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This thread is designed to collect historical documentation about the old Kitchener City Hall. There are many lessons to be learned from the process and outcome of the referendum leading to the fateful decision to demolish this nice building and public square and replaced it with a generic mall.
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There's a good picture on display at the moment at the Kitchener Central Library - it shows the recruiting office that stood on the Frederick St side of the City Hall Square during the war.
I often what use the Kitchener City Hall would have been put to had the building been saved? A tower annexed to it at the back? A home for the KW Art Gallery?
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12-08-2014, 05:54 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-08-2014, 05:55 PM by panamaniac.)
The old City Hall Square was not used for public events (that I can recall) other than Remembrance Day. It was also the spot where you could catch most of the city buses. The current City Hall is vastly superior (imho), although I find the plaza a bit too small. The old Square was a beautiful location for the Cenotaph.
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Should any of you find yourself down at the Stanley Park Mall, take at the peek inside the recently renovated TD Bank. At the back of the new open office area, a wall has been covered with a scene showing the old City Hall and surrounding area, circa 1920s-30s. Since it is in the office area, I didn't go in for a close look but from a distance it looks like a painted mural. I was pleasantly surprised to see this nod to local history in a modern bank branch. It's also a reminder of a failed heritage fight, and why the construction of Market Square still sets off reactions among locals.