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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-03-01, Page 3GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1973 --PAG ACN AGcs 1903 he tick Jilnds e institu convey, ,ark. are ofrt. ;:onaition a beauty not gojti the''v migt :al, The,. talked ospita;. Ic school blit, is it looks, loccupi sing col,. found to f attentni le engin, tent in ;NAI, fie vhich iso , being t.. providir( small ttmakers in hour a about tt; rum (lir 1 Thur;,; s't'd an h lk. left Saar u'ouver, 1 lye shonh • he Klon+ 1f' the fin! 'ukon the no lensed a' L. land oft attraction: AGO , 1948 gislatttree .ek. Thos Huron ri 1 last mo, 'o the 1l( .eat. As is, newer, II move eply to t Throne' nder, renr Assessi►i! t headqua avy offie Comm. comme, vey of the count: evidence while ea rida has, John Tho.; Goderich A mon tiles C3 1 i4►p,(_ate and 'all ht FishingTa, ng .that 1' a saiIf ()ands, a: rt eleven t he issuing, to sulstr rs hack hoo isiting fishy: t took air it the sail I work" sP' ive mem( un' 1f Mrs.' d(. liss Rohl, 5teigh r ` evening x' teamsterf lour 'or 50 girls asp' .irch, a'he�' d and Intik' AGO 1968 time in t, rth Goderib awarded r' Peter S' old Mrs' ed the bad. speak 11014 ish. a I Collegis' in all thm turth annul giate Dra'' evening! vol legiate io- on ' of Ed! es "Aria di hest Stevbl ea ft- J. ho descrim s "the el' al" of t al offer ', ncYmed.' e for ,(gat m the t' town two Lo :he pr''' isc•ussion raged for more two hours at the Febary ion of Huron County Coun- n Friday but in the end the cillors agreed by a 42-9 rded vote to continue with s to tear down one wall of 131 year old Huron County ellaih'ing the decision esmen for Saye the Jail iety, who had delegated the ting asking the councillors more tinge, announced they Id continue their fight and a court injunction if ssary p their delegation to the ting the society said they ded tinir to meet with the 'nty Property Committee to uss possible solutions they ht have to suggest. They noted they needed the ex - time to fully research these posal,. ayfield Reeve 1•;c1 Oddleif- tabled a motion to turn the tter. -hack to the property mince until next month but defeated he final vote approved 0 perty committee requisition go ahead and apply for the necessary permit to destroy the to organize the fight for what wall. The recommendation they believe." followed a three page report Mr. Lobb asked if anyone which outlined in detail the had determined the cost of committee's stand on the jail operating the i)ropo?sed issue. museum. "Does anyone realize there will be demolition of walls inside the building in or- der that there can. be proper traffic flow and crowd c.'cgn- trol?" he asked. • He said renovations could run as high as $25,000. "These costs," he suggested "wilLainore than likely be born by the Town of Goderich." 'TW" have ii7711 criticized because the Assessment building is even located at,, its present site," he noted. "The building was constructed for the purpose of the County Assessment staff' which con- tained 15 employees and the second floor was added for future needs of the County•" "At the time of building there was no indication from the Province that the assessment department would be taken over Provincially and that the Province would be in- terested in. the County building. However once the' Provincial The report, presented by property committee chairman Harold Lobb,, said. that the committee had spent many hours considering thiE problems related to expansion of the Assessinent Building and the proposal to remove one wall of the jail which would expose one of-five-etntrtya -gds.- _, _-__-._ "'There has been a great deal Of publicity against the proposal to remove the one wall," he said. "Unfortunately, ho),vever, the press have never at any time published or prin- ted the proposed outline of the building and what effect it might have on that immediate part of the jail property." �' People have signed petitions," he noted, "and the property committee is quite sure a great many have no idea of what is involved, on the other hand we commend the people who have been willing During a special tour of the jail on Sundays Save She Jail Society president 'Joan Van den Broeck, left and SJS secretary Dorothy Wallace discuss si Huron County Jail from the wrecking ball with Architect H storian Douglas R chard onr' (staff photo) AIN LIE MARKET LIMITED HARVEST OF VALUES PXONF 5�4-8551 FRESH '- BONELESS Roast PorkWith dressing, LB. •95 meal for Sandwiches Cooked H (Save Ham 40c Ib., �8. 