Dear editor:
The Chapman residence on the Niagara River Parkway is without a doubt one of the finest contemporary houses in Niagara-on-the-Lake. It symbolizes the firm’s philosophy of timeless design by creating a cluster of small classical elements connected by glazed walkways.
I was shocked and disappointed when I heard that our heritage committee casually agreed to destroy such an important house without requiring independent restoration engineers to conduct a thorough inspection. Demolition is the worst of all alternatives for important buildings and should be approved only as a last resort after experienced restoration architects and engineers say that it has to be destroyed for reasons of public safety or that there’s no possible way that repairs can be made to stabilize the building.
The committee should also realize that the architect was being given the opportunity to design a new multi-million-dollar house on one of the most ideal properties sloping down to the Niagara River. His professional opinion obviously is compromised and when asked if the existing home should be demolished, he clearly has a conflict of interest.
The house was designed in the 1960s and is clearly a 20th century building, not an 18th- or 19th-century structure like so many buildings that have been successfully restored and not torn down. But like the cenotaph or clock tower or Queen Street, which is also a 20th-century structure, when a crack appears, you just repair it. The demolition of the cenotaph would never be considered and certainly never be approved.
If there are settlement issues with the Chapman house, you can underpin the foundations and pour a new structure. Our firm has poured new foundations and restored dozens of heritage buildings in the Old Town, some as large as Randwood, so it’s nothing new and it’s clearly not impossible. While it may be expensive, at less than 10 per cent of the cost of the construction of a new house, demolition doesn’t even make economic sense.
This house is very important architecturally. However, I think that allowing its demolition sends a terrible message about the citizens of Niagara-on-the-Lake who will be seen as not really caring about quality design or heritage buildings. Considering the terrible things that have been allowed to happen recently and are threatening again in the Old Town, this would be a good time to say that’s enough.
I think that the heritage committee should rescind their approval to demolish the Chapman residence until independent restoration architects and engineers conduct a full inspection. If they conclude that demolition is necessary, only then should they consider issuing the approval to tear it down.
Wayne Murray
NOTL
