WORK NEEDED AT WILLISTEAD
Holt wants century-old fence restored
Restoring Willistead Manor’s century-old fence is next on the list of repairs after “millions” were spent fixing windows and making other improvements to the historic structure.
“We’re talking about one of the most highly recognizable heritage properties in the city’s portfolio,” said Ward 4 Coun. Chris Holt. “The city has been spending millions of dollars on Willistead Manor itself. So it’s not a stretch of the imagination that we want to protect and fix up the entire grounds.”
The Albert Kahn-designed building, located at Niagara Street and Chilver Road, was built between 1904 and 1906. Holt said the wrought iron and more than 100 limestone pillars that make up the perimeter fence are showing their age.
“The bases are starting to show some signs of wear,” Holt said of the pillars. “What that’s from, I’m not sure. I’m assuming road salt and that type of thing. A lot of the wrought-iron pieces of metal between the pillars have been broken out over the years. They have been bent or hit or something like that. So the goal is to restore the original fence.”
Holt, a member of the Willistead Manor board of directors, said it must still be approved in the 2019 budget, but a recommendation going to city council is to hire a consultant and move forward with the project.
Holt said the board has been pushing for the fence to be restored. “Around that table there was concern a few years ago about the condition of the fence,” said Holt, who brought those concerns to city council about two and a half years ago. “It finally came back to the steering committee I sit on, and that was the recommendation to council.” The potential cost of the repairs is unknown.
“It’s 100-plus-year-old materials,” said Holt. “We have to treat those things different. We learned through experience with all the work we’ve done on Willistead Manor and a lot of our older building stock around the city that it needs special attention.” Other work the city has already done at the 36-room mansion includes refurbishing windows, fixing the roof, repointing bricks and waterproofing the building.