The Ugly Canada Thread

[kwoldtimer]

I don't know if "ugly" is the word to describe that sofa-beast thing. My vocabulary doesn't immediately come up with a word to describe something that over the top. It's decadent, tacky, excessive, and more -all at the same time. I'm sure they sell very well.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

You need to make them run toward each other through a field of flowers. But set it to The Sound of Music.

The "Chariots of Fire" theme, surely.

[SignalHillHiker]

Awesome.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

You need to make them run toward each other through a field of flowers. But set it to The Sound of Music.

Yes!

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I don't know if "ugly" is the word to describe that sofa-beast thing. My vocabulary doesn't immediately come up with a word to describe something that over the top. It's decadent, tacky, excessive, and more -all at the same time. I'm sure they sell very well.

All it needs is Comic Sans font (though it uses one almost as bad).

[SignalHillHiker]

The northern edge of St. John's. Just beyond the big box stores and trailer parks of Stavanger Drive. Next thing down this road is the town of Torbay.

Starbucks at the end of the world.

[vid]

Your windshield is cracked.

[advance62]

We've all seen how ugly most of Waterloo's student warehouses are but both Waterloo and Kitchener also have some ugly stuff in their cores.

Downtown Kitchener:

This useless, half empty, ugly, out of place plaza has no business in a downtown area but here it is. Thankfully LRT construction will see a station block the parking lots entrances which should render it completely useless and prime for redevelopment.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4488495,-...ulttmHnLgDfz-pQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Not sure what the architect was thinking when they built this BMO branch

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4498813,-...4bB25_V0lkoU54A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Believe it or not, this building was worse without the glass when it was originally built as one of two downtown malls to compete with the suburbs. It's now mostly empty with its largest tenant gone leaving the slowly dwindling local daily newspaper staff, a Goodlife, a for profit college, <5 foodcourt stalls, and ~5 other crappy mall shops and a crumbling parking garage.


https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4491508,-...uvMpHtyiY1wFWiA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4503171,-...O34cqdJ9hszlW-A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4496704,-...kagdnzT6u54hF8g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4485583,-...Aa7FjClslyZ6WfA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Not one redeemable angle.

Even more annoying is the fact that it replaced our old city hall just to have the city pay back the proceeds of the land in leasing the adjacent tower. Thankfully they saved the clocktower and pediment. The tower is ok but one wall is completely blank. With a pretty dismal occupancy rate and a growing local economy coupled with an LRT stop out front we might see it redeveloped since the owners have deep pockets.

jameshowe.ca

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4501697,-...3.78204%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

http://2.bp.blogspot.com



A true slice of Bavaria right in the core... Nothing says German heritage quite like a stucco castle with no windows

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4484691,-...3DvzOGWiGdzc0og!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


The now empty former provincial courthouse is one of one a few local brutalist pieces but you can judge for yourself if you think it's worth saving

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4533864,-...QSzTK5-C520fYdw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en



Uptown Waterloo:

While not particularly ugly on their own the monotony of these towers and the suburban-like layout in an urban core make them bad (more towers still to be built):

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4652049,-...YDt5zJnjz43TUhg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Marsland Place has been basically the ONLY highrise inside of Uptown since it was built. Just look at those soaring large windows, beautiful exterior, colour, and of course excellent street interaction:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4648475,-...CbaMZEUDSMi502A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Allen Square is a bit of a bunker as well:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4602777,-...7.34879%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Suburban Tim Hortons right on the edge of the core? Check.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4691577,-...9.54572%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


And finally, someone decided to butcher this building at some point in its life.

[FrAnKs]

Oh god what a shame

[eemy]

In KW's defense, a lot of the new stuff that is coming up is exceptional.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Form the sofa ad previous page: why does the 'sofa' look like an army attack vehicle?

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

In KW's defense, a lot of the new stuff that is coming up is exceptional.

That's pretty strong language!

[SignalHillHiker]

Still the ugliest house in my neighbourhood. I'm curious what its origin story is. Surely it couldn't have started out like this?

The side facing Pennywell Road is ugly, but not especially so. Typical lower class St. John's with a thin plot and mis-matched, ugly siding.



But round the corner to Boncloddy, and... WTF?



Incidentally, just down Boncloddy is the best name in town for a sports bar:

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by advance62

We've all seen how ugly most of Waterloo's student warehouses are but both Waterloo and Kitchener also have some ugly stuff in their cores.

Downtown Kitchener:

This useless, half empty, ugly, out of place plaza has no business in a downtown area but here it is. Thankfully LRT construction will see a station block the parking lots entrances which should render it completely useless and prime for redevelopment.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4488495,-...ulttmHnLgDfz-pQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Not sure what the architect was thinking when they built this BMO branch

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4498813,-...4bB25_V0lkoU54A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Believe it or not, this building was worse without the glass when it was originally built as one of two downtown malls to compete with the suburbs. It's now mostly empty with its largest tenant gone leaving the slowly dwindling local daily newspaper staff, a Goodlife, a for profit college, <5 foodcourt stalls, and ~5 other crappy mall shops and a crumbling parking garage.


https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4491508,-...uvMpHtyiY1wFWiA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4503171,-...O34cqdJ9hszlW-A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4496704,-...kagdnzT6u54hF8g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4485583,-...Aa7FjClslyZ6WfA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Not one redeemable angle.

