The Great Canadian Towns and Villages Thread

[megadude]

Bath:

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by megadude

Damn, that is disrespectful to actual veterans. That’s practically stolen valour.

Maybe he was referring to Afghanistan. Or has a mental health issue.

The one thing that strikes me now, looking at many of those images again, is the lack of people on the sidewalks. Maybe it's a "time of day" thing, but while the small town aesthetic is there in the built form, the activity is not.

When I was a kid, an older cousin had a cottage not far from Napanee. We'd visit in the summers, and one year when I was a bit older I walked to town for something to do. I recall I complained about groups of people who'd walk side-by-side downtown, blocking the way for faster walkers like I was. lol But the main street seemed quite busy.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Maybe he was referring to Afghanistan.

The one thing that strikes me now, looking at many of those images again, is the lack of people on the sidewalks. Maybe it's a "time of day" thing, but while the small town aesthetic is there in the built form, the activity is not.

When I was a kid, an older cousin had a cottage not far from Napanee. We'd visit in the summers, and one year when I was a bit older I walked to town for something to do. I recall I complained about groups of people who'd walk side-by-side downtown, blocking the way for faster walkers like I was. lol But the main street seemed quite busy.

It can get busy at times but the main street of Napanee and most of these towns can be VERY quiet. People just drive everywhere, and if you're walking it's generally because you *can't* drive (for any number of reasons). The only time I've seen it packed is during various events such as Canada Day weekend and some night markets during the Christmas season.

A few months back I was having some beers at the downtown bar after spending the day doing work on our house. Firstly the place clears out around 9pm unless there's an event, but even weirder to me was the bartender who I'd been chatting with and knew where I lived asked "oh, where's your car?" when I left. Our place is a 7 minute walk away. She was pretty shocked I was walking (even though I'd had 5 or so beers) and cautioned me to "be careful". It's quiet during the day but a ghost town at night. Drunk driving is shockingly common compared to our primary life in central Toronto.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by niwell

Drunk driving is shockingly common compared to our primary life in central Toronto.

I think it's quite common everywhere.

And yes, good points about people driving. I'm an outlier among my group of friends in that I live in a "central city" neighbourhood rather than a suburban one and I walk to many things. But I also drive a lot more than I realize.

Napanee has retail next to the 401 (there used to be a mall there... not sure if it still exists as one, or was converted?) and some of it was there in the early 1980s when I would have taken my trip "into town" and I'm sure I made it that far because I bought some fishing tackle or something at the Canadian Tire. But I remember the streets having more life.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by harls

I've been to that apple.

I find that map of apple growing areas suspect. There's a few in the Ottawa area.

Waterloo Region is also missing. There are several hundred acres of apples (and other) under cultivation there. Perhaps that's small potatoes in the apple business?

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by niwell

Belleville has nice bones but it can be a pretty rough place these days. Lots of addictions issues unfortunately. Still, it's big enough to at least sustain the downtown and some nicer neighbourhoods. There's a pretty stark East/West divide, with the latter being the nicer half of town.

Looking forward to the next batch! I'm actually driving to a cottage near Bancroft this afternoon. We left Toronto yesterday to Napanee so leaving from there and taking mostly back roads - driving through downtown Madoc which is a place I've never actually seen in person.

Belleville was where my great Aunt and Uncle lived for decades after leaving Toronto (my Uncle got a job transfer with Canada Post) so I have great memories visiting them growing up. We tried to visit them at least once a year, and they'd come down to Niagara once a year too.
It will always have a special place in my heart.

It's sad to see all of southern Ontario really be affected by the scourge of fentanyl/opioids addiction. In Toronto it's probably not as noticeable as smaller centres across the province.

[megadude]

Sorry for all the pics on this one. You can blame the city of Kingston for its beautiful historic architecture. And the residential and commercial owners that understood the assignment.

Like how I was disappointed Port Hope's main street was under construction, the bridge out of town over the water suffered a problem in the spring and it's been under repair since.

Kingston and Guelph are equally my favourite mid sized cities in Ontario.

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by megadude

Sorry for all the pics on this one. You can blame the city of Kingston for its beautiful historic architecture. And the residential and commercial owners that understood the assignment.

Like how I was disappointed Port Hope's main street was under construction, the bridge out of town over the water suffered a problem in the spring and it's been under repair since.

Kingston and Guelph are equally my favourite mid sized cities in Ontario.

I have family who grew up in Guelph and also family who went to Queens (and it is only an 1:45 drive away) and these two cities are amongst my favourites in Ontario. Kingston has strong bones and a vibrant main street but it still has Princess Towers (the Residence Soleil of Kingston) to remind us that a craptastic urban experience is just a building away.

[megadude]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

I have family who grew up in Guelph and also family who went to Queens (and it is only an 1:45 drive away) and these two cities are amongst my favourites in Ontario. Kingston has strong bones and a vibrant main street but it still has Princess Towers (the Residence Soleil of Kingston) to remind us that a craptastic urban experience is just a building away.

Yeah, the thing about any vibrant town, mid sized or major city, just outside the core is mostly mediocrity and garbage.

