go out with the next e-newsletter. Consider posting a link to a local story that might not otherwise get national attention. The other nice thing is that whatever is published becomes part of the archive, reaching back almost twenty years now. That archive is a great resource and record of issues and successes.
Over the next few months BHN is going to be reaching out to colleagues, friends, activists all to build the network that will strengthen reach. If you have an event you want publicized, post it to BHN. If you are running a petition to save a building, send a story and a link so that other subscribers can easily add their names. Built Heritage News was founded to make it easier to work together, and it will continue as long as others find it valuable as a resource and as a tool to reach others.
2. Bala Falls: After the Blasting Dust has Settled Catherine Nasmith
Bala Hydro Plant viewed from Lake Muskoka, east side of the dam. Photo Catherine Nasmith
June 22, 2020
If you search Bala Falls at the Built Heritage News site you will pull up many articles regarding the fight to Save the Bala Falls, including First Nations Protest. I should declare that I acted as a witness for the Town of Muskoka Lakes at a Conservation Review Board hearing to designate the municipally owned portion of the site. The plant sits on leased land on the provincially owned portion of the point. As readers may recall, all efforts to block the construction failed, the final blow being Premier Doug Ford’s reneging on a promise to stop the project if he won the election…
Site Plan from Swift River Energy website, showing expected landscape proposal, note restored portage landing and path, as well as planting of the bank
The plant is built and has been operating for some months. When I visited in late May, some water was going over the north falls, but far less than is usually the case in the spring. From the roadway the building is at best, banal. The promised landscape which reinstated the portage route has not yet materialized, but according to Councillor Glen Zavitz, who is the liaison between the municipal council and Swift River Energy, the developers of the hydro plant, they have a year in which to complete it. His job is to ensure that Swift River Energy does everything that they are compelled to do, and he intends “to hold their feet to the fire”. The balcony/viewing platform on the river side has been built, but is currently barricaded to public access. Councillor Zavitz, notes it is closed due to COVID concerns, but expects it may open as soon as July 1st weekend.
Portage landing spot left un-landscaped, its uncertain if it is safe to land there or climb the bank. photo Catherine Nasmith
In visiting the site, the presence of many, many large yellow floats above the Falls speaks to the danger of the plant’s operation. Mitchel Schnier of Save the Bala Falls notes that in spite of many letters to the province expressing concern “safety remains a huge outstanding issue”. In November 2019, the Township of Muskoka Lakes passed a unanimous resolution requesting the plant not operate in summer months until safety concerns for boaters and other water users can be addressed, but to Mr. Schnier’s knowledge there has been no response from the province to the municipal concerns. The Bala Falls drains all the Muskoka lakes and a larger watershed beyond into the Moon River and out to Georgian Bay. Water level in the lakes is regulated by Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and they are monitoring to avoid an over-reduction in water levels in the upstream lakes.
View from adjacent park showing water fall and plant behind, the view from the deck would be similar photo Catherine Nasmith
It is too early to tell if the plant is hurting the local tourist economy, “it is impossible to tell how much of the downturn is a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions” said Mr. Schnier, but it is clear that more needs to be done to ameliorate both the visual impact and operating safety of this plant in one of Muskoka’s most scenic spots.
3. At Risk: Trinity Anglican Church in St. Thomas Benjamin Vasquez
Trinity Anglican Church, St. Thomas, Ontario
On December 6th, 2019, St. John's and Trinity Anglican Churches in St. Thomas voted to merge their congregations.Both congregations occupied historic buildings, which meant that no matter what decision was made, a historic church was going to be put at risk.As it happens, the building of Trinity is currently at risk of being lost to the community.
Trinity was opened for worship on May 27th, 1877.It was, even at the time, considered large.This was intentional.The congregation had hoped to tempt the Bishop of Huron into relocating the cathedral to St. Thomas, a hope which led them to building a structure which could potentially serve as a cathedral if pressed into that purpose.To this purpose, they hired Gordon William Lloyd, a talented architect from Detroit with close ties to the American Episcopal Church.Lloyd designed a number of prominent Anglican churches across the Great Lakes region, including St. Paul's Cathedral in Erie, Christ Church in Detroit, and the Church of the Epiphany in Woodstock.
