In what almost seems like a different life now, I used to be a documentary filmmaker. Mostly I worked on historical pieces chronicling the early years of Southwestern Ontario. My good friend Zach Melnick continues the work in my absence with the lovely Yvonne Drebert.
One of the most amazing things about working on these projects was the access that we got to old footage, photos, and in some cases buildings that the public couldn't get into. Alma College was easily the most amazing historical building I've ever had the pleasure to not only shoot in, but be in.
And now it's gone.
A 'suspicious fire' took out what many people had been trying to get demolished for years, but thanks to a passionate group, could not get passed. I read an article online saying that someone was finally able to convince the powers that be to demolish the place anyway. I guess it was just a matter of time. Such a beautiful building. It sparks an interesting question though. How much money can you put into the past? Should a building that's taking up land that could be used for other things remain just because of sentiment and history? I don't know the answers to that, I'm not sure there are answers beyond personal opinion. But I think in the case of places like Alma you should preserve them. They just don't make buildings like that anymore and the ones that still exist are few and far between, especially in more rural areas. I'll never forget the feeling I got the first time I drove up to it. I was in awe. I never thought I'd fall in love with a piece of architecture.
If you click on the title of this blog it will take you to the portion of the documentary I did that focused on Alma College. In it there's a lovely little story about the ghost of Alma College, Angela. And if you ask me I think it was Angela that burnt the place down, better to go in a blaze of glory than systematically torn apart by machines.
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