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Old Posted May 27, 2019, 9:33 PM
OldDartmouthMark OldDartmouthMark is offline
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 8,424
Quote:
Originally Posted by someone123 View Post
It's a nice block that shows how architectural styles shifted over time, from the simpler Georgian-era buildings to the elaborate brickwork on the late-Victorians.

If I remember correctly the building with the "verb" sign is relatively new, designed by Andrew Cobb around 1900-1910. He was a great local architect.

It was sad to hear in discussion in the Halifax section (but not surprising) that even the 1960's Canada Permanent Building is missing some of its original ornamentation.
Yes, I think you must be referring to the aluminum solar screen grille that was on the Sackville Street side, which, IMHO, is a real loss to the original sixties vibe that it had at street level.

I remember there were a lot of patterned grille-style adornments on buildings in metal and concrete in those days, that seemed to silently disappear over the years.

One member seems to recall that the grille disappeared when the Tim Horton's franchise went in there, but I'm not sure when that was, exactly (1980s?)

It was discussed on page 463 of General Updates and News, and Page 30 & Page 31 of the Old Halifax thread.

This raises an interesting question: What would be considered a reasonable cut-off point when changing features/details on a building becomes thought of erasing historical features, rather than just updating or functional changes? Another way to think of it is: when does an 'old building' become a 'historical building'?

One might argue that any changes made from day 1 are altering the historical correctness of the building, but then there are some buildings where the changes made actually become historical features of the building (such as the top 3 floors of the Dennis Building, and the top 2 floors of the Morse's Tea Building, in both cases extra floors were added during post-fire repairs).

In the same vein, with the way peoples' perception for fashion goes, decorative items from 20 or 30 years ago can become passe (such as some of the wild colours and fashions of the 1970s), but years later can come back into fashion for their nostalgia, or because they are an artifact of a particular era of design.

I'm willing to bet the aluminum shading being discussed was in the 20 - 30 year old range when it was removed and was considered ugly and old-fashioned, but now it has reached a sufficient age that many people would like to see it re-installed for nostalgic or historic reasons.

A couple of pics from those threads for people who may be wondering what I was referring to:

Canada Permanent Building on Google streetside.

The aluminum solar screen as it appeared in the late 1960s:


Source: City of Halifax fonds
Halifax (N.S.). Committee on Works records
Halifax (N.S.) Works Department photographs
Barrington St. [corner of Sackville St.]
Retrieval code: 102-39-1-492
[between 1967 and 1970?]


The Drawing (from Built Halifax blog):


Built Halifax blog link
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