Old Cathedral is front-page news today in The Hamilton Spectator. I spoke with Teviah Moro for his story about the former Cathedral Boys’ School, which is owned by the Diocese of Hamilton.
Designed in 1928 by local architects Hutton & Souter, the neo-Gothic high school building was expanded in 1951 with the addition of the Memorial wing, which commemorates former Cathedral students who died in the two world wars. A publicly funded $500k renovation is being carried out by Good Shepherd, for a temporary homeless shelter in both wings of this historic school.
Despite 30+ years of community effort to designate the building, neither wing is protected by heritage designation.
Although a 2018 city report commissioned from George Robb Architect found the entire building merits protection under the Ontario Heritage Act, Good Shepherd “argued against [heritage] status for the property” and rejects the city’s findings for the Memorial wing. Heritage designation for Old Cathedral was first sought in 1989 and was formally requested 7 years ago by the Stinson Community Association.
Print: “Heritage advocates go to bat for old Cathedral school” (Sept. 8, 2020, A1, A8) | online: “Hamilton heritage advocates go to bat for Old Cathedral school” (Sept. 5, 2020)
The Hamilton Spectator (est. 1846) is published by Metroland Media Group, a division of Torstar.
Photos: John Rennison (2020) and J.M. Booth (1930s)
The Hamilton Spectator | read online | read in print
Sarah Sheehan 