Even more annoying is the fact that it replaced our old city hall just to have the city pay back the proceeds of the land in leasing the adjacent tower. Thankfully they saved the clocktower and pediment. The tower is ok but one wall is completely blank. With a pretty dismal occupancy rate and a growing local economy coupled with an LRT stop out front we might see it redeveloped since the owners have deep pockets.

jameshowe.ca

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4501697,-...3.78204%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

http://2.bp.blogspot.com



A true slice of Bavaria right in the core... Nothing says German heritage quite like a stucco castle with no windows

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4484691,-...3DvzOGWiGdzc0og!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


The now empty former provincial courthouse is one of one a few local brutalist pieces but you can judge for yourself if you think it's worth saving

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4533864,-...QSzTK5-C520fYdw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en



Uptown Waterloo:

While not particularly ugly on their own the monotony of these towers and the suburban-like layout in an urban core make them bad (more towers still to be built):

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4652049,-...YDt5zJnjz43TUhg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Marsland Place has been basically the ONLY highrise inside of Uptown since it was built. Just look at those soaring large windows, beautiful exterior, colour, and of course excellent street interaction:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4648475,-...CbaMZEUDSMi502A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Allen Square is a bit of a bunker as well:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4602777,-...7.34879%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Suburban Tim Hortons right on the edge of the core? Check.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.4691577,-...9.54572%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


And finally, someone decided to butcher this building at some point in its life.

Fantastic first post in the Ugly Canada thread! I like the clocktower mall and WTF is with that castle?!? What kind of business is it? Lately Ontario is winning the Ugly Canada battle. Even Laval seems like a one trick pony compared to the layers of ugliness you see in K/W and Niagara Falls. Hamilton seems to have been beaten with the ugly stick too as every photo update I see posted by Thomax in the skyline thread just depresses me.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Still the ugliest house in my neighbourhood. I'm curious what its origin story is. Surely it couldn't have started out like this?

The side facing Pennywell Road is ugly, but not especially so. Typical lower class St. John's with a thin plot and mis-matched, ugly siding.


Incidentally, just down Boncloddy is the best name in town for a sports bar:

This still has more charm than any of the new subdivisions you see elsewhere in the country. I especially like the last pic with the Sports bar and mint green house. Kind of reminds me of the part of Boston you see in Goodwill Hunting.

[O-tacular]

I give you one of the ugliest blocks on Macleod Trail (which says a lot as virtually everything on Macleod Trail is ugly):

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Calgary...!8m2!3d51.0486151!4d-114.0708459!6m1!1e1

It has everything! Kitschy Indian restaurant, asian hair salon, Vape shop, a likely rub and tug and a building that looks like the place where Bruce Willis got raped in Pulp Fiction. Across the street there's a seedy adult video bunker next to a Fast Lube. And all this lies just beside a high voltage transmission line.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^Bah, I'll take that over

1800 block Broad Street in Regina

We have your likely rub and tug, a smoke shop, an abandoned store and an abandoned restaurant all next to what is probably destined to be in the Canadian Demolitions thread with The Travellers Building (the windows were open for more than a year so you can imagine the bio-hazard dead pigeons and pigeon shit inside now.) Just South of the view is the Liquor store no one wants to go into or even walk by. On the other side of the street is a cursed sandwich shop (no fewer than three different restaurants in four years) a lot of parking. Further up you can see the built-for-suburbia Tim Hortons with a parking lot in front to boot. The saving grace on this block is Saigon By Night. Still a great place for lunch. Highly recommended. Just don't walk on the East side of the street and don't make eye contact with anyone you see.

[niwell]

Oh wow, both of those have the whole 6 lane road with completely inadequate sidewalk thing going on! Not sure about the Regina example but walking down that section of Macleod is terrifying.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

^Bah, I'll take that over

1800 block Broad Street in Regina

We have your likely rub and tug, a smoke shop, an abandoned store and an abandoned restaurant all next to what is probably destined to be in the Canadian Demolitions thread with The Travellers Building (the windows were open for more than a year so you can imagine the bio-hazard dead pigeons and pigeon shit inside now.) Just South of the view is the Liquor store no one wants to go into or even walk by. On the other side of the street is a cursed sandwich shop (no fewer than three different restaurants in four years) a lot of parking. Further up you can see the built-for-suburbia Tim Hortons with a parking lot in front to boot. The saving grace on this block is Saigon By Night. Still a great place for lunch. Highly recommended. Just don't walk on the East side of the street and don't make eye contact with anyone you see.

Biohazard or not that block of heritage buildings has more character than anything on Macleod Trail period. The oldest stuff you find on Macleod is from the 50's and everything is awful with parking lots facing the street. The business concentration is basically the same every few blocks. vape shop, car wash, adult video / sex toy store, auto glass shop, car dealership, shitty Asian restaurant / fast food, cash loan store / pawnshop.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Biohazard or not that block of heritage buildings has more character than anything on Macleod Trail period. The oldest stuff you find on Macleod is from the 50's and everything is awful with parking lots facing the street. The business concentration is basically the same every few blocks. vape shop, car wash, adult video / sex toy store, auto glass shop, car dealership, shitty Asian restaurant / fast food, cash loan store / pawnshop.

This sounds like just about every arterial route leading into downtown Winnipeg.