Outside of Dublin, no urban centre boasts such a wealth of 18th-century architecture as Waterford. What a pity, therefore, that until relatively recently, the city showed so little appreciation of its remarkable heritage. And how wonderful now to see the local authority belatedly attempting to make amends for previous neglect through a series of energetic initiatives. Although Waterford, like other settlements on the east coast, has Viking origins, it suffered terrible vicissitudes during the 16th and 17th centuries. Therefore, while the centre still retains a street pattern established during the middle ages, the majority of building stock is 18th century or later. It was during the post-1700 era that Waterford's port boomed, permitting the city to become the Irish equivalent of Bristol or Bordeaux. Local merchants obviously took immense pride in their surroundings since the principal buildings in Waterford - the City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce, and the two cathedrals - date from this period and were constructed at public expense, along with an immense number of fine mansions. Unfortunately, the same merchant families would forsake the city centre in the 19th century, so that many of their former homes became tenement slums, eventually demolished during clearances and redevelopments undertaken by the local authority.
However, other and more recent losses to Waterford's architectural heritage are less easy to explain or justify. Among the most tragic of these during the past 30 years are the destruction of all houses on one side of Colbeck Street leading to Cathedral Square, a substantial site next to the Bishop's Palace now occupied by a surface car-park; the removal of the internal furnishings of St Olaf's Church, which dated from the 1730s and had survived intact for almost 250 years; the destruction of the old Mason School founded on Lady Lane in 1740; and the demolition of the late 18th-century Adelphi Terrace at the east end of the quays. Even now, a large number of old buildings remain vulnerable, such as 33 The Mall, a magnificent late-Georgian building, once townhouse to the Carew family, with a bowfront almost entirely glazed on its three upper storeys. Many properties towards the western end of the city leading to Bridge Street are also at risk from neglect. Although much of this section of Waterford is devoted to warehouses, there are a number of fine, if by now shabby, merchants' houses, such as a magnificent five-bay property with a massive pedimented doorway on the corner of O'Connell Street and Penrose Lane. The corporation unsuccessfully attempted to encourage urban renewal in the western sector by renovating the large quayside granary which opened two years ago as the city's heritage museum and tourist office, together with a retail outlet and restaurant, the last of these accommodated in a dashing glass extension. However, to date, almost no private owners have chosen to follow the local authority's example and undertake refurbishment work on the western streets of the city. Fortunately, other interventions by Waterford Corporation have yielded more positive results. The most high-profile, completed a year ago, was the creation of a new central space called John Roberts Square after the city's most distinguished architect. Contrary to its name, this is a triangular site, pedestrianised and sloping from Broad Street down towards Barronstrand and Great George's Streets. The entire square is now paved and two lines of benches have been installed. These are made from polished black granite, as is the square's pyramidal fountain designed by artist Eileen McDonagh. "We felt the need to give an identifiable heart to the city, which is rather strung along the quays," explains Waterford Corporation's senior executive architect, Rupert Maddock. John Roberts Square admirably fulfils that brief and unlike many other new urban spaces, it possesses the natural authority of a city plaza. Rupert Maddock and the corporation are hoping the same quality will be apparent in another site now nearing completion on the quays at Custom House Parade. Located in front of Waterford's marina, the Millennium Plaza - which will be named after William Vincent Wallace, the Waterford-born composer of Maritana - contains a permanent semi-oval dais at its western end edged with a series of wooden "thrones" and topped by a tautly stretched white PVC tented covering. In front is a large, teak-decked open area with wooden benches and the site concludes with a tall maritime-inspired sculpture in laminated larch designed by Liam Lavery. Created with open-air public events in mind, the plaza - along with the renovated Victorian clock tower further west - makes plain Waterford Corporation's ambitions for the waterfront, but these may not be realised since large amounts of the land are owned by different groups, including the city's harbour commissioners. However, the local authority is reviewing its own development plan and considering a change of designation for the quays from the current commercial zoning to that of open space. Should this occur, the possibility of ruinous building along the water's edge would be prevented. The lack of adequate checks is exemplified by a mid-1990s redevelopment of the old Adelphi site undertaken by McInerney Construction. The area is now covered by distinctly suburban offices and apartments, their twee facades featuring the now-standard addition of an extra storey through the introduction of dormer windows on steeply pitched roofs. The corporation's own commission for civic offices on a site behind the French Church, on Bailey's New Street, shows that a more imaginative approach can be taken to urban renewal. Designed by local architectural practice Tritschler, Tritschler & Associates, the building has large, timberframe windows and a border of cut limestone, giving it a striking but not overpowering presence on this narrow site.
THE offices are linked to the former Dean's House on Cathedral Square, another property currently undergoing restoration. Nearby on Greyfriars, the old Presbyterian Church, which used to house the heritage centre before its move to the quayside Granary, has just been overhauled to hold the municipal art collection and will reopen in this capacity in early May. Elsewhere in Waterford, the corporation is undertaking a refurbishment of the People's Park and, according to Rupert Maddock, it is hoped to introduce more contemporary sculpture both here and on other city sites. Overall, he says, "the whole notion is to give quality and simplicity to the way the centre is dealt with, so that there's not a whole melange of materials and styles being introduced". Much work remains to be done in Waterford; Arundel Square, for example, could benefit from attention, particularly at the Peter Street end, and it is surely a disgrace that the medieval Dominican church on Conduit Lane should be almost obscured by modern developments. Nonetheless, large parts of the city now exude an impression of revitalisation. And, if the local authority continues to show good leadership, there is a strong likelihood that Waterford's Georgian architecture will be more highly valued than used to be the case.