It's interesting that the crowd that is lamenting the loss of view from the library no doubt complained about the height, design and footprint of the same library before it was built.
All the cards are on table now and an 11th hour compromise has to be reached to save the BMO - Maritime Life Building. This will mean extra height and if a view of the Citadel from the living room in the library is lost or a view from the Citadel to the harbour is lost then so be it. Saving this building is far more important for the fabric of Halifax than a minor loss of views. Given the popularity of the view from the library it's time to look at opening up more views downtown. This would require access to the top of some key buildings. Aliant building, Duke or Barrington tower or Purdy's Wharf could provide incredible vistas.
Top of the Rock, Empire State Building, CN Tower, Calgary Tower, Vancouver Lookout, Tower hotel Niagara Falls, Space Needle etc. commercialize the views but at the end of the day the view is accessible to the public. In Halifax we rely on the Citadel for the free view but that should not be the only option.
Let's save the BMO building and open up more views. If a can of worms is opened up by allowing more height to save built heritage then it just emphasises how much work there is to do to prevent this from happening again going forward.
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Salty Town
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