Posted with permission from the Hamilton Spectator
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ByTeri Pecoskie
Cora Brittan knows her neighbourhood isn't perfect.
"I'm sure everyone, given their druthers, would prefer not to have big electrical towers marching down the beach," says the 64-year-old. "And certainly not the industries either.
"But this has always been a city of great beauty and great industry. We've never been any different, so I think it's a little late to start getting any hackles up about that."
Brittan and her husband, Eric, live where sand meets steel on Hamilton's Beach Strip.
They, along with other families in the Beach and McAnulty neighbourhoods, are the focus of a photo exhibit debuting Friday at the art crawl on James Street North. Dubbed Waterfront Property (Steely Neighbourhoods), the exhibit pays homage to the residents and their feelings about living next to the city's industrial waterfront.
In an email from Wales where he's vacationing, photographer Larry Strung said he was pleasantly surprised by the diversity and exuberance of those who live in the shadow of steel plants.
"They are much like any other neighbourhood, except that they live under the noise and smog of heavy industry," he said.
"Some will argue that the industry was there first, and historically this industry has provided the bulk of employment for the city. But we have the technology now to provide a cleaner and environmentally friendlier industry — so let's just do it."
For those who live in the area, it's hard to ignore the emissions. There's the grime, for one, which grips onto their cars and quaint homes. There's also the acrid smell.
It's a continuing problem, Eric Brittan admits. "However, does that outweigh the fantastic place that I find myself living in? I think it's just one part of how great it is to be here."
While residents agree the strip is thriving, it hasn't always been that way.
When Chris and Roseanne Murray moved into the area 25 years ago, not a single bank in Hamilton would give them a mortgage.
"They said, 'Oh no, that's going to be a park. No mortgages there,'" said Chris, a 59-year-old retiree. "Property was really undervalued here."
That's changed over the years. An influx of out-of-towners and some major rebuilds have driven housing prices up — and taxes along with them.
The Murrays, for instance, now pay around $5,400 a year in property tax for their pretty, but modest, three bedroom home on Beach Boulevard.
"At one time, you couldn't give away a house down here," Murray jokes. Now, however, he and his neighbours say they wouldn't live anywhere else — even if it meant being a bit further away from the mills.
"Doesn't everyone in southern Ontario live in the shadow of industry?" he asked. "Many communities exist only because of a particular industry — a sawmill or mine or refinery. It's almost impossible to get away."
The contrast between warm family homes and stark steel mills is highlighted in many of Strung's photos, as is the resiliency of these communities "on the front line."
"In each case, the people are committed to the future of their community," says the photographer.
"Perhaps I'm idealistic in thinking that they can live together, that industry can move with the times and clean up its act," he adds. "The health of our community comes first."
tpecoskie@thespec.com
905-526-3368 | @TeriatTheSpec
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/3889806-life-s-a-beach-in-the-shadow-of-steel/
__________________________________________________
ByTeri Pecoskie
Cora Brittan knows her neighbourhood isn't perfect.
"I'm sure everyone, given their druthers, would prefer not to have big electrical towers marching down the beach," says the 64-year-old. "And certainly not the industries either.
"But this has always been a city of great beauty and great industry. We've never been any different, so I think it's a little late to start getting any hackles up about that."
Brittan and her husband, Eric, live where sand meets steel on Hamilton's Beach Strip.
They, along with other families in the Beach and McAnulty neighbourhoods, are the focus of a photo exhibit debuting Friday at the art crawl on James Street North. Dubbed Waterfront Property (Steely Neighbourhoods), the exhibit pays homage to the residents and their feelings about living next to the city's industrial waterfront.
In an email from Wales where he's vacationing, photographer Larry Strung said he was pleasantly surprised by the diversity and exuberance of those who live in the shadow of steel plants.
"They are much like any other neighbourhood, except that they live under the noise and smog of heavy industry," he said.
"Some will argue that the industry was there first, and historically this industry has provided the bulk of employment for the city. But we have the technology now to provide a cleaner and environmentally friendlier industry — so let's just do it."
For those who live in the area, it's hard to ignore the emissions. There's the grime, for one, which grips onto their cars and quaint homes. There's also the acrid smell.
It's a continuing problem, Eric Brittan admits. "However, does that outweigh the fantastic place that I find myself living in? I think it's just one part of how great it is to be here."
While residents agree the strip is thriving, it hasn't always been that way.
When Chris and Roseanne Murray moved into the area 25 years ago, not a single bank in Hamilton would give them a mortgage.
"They said, 'Oh no, that's going to be a park. No mortgages there,'" said Chris, a 59-year-old retiree. "Property was really undervalued here."
That's changed over the years. An influx of out-of-towners and some major rebuilds have driven housing prices up — and taxes along with them.
The Murrays, for instance, now pay around $5,400 a year in property tax for their pretty, but modest, three bedroom home on Beach Boulevard.
"At one time, you couldn't give away a house down here," Murray jokes. Now, however, he and his neighbours say they wouldn't live anywhere else — even if it meant being a bit further away from the mills.
"Doesn't everyone in southern Ontario live in the shadow of industry?" he asked. "Many communities exist only because of a particular industry — a sawmill or mine or refinery. It's almost impossible to get away."
The contrast between warm family homes and stark steel mills is highlighted in many of Strung's photos, as is the resiliency of these communities "on the front line."
"In each case, the people are committed to the future of their community," says the photographer.
"Perhaps I'm idealistic in thinking that they can live together, that industry can move with the times and clean up its act," he adds. "The health of our community comes first."
tpecoskie@thespec.com
905-526-3368 | @TeriatTheSpec
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/3889806-life-s-a-beach-in-the-shadow-of-steel/