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  #41  
Old Posted Feb 24, 2013, 5:27 AM
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Here are the three histories of Newfoundland and St.John's that I know of:

1)History of Newfoundland: Judge Prowse > Lots of interesting stuff here, articles and documents of every type and description, very pro the Devonshire west-countrymen

2)As near to heaven by sea: Kevin Major > Probably the most readable history.

3)The Oldest City: Paul O'Neill > Centered on St. John's, some really good bits but because of the way it's laid out not very readable.

P.S I guess the Encyclopedias made by Smallwood might also qualify but I've never seen them so I can't comment.
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  #42  
Old Posted Feb 24, 2013, 6:11 AM
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Fascinating stuff Architype.

I noticed in the recent obituary for Alec G. Henley that he chaired a Royal Commission on urban development in St. John's in the 1970's.

Quote:
He chaired the Royal Commission on Regional Government for the St. John's Urban Region (the 1976 "Henley Royal Commission"), which first proposed both the Harbour Arterial Road, the Crosstown Arterial Road and the Outer Ring Road.
http://www.carnells.com/funeral-notice.aspx?id=2787

Searched for a link to the Commission report online but could not find. That's a report I'd like to see.
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  #43  
Old Posted Feb 25, 2013, 5:33 PM
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A nice compilation of firsts, significant events, births/deaths, etc in Newfoundland history.

"A Century of Events in Newfoundland: 1824-1924"

http://http://collections.mun.ca/PDF...d1824-1924.pdf
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  #44  
Old Posted Feb 26, 2013, 7:44 PM
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Here's an interesting piece on the Street cars from 2008

The Streetcars of St. John's


Quote:
This winter has been a hard one on the streets
of St. John's. Heavy rain and fluctuating
temperatures have played havoc with the asphalt, and
cracks and potholes can be found throughout the city.
But the uncertain weather has brought a largely
forgotten piece of St. John's history back to the
surface, if only for a little while.
If you've driven on Water Street West in the
past few weeks, you may have noticed the rusty metal
tracks showing through the pavement near the
intersection with Patrick Street. These tracks were
once part of the streetcar system in St. John's.
Photo taken by author of pothole showing streetcar tracks on Water
Street in February 2008.

The streetcars in St. John's came about as a
result of the 1898 Reid contract, which set out the
terms under which Robert Reid and the Reid
Newfoundland Company were to maintain and
operate the Newfoundland Railway. It also provided
that Reid was to build an electric streetcar system in
St. John's and pave Water Street. It was agreed that
government would provide the paving stones and
Reid would carry out the work, for the sum of
$140,000.

The first streetcar rails were laid on August 8,
1899, and the first streetcar ran on May 1, 1900. The
original streetcars were built of oak and ash,
upholstered in green plush with brass rails, by A. C.
Lariviere of Montreal.

When complete, the St. John's Street Railway
covered Duckworth Street East as far as Holloway
Street. The streetcars would then turn down to Water
Street, where they ran to the far west end. The cars
also covered Queen's Road and Military Road,
connecting again with Duckworth Street at Ordnance
Street in front of the present-day Fairmont Hotel.
Originally, there were tracks covering New Gower
Street and Hamilton Ave, and Military Road as far as
Lemarchant Road, but these two lines were
discontinued in 1902.


Close up of Street car rail in pothole
One of the more interesting aspects of the
streetcar system was its power source. The streetcars
required a lot of electricity to operate, more than was
available at the time. To address this problem, the
Government granted to Reid the use of Petty Harbour
Pond to build a hydroelectric generating station,
although they slipped in a clause that required Reid to
also build a water main to the west end of Water
Street for the use of the St. John's Fire Department.
Not surprising, given that less than a decade had
passed since the Great Fire of 1892, which had
dramatically demonstrated the lack of adequate water
supplies for fighting major fires.
http://www.railwaycoastalmuseum.ca/Files/08-03March.pdf
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  #45  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2013, 9:01 PM
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If you've ever wondered about the origin of street and other place names in St. John's you can likely find out here, it also gives dates:

http://www.stjohns.ca/sites/default/...%20Plaques.pdf
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  #46  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2013, 9:03 PM
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Brilliant, Architype! Here's mine:

Prince of Wales Street
Named by Council: August 28, 1919
Named for or location: To honour the title of Prince of Wales.
It was ordered on motion ....... that the place known as Rocky
Lane be named Prince of Wales Street in honour of the visit
of the Prince of Wales, H. R. H. Edward Albert, Christian
George, etc.
Formerly known as Rocky Lane.
Located between LeMarchant Road and Pennywell Road.
Classification: Street
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  #47  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2013, 9:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeddy1989 View Post
Here's an interesting piece on the Street cars from 2008

The Streetcars of St. John's



http://www.railwaycoastalmuseum.ca/Files/08-03March.pdf
Really cool!
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  #48  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2013, 9:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Architype View Post
If you've ever wondered about the origin of street and other place names in St. John's you can likely find out here, it also gives dates:

http://www.stjohns.ca/sites/default/...%20Plaques.pdf
Thanks for sharing! I'm having fun looking through the streets
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  #49  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2013, 10:32 PM
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Here's a bit of info from the discussions about the Salvation Army properties in Springdale Street.

I'm just reposting it here in the History thread.

The former Salvation Army headquarters was built in 1908, so it's old enough to be a heritage building.


http://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/salvation_army.html

Only a few details like the front entrance and the windows on the third floor have been changed.

