URBAN OPUS
A WISH AND A WARNING
It is our responsibility to treat buildings from our past as pieces of our heritage and therefore reflections of our collective identity. Similarly, the buildings we erect should embody the ideals we wish to pass on to future generations. We should not accept anything less.
Oliver Community League was a model of community engagement, and still they lost their battle. Allowing an icon like the Molson Brewery to go the way of the Arlington and the Gem Theatre should be a crime.
For more information regarding Oliver Community League's fight to have a say in the Molson Crosstown redevelopment, and stay up to date on the project's progress, click here.
THE GREEN DOOR
THE BELLS RING OUT
Walking along 96 Street in McCauley the other day, I really enjoyed the diversity of architecture all clustered together on this tree-lined road just north of Downtown. It has been a while since I have sketched for Back Words, so I made a little montage showing the range of styles from Byzantine and French Gothic Revival to Mid-Century Modern that make up Church Street, one of this city's hidden gems.
MAGIC LITTLE DOOR OUT OF THE PAST
COLOURFUL HISTORY
"To observe buildings is not to be solely concerned with architecture. Embodied in any given structure are the multiple layers of meaning that stretch through history and tell the story of who we are as a community and as individuals." - Jon Weller, producer of The Ave We Had and leader of a Jane's Walk.
LOVE LETTER
The Mayor has warned that it may ask the province to remove the Historical Designation (for the second time) on this imposing yet beautiful piece of architecture, a landmark of Edmonton, a testament to the site where people have settled for thousands of years, and a symbol of the growth of the city as we know it.
It would cost only 7.4 million dollars to stabilize the complex of buildings, which have minor structural issues, plus 87 million dollars to save and later repurpose the plant into one of many fantastic visions already developed and studied. Meanwhile, the city has just announced that it will fund a 35 million dollar gondola from downtown to the Rossdale Community. Maybe I'm just cynical, but it sounds to me like a certain someone wants waterfront development, and thinks this old thing is in the way.
Please pass this on if you care about this building's fate. Tell your Councillor how you feel, and consider joining forces with the Rossdale Regeneration group who meet next at the Rossdale Community Hall (10135-96 Ave) on April 24 at 6 pm.
DEARLY DEPARTED
