Quote:
Originally Posted by coalminecanary
It's also dangerous to learn no lessons from past mistakes. When it comes to our vanished history, we SHOULD wonder "what were we thinking" or else we risk repeating the travesties. In the last 50-60 years, we have had a consistent track record of replacing good with bad, and have rarely replaced bad with better. We should not take any future demolition decisions lightly.
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...context and perspective.
1945-1960
1960-1990
1990-2012
Three entirely different eras, with entirely different influences and impacts, and to a great extent, three entirely different Hamiltons. (I'm thinking specifically of the downtown core.)
One town hall I'd love to produce would be a sortakinda 'workshop' where we would take Hamilton at 1955 and press 'Pause'. The participants -panel and audience- would then have a 'Mulligan'. With all the sincere tears cried over 'what was done', I'd love to hear and see how those-who-are-interested-enough-to-bother would redesign everything. From York Boulevard to 'Civic Square' to the loss of our Thomas Lamb gems, everything from Dundurn to Wellington, Burlington Street to the Escarpment. (Yes, I know I'm venturing out past the core, but it's my fantasy. LOL)
Naturally, we'd be looking at the knock-on effects of disparate decisions, and maybe even more than the different options, these might be the most difficult to grasp. You know, 'the butterfly effect'.
I think it would make for a 'fascinating' evening. Would you attend...?