The S.A. Temple next door at 18 Springdale was built in 1942:

From The Daily news - January 17th 1942:
Quote:
The new S.A. Temple on Springdale Street will be officially opened at 3 p.m. on the 21st January by Lady Walwyn, supported by Mayor Carnell, and other prominent citizens. At 5.30 tea will be served and at 8.30 there will be a musical festival in the Auditorium.
http://nl.canadagenweb.org/dailynews_janfeb1942.htm
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  #50  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2013, 11:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnUrbanLife View Post
Here are the three histories of Newfoundland and St.John's that I know of:

1)History of Newfoundland: Judge Prowse > Lots of interesting stuff here, articles and documents of every type and description, very pro the Devonshire west-countrymen

2)As near to heaven by sea: Kevin Major > Probably the most readable history.

3)The Oldest City: Paul O'Neill > Centered on St. John's, some really good bits but because of the way it's laid out not very readable.

P.S I guess the Encyclopedias made by Smallwood might also qualify but I've never seen them so I can't comment.
D.W. Prowse is an excellent history, though notably dated being over 100 years old. The Encyclopedias are very informative, but they date to around 1980, or earlier for some information, so even they have fallen down a bit on their relevancy. Still give a great depiction of Newfoundland pre-moratorium though.

I recommend, "A Short History of Newfoundland and Labrador" published by the Newfoundland Historical Society in 2009. All the authors are current/former faculty members in the history department at Memorial & Grenfell. It only runs about 150 pgs and costs about $20.

And, "Newfoundland and Labrador: A History" by Sean Cadigan, current department head of history at Memorial. It runs about 300 pgs and covers from pre-discovery native peoples up to 2003. Can't remember what I paid for this one though.
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  #51  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2013, 1:34 PM
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Tourism ad for Newfoundland from 1946 - three years before we joined Canada.

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  #52  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2013, 1:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker View Post
Tourism ad for Newfoundland from 1946 - three years before we joined Canada.

very cool find!
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  #53  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2013, 1:49 PM
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A few pictures from Vintage St. John's:

Fort Amherst, 1910:









1930s:







Pleasantville, 1942:





1945:



Newfoundland Hotel under construction:



1960:

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  #54  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2013, 10:25 PM
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That's all very interesting, "The Norway of the New World"; would that go over now?
The aerial of Pleasantville looks like it actually was pleasant, surrounded by fields, and showing that the golf course was there as far back as 1942.
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  #55  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2013, 10:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Architype View Post
That's all very interesting, "The Norway of the New World"; would that go over now?
The aerial of Pleasantville looks like it actually was pleasant, surrounded by fields, and showing that the golf course was there as far back as 1942.
I wrote a paper once on all those Norway of the New World ads, they are in the back a photography book which compiles photos from all around the island. As a starting point I used them to branch off a look at newspaper ads, hotels and their size, and hunting/fishing lodges in existence, and did a neat little history of tourism in Newfoundland project.
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  #56  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2013, 10:51 PM
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I think I know the book that phrase came out of. In those days, there might have been a few nice hotels near railway stations. I know there were some in central Nfld..
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  #57  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2013, 11:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Architype View Post
I think I know the book that phrase came out of. In those days, there might have been a few nice hotels near railway stations. I know there were some in central Nfld..
The book is Through Newfoundland With the Camera by Robert Holloway. Some amazing photographs in it and great advertising for places like the Crosbie Hotel and Ayres and Sons stores. It was published in 1910 so it really is from a different world.

Here's the link to it, made available from the fine people at MUN's Digital Archives Initiative and the Centre for Newfoundland Studies: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm4/docum...R=20210&REC=13
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  #58  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2013, 11:16 PM
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That's the book, my family had a copy which was handed down. Holloway was a major photography studio business downtown way back in the 1900s.
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  #59  
Old Posted Apr 19, 2013, 2:35 AM
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The facebook group "Vintage St. John's" which Architype referenced in another post in the restaurant thread is really cool! Two places I dream of being able to visit is pre-great fire St. John's, and early 1900's St. John's. It's something about the nostalgia that enthralls me. I love everything about the early-mid 1900's; the music, the styles, the ways in which we communicated, and especially the cars, and the architecture. Modern cars and architecture depress me in comparison to the grandeur and extremely detailed designs of yesteryear. I guess you could say it's just the "romance" of it all. And knowing that it's something I will never be able to experience just makes me want to experience it all the more. Who know's, maybe I'd be begging for my iPhone and the internet it a week, but I really think I could be content without it all. I've always felt like I was born in the wrong era, ever since I was little haha!

Every time I see a group of people sitting together and literally everyone is on their phones, it really depresses me and makes me lose faith in humanity. Next time you're in a restaurant, look around. I've noticed the vast majority of people, big group or small, waiting for their food don't even open their mouths or look at eachother, only sit on their phones and be antisocial events. We've turned social events into more screen time. I'm certainly not against technology, I love the internet and cell phones, ect. but I believe they have their proper time and place. If we go out to a restaurant to catch up and you sit on your phone, I'm probably going to be a little upset. Wow.. this is turning into a much longer rant than I intended...

Basically, even though it's impossible, I really want to experience living in the 40's, 50's, or early 60's. Maybe it wouldn't be all I imagine, but I love virtually everything about that era.

Yeah.. Check out that "Vintage St. John's" Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/VintageStJohns?ref=ts&fref=ts
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  #60  
Old Posted Apr 19, 2013, 3:55 AM
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There seems to be a trend away from social media, especially if you are a NL. politician, so you may get your wish for more romanticism in the form of more "romantic", but more "disconnected" politicians >

Newfoundland premier quits Twitter after she inadvertently joins ‘vulgar’ group

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04...-vulgar-group/
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