Lister Block
Posted on May 26, 2008 in the Town and about
12 comments
There are buildings that you admire for their beauty and their height like the Empire State building. Then there are buildings that have stood the test of time like the Great Pyramids. But there is yet another category or buildings that have their own story to tell: of construction and survival and destruction. As I write, the White House is coming to my mind but I am actually talking about a building with no significant impact on world history, and that most people outside this city of Hamilton don’t even know it exists.
The Lister Block is an eighty four year old, six-storey building that sits on the corner of James St. and King William in downtown Hamilton, Ontario. If you walk by this building, chances are that you will not even notice it and ignore it because it’s windows are boarded-up and there’s graffiti all over. The most you will want to care about is that it is abandoned and is falling apart and that you want to walk faster ! To Hamiltonians however, Lister Block is part of their history and the building’s history holds a sentimental and nostalgic value to them.
The beginnings: 1886 - 1923
The building was named after Joseph Lister, who was a clothier from Lancashire, England. He immigrated with his family in 1884 and setup a store at at James and King William.
In 1886, he decided to expand his store and built a four storey block of stone row-houses which he called "Lister Chambers". It became one of the most desirable locations of the city and was right across from the Old City Hall on James street.
Joseph Lister died in 1892. The property remained in the hands of his family and in 1911, his grandson Joseph Edmund Lister took over. Joseph E. had big plans for the Lister Estate and had publicly declared in early 1923 of expansion. Blueprints were already completed and the project was expected to be completed by the following year.
Fire and Reconstruction: The New Lister Block
But tragedy struck on February 23, 1923 when fire destroyed Lister Chambers to the ground. The Hamilton Spectator had reported that it was the most spectacular fire than Hamiltonians had ever seen. The interior walls and floors were all made of wood and all that was left standing was the exterior stone structure.
A new six storey building was constructed in it’s place at a cost of $300,000 and it was opened formally by Mayor Thomas William Jutten on June 7, 1924. At that time the new Lister Block was one of the most advanced buildings in Canada, complete with elevators and a separate boiler house.
The new building was designed by architecture Bernard H. Prack and was built with re-enforced concrete this time. The decorative terracotta features on the exterior and a crown on the top immediately made it one of the most beautiful buildings in Hamilton.
The first two floors were designated shopping areas with stores on both sides of an L shaped arcade. The upper four floors housed around 200 offices with each floor segregated according to business like lawyers on one floor, real estate agents on the next and so on.
The trip downhill: 1950 to 1985
The City was a major tenant of Lister Block due to space limitations at Old City Hall. But by 1950, Lister Block too had become over crowded and the City decided to move out and build a new City Hall on Main Street. This shifted focus away from James and King William and it was especially pronounced with the opening of Jackson Square on King St. and James in 1970. Old City Hall was combined with Jackson Square and was converted into a mall which is now known by "Hamilton City Centre".
Meanwhile, financial woes at the Lister estate amounted to lack of maintenance and more tenants moving out. This was highlighted in 1984 when the Hamilton Spectator reported of a large chunk falling off a wall, damaging the sidewalk below.
Changing hands and eventual abandonment
Lister Block was sold in June of 1985 when Cornham Development bought it and five other properties in the area for a total of $5 million. The property was sold again in 1989 to Metrus for $1 million. But in 1994, Metrus began issuing eviction notices to all its properties including Lister Block. Tenants were to move out by January 31, 1995.
Since 1995, Lister Block has been sitting there abandoned and taking the damage from the weather, and vermin of both animal and human kinds. It has become a living example of how buildings decay when there are no humans to look after them.
Heritage Canada has put Lister Block on its Top Ten Endangered Places List with a note "Demolition by Neglect"
In 1999, the Labourers International Union of North America (LIUNA ) bought Lister Block for $1.6 million with the intention of demolishing it and building a replica in its place and with hopes of reviving surrounding area.
The Money question: Restore ? or Demolish ?
When LIUNA applied for a demolition permit, there was an uproar among Hamiltonians and politicians. Heated arguments, letters to the editors and signed petitions like "Save the Lister" circulate to this date. But the City approved the demolition permit anyway in July 2006 with a condition that a series of studies be conducted to find out the heritage impact of destroying such a building.
The Ontario Heritage trust conducted the first study to assess the damage to the interior and the exterior. They found the building to be structurally strong and the roof intact, which meant that there was little damage on the main floors.
