By Doug Draper
A month after a fire ripped through the historic Welland Club in this Ontario city that goes by the same name – Welland – there is still no news on what caused it.
The historic Welland Club in its ravaged state today
Was it a lightning strike, as one Niagara Regional cop guessed might have done possibly fatal damage to this most wonderful, stately 1911 building overlooking a shady park along the Welland Canal, or was it arson or something else?
It may have been arson, and where are the cops and fire chiefs going after that? Let’s hope they still give a damn and do for the throats of whoever may have started these fires. After all, it is hard to believe that two old buildings, this one and the old Welland High School (also abandoned), could have been struck by lightning, as some have suggested.
Whatever caused these fires at the Welland Club and the old Welland High, here we go again. Two more abandoned old buildings of historical significance to a community and they magically get burned down, as if there is no need for a match to do it.
There are some very good people, belonging to heritage groups across this country and continent, who don’t necessarily buy that. Some of them say that leaving these rich old building abandoned without any surveillance or over site is akin to ‘demolition by neglect’.
The bottomline is this. If you have any idea who burned down the venerable old Welland Club, and it was burned down, please call the Niagara Regional Police. If anyone can provide a tip on who torched Welland High School, do the same thing.
This torching of great old buildings in this region has got to stop!
Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post in the comment boxes below.
Niagara At Large 
Having been a trustee with The Ontario Heritage Foundation years ago, a long time member of the local historical society, on the St Catharines Heritage Committee (LACAC) currrently, I can attest to the “demolition by neglect”. It is true. I recall my very first board meeting in Toronto with the OHF. When we were asked by the Board chair to introduce ourselves and where we were from, I said my name and “St. Catharines”. She responded, ‘oh yes, St. Catharines, second only to Newmarket for torching their heritage buildings.’ Honestly, I will never forget that.
Nothing has changed…..
Gail B
LikeLike