The fate of Hamilton’s places of worship
If we really want to preserve built heritage then we must consolidate efforts to protect it
Over the last 2,500 years in the history of Western architecture, it is generally the places of worship that remain when much has perished. The Parthenon, Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Paul’s and the Hagia Sophia are architectural icons that represent both a country and a culture. The craftsmanship in these buildings, and hundreds like them, represents the very finest work that each respective culture could produce at the time.
Hamilton’s places of worship bear the hallmark of our finest work. Not surprisingly, Hamiltonians revolt when these exquisite properties are destroyed. All Saints Church was flattened. The James Street Baptist was largely dismembered, and now St. Giles is facing destruction after years of neglect. The future of all three churches was predicated on working in partnership with a developer. The owners of the churches “swung a deal” to sell the property in exchange for a meeting space for an agreed term and rent. These are business deals. There are no guarantees. Large developments are prone to going bust, and thus we have a truncated corpse of a building on James Street. Have we learned nothing from this tragic loss?
As the role of organized religion diminishes, many more places of worship will face the same fate. No longer supported by their congregations, there is no money to repair the roof or supply heat in winter. They start to rot and are then, reluctantly, traded into the commercial world. One person, or a handful of people, are forced to make this decision, and the entire community, led by the earnest concern of “heritage people,” erupts in outrage. Who should really bear the brunt of this rage?
Places of worship pay no property tax. The citizens of a city all support the church, mosque or synagogue as part of the culture of the city. Over 100 years of property tax on one quarter of a city block has been granted in exchange for the beauty of the building and the idea of culture. Once that property is transferred into the commercial realm, should the citizenry not have a right to determine its fate?
And what role does culture play in the plans of a city?
Last year was the year 2020. Everyone’s gut response to this number is “vision.” In 1992, the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth initiated Vision 2020. Decisions were made under the Ontario Heritage Act to create a Heritage Master Plan from a culture perspective. The idea was to incorporate heritage as a criterion of sustainability. Development and heritage were to be mutually supportive. It was decided that first rate buildings would have protection as a matter of good planning principles. A tiered consensus of buildings by date and quality was to be set up so the “gems,” like St. Giles, would be preserved.
Eight years later, the city gobbled up eight outlying communities leaving most of the historic properties therein open for demolition. Remember the Brandon House. Hamilton then proceeded to keep on devouring its own downtown core. Vision 2020 didn’t last a decade.
As city council decides the fate of St. Giles, the citizens of Hamilton need to consider wherein lies the blame. As we have been made painfully aware the government can’t even be held to account for such obvious matters as seniors care. It is just another Walkerton. Toronto keeps attempting to actually record its new daily cases of COVID, Canadians question the government’s ability to supply vaccinations, and a uniquely beautiful church teeters on the brink of destruction because no one cared. We just stare at our screens and slip into mediocrity.
It is true that both the previous owners of those churches and Hamilton city council have demonstrably performed poor custodianship and poor leadership, with an utter lack of vision. But this is not the first time.
Destroying St. Giles is not indicating “sustainability.” The greenest building is the one that is already there. Many far less worthy buildings have been the lucky beneficiaries of adaptive reuse. But this is done in such an unorganized, higgledy-piggledy manner that no building is safe. If the citizens of Hamilton really want to preserve their built heritage then we must consolidate our efforts to help the city protect its beauty. We — the community and its political leaders — must work together to put safeguards in place so these losses can be prevented. We must have a plan. If we aren’t willing to do that then we have to just stop complaining and deal with a succession of glass boxes like those that took over Gore Park.