Quote:
Originally Posted by newflyer
I do agree that Winnipegers do seem to ponder the past much to often, but with its very rich history it is easily expalined.
As far as Calgary goes... it disappoints me that Penny Lane is coming down. One of the few remaining historic blocks in downtown... turning to rubble. There seems to be absolutely no interest in Calgary at retaining any of its history. Its a 180 from Winnipeg where even 100 year old crap is deemed more worthy than any thing new. The future seems to take a backseat to the past far too often, even when there is little to nothing to save. Ex: the 100 Main arguement.
I believe it was Mark Twain that said the history of a city defines its character, but its future is defined by its ambition.
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There has been a new found appreciation to retain Calgary's history in the past few years, unfortunately all the original permits and such for Penny Lane had gone through without trouble before this new found interest presented itself. For example, there's a bunch of interest in restoring this dilapidated block:
http://www.calgaryheritage.org/phpbb....php?p=903#903
Sadly though in the past 30+ years many gems have gone.
Seeing these Winnipeg pics are kinda sad.. I love the way cities used to have like 10 buildings per block side, narrow but several stories high.. if I ever end up a billionaire I'm going to make sure to buy some downtown parking lot and only sell it off as small area parcels.