As a long-term Guelphite who fondly remember repeatedly renting the laserdisc of Rollerball, it is wonderful to get to address you as Councillor. Thank you so– for all the work in trying to keep us ‘better without the box’, and for the good work you have been doing now on Council.
I hope you will have the time to consider the two heritage designation proposals which will be going to council tomorrow. I strongly believe that we, as Guelphites, have an opportunity right now to avoid repeating the mistakes made in the past.
The two properties are not grand stone buildings, but instead, are unique and important structures– and are a vital first step if Guelph is ever going to preserve the history of the majority of its citizens (and not just the wealthy ones). These two properties would also be the first to represent the immigrant experience and, in many ways, embody the history of St. Patrick’s Ward.
Arguments against designation seem to focus on upon the common-ness of these buildings and imply that designating some portions of the facades and structures will somehow impede the development of the Ward. I think it’s very important to step back and to consider the validity of these arguments as they are deeply flawed even if they appear, superficially, to be reasonable.
60 Manitoba Street is a house which materially embodies the history of Guelph: it contains parts of a multitude of fascinating stories, and has historic and irreplaceable value as the founding site of The Royal Knitting Company– and of the success of Samuel Carter who went on to be a civic-minded city councillor who help clean up corruption in Municipal politics, founded Guelph Hydro as a city-owned and public company, become Mayor and then MPP… all from a starting point as a 21-year-old immigrant weaving worker. His later work in helping organize co-operatives– locally, nationally, and internationally– as well as the founding of the Paisley Memorial Church in the Ward, are further reasons to recognize this important story in the history of Guelph.
The Shoe Repairing shop on Alice Street is likewise unique and irreplaceable. Although it might be possible to walk past without noticing it, if you need to give directions to or on Alice Street, it turns out that everyone knows exactly the place that you mean: there are no other such workshops that survive. They might once have been common, but this is the last of it’s type: not just on Alice Street, but throughout the Ward. It is remarkable for the story which it communicates simply by existing. It would be a real and avoidable shame to allow the demolition of this aspect of our shared history– all the more poignantly so if it is simply to become a driveway. We have thousands of driveways… but only one such workshop.
Please consider this opportunity– a vital chance to recognize the history of the rest of us, of immigrants, of success in the face of adversity– and designate these buildings so that we will have them to pass on to future generations.
Halting the demolition of these buildings, and preserving some aspects of them, will not impede the development of the Ward– instead, it will be an important step in guiding the development of this area. These properties could serve as anchors in a vision of the Ward which would remain consistent with its history: development could be sympathetic to the historic realities of the neighbourhood. The Ward could be saved from a piecemeal reconstruction into a lower-density car-heavy suburb and instead remain relatively highly populated (especially with future brownfields developments) while houses would remain small and the streetscape would remain at a human scale: walkable, bike-able, and where neighbours know each other. A living embodyment of the history of so many of the families of Guelph.
A solution as suggested in the Guelph Mercury editorial: of on-street parking allowance, and or special consideration or waving of land transfer fees seems vastly preferable to losing these irreplaceable facets of our shared history. I agree that its important that all citizens- and especially Real Estate agents- know the Couling Inventory and the Burcher-Stokes lists which have been public for decades: but the solution for ignorance of the heritage value of a building must surely not be a licence to demolish it. I would certainly be happy if the city waived some taxes or fees if it would help this property come into the hands of an owner who would appreciate it for what it is: a unique and important part of our history. (Sure, the price may have seemed low given that there was no off-street parking, but surely it is not all of us as citizens who should pay the price for someone not getting such a great bargain as they thought they had.)
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. I very much hope that you will consider the long-term potential and importance of these designations: as proposed by the hard-working and knowledgeable volunteers of the Heritage Guelph committee.
Yours, SK
Ward 2 resident in an old workers cottage
PS: I have a deep interest in the preservation of the history of Guelph through my job at Woodlawn Cemetery where I am the Monument Care Co-ordinator and am 12 years into a long-term project to conserve the tombstones of our community– a project which includes not just the most ornate and expensive monuments, but also the humblest and smallest stones (and even one wooden marker). Just as conservation demands a careful consideration of the consequences of our repair actions, it requires forward thinking: imagining the value of articles and buildings (like the Carnegie Library, the Customs House, the Priory…) not just today, but for the future. Thank you.