204 Beech Avenue, now

Thursday 10 June 2010

Having read Jim Graham's comments on his blog (Graham on Graham), I will address a couple of things directed at me and the country I live in.
You say my "anger is misplaced", and that our parents "had the opportunity" to have 204 Beech designated a Heritage property. I can only imagine that you have a more recent time frame in mind, and it is off. At the time our parents sold the house, heritage wasn't an issue, so having to be "proactive" was also not an issue. Now the house is threatened. It is in the many years since our parents sold that the buildings that represent the history of the Beach are one by one being whittled away. Taken individually, each step may seem of little consequence. But when viewed as a whole, the consequence is much greater and not good....that is if one truly appreciates the history of a neighbourhood as I did and still do. That is where my anger comes into it. Not having lived there for some time, I can look at the bigger picture. And I don't like what I see happening.

Secondly, though I am loath to quote you on the following, I must....
You say "Perhaps in Germany there is uniformity of thought, and one can expect without saying so that the buyer of a house will share one's exact tastes and viewpoints. However in Canada, we have diversity. Of race, language, religion and taste"..etc
My mind is spinning. Thankfully my man (a German) has a wonderful sense of humour. His quick response with a laugh was, "is this guy aware that the Third Reich ended long ago??"

To suggest that Germany, a country with over 80 million people, doesn't have diversity in all the forms you mentioned, and more..is simply ignorant, in the true sense of the word.

As for "uniformity of thought"?
Well, your stereotyping completely contradicts the liberal mentality that you so want to project.





Another artist's rendition

Another artist's rendition
Hi folks,

Please read the following. I have highlighted the criteria we think apply.

ONTARIO REGULATION 9/06


CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING CULTURAL HERITAGE VALUE OR INTEREST

Criteria

1. (1) The criteria set out in subsection (2) are prescribed for the purposes of clause 29 (1) (a) of the Act. O. Reg. 9/06, s. 1 (1).

(2) A property may be designated under section 29 of the Act if it meets one or more of the following criteria for determining whether it is of cultural heritage value or interest:

1. The property has design value or physical value because it,

i. is a rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material or construction method,

ii. displays a high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit, or

iii. demonstrates a high degree of technical or scientific achievement.

2. The property has historical value or associative value because it,

i. has direct associations with a theme, event, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community,

ii. yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture, or

iii. demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is significant to a community.

3. The property has contextual value because it,

i. is important in defining, maintaining or supporting the character of an area,

ii. is physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings, or

iii. is a landmark. O. Reg. 9/06, s. 1 (2).