Downtown Heritage Conservation District - Study and Plan
Urban Heritage Character
Areas of Special Interest
The Watts Boat Shed
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a historical gem, in a forlorn setting. |
The demolition of the heritage buildings on the Collingwood Shipyard site leaves the Watts Boat Shed as the sole relic of what was the town's premier industry for more than a century. It would be very unfortunate to lose this building. The current site leaves it surrounded by derelict land and the backsides of commercial strip developments. This may be one of those special cases, where reloaction of a heritage building is preferable to preserving it on site.
The Spit
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the Park installations recall |
The Collingwood Spit with the 1929 Collingwood Terminals grain elevator embodies the origin of the Town as a railway terminus and trans-shipment port. The wealth that constructed the District's heritage buildings ultimately flowed from the Spit, and it has the highest degree of heritage value.
Collingwood has recognized this great significance by acquiring the Spit as a public parkland. It has been designed as a memorial to the marine aspects of the town's history, as a port and a boat-and-ship-building centre. The presence of the Yacht Club will also integrate the parkland with the future redevelopment of the waterfront.
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the elevator and the mountain: |
From most approaches, the first sign of Collingwood is the grain elevator. It is significant as a landmark as well as an historical artifact.
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looking south from the spit up the |
Redevelopment of the waterfront, continuing the axis of Hurontario Street across the launch basin, will reinforce the visual tie between the Spit and the Town.
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an enormous piece of industrial archeology. |
The massive scale ofthe grain elevator gives mute testimony to the prosperity of the port of Collingwood..
Lanes And Paths
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the old schoolhouse, at the intersection |
The blocks on either side of Hurontario Street possess a mesh of public and private lanes and walkways which significantly contribute to the character of the Commercial Core. The most obvious value of the laneways is their original use for commercial deliveries, keeping commercial supply activities off the main street. They also function as mid-block walkways, and in conjunction with the variety of east-west pedestrian paths, they provide useful connections between back-street parking areas and the businesses on the main shopping street. This contributes to the Official Plan goal of maintaining a pedestrian-friendly shopping environment in the downtown. It is worth noting that a number of the lanes and most of the walkways are informal routes on private land, and their existence is not at all guaranteed in the face of new development.
Heritage qualities of the laneway streetscapes vary widely. The only heritage building that could be said to "front" on a lane is the old school building on Schoolhouse Lane. But most of the commercial buildings on Hurontario Street back onto lanes. The backs possess a common heritage with the street frontges, even though they are generally plain in comparison. Insofar as the original qualities of their rear elevations have been preserved, the lanes possess heritage value.
The lanes offer an opportunity for commercial intensification in the Commercial Core. Most of the buildings have unbuilt land adjacent to the lanes, providing potential for increased commercial floorspace without an increase in commercially zoned land. In addition, development of pedestrian-friendly lanes provides an opportunity for lane-oriented shopfront display, in effect creating new shopping streets within the existing commercial area.
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