725 replies to this topic

[slinkyo]

Did you see any rats?

[Sparky]

No, that's what I went for. I could see evidence that they had been there. Maybe I was too early.....it was before 10:00 AM and the sun was shining right in the windows. I am going to go back on Monday late in the day.

[sebberry]

Property values for the strata owners increased 50% in 24 months.

I'll need to get more details from you. One thing I want to present at our AGM next year is some building improvements/upgrades that can increase values. Having something to show would go a long way to suppory my case

[Sparky]

^ Anytime Seb. I am a firm believer in proper building care. A building will depreciate by just sitting there.

[Holden West]

This is a fantastic idea--a "parasite" attached to a building, in this case, a little replica shack in San Francisco.

http://www.designboo...st-destiny.html

I'd love to do that here replicating one of the little shacks that used to line our streets.

Notice the similarity between the heritage architecture here and in San Francisco.

[Sparky]

Holden

Your "streets" link did not work....but the site you are attempting to share with us is fantastic.

You go girl

[Holden West]

That link doesn't work for me either. It used to. I thought it was just my Commodore 64.

Try this .pdf.

Seriously, I would contribute money to make this happen.

[Sparky]

Wow....nice.

I sometimes think that I was born 50 years too late.

Thank you

[Sparky]

I attended a book unveiling this afternoon for "Prospect Lake Reflections" compiled by the Prospect Lake Heritage Society.

It is a rather small black and white tribute to the heritage of our neighbourhood.

Very well done. Very nice pictures. It wasn't cheap at almost $50.....but in all fairness this book will never make the mass production of the best sellers list.

There are pictures and stories that have been submitted by locals, and most of them have never been seen or read before.

My hat goes off to the men and women that worked so hard to preserve these pieces of heritage.

[Sparky]

^ I'm sorry....I am hideous. I should have provided a link.

Heritage | Friends of Tod Creek Watershed

[aastra]

Speaking of faux-historic architecture, what do we all think of this Fairhaven Gardens building in Bellingham?

Fairhaven Gardens

[sebberry]

Doesn't look too bad to me

[Barra]

On Government st. Across from the JBI we have been seeing a lot of expensive looking repos to a heritage house. It's been going on for 2 or 3 yrs. They are finishing up the exterior paint job. For some reason they've chosen a "Painted Lady" colour scheme - intense blues, yellow and maybe even pink. This is not a historically accurate pallete and has gone out of favor among heritage home owners in Victoria. It's pretty garish, actually.

[VicHockeyFan]

What's "expensive looking repos"? Why do people have to paint their own home the way it was painted years ago?

[G-Man]

I don't mind that Fairhaven one. It should fit in nicely there. THere is something a bit austere about it though. Fairhaven is great such a neat little neighbourhood and so out of place. Kind of like a really big Fernwood.

[Holden West]

On Government st. Across from the JBI we have been seeing a lot of expensive looking repos to a heritage house. It's been going on for 2 or 3 yrs. They are finishing up the exterior paint job. For some reason they've chosen a "Painted Lady" colour scheme - intense blues, yellow and maybe even pink. This is not a historically accurate pallete and has gone out of favor among heritage home owners in Victoria. It's pretty garish, actually.

What do you mean, "not historically accurate"? Is it not a Victorian-era house? Can you post a photo? It was common in the late 1800s to paint your house using the newly-invented intense colours made possible by advances in chemistry. Those old colour schemes looked more intense but they were still harmonious and pleasing. They shouldn't look like a child's paint box.

[aastra]

From Wikipedia:

About 48,000 houses in the Victorian and Edwardian styles were built in San Francisco between 1849 and 1915 (with the change from Victorian to Edwardian occurring on the death of Queen Victoria in 1901), and many were painted in bright colors. As one newspaper critic noted in 1885, "...red, yellow, chocolate, orange, everything that is loud is in fashion...if the upper stories are not of red or blue... they are painted up into uncouth panels of yellow and brown..."

During World War I and World War II, many of these houses were painted battleship gray with war-surplus Navy paint. Another sixteen thousand were demolished, and many others had the Victorian decor stripped off or covered with tarpaper, brick, stucco, or aluminum siding.

If I had a donut to bet, I'd bet that many of Victoria's Victorian houses were originally colourful as per the fashion, and then became uncolourful as per the post-WW2 fashion to drab everything down.

[aastra]

I wouldn't mind seeing a few high-quality buildings like Fairhaven Gardens around town. We've talked about it before, how there are only a handful of good faux-historic buildings (or additions to buildings) in all of Victoria. I'd trade the Salvation Army's building for something like that in a second.

[Holden West]

The Art Gallery's Spencer Mansion was repainted in its original historic colour scheme after a detailed microscopic analysis.

[aastra]

Next you'll tell me it would be more historically accurate to have buildings along the Wharf Street waterfront instead of parking lots and green space.