Lloyd did not disappoint the congregation.He built a large yellow brink gothic building capable of seating six hundred people.Attention to detail was meticulous, from the woodwork in the gables to the brickwork around the gothic arches to the church's ceiling.The building was an instant landmark, it's tower clearly visible from nearly anywhere in the city.It was enlarged by the addition of a parish hall in 1886, and has collected a truly impressive number of stained glass windows and other memorials over its history.The body of the church, however, remains today more or less how Gordon William Lloyd left it nearly a century and a half ago.
With the closure of Trinity, the building's future is in doubt.While no proposal to demolish it has yet been put forward, the lack of any clear plan for the structure from either the City of St. Thomas, the Diocese of Huron, or any private developer is a worrying situation.It is important that the building be designated to ensure it's retention into the future, and while a designation is currently being prepared, it remains unclear at the moment whether the designation will pass city council.
Trinity is one of the most architecturally significant churches, not just in St. Thomas but in all of Southwestern Ontario, and deserves a plan for its future.
4. Ontario Place Catherine Nasmith
I am particularly proud of this photo taken on an early morning ride this month through the grounds of Ontario Place. It catches the sublime vision of Eb Zeidler and Michael Hough, the machine in the landscape, the reflection possible because of the breakwater effect of the landscape around it. I am proud to say that World Monument Fund will be adding this pic to their website and catalogue of images of the site.
5. Special issue on Heritage and Waste Susan Ross
Special issue on “Heritage and waste†of the Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development.
Victoria Angel and Susan Ross with the paper copy of the special issue
There is now free access to the special issue on “Heritage and waste” of the Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development. Find it here: https://bit.ly/3boLmLl
Guest edited by Susan Ross (Carleton University) and Victoria Angel (ERA Architects), this issue includes articles by Toronto-based Alison Creba (Local Technique) about the demolition/deconstruction of Honest Ed's and builds on a discussion started at the symposium "Heritage in Reverse: Material Values, Waste and Deconstruction" hosted by Carleton University. This collection of 8 articles by authors from Vancouver to Aleppo draws attention to a growing interest in the transformative contexts and processes of disaster, demolition, deconstruction, salvage, reuse and recycling; and the broad range of values of the materials generated and or utilized.
6. Heritage Resources Centre: Ontario Heritage Act and More--Newmarket Unlawful Demolitions Gordon Prentice
Unlawful demolitions and their prosecution (or not) — a Newmarket case study
The hole where the 1840's Simpson Building used to be
Overnight on October 9-10, 2019, a unique heritage building in Newmarket’s historic Main Street, dating from the 1840s, was unlawfully demolished.1The structure, known as the Simpson Building, was once the apothecary of Ontario’s first female pharmacist, Anne Mary Simpson, and it lay in the heart of the Town’s only Heritage Conservation District.
The 1840s Simpson Building
The owner, property developer Bob Forrest, had spent years trying to persuade the Town to allow him to knock down a row of historic commercial buildings on Main Street while retaining their façades. He wanted to build a towering, out-of-place condominium development crowding and dominating the Clock Tower next door — the individually designated 1914 Federal Post Office which he also owned. His plan was hugely controversial.
Editor's Note: Gordon is the past president of the Newmarket Branch of Architectural Conservancy Ontario. He was a Labour MP at Westminster from 1992-2010. Since coming to live in Canada he has blogged on local politics, planning and development issues at www.shrinkslessorsquare.ca.