1•29-4 �t1 \\I :Save 30c Ib. LB..71.1 Spare Ribs9 Freezer Special Hind Quarters of- Beef (i'ncludes ground chuck `r round - sirloin - T -Bone Steak (plus fillet mignon) - ' Cut free Assessment Departments were established, the Province asked to rent our building and bought all th, furnishings." "When we- first opened negotiations to consider expan- ding," Mr., Lobh explained, "tLta-building, various aspects Are discussed and one was ex- panding to the west. The com- mittee felt there was 00 need to huv extra property when land was already owned by the County so that ruled out moving west. • "We have a letter on file from -the County" solicitor in= (Heating that the people im- mediately adjacent to the west of' the Assessment Building are not in any way , interested in selling their property to the County. ,It is not the intention of the County to expropriate land," he added. "Another proposal has also been suggested and givetw:very serious consideration," he said. "That is to extend the present building on pillars out over the parking lot and then build either one large main floor which would correspond with the second floor of the present building.,There might he some problems with height restric- tions here which could possibly be overcome." "The suggestion was made that we -should dig out the parking lot and provide expan- sion in this manner. in the first place this would eliminate a lot of valuable parking, and in the second place there is a water problem ,in connection with that area and this would he prac'tica1ty impossihie" t he property committee chairman explained. • Referring to the Open House held Sunday February 18 Mr. Lobb noted that from talking to various people it was apparent "the majority who visited the Jail came -only out of curiosity and more particularly to see where Steven Truscott was held and where the public hangings had taken {glace." Representatives of the Save the Jail Society and Architect Historians Douglas Richardson and Ralph Greenhill toured the former Huron County Jail on Sunday. Mr. Greenhill and Mr. Richardson are combining for their second book on Canadian architecture and part of the book deals with the old jail.' Left to right are Syd Lawson, SJS, Brian Hall, SJS treasurer, Mr' Richardson, Mr. Greenhill,, Dorothy Wallace, SJS secretary and Joan Van den Broeck SJS president The -vacant jail was closed as an active prison last year by the province 'and. sat in disuse until the County decided to tear -down one wall to make room for the Assessment building ex pansion. That decision sparked widespread lniblic outcries Hind several petitions opposing such, a move. February 19 P.C. candidate Don Southc•ott „announced that he had been assured by Warden Roy Pattison and, property committee chairman. Harold Lobb that no action would he taken regarding ,destruction 'of they wall-. Unfit Aprir 1. Following Friday's meeting Mr. Pattison said Mr.- Southcott had been told such a po5train- ment was "possible." A number of councillors at- tacked the press in connection with reporting the announ- cement. . Plans for the assessment of- fice -addition call. for building two floors which -would represent :3,150- square feet each, on the side'of the existing building nearest the jail. The project is valued at $150,0110 not including the cost of land- scaping, architect's fees or demolishing the jail wall. Volleyball tourney Last Saturday, February - 1, '-'i2 teams from six area elemen- tary schools participated its their Fifth Annual Volleyball Tournament. Many thanks are extended to V:\nastra Developments for giving the close' to 200' pupils the opportunity to use `free ,of charge the excellent facilities at the Recreation Centre. Excellent refereeing was, provided by local high school students who officiated 72 single games from 9:00 a.m to 2:30 p.m. As in the past, with a round- robin tournament, each team played against all other teams with no team being eliminated. Hallett Central School won both the Boys' and Girls' tour- naments. , Their very strong.. boys' team won 10 straight games, never once being forced into a third game in any of their five l't'st two out of three series. The calibre of playing has steadily improved since the first tourpament, and it was especially, noted that the Surroundings p the Recreation Centre made it much better for the players to do their hest. Save the •J:1i1 Society president Joan \'an den 13roeck said o 1 1'Ilesdl;ty that her group has not ;.riven up the fight to save the wall of the former Huron County Jail despite 1he set hack suffer'e(1 by the organization.. on Friday w.hen ('ourlty Councillors '„teff to gt.) the;i(1• In(1 apply for the nese ss:try' permits 1(1 destroy the. vv :t 11 At present the municipality of Goderich has :t motion on their hooks- which states they vyi11 not issue th(ise permits Un- til such 111111 as they have received ;and further .discussed ill reports connected with this -problen)." she explained. ''We will he attending the council Meeting thi-' s't'rong to urge the councillors not to rescind that motion until the cOn- dittons ((11 Which It was made have been met ... She 'said that in the ting(• while these reports' are being prepared arid sent to council the Society hopes to draw 111, alternate proposal, ;and reopen negotiation- with the ('o(10ot "‘Ve',have hired an at'chitect to draw ,some alternate plans 14(1' ex1);t01-0o11," she said. 