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Reclaim the Main in the Montreal Mirror
"Scaffolding wrap" corporate eyesore intrudes on the Main
Reclaim the Main is preparing to deal with the latest violation of our historic site: "scaffolding wrap".
Late spring, scaffolding went up around the building on the southwest corner of the Main and Sherbrooke Street. Then, this appeared:
To many observers it appeared as though the scaffolding was erected in order to renovate and restore the building's original appearance, especially the colour of the bricks (which are currently painted white). The cloth covering the scaffolding suggested what the the building would look like after renovation (except for the giant “PERRY ELLIS” ad). However, as the summer passed, no renovations took place, and soon a new billboard appeared:
and then another one:
For months we have endured this mental environmental pollution, a flagrant insult to our historic site, and waited patiently for the work to be done. It never happened. Indeed, it appears that a portion of the building on The Main actually collapsed. The scaffold was removed for some time exposing the un-renovated building, and the collapsed wall was fenced in. The billboard has recently re-appeared.
Although Matthew Alzubi, president of Time2Ad, the group behind this monstrosity, claims that the ad is "to conceal the renovation work going on behind it" it's looking more and more like the "construction work" is the facade for a giant billboard that's here to stay, despite being on a designated "national historic site," where "intrusive elements must be minimal."
Montreal isn't the first city to deal with scaffolding wrap. Some buildings in New York City have been covered with these "temporary" ads for years. In this 2001 piece from the Gotham Gazette, we hear what some residents there have to say about it:
“I think the billboards have totally cheapened the neighborhood," says John Paulson, whose apartment looks out at the infamous corner of Houston and Broadway. "It's brought crass commercialism to what was once a nice residential area." "The quality of life for people has gone down with the bright lights and steel girders in their windows and ads everywhere," said Skip Vichness, another area resident.
So Montreal doesn't end up in the same situation and the Main's status as a historic site is respected, we need to act now, either by signing our petition, which will be posted here soon, by sending a letter to city and other government officials or by helping us cook up some culture-jamming ideas to deal with this.
To get involved, please contact us at main@optative.net