Herald editorial supports heritage preservation

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Herald editorial supports heritage preservation

Postby newsposter » Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:35 am

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... 66425e54b1

Architecture tells a worthy tale
Don't be so quick to tear down those buildings of yesteryear

Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, February 10, 2008

If buildings tell a chapter in a city's story, Calgary's biography should include pages of seemingly nondescript places. Why bother preserving ugly structures? Because more outstanding works of architecture have long been torn down.

Until recently, our heritage past was buried under the rubble of brick and sandstone, sacrificed for the birth of shiny steel and glass towers. Like the neglected war houses in Calgary's Kensington neighbourhood, few tears are shed when such dilapidated eyesores give rise to luxury housing.

But Calgary's history, years from now, will surely show a shift in the early 21st century. No building tells it better than the St. Mary's Girls School in Mission. The beloved school's replicated facade reveals a Disneyland approach to heritage.

Yet, it was a watershed moment when the wrecking ball hit the 93-year-old school some fought so hard to save. The loss of St. Mary's led to a revival, recasting the beauty of anything older than 25 years in a new light.

In 2006, council declared historic preservation a priority. A slew of city-owned buildings have been given heritage protection, most recently the St. Louis hotel, the Hillier Block and Simmons Factory Warehouse, all in the East Village.

Soon, the King Edward hotel will be added to the list, although some may wrongly question whether a mould-infested building unfit for habitation and with little architectural value belongs there.

It does. The famed house of blues has landmark status in the East Village. It also tells the story of Calgary's hotel row in 1905, built to accommodate the workers getting off at the nearby train station. Today, the hotels are largely gone. The working-class King Eddy is one bookend of the former row, while the fancy Palliser Hotel is the other.

The King Eddy's storied past includes reportedly being the first bar in Calgary to desegregate. "Homer Meers told staff to serve a beer 'on the house' to the first black person who came through the door," say city records. There's no date, but Meers owned the hotel between 1946 and 1972.

The Aberdeen Block on 4th Street is another example of a modest building worth keeping. The three-storey, mixed-use apartment and retail complex describes what was once a thriving 4th Street commercial centre, before the First World War. It's a solid example of the simple but typical buildings that went up as fast as possible because back then, like today, the city was undergoing a boom.

Just as a book shouldn't be judged by its cover, the same is true of buildings. We need to see beyond the facade when assessing their heritage value.
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