renovation

Friday February 3, 2012

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 3, 2012

Ontario Place Closed

By the standards of government communications, as we know them today, it was downright poetic.

“Ontario Place is Ontario,” the advertisement in the Nov. 10, 1970, edition of The Globe and Mail proclaimed. “It will show us and the world where we’ve been, where we are and where we are going.”

If we’re going to be honest, even in its heyday the lakeside complex never did quite live up to those lofty dreams. It was a great place to see a concert, at least back in the era of the quaint little Forum and its revolving stage. It offered a unique movie-going experience, until commercial chains put in Imax theatres of their own. It had bumper boats and a waterslide and a “punching bag forest,” which all held a certain magic for kids. None of this really made it the beacon to the world – Toronto’s answer to Expo 67 – that its creators envisioned.

But there was something noble about those ambitions. And there is something depressing about how they ultimately panned out: the provincial government of the day announcing Wednesday that it’s indefinitely shutting most of Ontario Place’s current operations, because it’s tired of losing $20-million a year.

This is what it’s come down to for a province $16-billion in the hole, scratching and clawing for any dollar it can save. Rob Ford, the hawkish mayor of Toronto, likes to talk about keeping things we “need to have,” while letting go of ones that are just “nice to have.” Dalton McGuinty’s provincial Liberals don’t speak quite as bluntly, but with the odd exception – an ongoing investment in the Pan Am Games – they increasingly find themselves forced to embrace a similar philosophy. (Source: Globe & Mail) 

 

Saturday March 28, 2009

March 28, 2009

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 28, 2009

City Hall’s marble: A short history

Glorious architecture gallery

* There are 3,000 marble slabs totalling 30,000 square feet covering City Hall. They measure approximately 60 centimetres by 120 cm.

* The gold-veined Cherokee marble used at City Hall was quarried in Pickens County, Georgia, the same county that produced the marble for the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.

* In 1958, architect Stanley Roscoe caused an uproar when he chose Georgia marble instead of stone from Ontario or Quebec. He said the design at City Hall was predicated on the use of the white marble. After much debate about whether local stone should be used, city council approved the use of Georgia marble by a 13-6 vote.

* The first shipment of the Georgia marble was deemed “unsatisfactory” because it was the wrong colour. Roscoe paid a visit to the quarry in late 1958 to ensure the rest of the marble was up to standard.

* On May 16, 1960, the day City Hall opened to the public, two marble slabs fell from the building. One, which weighed 275 kilograms, crashed onto the roof of the second floor. The other landed on the second-floor canopy. The problem was blamed on “faulty craftsmanship.”

* On Feb. 6, 1963, two more slabs fell after water seeped behind the marble and rusted the metal hooks supporting the slabs.

* In 1969, when council allotted $136,000 for repairs to the marble, city architect Alex German suggested taking down each marble slab, “making them into coffee tables and selling them.  (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Letters to the editor: 

I’ve said in past blog entries that often the only feedback I ever get on any of my cartoons is whenever somebody has taken great offense to whatever I’ve drawn and feel the need to convey their anger to me.

My most recent cartoon focusing on the sad saga of Hamilton’s City Hall reno drew the ire of a close relative to the architect of the building, Stanley Roscoe, who phoned to ask what gives me “the nerve to be an architectural critique”.

What gives anyone the right to be an architectual critic? Are only learned experts of the field entitled to pass judgement on architecture in high brow periodicals? Can’t the unwashed masses who can’t tell a cupola from a corbel air their own feelings about the concrete monsters they have to share this planet with?

Anyway, I’ve posted the original sketch I was going to go with and tempered the farting base ass imagery with a giant toilet. My apologies for the loooong gap between blog entries. I’ll keep trying to keep this thing up to date.

 

Wednesday February 4, 2009

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 4, 2009

Councillors OK City Hall ‘wow’ factor

City Hall is closer to having an extra $2-million “wow” factor.

Glorious architecture gallery

Councillors on the public works committee voted 5-3 yesterday to add to the project’s $74-million budget to create a glass enclosure in the building’s forecourt.

“I think it’s critically important that we get this right,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who believes the money is well spent to create a “wow” factor. “Let’s not be a penny wise and a pound foolish.”

The enclosure below the council chambers was previously approved by the renovations committee and must still go to council.

Councillor Bob Bratina said the city is kidding itself if it believes the indoor space will make City Hall more of a gathering place.

“I don’t see the value in spending that money,” he said, adding City Hall has never been welcoming.

“It’s just a forlorn place beside a highway.”

Councillor Chad Collins, who joined Bratina and Sam Merulla in opposing the project, said he’d rather see the money spent on other infrastructure work. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

 

Wednesday June 13, 2007

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 13, 2007

Mayor: Too much concrete in front of City Hall

Mayor Fred Eisenberger is urging council to spend at least $2 million to upgrade and green the municipal space as part of the overall City Hall renovation.

“It needs to be a gathering place,” said Eisenberger, who is fighting for a comprehensive renovation after losing his bid to build a new centre.

Glorious architecture gallery

Councillor Lloyd Ferguson would like to see a fountain that converts to a skating rink in the winter, similar to Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square. He’s willing to cut back on costs on other elements, like the council chambers, to increase funding for the grounds.

“This is our showpiece … It would be nice to have a focal point.”

But Councillor Chad Collins is reluctant to invest in the forecourt, arguing the city has better uses for its limited funds. “It’s functional now.”

Council have approved spending up to $69 million to renovate City Hall, including fixing the forecourt. Some councillors say that price tag must be cut. They’re willing to reduce the $2 million allotted for basic upgrades to the outside grounds. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Tuesday September 24, 2002

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 24, 2002

A City Hall to boost ‘image’

A team of developers vying to build Hamilton’s new City Hall says a brand new building is needed to boost the city’s sagging reputation and create a central meeting place of which the community can be proud.

Glorious architecture gallery

“We’re talking about more than just mortar and brick here — we’re talking about image, we’re talking about the city,” said Joe Mancinelli, vice-president of the Labourers International Union of North America (LIUNA) which has partnered with Hi-Rise Group in a proposal to build a new city hall on the current site downtown.

“What better way to show the citizens of Hamilton and everyone outside of Hamilton that we have a new image?”

The newly established business partners say they want to construct a new building on the land behind city hall, and demolish the old one when it’s complete.

The developers say they would pay the entire cost of construction, and lease the building back to the city for less than the city now pays each year for the facility and additional office space throughout the core. Taxes would not have to go up, they say.

“We’re not looking upon the city to spend a dime,” said Warren Green of Hi-Rise.

The LIUNA/Hi-Rise group is one of nine developers hoping to either build a new city hall, fix up the old one or renovate existing office space such as Hamilton City Centre or the Standard Life Building. (Hamilton Spectator)