"Heritage is key in Vancouver, and we can go farther to protect heritage buildings, including our schools -
It's a rather ironic message considering that under this year's city council, the city saw the loss of the Pantages Theatre, on East Hastings Street. Moreover, the Legg Residence, an entry on the 2011 Top Ten Endangered Heritage Sites List is under threat of demolition. The Legg Residence from 1899 is one of the last examples of a nineteenth century estate home in the West End of Vancouver. Rightly so, it is a category "A" class heritage landmark, speaking to its historical importance to Vancouver and to the era.
I am hopeful for a last minute reprieve for this rare heritage site in Vancouver's West End. It is a surprise in a sea of highrise residential towers. There have been some positive developments. Vancouver Public Library's Collingwood Public Library in East Vancouver, a Modernist gem on Kingsway, has been recognized for its design with its inclusion on the 2011 Top Ten Endangered Heritage List. Vancouver's Green Thumb Theatre will be restoring and refurbishing the 1896 one room school house building found at Guy Carleton Elementary School.
However, there doesn't seem to be much support from both the electorate and from our city officials on heritage issues. Collingwood Public Library is still awaiting a heritage designation, and Carleton Hall was in danger of falling into destruction due to neglect. Some of our local media have not necessarily made Vancouver's heritage issues a priority when it comes to news coverage. Our elected officals cannot be wholly faulted; some local residents and members of our electorate don't necessarily see Vancouver's built heritage as a huge concern either.
If the built heritage of Vancouver deserves consideration and care, it should be an issue that crosses all political, social and economic lines. In the meantime, I'd like the city to raise the bar when it comes to urban design, championing architectural excellence in its private and public buildings in all parts of the city. Vancouver's city council took a chance on a young upstart architectural partnership of Harold Semmens and Douglas Simpson to design a branch library in Renfrew Collingwood in 1951. Where are the architectural landmarks of tomorrow, especially on the east side of Vancouver?
