Peterborough
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History: The Peterborough branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO) came into being in the summer of 2006 in the aftermath of the destruction of the King Edward School, a much-loved neighbourhood landmark south of the city centre. Although Peterborough had for decades benefited from the existence of an active Community Heritage Group (P.A.C.A.C.), the loss of the King Edward demonstrated for this city what had been learned elsewhere in the province – that a fully independent body was essential for successful heritage advocacy. The stone and brick King Edward School, together with extensive surrounding property, had been purchased from the Board of Education by the City of Peterborough. At about the same time, the Board of the Peterborough YMCA announced their intention to give up the prominent downtown location facing Confederation Park where they had occupied a designated landmark for over a century. The “Y” wanted the school property for a new facility, and the city was agreeable as long as the historic King Edward structure, which was in good condition, was incorporated into the plans. At the end of the day, however, the old mindset of “clearcutting the built environment” prevailed. The King Edward was demolished - for the sole gain of a few parking spaces – while with the departure of the YMCA the city centre lost a key anchor institution, leaving their iconic former home to an uncertain future. How did a 1950’s type fate befall a highly visible and much admired landmark in the 21st century? This was a case where a reasonable compromise could have been reached. Questions of due process still linger, but the conclusion is unavoidable that the will to protect King Edward School was simply not there. The nascent ACO Peterborough branch was still operating with an interim executive when it was faced with its first crisis: the Commoner. This was the name by which generations of Trent University students had known a student pub which had originally been a 19th century mill owner’s residence. Situated in a remarkably unspoiled natural setting adjacent to the Trent-Severn waterway, it was one of only two structures surviving from the village of Nassau Mills, a community largely obliterated in the 1960’s for the construction of Trent University. In the summer of 2006, the university administration announced that the Commoner would be demolished, although there was no development proposal for the site, nor likely ever to be one. A public awareness campaign by the ACO, supported by word from the City’s Heritage Preservation Office that the building was worthy of designation, resulted in a statement from Trent that demolition was postponed indefinitely. “Indefinitely”, as it happened, was to be only a few weeks, or more specifically, the beginning of Reading Week - when most students were out of town. That Monday, without prior notice, the administration, in an act of consummate bad faith, had the Commoner leveled. The loss of the Commoner was a shock and a disappointment, but the general public - and even the local media - were noting that at last the case was being made for the role of independent heritage advocacy. In 2006, the Peterborough branch successfully nominated Derek Green, owner of Cox Terrace on Rubidge Street, for a Heritage Canada Achievement Award in recognition of his meticulous restoration of this unique landmark, now a National Historic Site. Also as a result of a nomination from this branch, the local group Citizens for the Protection and Preservation of the Pioneer Cemetery were honoured by the Provincial ACO with the 2009 A.K.Sculthorpe Advocacy Award. Professor Peter McKonkey and John Sheehan received the award, on behalf of the group, from David Sculthorpe at the annual awards banquet at the historic Arts and Letters Club in Toronto. The award recognizes an individual or group which at a critical point achieves exemplary success in solving a significant heritage crisis. The cemetery was one of several aspects of Confederation Park and its surroundings lacking the protection which would be afforded by the designation of a Heritage Conservation District. There are currently almost a hundred such districts in Ontario, but none in Peterborough. Peterborough’s Trent University was the site of the 2009 Ontario Heritage Conference at which the theme was Heritage in Creative Communities. The city centre was also subject to close scrutiny as a full half day was devoted to activities in which selected sites here served as a template by which participants could assess how well prepared this and other Ontario communities are to thrive as creative places. As one of the urban centres beyond the Greenbelt targeted for growth by the Provincial Places to Grow policy, Peterborough will continue for the foreseeable future to grapple with the true cost to heritage and quality of life of growth, intensification, and automobile dependency. Contact: |
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