respecting home|keeping story|respecting legacy
Caledon Heritage Foundation
  • About
  • Vintage Caledon
  • Submissions
  • Resources
  • Heritage Partners
  • Contact
  • The Story of Caledon Then and Now

A Window

on a virtual museum and archive of the architecture, landscapes, people, ancestral roots here and abroad, and stories and lore of Caledon, Ontario, Canada and MeetUps and PopUps posted and hosted by Caledon Heritage Foundation and our Heritage Partners

vintage caledon

Blog - Vintage Caledon - Story

1/23/2012

 
Picture
Photo: 197 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Heritage is the Way of the Future
By: Christopher Hume Urban Issues, Published on Mon Jan 23 2012

Even before Crate and Barrel opened its new CB2 store on Saturday, the American furniture retailer was being hailed as a local hero. By restoring the heritage building at the corner of Bathurst and Queen, the chain did the city a huge favour and brought the reclamation of this ratty intersection one giant step closer.

Although long hidden behind a coat of putrid purple paint, the late 19th-century structure turns out to be a modest but utterly appealing rediscovery. Despite having lost its finest architectural feature — a high mansard roof dominated by a north-facing cupola — it retains a sense of balance and scale that stand it in good stead all these years later.

Now comes word that the magnificent 1905 Bank of Commerce at 197 Yonge just north of Queen will also be cleaned up and brought back to life. This remarkable building, a genuine temple of commerce, has sat empty for 25-odd years, an embarrassment to the city. The price of restoration is steep — a 60-storey condo tower directly behind the impressive neo-classical heap, but the developer will also give land on Victoria St. to Massey Hall, which has seen better days but remains Toronto’s finest concert venue.

On the other hand, Odette House, an exquisite late-1800s Second Empire residence at 81 Wellesley St. E. was quietly town down last week to make way for — what else? — a condo. Because the house wasn’t listed or designated as a heritage site, which it obviously was, the city issued a demolition permit without a second thought. Indeed, the trees around the Wellesley property had more protection than the building itself.

And yet, as the world-wide rush to urbanize picks up, it’s clear that 21st-century cities will have more in common with those of the 19th century than the 20th. Our great-grandparents understood instinctively the need for compactness, connection and coherence. Though cities of the 2000s and the 1800s won’t look alike — verticality has replaced horizontality — both will be planned around the need for proximity. For us, of course, there are other issues, too — global warming, fuel costs, congestion….

However, after more than 60 years of sprawl, rebalancing urban priorities won’t be easy. One need look no further than Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to see the forces of backlash unleashed.

The difference now is that developers are starting to grasp the economic potential of heritage. Before CB2, there was Loblaws in Maple Leaf Gardens, Leon’s in the Round House and the biggest heritage renewal project of them all, the Distillery District.

Sadly, Toronto remains overly eager to settle for saving a façade here, a wall there — it’s called “facadomy.” Fortunately, retailers are well ahead of the city on heritage. Even some condo builders are beginning to figure out it’s better to situate their schemes within the larger context.

In truth, heritage preservation has never made as much sense. Most of us prefer historical architecture to our own; typically, materials are finer, the scale more human and design more engaging, more urban.

And as we move into a world of taller buildings and higher densities, the case for conservation, practical as well as cultural, is self-evident. It pays off civically and economically.

But we’re not there yet. Who could forget the sad fate of the old Empress Hotel building at Yonge and Gould? It burnt to the ground last year; police say the fire was the work of an arsonist. So far, no charges have been laid.

Christopher Hume can be reached at chume@thestar.ca

    Vintage Caledon

    A virtual museum and archive of the architecture,
    landscapes, people, ancestral roots here and abroad, and stories and lore of
    Caledon, Ontario, Canada and MeetUps and PopUps posted and hosted by Caledon Heritage Foundation and our Heritage Partners

    Blog Submissions welcome

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    RSS Feed


    Categories

    All
    Advocacy
    AGM
    Ancestral Roots
    Education
    Fundraising
    In The News
    MeetUp
    Photo Library
    PopUp
    Presentation By CHF
    Project
    Speaker
    Story


    Archives

    April 2017
    November 2016
    July 2015
    October 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    October 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    September 2011
    May 2011
    November 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    February 2010
    October 2009
    September 2009
    June 2009
    October 2008
    October 2007


    Archival information also available at:
    Picture
    Hills of Heritage

Picture
Caledon Heritage Foundation
PO Box 83 Station Caledon East
Caledon ON L7C 2L8

Donate
Volunteer
MeetUps
Projects
Virtual Museum + Archives
Director Login

Contact

Proudly powered by Weebly