Heritage Kincardine Upset With “Improvements” ToTower

Kincardine Lighthouse, one of Ontario’s prettiest, has been getting some renovation work done to prevent water from leaking into the building. However, the solution by the town council was to cover the wood sided lighthouse with vinyl siding. This has understandably upset many residents of the town, including members of Heritage Kincardine, who appeared before the Council to protest the work and demand that historic details be left intact. The work was done before the lighthouse could be considered for historical designation.

Heritage Kincardine spokesperson Jane Rigby stated they were not consulted before the work commenced, and said the vinyl siding needs to be removed and the new vertical windows replaced with historically accurate four paned ones. In the story at the Bayshore Broadcasting Corporation, Rigby stated that she feels the lighthouse has been scarred by these changes.

Council Thought They Were Doing the Right Thing

In the story, Deputy Mayor Laura Haight, who also is the chair of the Public Works Committee that made the decision to replace the siding, said there was no intention to do anything bad to the lighthouse. She added that it looks better than might be expected. Well, that’s all well and good, but is “looking better than expected” the result we want for our historic structures? Whether it’s a lighthouse, a Victorian railroad station, an art deco office building, a stately old theater, the answer is NO.

This is a prime example of why there was a need for the Canadian Historic Preservation Act, and why it should have passed a long time ago. It also shows why there is a need for historic preservation guidelines. Perhaps some feel these guidelines are too restrictive on what a property owner can or can’t do, but there is a reason for this. These are historically important structures, and to preserve them we need to make sure that any corrective actions we take are historically correct, and more important, cause no damage. As an example, if you mix a modern mortar to repoint the brickwork, you run the risk of having the two disparate types react with each other, causing more problems further down the road.

Proper painting and replacement of any rotting wood would have been the correct way to maintain the tower. And to just put in modern windows, while they may be efficient, does not do anything to preserve the historical look, and actually harms educational efforts. The lighthouse, besides housing the offices of the Kincardine Yacht Club, is also home to a maritime display from the Bruce County Museum. Perhaps the museum should have stepped up and said something to the town about their lame attempts at waterproofing before the work began.

Authenticity Needs To Be Maintained

Even Jeld-Wen, whose business is to sell high efficiency doors and windows, provides the winning lighthouse in their grant program with historically accurate, and yet efficient, doors and windows. Which is a reminder, don’t forget to vote for the lighthouse you’d like to see win this year. There are twelve needy lighthouses that need new windows and doors, so be sure to let friends and family know about it, too. Perhaps the town of Kincardine should have researched their options a little better before slapping on some cheap vinyl siding.

The story at Bayshore Broadcasting quotes Deputy Mayor Haight as agreeing to have all parties involved in this misguided renovation sit down and discuss what to do with the lighthouse, and with all historic structures. Let’s hope that this is followed through on, and a town that normally prides itself on its history will do the right thing and actually preserve the past the way it is meant to be preserved.

Photo credit: Kincardine Lighthouse by *ASAP* on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

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