I remember in 2017, when I first started exploring towns, I went to Stratford for the first time since I was a kid. I remember driving along some tacky commercial strip seeing Stratford Chevrolet, McDonalds, etc. The equivalent of Queen St. in Brampton or Dundas in Mississauga. For some reason, I never expected that to be within the municipal boundaries of Stratford. Like I never thought it was a proper city or town. Just some quaint village.

PS, also have family, albeit somewhat distant, that is from Guelph. My grandmother is one of 21 brothers and sisters (several are half) and a couple of them live in Guelph. My cousin and a second cousin, both from Markham, went to Queens. If I had cared about these things like I do now, I would have visited.

[megadude]

Gananoque:

[megadude]

Thousand Islands Parkway and a couple of islands:

Tower only open 10-4 so couldn't go up. Would like to come back to the area and also cross the border some time to check out some of the towns across the river. And the huge castle. And the go kart track and whatever other things there are to do.

[megadude]

Brockville:

I really want to see what the living conditions inside are like on these buildings where the fronts are immaculate, but the backs are just a complete mess.

In a couple of these towns I was walking around the backs of these places and observing and naturally, there were some people chilling outside and watching me. Felt a little uncomfortable. Most that I saw weren't exactly from the upper echelon of society.

Anyway, a real gem of a town. When going through these nice places across from NY, you see quite a few NY licence plates. Plus some other states. Now I'm intrigued what the towns are like on their side.

Trenton I saw some of those plates at the air force museum. And naturally, there are some in Belleville, a bunch in Kingston and Brockville and some in Gananoque and Prescott. I imagine lots of people cross the bridge and then go town hopping for the day. Saw a few inland up in Perth of course as it's worth the drive.

[Wigs]

Kingston looks like a real gem.

What are your thoughts on Peterborough?

[megadude]

Went the past two summers. Like most mid sized cities in Ontario, the downtown is pretty decent. Good vibes. Interesting architecture. But, as many people will tell you, the riff raff comes out at night there. But I wasn't there to see that.

[megadude]

Prescott:

[megadude]

Cardinal:

This is the little place flar told me about. Love how rail tracks run through houses. You would think that they aren't used anymore but given how this community backs onto heavy industry, it wouldn't surpise me if they are still in use.

And this is the spot where I had a decent sized smallmouth bass get off my bait while I was talking to a guy who stopped on his way back home to Montreal. Also noticed a good sized sheepshead, aka freshwater drum. The sepia tone is through my polarized sunglasses. These are pretty seldomly found in my neck of the woods. I've only caught one before at home and it that was size. And my friend got a smaller one in the Etobicoke Creek once. Way more common in the Niagara area and in tribs of Lake Erie. Maybe more popular in the St. Lawrence?

Funny how the distribution of species can be in the same body of water or waterway. Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario, where Trenton and Belleville are, is known as arguably the top walleye destination in Southern Ontario, along with certain areas of Lake Erie. But down by my way, they are very hard to find. I've only gotten one at home.

[megadude]

Cornwall is not good. Always knew that. First time downtown, but did stay with a family friend on the outskirts in his mansion in the late 90’s. He was a world renowned eye surgeon that would spend a quarter of every year doing pro bono surgery in third world countries. He had a room dedicated to the 70+ countries he had been to. He was feature in Mclean’s magazine before. His funeral was covered by all the Ottawa news affiliates.

It has a population of 48k but the downtown gives a much smaller vibe. Brockville, pop. 22k, feels way bigger and nicer. Simcoe, at 14k, is probably still the most oversized downtown I’ve seen given its population. Feels bigger than Cornwall.

[905er]

ooof. that last set. Cornwall looking hideous. yikes

Brockville on the other hand is a lovely town. I was pleasantly surprised by its charm when I visited. Definitely felt bigger than it actually is.

[1overcosc]

In far eastern Ontario there is a correlation between language and the niceness of the place. Anywhere with a substantial francophone population tends to be ugly. Those cute downtowns are only found in places dominated by anglophones.

In Prescott-Russell County which is mostly francophone, the only towns that have attractive downtowns are Russell and Vankleek Hill, which are the most anglophone places.

One thing though - franco-Ontarian small towns have often have absolutely stunning Catholic parish churches. But often it's literally the only building in the town that looks nice.

[megadude]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

In far eastern Ontario there is a correlation between language and the niceness of the place. Anywhere with a substantial francophone population tends to be ugly. Those cute downtowns are only found in places dominated by anglophones.

In Prescott-Russell County which is mostly francophone, the only towns that have attractive downtowns are Russell and Vankleek Hill, which are the most anglophone places.

One thing though - franco-Ontarian small towns have often have absolutely stunning Catholic parish churches. But often it's literally the only building in the town that looks nice.

Never heard of Vankleek. Looked it up to contemplate when I could possibly make it out there one day. Two things stood out. Two things I've never seen before. This unique tower that is half and half totally different material and architectural era, and the mural on the side of a building. Never seen something like that before. Like an impressionist mural covering the whole side of a building. That's brilliant. If I were rich I'd pay that artist to go do that on random buildings where I live that I have no connection to.

As for that tower, that's next to an Anglican church. Those Anglicans are something else when it comes to architecture. They consisently produce the best looking churches overall.