Should the city spend money to restore a red cross that beams from the Mountain?

The city will look into how much it will cost to light up a redeight-metre cross that used to beam down from the escarpment.

Councillors will debate next month to look into restoring Hamilton'sCross of Lorraine, a long dormant landmarkin front of the former site of the west Mountain sanatorium.

For years, the crossglowed red. It went dark several years ago, and ispartially covered by shrubs. Terry Whitehead, Ward 8 councillor, wants to restore it "to its former glory."

It marks a Hamilton legacy, which is the city's contribution to treating tuberculosis, he said.

From 1958 to 1962, 1,272 Inuit people were brought to Hamilton for tuberculosis treatment. Second World War soldiers were also treated there, Whitehead said.

"It's an important story, and it shows Hamilton's compassion and national contribution to this dreadful disease," said Whitehead, who'll bring it up at a Nov. 8 council meeting. "It's an icon of the hope, of the healing of that site."

The cross was erected in 1953 in front of the Mountain Sanatorium, which was founded in 1906 to treat people with tuberculosis and other lung diseases. The sanatorium started with two tents and eight patients.

In 1961, the sanatorium changed its name, expanded its services and became the Chedoke hospital. The building was torn down in 2014.

The cross dates back to the early days of Christianity, and was associated with the medieval Crusades, when Christian armies captured Jerusalem from Muslim control. In the early 1900s, it became associated with tuberculosis. The American Lung Association still uses a modified version of it.

Valery Homes is developing the land near the cross now. Whitehead hopes the developer will contribute. He'll also use some of his area rating money.

"I'm sure we can find a cost effective way, using LED lighting, to emulate what once stood proud."