Raise the Hammer
By: Ryan McGreal
Published: 2006/05/26 (Category: Lister Block)
I saw a big banner hanging off the Lister Building on my afternoon constitutional today:
http://www.buildlisternow.ca
Fantastic. Instead of covering the windows so the building isn't exposed to the elements, they go in and hang flashy banners from them and set up a cheap website designed by a slick marketing firm.
The designer stole the Lister History from the Government of Canada collection and stole the City Council profile from the City of Hamilton's website - without attributing their source in either case.
They don't actually identify who is behind the website anywhere. No "about us", no contact information, no nothing except the name of the marketing firm that designed it - and they have no contact information either.
It's not just propaganda: it's third rate propaganda.
Lister doesn't need to be built now. It has already been built, damnit, and is still structurally in great shape; it doesn't need to be built again.
It's physically impossible to rebuild a building to the same specifications as the existing building for less money than it would take simply to restore the existing building. The new building will be structurally weaker than the old one, and will start falling apart in twenty years.
The more I learn about this deal, the more it stinks to high heaven. The same organization that broke the law overcontributing to Di Ianni's campaign and has hosted gala fundraisers at LIUNA Station to pay for Di Ianni's legal fees negotiated this deal in secret with Di Ianni's office and then changed its plan from restoring to rebuilding after City Council had already approved the $30 million sweetheart, no bid office contract.
Several independent architects have investigated the building and find it to be in great shape and a good candidate for restoration. Further, LIUNA's architectural assessment was not conducted properly.
Demolishing Lister now is like eating a big chocolate bar because you can't wait for dinner. You spoil your appetite and and up feeling sick later. Hamilton has had enough sneaky deals and quick fixes to last a lifetime.
By Ryan | http://www.raisethehammer.org
Posted 5/28/2006 9:53:06 AM
You may be thinking of the original rendering of the replicated Lister. The new rendering hews more closely to the original design and preserves the facade of the neighbouring Thomas building. See here for details:
http://www.raisethehammer.org/index.asp?id=270
There is a new glass box - in behind the building now...
I like your analogy, but the fear of mine and many local residents is that dinner will never get served. I don't think a chocolate bar is better then a steak, but I do think a chocolate bar is better than nothing at all.
Futhermore, if you subscribe to the "Broken Glass" theory mentioned in Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, you'll see that the simple demolition of The Lister Block will dramatically decrease crime in the downtown core. I know that I could do without people peeing outside my window and breaking into my car to steal a couple dollars.
The stars and the moon and the earth and the sun are aligning here." -- Mayor Fred Eisenberger on Light Rail in Hamilton
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By swanway
Posted 5/27/2006 10:27:40 PM
Yup. I wasn't at Friday's press conference so it may have been rendered, but I have yet to see anything on the Hughson Street facade of this crime in progress. What LIUNA/Hi-Rise propose is in fact two new buildings: pseudo-Lister, and glass box. Not a peep about glass box from anyone that I've seen.
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