and large keystones; A prominent, bracketed cornice capping the façade; Its successful simulation in galvanized sheet-metal of elaborately carved stone masonry; Its prominent and highly visible location on King Street near the corner of John Street; Its incorporation in a continuous row of commercial buildings along the south side of King Street; Its direct relationship to the open landscaped space of Gore Park on the opposite side of the street. Restoration After Fosters, a Willowdale dentist took ownership of the buildings. The dentist tried to sell them for $1.5 million, then half that, and still no takers. In the mid 1990s, the city came close to buying the property itself, but politicians were deterred by the state of deterioration. Years passed. The property ended up with another owner who thought the properties should sell for millions. A Toronto real estate agent was going to be the savior, but again there was no progress. Finally, the Victoria Hall-MacKay Building property was purchased in 2005 for $300,000 by out-of-town investors. They hired the Toronto engineering firm of Tran Dieu & Associates, which has come up with a $3 million plan that includes retail, office and 10 live-work spaces, popular in other cities. The project qualified for about $300,000 in interest-free loans under the city's convert-to-residential program. Gordon Moodie (in charge of grants and loans for renewal projects in downtown Hamilton) worked with Tran Dieu on an application for something called the Commercial Heritage Properties Incentive Fund, which could give the Victoria Hall project a substantial kick-start. In 2008, the Victoria Hall-MacKay Building property began renovations. The MacKay building consists of five, five bedroom apartments, roughly 2100 sq. feet. The 2nd and 3rd floor apartments took occupancy in September 2008. Victoria Hall consists of two apartments, one five bedroom (top floor with a 23-foot vaulted ceiling) and one four bedroom (2nd floor), and has since been repainted and polished to its original enamel white color evident in late-1800 photographs. National Historic Site designation Victoria Hall was designated a National Historic Site in 1995 as a superior and rare example of a commercial building with a decorative, hand-made architectonic sheet metal facade. Victoria Hall's well-designed and well-crafted three-story metal facade, made up of high-relief architectural elements, was, at the time of designation, largely intact. While this building was designated in 1995, a bilingual bronze plaque (which is the standard form of commemoration) has not