James Balfour -- late 19c Hamilton Architect

[itsbryan]

Originally Posted by FairHamilton

Very much a tragedy, but I believe they arrested a couple of teens for setting the fire. I won't dispute demolition by neglect, but let's not fuel rumours the owners were responsible for 'arranging' the fire (OK that was my first thought when I heard the news, but simply not true).

Pictures don't do Alma justice.. it was a must-see. I had the honor of seeing it a more or two before it burned down.. and it was awe-inspiring.

And yes, a 15 and 16 year old were responsible.. which wasn't surprising. When I was there, there were a group of preteens and early teens throwing rocks at the building, and trying to rip off the boards that kept people out.
During the fire, and in the aftermath, a friend of mine watched with a large group of St. Thomas residents as the fire department put out the rest of the embers.. he overheard idiotic teens joking around saying "he's the one who burned it down!" and pointing to his friends. They were also bragging about how they were in it the morning it burned.

And yes, as flar stated, the entire interior was wood. Everything from the staircases, and window frames.. the entire building was gutted, and the wood beginning to decay.. it's a shame, because it was essentially a hollow shell of a building, which would have been ideal for reuse.

[fastcarsfreedom]

The Alma College fire was an incredible tragedy. My adopted city of Windsor was home to a breathtaking building called St. Mary's Academy which was destroyed in the 1970s by demolition--if you're interested there are some shots online--including--sadly, those of it's implosion.

Interesting that Balfour did work in Detroit--I will have to do some investigating.

[fastcarsfreedom]

Investigating complete--he's credited by buildingsofdetroit.com as having been responsible for the original home of the forerunner of the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1887--since demolished.