- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

From a knowledgeable friend of the Hub:

"For many years I have walked by the Legate Furniture Co. building admiring the black marble facade, beautiful gold-painted wooden lettering, gorgeous thumb latch handle, and much more.

The new stone facade has failed and has been removed and has left the building with no protection against the weather. It's very sad to see when a building is not given a fighting chance to survive.

The plywood that remains can't keep the elements out and this will cause further damage to the building and most likely be the building's demise."

We wrote about the Legate building in 2022. And in January 2018 and again in October 2018 .

If the City's staff and by-laws can do nothing to protect our built heritage right across the road from our city hall, in full view of those to whom we are trying to market our "River District", how can we be expected to believe that any of it will valued?

BY-LAW NO. 1999-030. “BEING A BY-LAW FOR PRESCRIBING STANDARDS FOR THE MAINTENANCE AND OCCUPANCY OF PROPERTY WITHIN THE CITY OF OWEN SOUND

SECTION 2.4 - EXTERIOR MAINTENANCE OF BUILDINGS
SECTION 2.4.1 - EXTERIOR WALLS AND THEIR COMPONENTS
2.4.1.1 The exterior walls of a building and their components shall be maintained so as to be weather-tight, free from loose or unsecured materials and objects and in good repair.
2.4.1.2 The exterior walls of a building and their components shall be maintained so as to retard deterioration due to weather, insects, or other causes. Where necessary, exterior walls and their components shall be so maintained by the painting, restoring, recovering with weatherproof material, or repairing of coping or flashing, waterproofing of joints and of the wall itself and other components, installing or repairing of termite shields, treating the soil with chemicals or using other suitable means.
2.4.1.3 Appropriate measures shall be taken to remove any objectionable markings, stains or other defacements occurring on the exposed finished exterior surfaces of any structure, and where necessary, to restore the surface and adjacent areas to, as near as possible, their appearance before the marking, staining, or defacement occurred.  

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