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2005
Top Ten Endangered Sites
Top 10 2005 |
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 2004 was a year of much debate about the future of
Hastings Park and the PNE; yet many issues remain to be resolved.
One of them the future of the Livestock Building. The Livestock
Building has national significance as the marshalling facility
for the internment of Japanese-Canadians in 1942.
The building is also architecturally significant:
built in two phases, the oldest section dates from the 1920s
and the younger section from 1941. The later building was
designed by Marine Building architects McCarter and Nairne
in the same year as the Deco/Moderne Garden Auditorium and
is one of the city's best surviving examples of Moderne design.
Ironically, its sleek 'streamline' detailing
and striking columned portico are under-appreciated because
fairgoers only see the rear of the building. The front facade
faces the racetrack and Miller Road - at one time the Fair's
main axis, and is obscured by a canopied walkway.
Over the past 8 years, public discussion has
roamed hither and yon: in 1997, when it seemed clear that
the PNE was to be re-located elsewhere in the province, the
Hastings Park Restoration Plan called for removal of many
PNE buildings, including the Livestock Building. In 2003/4,
when the decision to relocate the fair was reversed, the City
undertook a major public process of identifying and evaluating
four development options.
In June 2004, City Council declared continuation
of an annual fair in some form, including retention of the
Roller Coaster - an earlier entry on our Top Ten list. The
fate of the Livestock Building was left up in the air, although
Council directed its staff to report back in fall 2004 on
a process to address (among other things) heritage assessment
of the building.
We hope no news is good news, as previous options
were at best facade retention. With a continuing fair, we
see strong reasons to retain the entire building intact for
uses compatible with the new vision for Hastings Park.
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