Heritage at what price?
Curious day, weatherwise. The forecasts have been warning for two days now that we’re in for something serious. Red screens, strange warning bells on the iPad in mid-sleep, talk on the radio and TV. Supposed to start before midnight last (a full twenty hours ago). This morning, schools and certain offices closed in anticipation. And, not having anything other than online webcams to verify things, I know that the big city got a few flakes.
Here… pretty much nothing. Some rattle against the window panes. A dog who decided inside trumped outside, over and over again. And not much else. To be sure, the enviro-warn page says we still may get some measurable accumulation; I’m not really worried. This time, the storm chips will last beyond the expected period.
In the city, some noise over a developer deciding to demolish eight old houses. He has a plan (and it involves new taking the place of those old, in return for better revenues). Can’t say as I blame him. We can’t afford to safeguard every old structure, particularly when the whole question of “heritage value” is marginal. If a house was built in 1850, is it more worthy of our sustained attention than another built in 1950? What if both are ready to “collapse in a heap”, as one city councillor put things? I know, we don’t want to live in a world where everything looks LEGO. Neither do we want to hold owners to unreasonable demands. And on the other side of the page, what about that beautiful heritage property in Summerside that nobody wants to buy and the owners want to downsize?