The first two floors were found to be well preserved, although the decorative plaster, the wooden frames and glass windows were found damaged due to vandalism. The Basement was found severely damaged due to seepage and a broken water pipe.
Much of the exterior work was found to be intact. But there was significant damage found of the decorative terracotta elements like discolouring, cracking and loss of anchoring; largely blamed on harsh weather.
The study concluded that Lister Block was a strong candidate for conservation, and it could be restored efficiently and cost effectively. When refurbished, the would have the same feeling as high quality new construction.
During his election campaign last fall, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty promised $7 million to the redevelopment of the Lister block area, increasing his pledge by $3 million from the previous figure of $4 million.
Days Numbered
Further studies were conducted on the buildings adjacent to Lister Block, but unfortunately, some were not lucky to be chosen for conservation. Between March and April, two buildings adjacent to the Lister Block were demolished. Asbestos was also recovered from the demolition. To prevent dust from going airborne, the sites were being constantly hosed down during the process.
Regarding Lister Block itself, there are reports awaiting that should tell if going ahead with total demolition is safe and if not, we will be awaiting more reports on how to go about restoring it.
But personally, I believe Lister’s days are numbered. If there are any chemical and biological hazards in the building, I rather see the entire structure come down and see it rebuilt as envisioned by LIUNA.
References
This post was inspired by a fact-finding report I did in college. Finding historical information about Lister Block was not easy because it is not as famous as srtuctures like the CN tower or the Château Frontenac. The Hamilton spectator was a great resource as it has been covering issues surrounding Lister Block in detail since 1923. I also found bits of information on a handful of websites and a few pages in books from the library.
All the black and white photographs were retrieved from the Special Collections at the Hamilton Public Library. The librarians did mention that there were thousands of pictures but I had to be very specific what I was looking for. That was not easy either because these photographs are uncredited, undated, and have yet to be filed ! All I was able to see were those that sit in a drawer at the library simply marked "James and King William".
Thanks to Mr. Will Rosart (where ever he is), who lent me the report by the Ontario Heritage Trust which detailed every squarefoot the building and assessed the damage, complete with illustrations and colour photographs.
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Joseph Lister as in the Father of Surgical Asepsis, the inventor of carbolic acid surgical sterilization? Wow!
Firas: I am surprised this is coming from you ! However I too could not help encountering Baron Lister’s medical achievements during my research, so I came to know a lot about him as well.
The Joseph Lister I am talking about was a cloth merchant. During his time in Canada, he was an active member of the community serving as a member of the board of water commissioners and twenty years as a school trustee.
He died in 1892, where as Baron Lister’s death is recorded to be in 1912.
If they can’t save it due to dangerous compounds used when the building was reconstructed. I hope they rebuild a building that looks like this one. I enjoy the history of old buildings.
Curtis’s last blog post… Little Tomatoes 2
Curtis: LIUNA is planning to build a replica of it and go as far as reusing the some of the original decorative elements. So there is still hope.
On a lighter note, looking at the title I thought this post is gonna be something similar to ‘Writer’s block!’
Wow! Masha’Allah, this report is excellent! You should send it to a local newspaper! While reading I had so much compassion for this old building. There is a story like that in my neighbourhood but I have no idea what the building is called, only that it has been abandoned for decades! Well done!
Arun: Good one !
Anonymous:
I was hoping that someone mention “compassion”. I am glad it was you. My local newspaper (The Hamilton Spectator) was already a major reference for the building’s history. I am more happy to have digitized some of the historic pictures and being able to show them. You will find more pictures on my Zooomr page.
If you know a building that has been abandoned for decades, then there has to be history behind it. A fact finding report of that building would be a great service to your neighbourhood.
Wow, Lister Block is a really interesting building! There’s so much history!
*sigh* I wish I had the energy and enthusiasm for finding out information about old buildings. Oh well.
Tuba - It’s not very easy to find history of buildings if they are not well known and are not well documented. In that case finding the information can turn into an adventure itself. But once you’ve stumbled upon a reliable source finding the rest of the information gets easier.
I admire your passion for this subject matter! I thoroughly enjoyed reading that post. Love all the photos too.
Thank you very much Drowsey ! Thank you for dropping by !
[...] Hamilton City Council met Wednesday night with with LIUNA, the current owners of the historic Lister Block for a round of talks to buy the building. This time city proposed that LIUNA would agree to build a [...]