7. The Hamilton Spectator: Hamilton Heritage Properties Bob Maton
Many of our Hamilton heritage properties are at risk
Ancaster’ Brandon House Demolished
Coun. Lloyd Ferguson recently said he knew nothing about the Brandon House demolition beforehand, and did not understand the demolition system as it applies to heritage buildings, saying it has been a “learning experience.” How can we explain this? Coun. Ferguson has served in this position for many years, yet he was unaware how the demolition system works for heritage buildings?
As it stands, the demolition bylaw delegates the power to issue “routine” demolition permits away from council to city staff via the chief building officer. Further, it gives staff discretion to determine what is a “routine” demolition. The only important exception is when a building is classified under the Ontario Heritage Act as “registered” heritage, which provides for a 60-day delay before demolition; or “designated” heritage, which means the building is fully protected from demolition or significant alteration. Being provincial legislation, the Heritage Act removes demolition decisions for “designated” and “registered” properties from the hands of both city staff and council, rendering them more secure. But the decision whether to “designate” or “register” a property remains with city council. The Brandon House, being listed only in the lowest category, i.e., as an “inventoried” heritage building, had no protection whatsoever under the provincial Heritage Act, and was dealt with as a “routine” demolition by staff. There lies the crux of the problem.
Editor's Note: Thanks Bob Maton for sharing this article with Built Heritage News readers.
8. Dundas Star: Valley City Manufacturing, Dundas Craig Campbell
Dundas Valley Manufacturing building not protected from alterations
64 Hatt Street, Dundas
Part of facade painted white to cover stains
The facade of the former Valley City Manufacturing at 64 Hatt St. was being painted white on Wednesday, May 7. - Stan Nowak photo
With no protection under the Ontario Heritage Act, there is nothing to prevent alterations to the former Valley City Manufacturing building at 64 Hatt St. — including recent painting of part of the building’s red brick façade, said Dundas heritage consultant Ann Gillespie.Gillespie prepared a preliminary Cultural Heritage Assessment of the building, constructed in several stages during the past 174 years, in 2017. The building was added to the city’s register of buildings of interest, and is scheduled for a possible designation review in 2025.“The painting of brick masonry is generally not recommended as good heritage conservation practice,” Gillespie said.
9. CBC.ca: Morgan Ross and Old Toronto Talia Ricci
History buff shares love of city's past in Old Toronto Series
Morgan Ross and Talia Ricci in Trinity Bellwoods Park Toronto
Morgan Cameron Ross discovered his love for learning about Toronto's past simply by going for walks.
"You're walking your dog, looking around, wondering, 'What's that and why's it there?'" Ross said.
"You go home and google it, and it's a rabbit hole."
That curiosity grew into Old Toronto Series which is an Instagram, Facebook and YouTube page that showcases archival photos and mini-documentaries on people, places and events throughout the city's history.
"Every single day I am finding something new that I find fascinating or weird," he said.
Ross started a small Instagram account in 2015 and recalls one of the first videos he posted featured Trinity Bellwoods Park. He says it grew from a few hundred to thousands of followers fast.
Editor's Note: ACO Toronto and Morgan Ross have been partnering on several projects, including a video on Ontario Place and Kensington Market, both videos are featured in the CBC piece.
10. Freaktography: Tour of abandoned Muskoka Regional Centre, former Sanitorium
Abandoned Muskoka Regional Centre (Muskoka Sanitorium
Interior, abandoned Muskoka Regional Centre, from Freaktography
The history of the now abandoned Muskoka Regional Centre spans over 120 years. The intriguing story of the Muskoka Regional Centre began in the last decade of the 1800s during the rampant global spread of tuberculosis. Gravenhurst is firmly entrenched in the history books as being the first site in Canada and only the third in North America before the turn of the century to treat patients who suffered from tuberculosis
Medical experts preferred Muskoka for its climate and moderate elevation, which provided more oxygen for patients, and was concluded to be unsurpassed by any place on the continent according to doctors. Gravenhurst was specifically liked for its rocky surroundings, dense forests and natural drainage enabling the soil to dry quickly.
