Why anyone ever thought people would rather walk across a boxy roof than down a lively street remains one of the enduring mysteries of the 20th century.
By Ryan McGreal
Dec. 14, 2004
In his 1971 book commemorating Hamilton's 125th anniversary, David Proulx bragged that the city was "cutting away the rot of the Victorian age." In its place, he wrote, would go:
the 26-story [sic] Stelco Tower, rising 330 feet, a four-storey banking pavilion, an enclosed shopping concourse, a two-acre landscaped plaza, two movie theatres with a total of 1,200 seats and underground parking for more than 250 cars... followed by ... a major shopping centre, an addition to the shopping concourse, a 24-storey office tower, a 400-500-room hotel, a department store extension, five apartment towers with 800 units, more underground parking and an enlarged plaza.
Added to that will be the city's $10,000,000 theatre-auditorium ... a trade-convention centre, new art gallery, new main library and new farmers' market. Pedestrians will cross over major streets on elevated walk ways, high above the noise and fumes of traffic while most of the projects will be interconnected by underground and concourse level walkways. [empasis added] (David Proulx, Pardon My Lunch Bucket, Corporation of the City of Hamilton, 1971)
Of course, Proulx's shiny future is our grim present. His "two-acre landscaped plaza," this month's featured atrocity, ranks among the ugliest, most un-scenic destinations in Hamilton. There is nothing to see on the Jackson Square Plaza: no compelling architecture, no art, no storefronts, no cafés. Aside from smokers and the occasional free concert, the Plaza is an urban dead zone.
The "Scenic View" sign, placed by artist Liss Platt, is part of the Future Cities project. I activated the sign's audio box fully expecting a tongue-in-cheek drubbing. After my third listen, I still couldn't decide whether Platt seriously considers the Plaza to be a worthy example of postwar design or simply ascribes to a particularly subtle mode of irony.
When I asked, she explained that she was "trying to transform viewer's assumptions about what is 'scenic', and to legitimize (by aligning them with art) the types of 'scenes' offered in Hamilton." That is, she was being both authentic and ironic, trying to reframe a place in order to draw much-needed attention to it.
It certainly drew my attention. Why its designers ever thought people would rather walk across a boxy roof than down a lively street remains one of the enduring mysteries of the 20th century. Whatever legitimate artistic value the Plaza might have, it is architecturally and socially illegitimate, an unwanted bastard child of postwar renewal.
It is appropriate to launch my Arts Alive policy at the historic Tivoli theatre, a place that has contributed to the advancement of arts and heritage in our community for many years. ... I will pledge to do all I can to preserve heritage buildings and provide funding for facade restoration for our landmarks in the New City." -- Larry DiIanni, from his mayoral campaign website
NewsfeedsISSN: 1715-1554
Transit IS Pedestrian-Friendly (Aug. 25, 2008) - I really hope McMaster University will reconsider its decision to move the B-Line express buses off-campus, particularly given that the justification is to make the campus more pedestrian-friendly
Hamilton Lost 20% of Farmland since 1991 (Aug. 25, 2008) -
The Toronto Star has published an interactive map of lost farmland across southern Ontario.
Hamilton alone lost 20 percent of its farms in the 15 years between 1991 and 2006. Click on a high
Fringe Festival Review: I Am Not Neil Young (Aug. 22, 2008) -
What does it mean to live in the shadow of greatness? How can a talent made famous for his ability to impersonate demonstrate or even discover his own true self?
Frank Wilks is not Neil Y
Fringe Festival Review: New Talent (Aug. 22, 2008) -
The emotionally harrowing tale of a young woman driven by circumstance into the escort business, New Talent is simply a tremendous performance.
Interweaving a personal tragedy with a public
Fringe Festival Review: Lear's Shadow (Aug. 22, 2008) - The tragic Lear's Shadow boils Shakespeare's King Lear down to its essence: not the conflict between an insecure father and his treacherous daughters but rather the interplay between a foo
Fringe Festival Review: Because I Can (Aug. 21, 2008) -
Written by Allison McWood and directed by James Henderson, Because I Can is a screwball comedy that parlays a simple premise into a lively hour of very funny entertainment.
Karina Berschteyn
PRINT EDITION