'and hope 1(4 hav't• those (1'avvl,o1gs in time for a meeting with the County i'roperty ('onllnittt•e on Friday."' Mrs_ -V'an den 13roeck said that tt lawyer has also been retained by the S:t'e the When Goderich 'I'ovyn Cour ell meets this evening they will hear the following letter from Douqas 0 Ftrch"1*11 ''on, an Assistant Prof:*'ssor :It tht•. Univer•. its (9f ,•horonto i)t•Irtrt- nlent o Fine Art and an Ar- c: t- u -Ka l 11 i -t o 4 Richardson is co-author 'of 0 hook to. he published soon on historical architectur=e and the jail will play :t part in 'that publication. On Sunday Mr. Richardson toured the Inlilding. •i'he letter follows. The executive of the Save The Jail Society' have invited me" to comment on the proposed demolition of a portion of the County Jail and I do so 05'one concerned for both the 'fnter- prectation of our architectural herif,,,age and its preservation. i have examined the situation on thl* S tP- res:Mt-TV- node feel- t-hctt- the importance of the Piece of wall which is threatened by the cv►ntemPlated e'xpansion of" the' Assessment Office is far larger than may be realized by those who recommend its: removal. the wall is,crucial to the proper preservation of the tail, and the value of the jail complex is so gr at that it can hardly he over- ent hasized. be Fiulon ('minty Jail, built in 18:39-42, is a particularly lucid, attractive and well- preserved example of an early nineteenth-century type. The ,jail itself is octagonal, with a centniI stairhall lit by ail oc tagonal lantern, or cupola. The jail is . of the Ber,thamite or "panopticon" variety, so-called after Jeremy Bentham who recommended such plans in which a jailer,cottld oversee at a glance all activity on 000 level in each of the wings, which- radiate from the stairhall, simply by walking atound that central portion. While supervision was cen- tralized in this fashion, the system of separate blocks, and many individual exercise Yards• surrounding these, provided for the classification anti separation of tin' different types; of prisoners in the periphery of the complex.. And in the Goderich .jail the walls which form the exercise -"yards reflect the nature and forii -"nf Abe structure within by their basically octagonal shape -- broken only for the warden or- go'e'rr1or's house — and by the monumental gate in the portli- wt•st por1i611 ()t the wall All the town. .And, uhatevt•r people ma\ h:a\e thought of the tail irl the past. its reputation as an admirable part of our arcliite(- rural heritage ganef the proud vyO1'k is •roost he:lut0tuIIy possessi(itl o1Goderich can only fashioned in appropri:ttel\.si1(1- igrow In the -future if it is pit_ ill:iaL1�1L4�tL�t��i�fj.l�n �?1 r(lperly _ 1Jreserye what is mors~~ -the entire strirc-. already- -comp from great ince was humanely conceived distances to see it. •i'he Ind executed with full regard- iniaginatiun 'and enthusiasm for the tre ot11'lvv.jth which ¶ot.lrlg people. tlln:(te p((svV4oitns whfo s11pent11p;1r(0'-t espect;tlly. h:t't. ,tl►'t':arty e►m of their live; in it. plo'ed the building for ;to- 'l'l)( present state o1 preser. pr(lpri;ate rlevy 11 (s — ar1d the \11tiorl of this coo))))l(" i, 1110st wide range. of father new.'uses remarkable. Few •htlil(lings of which are proposed for it — its (floe, of any type (to stay -suggest that the Hail could con- nothitig of 'lads). are so well stone to play :a v-ital role in the Prl.ij'ryecl. Thr presery:itinn i►1 community for' 71 .11)11t4 tune tact of 'irtlially every detail Finally. the proposed flown to •the iron -reinforced 41enlol1tion of e'en 11 part of the doors,: the v(•oodwork with its wall amounts to piecemeal original paint. (ken the hand- ...rlesiruct'lon vyhich is as un- w'rO(ight hardware, would seem necessary, it 5eenls, as it would incredible in any ('Ontext,. but he tragic. There- appears to he expecially in a jail (which. one ample'roomon the Assessment assumes. ill j Ti t i i' e i t e f'(i 0.1;11;, li17.01 het" uses without approai'hing- the coin - 'Structures of this form and pound ----- and such extension size wc-re•once relatively corn- surely should not :approach the mon in the 1'nited Kingdom compound , if architectural. and th'rougholit the- F3r'itish 3historical and. social values Empire, but no longer' are. 