Quote:
Originally Posted by mikevbar1
I think what chron is trying to say, and is being missed, is the need for a) upscale establishments, and more importantly b) places and buildings that feel upscale and grand. Part of a “downtown feel” is there being some places that have a sense of scale, grandeur, and yes, money. A lot of that is superficial; good architecture, good interior design, urban design, etc. While that is usually taken for granted in big cities, it is something that a rejuvenating city might need to consider in crafting its image, especially when our public image is subpar. That’s not to say everything needs to be glitzy and expensive, rather that the place your in conveys it’s own importance.
This doesn’t have to be at the expense of the majority of the city and our demographics; there’s lots of room to build a conscious, grand core that conveys importance and grandeur while balancing it with the realities of the typical Hamiltonian and what their needs/preferences are. There’s gotta be standouts downtown that capitalize on the imagery of being there, and that’s what I got out of Chronamuts comment.
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THANK YOU - that is EXACTLY what I was trying to convey. As someone who has seen and learned so much about hamilton's history it's so disheartening to see us as a mere shell of what we once were in that visual aesthetic department. We are one of the oldest cities in the golden horseshoe. We are an ACTUAL city - we have a core, and we have history. I feel a lot of that is being erased or forgotten, or worse, mocked.
This isn't about richness or useless vanity - it's about a feeling of substance and grandeur - an aspiration to greatness and creativity - of effort and craftsmanship - something hamilton USED to have a ton of, and something toronto STILL has, and something every city core SHOULD have. It isn't asking for much - just not everything to be a cookie cutter ikea building that looks like it's built out of lego. Esp in the core - the core is supposed to represent the best the most beautiful and the richest the city has to offer, as that is where the beating lifeblood of money flows through to keep the city pumping like a heart. Mikevbar1 hit the nail on the head. Hell we're still letting parts of the south in gore park rot and it's depressing to see - we can't even be bothered to maintain what we have! Buildings all along king st show signs of decline, fallen off pediments - grimy unwashed stone and brick - god with just a little bit of effort and some sodablasting we could make what we have already look so beautiful..
100 years from now almost nothing new will qualify for heritage protection and we'll just be a cheap consumer downtown that rips down its buildings every 20-50 years to build newer cheaper ones. Where is the pride in that? Some of us are still proud of our city's roots - those that are young or come from other places don't always understand that hamilton wasn't always the decrepit rot that was seen in the 90s. And for those that say "oh we don't have the crafts we used to have" - if you can 3d print metal parts or do tool and die making you can find someone to carve stone, or "precast concrete" to put a little bit of fancy embellishment. We need to try harder. We need to both expect, and demand more.
And yes I know someone will mention that hamilton should be happy it gets anything at this point and that better stuff will come.. well honestly - I think city council should expect certain elements so its not just "stuff" being built - some of the things approved are just ghastly. In the core of gore park for instance no 1-3 stories from ground level should be anything BUT heritage looking - esp on the north side to keep that feeling of the traditional hamilton, one that has remained largely unchanged for over 200 years. Let's face it - what makes hamilton attractive to tourists and to people who film here is the OLD stuff - the history, that pride and the age of the city itself - as well as the blue collar working man feel - The Umbrella Academy focused on all the old areas, not the new stuff, as do many other shows and movies. Core urban gets it - fill in the gaps with similar feeling architecture. Restore what is there, adaptive reuse and combine old with new. We left the downtown to rot which meant a lot of it was actually preserved - which makes us unique in that we still, for as much as we destroyed, we still have so much of it left.
I mentioned an opera house because it was my dream as a kid to go somewhere that lavish and just enjoy the atmosphere of it the same way my ancestors would have when those establishments first came out. To feel the hamilton that originally existed in it prime. And being lazy or that not caring about appearances or buildings is the new chic - that's not such a good thing to be proud of - it just goes to show there is an internal rot as well as an external one - our architecture is starting to look and feel as empty as many of the people walking around - back in the day people were proud of their appearance, they dressed in their best to go downtown, they were proud of their establishments and they wanted a feeling of city pride. People were PROUD to be hamiltonian. All the parades and dressing up the downtown were proof of that. There is nothing wrong with wanting some aspect of that to return. To make them feel like hamilton is something to be proud of and worth living in, not just a place you live cuz you have to be here. We have a long way to go to erase the "dirty" vibe of hamilton still - it's gotten a bit better because of cheap rent in comparison to toronto - but if all those toronto people are gonna come here, they're also gonna want a feeling of the same big city grandeur toronto has as well. Many move here , fix things up, realize hamilton can't provide them the same things toronto does, and then move back to toronto in disappointment.
Sorry I just get miffed when people crap on upscale stuff as bad - it's needed. As an architecture major I want to feel wowed and awed when I go downtown - and not just cuz something is plastic and metallic and really really high. I want to look at a building and see every little aspect of it it has that sets it apart from all the others - that uniqueness that I can stare at for a few minutes and value. I do that with the lister block. I do that with the first few floors of the William Thomas building. I briefly glance at the skyscraper above it - but that is not what holds my interest at street level. I do it now with core urbans new buildings on James and Houston - and I just admire it. I do it on the south of king in the park and feel a sad feeling of regret and also hope.
It's one reason I loved the first restaurant that went into the new restored lister block - it was pricy yes, but they had class, they had a man at the door to let you in, it felt FANCY like something in that era of the past that you could partake in like going back in time, and you felt a little bit of giddiness and it made you want to dress up to not feel out of place. We honestly just need a little more of that. Where you walk in and people go "I am sorry sir but there is a dress code here" and you go "oh.. ok,.. this is a fancy place" - like Shakespeares, or Lo Prestis. You have all these people moving into the core, many with lots of money - give them an upscale experience! Having buildings like that downtown automatically makes people think higher of the city itself. We could be a bustling night life town if we truly wanted to be.
I will leave you this as a bit of humour to lighten the mood.
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"Without hesitation sir."
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