My hometown is notorious for allowing its old buildings to be torn down. A few years back, a beautiful building, formerly a bank, from the early 20th century was razed to make way for a Tim Hortons fishbowl.
There have been many more to meet the wrecking ball. Today, a splendidly spooky old building, formerly a hotel and known as The Cornwall Building, is going down. Now, I know the building was in bad shape. It needed serious work and care. For years, it had been rented out to nonprofits and artists' groups, neither of which demographic can contribute much in the way of restoration costs. In fact, my wife and I had a studio/office space on the third floor for years.
Inside, a wide spiral staircase, all extinct wood, with ornate wood banister, ran from roof to basement. On the third floor, just beside our old space, an immense walk-in safe, as big as a very large bedroom, in which I dreamed of recording an album, was a reminder of the position the building once held in the community. Its ceilings were at least 15 feet. Its frame old timber and solid brick painted a powder blue. My guess is that it was built in the late 1800s or early 1900s.
And, in other day, it will be gone. Private investors bought the building and are planning to replace it with a modern office building. Glass for brick. Of course, I can’t blame the city for having a short memory and a lack of loyalty, can I? With the right amount of coin, one could buy just about any old building and tear it down.
I hope, at least, the new building is an eco-design. However, in a place where things tend to be done on the cheap, I have my doubts.
Ideally, it would be great to see effort going into preservation and upgrading rather than demolition.(To see the building, pan right -- its the big blue baby).
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