'l'he type was spread hV illustrations difficult to add an ell to the in builders' pattern books and building presently occupied h' in prints. Fant even examples by the As5'estiltlent Office, at thtl° leading architects 'in Britain. (Continued on Hage 1(31 mean anything. 11 would not he vvhieh Alight have had Special claims 'to preservation because of that 'association alone. have disappeared in spite of the heroic preservation of vast numbers of other British huilding5. in Ontar1,1 , too, nearly every jail of this form hays either been completely compromised by additions and alterations or bean utterly destroyed. And it is worth men- tioning , that . this particular form of jail is ver' nearly unknown in the Ignited State. i feel confident an saying that the Huron County •1011 is en- tirely representative of 5truc• tures of its type and Period, but it is now excessively rare, not only in'Ontario but far beyond, :and it is all the more rare when one considers its wonderful state of preservatior'i The importance of this intact complex sof jail, compound and governor's house) to the town Of Goder'ich can ,hardly he exaggerated it is, without. (I ('0-0 1(011 - he most distinctive and uni(lttt building .in the Land use Jail Society to investigate the legal gt'outlds on which (lestrIo- tion of the wall can he stopped. "If need • he" she explained, "we will seek injunctions to 1111 )W us the time necessary to prepare our case .and, have it heard and we are also prepared to tale other legal actions. 'The- Society legal con'yltall1 will he 'presenting a,, brief to Town Council, on Thursday to more • clearly- outline the Soiety's position in that respect On Sunday a ,special delegation from the Societe' in- ( hurling Douglas S. Richard -am, �1..�. Ph. D an assistant professor :at the 1'ni'(rsity of 'f'oronto ir'i the Fine .Ar•i. depart- ment who is 115() an art'hitet'- ttlral historian., t. Mr- Richardson said on, Sun flay that the Huron ('Aunty •fail is :a particularly- lucid, attrac five and well preserved exam- ple (1 ;an early nineteenth cen- tury Building and should by all !Means he sa'er1. He also ex pl:(ined that a hook to be .L►itbli5ht'd.W the near future, a hook of which he is a co-author, refers to the jail as 0 unique example. Later in tyle week he forwarded a' letter to the Municipality of Goderich (which will be heard at tonight's council meeting) urging the nlirniciialit' to save the wall, Copies of the letter were also forwarded to the Save the •Jail Society and this newspaper and are published elsewhere. Representatives of the Society met nn 'Tuesday mor- ning with Liberal Parte' Le:idter Robert Nixon. Liberal Can- didate Jack Riddell and Murray Gaunt MPP for Huron Bruce :and received assurance that it destruction of the wall could he delayed until :after the house reconvenes at Queen's Park those members would often discussions with the government departments con- cerned to see .if any solution could he found through. the province. A letter has ago been r*'(•*'ived by the Socil.3v front NDP provincial leacher Stephen Lewis who noted, "I veru much support the work . of the Save the Jail Society. 1 have never understood why so much of modern progress involves destruction of buildings which stay a lot about our traditions and inheritance." "Surely there are other more appropriate alternatives," he added. Mr. Lewis also said that he would be contacting the various government offices involved in Toronto - to see what -action could be taken to save the structure. The Save the -Jail Society also have in their hands a Iet- ter from the Architectural .conservancy of Ontario, which represents more than 4,000 ar- c'hitects, which describes- the, old jail as a "Most admirable example of early workmanship and one that should not he marred.." Then goes on to note that "we have always found -there are alternate solutions to such problems." "Planning for the Future" is. the theme for the Huron Land Use Conference scheduled from 10)1)0 A.M. - 3:30 P.M. Th►ir- -sday, March 22nd, at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton. Sponsored' jointly by Huron County Council and Hllron Soil and Crop Improvement Association, the programme will include the Huron Case Study as presented at the On- tario Land Use Conference. The programme committee especially urge all oral and ur- ban people with akinterest in planning and land use to at- tend. • Space will he' limited so per.- sonsinterested in attending are asked to pre -register by contac- ting the Agricultural Office rn Clinton. Pre -registration fee is $2.00 which includes noon lunch.