Let’s Save The Buildings!
In Toronto, there is the Distillery district, a 19th-century industrial site that has been rehabilitated into a major tourist draw with its buildings intact. Closer to home, there is the old cutlery-box factory in Newcastle, while in Cornwall, there is the Weave Shed Buildings, Peterborough has its Canoe Museum in the old Evinrude Factory, and then there is the Westclox Building which dominates the skyline, all former industrial sites now put to imaginative new uses.
And Port Hope has its Centre Pier. Unlike some other brownfield sites, the Pier has an ace up its sleeve. In fact, it has two. Not only does it lie smack-dab on the waterfront, it also boasts some great buildings that appear to be in reasonable condition.
Although most people don’t give them a second glance today, they are amazing structures: huge, cavernous warehouses that are flooded with sunlight all day. Just think of the possibilities: a new location for the farmer's market, an events centre, a sports facility, a new location for the Firefighter's Museum, a conference site … all within a newly landscaped park setting. It's exciting to think of the potential. And that’s why the Pier Group hopes council will think twice before assuming the buildings have to come down.
Alas, there may be a good reason in favour of demolition. Trouble is, council isn’t discussing this and hasn’t revealed why it favours wiping the site clean. For now, the Group assumes the decision was made in haste and that as the light dawns and the public becomes better aware of the possibilities, council will change its mind.
Meanwhile, the Pier Group urges everyone in Port Hope to sit up and take notice. Take a drive down to the harbour and look around. Just imagine how the Central Pier could look with its buildings rehabilitated and put to new use within Port Hope’s new park system.
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