St. Albert’s city hall is a signature historic building in North America, being one of the largest of the unique Douglas Cardinal buildings and one of the earliest buildings to employ the CADD computer generated design system pioneered by Cardinal.
It is important to maintain the facades of architecturally significant buildings and for larger public buildings to maintain a frontal aspect and unobscured view. This Douglas Cardinal building is a rarity on the continent and should be afforded proper space to afford sweeping views of its curvaceous facades. If this means that no additions can be made to the building, all the better to preserve its architecture. A guarantee that no structures can be built across the street in the present parking lot space would afford the best view of this significant building.
As for allegations that city council is eager to foist a historical designation onto the building for reasons other than historical preservation, they are neither here nor there. I don’t personally believe they are using historical designation to manipulate civic capital construction, but even if it were true, the bottom line is that the building would be preserved in its greatest architectural form. That alone is worth many more tourist and business dollars into the city than council could ever spend on extra civic administration space.
Jane Gibson, St. Albert
