Brian Marshall, Author at Niagara Now

Arch-i-text: Slow architecture and from whence it came

Last week in this column we opened a window onto the slow movement and the architecture that has been enfolded under its banner. That article closed with the suggestion that the core tenets

Arch-i-text: ‘Slow architecture’ vs. buildings ‘designed for the moment’

Back in 1986, the fast-food giant McDonald’s opened a new outlet close to the Spanish Steps in Rome. To say that McDonald’s got pushback from the citizens of that city (and Italy in

Arch-i-text: Affordable housing can fit in a community like NOTL

There is something fundamentally askew when only those of means can live in a town. For example, a place where there are no starter homes for the younger generation (who may have grown

Arch-i-text: A call to action to protect NOTL’s built heritage, and more

Just what is it that makes Niagara-on-the-Lake unique among Ontario communities? What is it that draws some 3.5 million visitors to this one little town every year? Some may point to the wineries

Arch-i-text: Taking a road trip to explore Romanesque Revival

My wife and I decided to visit a recently opened storefront in Vineland which offers sauces, jams, relishes, etc. made principally from produce grown on the owner’s 53-acre farm. The shop, Cultivate Niagara,

Arch-i-text: How a reader’s query sent me on a special quest

From time to time I am fortunate enough to have readers of this column contact me. Last week, this occurred on several occasions and I’d like to thank folks who have taken time

Arch-i-text: Setting the record straight: Development is inevitable

In a recent conversation, I apparently surprised some folks by defending a developer. Apparently, as I was told, I am perceived as being firmly in the anti-development camp and generally seen as holding

Arch-i-text: Architecture can make or break a community. Here’s an example

My wife and I moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2015. We came here because NOTL offered us an opportunity to reclaim the small-town lifestyle we had enjoyed for many years in King City prior

Arch-i-text: Council must expand heritage district to protect town’s history

I have always found it odd that the boundaries of Old Town’s national historic district are substantially different than those of the provincially registered Queen-Picton heritage conservation district. The national historic district encompasses

Arch-i-text: Repeating past mistakes for the benefit of a few

To say that I am not a fan of the Ford government’s More Homes Built Faster Act (Bill 23) is akin to suggesting that Mount Everest is a tall hill. In fact, I

Arch-i-text: Retro is ‘in’ as mid-century modern has resurgence

Over the past few years there has been a resurgence in the popularity of mid-century modern design, but what exactly is that? Well, similar to the term “Victorian,” which groups together several architectural

Arch-i-text: Can a building be a work of art? Yes, but many simply are not

Is architecture art? The majority opinion among experts is that painting, sculpting and architecture are the three branches of visual arts. Architecture has long been considered one of the “high arts,” with fine

Arch-i-text: Big developments could be NOTL’s future if YOU don’t stand up

The impact of the passage of the Ford government’s Bill 23 has started already. Last week one of this column’s readers sent me an email link to a new real estate listing for

Arch-i-text: There is no historical evidence that Breakenridge owned slaves

A teacher selected a group of 10 students and instructed them one after another to whisper the sentence she gave the first child into the ear of the next and so on until

Arch-i-text: It’s up to the people to stop Ford’s steamroller

For the last two weeks I have written about the Ford government’s Bill 23, the so-called More Homes Built Faster Act. We examined the negative impacts this legislation will have on agriculture, environment,

Arch-i-text: Giving away the farm to benefit developers

I recall during one of my parents’ early 1960s cocktail parties overhearing my father state with great disdain that, in the Duplessis government’s Quebec, there was nothing that could not be obtained at

Arch-i-text: Doug Ford’s housing act isn’t about affordable homes

In two columns published in February of this year I wrote a brief analysis of the provincial government’s task force report on affordable housing. It was my opinion then that, if the recommendations

Arch-i-text: Uncertain futures for historic McNab church and Queenston cottage

In the late spring of 2021 I wrote a series of pieces about the churches of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Included in the April 21 column was Christ Church McNab, a wonderful example of mid-19th century ecumenical architecture

Arch-i-text: Change the road forward and adopt design guidelines

In the Oct. 13 edition of this newspaper, Evan Loree reported on an action taken by town council to have staff “assess the old Cobbler’s House” at 329 Victoria St. for “historical significance”

Arch-i-text: Fond farewell and a building worth saving

In a recent conversation, Jon Kormos described William (Bill) German as the finest crafter of traditional furniture and cabinetry that he has ever dealt with. And, as one of the former owners of

Arch-i-text: Chautauqua and the reason for its being

Editor’s note: This column has been updated to correct the locations of the Chautauqua Hotel and Lakeside House. Tourism and Niagara-on-the-Lake, the two are almost synonymous. Since the middle of the 19th century, this

Election ’22: Brian Marshall: Mayoral candidates discuss development

Disero, Goettler and Zalepa offer their views on protecting NOTL’s unique character Over the past few weeks, I had conversations with each candidate for lord mayor. As regular readers of the Arch-i-text column might expect,

Arch-i-text: Celebrating three of McNab’s hidden gems

The hamlet of McNab out Lakeshore Road toward St. Catharines has a long history within the warp and weave of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Named McNab after its founders, John and his younger brother Colin McNab,

Arch-i-text: Just what is that? Abbreviations and jargon of development process

As we move toward the municipal election in October, some of the candidate platforms include short forms and abbreviations that leave folks scratching their heads while trying to figure out just what is

Arch-i-text: Breaking a development paradigm

We need to trade ‘developer models’ for community designs that worked in past A few days ago I received an email from SORE (Save Our Rand Estate) that outlined questions they had

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