The V shaped MRC building was designed at minimum expanse by Charles S. Cobb, a Toronto architect. The main structure of the facility paid homage to Sir William Gage and was named the Gage building. Cobb said that the building was absolutely fireproof, and the flat roof along with its hospital like appearance reflected the evolution of tuberculosis treatment.
On July 5, 1922 a ceremony to lay the cornerstone of the Muskoka Regional Centre took place and the hospital’s official opening day was July 26, 1923.
Editor's Note: Wonderful interior video, and slideshow of this very large abandoned property, still in provincial ownership. Sitting surrounded by water on three sides, It is in dire need of a new purpose,
11. Globe and Mail: COVID-19 and Mechanical Air Circulation in Office Buildings Alex Bozikovic
COVID-19 and offices: Could the coronavirus be transmitted through the air?
What if you can catch the virus simply by breathing the same atmosphere as your colleagues across the floor?
In a pandemic, an office tower is a minefield of potential risks. The front door, with the handprints of hundreds of people. The elevator, usually crammed with people. The office door, the washroom, the cubicle, the tap in the office kitchen. Each of these represents a potential site of transmission for COVID-19, and employers are thinking hard about how to keep the virus from spreading here.
But what about the air? What if you can catch the virus simply by breathing the same atmosphere as your colleagues across the floor? This is possible; just how possible is still not clear. But if COVID-19 proves to be highly contagious in this manner, it might endanger legions of employees, and create a technical problem for building owners, managers and engineers that is difficult to fix. Or even impossible.
Could the air within offices spread COVID-19? “Right now, there’s no clear proof,” said Tony Dingman, a mechanical engineer and partner at the Mitchell Partnership (TMP), a prominent Toronto consulting firm. “There’s also no clear proof that everything is okay.”
12. Globe and Mail: History of Toronto's post-war suburban house type John Lorinc
By the (pattern) book: How the humble mid-century bungalow shaped Canadian neighbourhoods
Photo, Dana Boetteger
Bungalows, such as the one seen here on Woburn Avenue in Toronto, proliferated across the country in the middle of the 20th century.
JENNIFER ROBERTS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
In 2015, when artist Dana Boettger was “renovicted” out of the apartment in the midtown Toronto fourplex she’d rented for 23 years, she and her partner decided to look for something more affordable in the city’s east end, and specifically in Scarborough’s quiet postwar neighbourhoods. They ended up leasing one of the thousands of very similar small houses that line so many streets in those parts of the city that had been farmer’s fields until the late 1940s.
The three-bedroom dwelling has hardwood floors and a renovated basement, but retains the cozy scale and feel of an older cottage. “It’s one of those very solid little red-brick houses,” Ms. Boettger says, commenting on the intriguing playing card motif carved into the shutters. “The street is full of houses like this one. They’re almost all the same.”
The remarkable proliferation of these Monopoly-house bungalows and variations on the theme, including dwellings colloquially known as “strawberry boxes,” defines many of the older parts of Scarborough, North York and East York. But this phenomenon isn’t just a hallmark of Toronto’s postwar suburbs. Regardless of the city, observes architect George Kapelos, a professor in the department of architectural sciences at Ryerson University, “you see the same houses.”
Unlike more recent subdivisions, these dwellings tended not to be the work of a single private developer. Rather, they were built by contractors or even the homeowners themselves using “small house” designs promulgated in the late 1940s and 1950s by the Central (later Canadian) Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which sold the plans for a nominal fee and provided subsidized loans.
Over about 20 years, CMHC published 15 small house “pattern books” – essentially illustrated catalogues featuring a range of compact dwellings, complete with renderings, elevations and floor plans. The use of pattern books in residential construction dates back to the early 19th century and figures such as Andrew Jackson Downing, a celebrated British landscape architect who published popular pattern books of cottages and country homes. For well over a century, hundreds were published and distributed; they can be seen as a precursor to today’s shelter magazines.
Editor's Note: Toronto has a number of house types that need a name, perhaps we might start with the "CMHC bungalow"
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