Ancestral Roofs

"In Praise of Older Buildings"

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Homage to Joni

I am doing a lot of thinking about what appear to be very different levels of will within communities to designate and preserve old buildings. I think I will put together an article on the topic, but 'til I get a chance for more in-depth research, here are some thoughts...
1. thinking about how emotional the response is when an old building is demolished (ref. Methodist church in Picton this summer) - I call it the 'don't know what you've got 'til it's gone' effect.
2. thinking about the article I read in CountyLive yesterday by Theresa Durning... wish I'd known about Cruikshank's visit -sounds like the event may lead to more active/proactive planning in Picton.
3. wondering how successful heritage activity gets going eg. thinking of Lunenburg's 1995 UNESCO World Heritage district designation, and how historic preservation planning has been taking place there since before 1978. Also, got a brochure about Heritage Oshawa when we did their Doors Open tour this fall - laying out what appears to be a transparent and invitational designation process (compare that to the empty heritage designation committee pages on the Belleville City Hall website!)
4. need to sort the difference between LCAC's and Heritage Advisory committees - which work, where are they working well.

In closing, the beautifully proportioned Georgian frame house, with neo-classical pilasters and capitals is in Bath. Suggest you have a look soon, while you can. It has fallen on hard times.

2 comments:

  1. Wow! You've really been working on your blog page and it looks fantastic! I love the gallery down the right-hand side and have enjoyed your most recent posts very much. And now I return the favour of all this pleasure with a link for you. I'm sure you'll enjoy the story if you don't already know it, and there's maybe a girls' trip in it for us in the distant future...
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-1185210/Moving-house-How-little-old-lady-spent-23-years-single-handedly-dismantling-cottage-brick-brick-rebuilding-100-miles-away.html

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  2. Thanks for the link - one of the few articles in Daily Mail I understand! So many people in the gossip columns and I don't know most of them. But this article I will send to my prof Shannon who has just dismantled (with help) a Regency cottage in Ancaster and is rebuilding it in Consecon as we speak.

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