Homeless in Vancouver: The hole thing could’ve been a mistake

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      The tin cornice of this old apartment building off Hemlock Street has a funny, eye-catching detail.

      See the round “hole” built into the alley-side of the cornice, just the right diameter for a wooden utility pole—just not the pole that’s there.

      The apartment building could date back to the 1920s or 1930s—a few of the the neighbouring apartment buildings along the same side of Hemlock are that old. But it’s frankly impossible for the utility pole to be as old as the apartment building.

      Stanley Q. Woodvine

      It easy to imagine when this apartment building was under construction, maybe 80 or 90 years ago, the builders had to accommodate the fact of the utility pole that was already there—in effect build the cornice around the pole.

      No big deal really; builders always take what looks good on paper and make it work in the real world.

      That’s what’s interests to me about this architectural detail; it’s not about an architect, it’s about some anonymous blue collar construction workers and their workaday ingenuity.

      It’s neat. They did a good job.

      Stanley Q. Woodvine is a homeless resident of Vancouver who has worked in the past as an illustrator, graphic designer, and writer.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      Meathead

      Feb 27, 2014 at 11:02am

      Stanley, you got it all wrong my friend. The hole was cut when then they installed new utility lines on an existing right of way in which the original building intruded upon. It wouldn't have been an issue 80-90 years ago. The cut out is designed to allow space for movement of the pole in wind or earthquakes. There's actually a few examples of this around Vancouver although the exact locations elude me at the moment.

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      Stanley Q Woodvine

      Feb 27, 2014 at 11:33pm

      That's interesting. I have never seen this before. I'll take your word for it though.

      I'm particularly interested how someone concluded that during an earthquake the pole would move in that particular direction.

      An average pole is buried about 10% of the pole height plus two feet so this pole should be about five feet in.

      I think any wind strong enough to shift the pole that far is probably ripping the tin cornice off the building.

      I'll certain watch for more "holes".

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