Top Ten Endangered
The Top Ten Endangered Places List is released annually to bring national attention to sites at risk due to neglect, lack of funding, inappropriate development and weak legislation. From unique 19th-century landmarks to simple vernacular housing, stone railway stations to Modernist airports, heritage districts to single buildings, the list has become a powerful tool in the fight to make landmarks, not landfill.
HCF uses three primary criteria to determine the 10 final sites for inclusion on the list:
• Significance of the site
• Urgency of the threat Community support for its preservation
• Community support for its preservation
If you know a site that should be included on our list, tell us about it today.
Along with our annual Top Ten list, HCF draws attention to heritage sites already lost – don’t miss our Worst Losses list.
Questions? Contact Us
2011 Top Ten List
The Heritage Canada Foundation released its seventh annual Top Ten Most Endangered Places List on September 2011.
The selection—presented here from the West to East Coast—was compiled from the results of HCF’s call for nominations as well as those
stories and news items followed throughout the year.
Bank of Montreal Building -- 10089, Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, AB – ICONIC MODERN BANK TOWER FACES LIQUIDATION
An intractable owner seeks to raze one of Edmonton’s finest modern heritage office buildings, at the city’s most prominent downtown intersection, to create a parkade, two-storey podium and subway entrance.
Moose Jaw Civic Centre - 1251 Main Street North, Moose Jaw, SK S6H 3J8 – AWARD-WINNING MODERN HOCKEY ARENA FACES CRUSHING BODYCHECK
Moose Jaw’s iconic modernist hockey arena, the Civic Centre, is being systematically gutted by the City and faces demolition if the private sector does not come forward with a compelling new use.
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Brighton Public School – 24 Elizabeth Street, Brighton, Ont.—TRYING TO TEACH A PRESERVATION MESSAGE
A solid historic school that anchors the entrance to the downtown, the building is a heritage asset that is ripe for conversion to a new use. But with a school board determined to demolish it and a town council reluctant to intervene, the building’s future is at risk.
Cockshutt Office and Timekeeper’s Building, 66 Mohawk St., Brantford, Ontari –TIME IS RUNNING OUT ON DESIGNATED BUILDINGS
One of the last physical reminders of Brantford’s great industrial past may get swept away in the clean-up of a 52-acre brownfield site if a deal between the City and developer can’t be reached.
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The Guild Inn – 201 Guildwood Parkway, Toronto, Ont.—DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT
Home to the only Depression-era artists’ colony in Canada, this unique site is in imminent danger of demolition by neglect by the very municipality that designated it. It is caught up in complicated negotiations involving multiple levels of authority.
Historic District of Sillery – Quebec, Quebec—FUTURE OF HISTORIC DISTRICT UNCERTAIN DESPITE 1964 PROVINCIAL DESIGNATION
As early as 1964, the province of Quebec made the visionary choice to protect an extraordinary cultural landscape characterized by large traditional estates with expansive greenspace. Now, with condominium developers circling, advocates are pressing officials.
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Cape Jourimain Lighthouse, Jourimain Island, Bayfield, New Brunswick—A FEDERALLY “RECOGNIZED” HERITAGE LIGHTHOUSE ABANDONNED TO THE ELEMENTS
Declared surplus in 2010 by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and abandoned to the harsh elements of the Northumberland Strait, the clock is ticking as local groups attempt to raise funds to save this iconic lighthouse.
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Mount Allison Memorial Library – Mount Allison University Campus, 152 Main Street, Sackville, N.B.—AT RISK FROM ACADEMIC INDIFFERENCE -- DEMOLISHED IN DECEMBER 2011
Mount Allison University’s Board of Regents approved the demolition of its historic Memorial Library building for a new arts facility. A notice of Intention to Designate was suddenly withdrawn by the provincial Minister after hearings of objection, despite the strong recommendation of his Commemorations Committee. Demolition of the handsome building was completed in December.
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Kays Brothers Building / Welsh and Owen Building, 45 Queen Street Charlottetown, PEI – DOWNTOWN GEM THREATENED WITH DEMOLITION
The verdict on the future of the historic Kays Bros. Building in Charlottetown’s old commercial area awaits the outcome of an engineering report. Delisting and demolishing it for a new hotel would leave a large hole in this important historic streetscape.
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Fisherman’s Row Houses, Port Union, Newfoundland and Labrador — ABSENTEE OWNERS THREATEN TO TURN HERITAGE HOUSES INTO DISTANT MEMORY
Integral to Port Union National Historic Site, the Fisherman’s Row Houses remain a physical manifestation of the Fisherman’s Protective Union’s legacy. Neglected for years by their absentee owners, they are succumbing to the elements of outport Newfoundland and Labrador. Wanting to conserve their heritage value, local heritage advocates also see the structures as providing much needed affordable housing for the area.
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PDF Backgrounder on current sites.
Check out more photos on Flickr
