Treading precariously on the edge of one of Sault Ste. Marie's most inviolable unspoken rules, two city councillors dared Monday night to suggest possible decommissioning of the Memorial Tower. Council voted to allocate $1.
5 million from a reserve fund to complete repairs needed to prevent deteriorating and delaminated concrete from falling from the 20-metre-high downtown landmark. But before that, Ward 3 Coun. Angela Caputo moved, and Ward 2's Lisa Vezeau-Allen seconded, a motion aimed at getting city staff to explore other options including decommissioning the grande dame of Queen Street.
The 75-year-old Memorial Tower has a special place in the hearts of Saultites and the Caputo/Vezeau-Allen suggestion found little support among other councillors. The tower was originally part of Sault Memorial Gardens, which was demolished in 2006. For decades, its red beacon drew Soo Greyhounds fans to the arena during every home game.
"The focal point of the Gardens is the main entrance and circular tower," wrote Heather Ingram in her 1995 book Views of the Sault . "In the tower cupola is a lantern which is lit during important events, such as Canada Day celebrations. At one time, this beacon was never extinguished, but it was later thought to disrupt ship navigation," Ingram wrote.
"Many hockey arenas built in Canada after World War II commemorated those who died in the war; however, the Sault Memorial Gardens was unusual in that it incorporated a Memorial Tower enshrining the names of.