Canadian skylines of the past

[Chadillaccc]

This one may be my favorite historic photo of Calgary. Taken sometime in the mid 80s.


http://www.terragalleria.com/black-w...b10777-bw.html

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

This one may be my favorite historic photo of Calgary. Taken sometime in the mid 80s.


http://www.terragalleria.com/black-w...b10777-bw.html

That would be ~ 1986-1987: new spire on the Calgary Tower. The presence or absence of Canterra or Bankers East would mail it down precisely, but can't tell from that view.

[SignalHillHiker]

A few of Gustav Anderson's photos from Memorial University's archives. This guy was a brilliant photographer - his photos, especially those of rural Newfoundland, are amazing. Beautifully composed. And his portraiture is the best I've seen from this part of the world. He has several easily as engaging as the Great Depression mother.

If you're able to determine whether he photographed your part of the world, do check out any he did from there. It'll be spectacular.

Here are a few of his shots from around St. John's in 1945, immediately after WWII and just a few years before Confederation with Canada.










The Central Slum still existed, and this photo below wasn't even part of it, it was just getting close to that area. In the 1950s, it was all bulldozed, Water Street and New Gower Street were widened to four lanes, and this is where virtually all of the modern buildings (from City Hall to Fortis) in the Downtown West exist today.

The city actually never intended to lose all of the beautiful mixed-use buildings that lined both sides of Water and New Gower, but when the slum residences were bulldozed, there were no people to shop in them and the area declined. It was only then that it was modernized, unfortunately.



Signal Hill was finally being blasted to bring a road out to the Battery neighbourhood.







We were still driving on the left.



And, during his visit, voila:

[Chadillaccc]

Amazing!

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Amazing!

Didn't change that much since then...

(Which obviously can be seen as a positive thing or a negative one, depending on one's personal tastes in urbanism and architecture.)

[1overcosc]

When I have some time I should make some before-and-after photos of Kingston. Judging from most of the historic photos I've seen, most downtown blocks look almost identical to the way they did a hundred years ago.

That's not to say its static, though. Many of the poorer areas looked a lot different 100 years ago, as they had lots of wood houses that were either clad with siding or torn down and rebuilt entirely (often as apartment buildings) during the 1920s through 1960s. The wealthier areas closer to the university are very well preserved though as their housing stock was mostly brick to begin with.

[Chadillaccc]

Stampede Parade, 1923

[Coldrsx]

^Didn't change that much since then...

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

^Didn't change that much since then...

Yeah it's a rare historic view of Calgary where most of those buildings are still intact.

[Coldrsx]

'right'

left

mr.engineer

[SHOFEAR]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

'right'

left

mr.engineer

shit.

[SignalHillHiker]

All from Vintage St. John's.

Water Street, early 1970s:



1959, Queen Elizabeth II visiting the city claimed for Queen Elizabeth I:



1941, American servicemen and Newfoundland women at a dance. Some of these same couples died in the Knights of Columbus Fire - Germans set fire to the building, which was broadcasting a dance live on the radio. 99 American men and Newfoundland women died as their families listened. It was the deadliest German attack on St. John's during WWII, and the second-deadliest attack on Newfoundland. My Aunt Ruth, who moved to El Paso, Texas, in 1945, almost went with her now husband.



A WTF from Harvey Road. I thought it was a horse path in the 40s. I had NO idea there was ANYTHING there.



How the Americans used to advertise visiting Canada and Newfoundland in 1918:



One of the ships, the Florizel, later sunk off Cappahayden, Newfoundland. The book "Wreck of the Florizel" is mandatory reading in elementary school in Newfoundland.

[SignalHillHiker]

Today is the anniversary of the Great Fire of 1892. The Newfoundland Historic Trust is tweeting the events from the perspective of a kitchen maid, at the time they actually happened.

They mention one of the bigger losses:



And a few pictures from MUN's archives.

The view from the Athenaeum's roof, pre-1892:



The Athenaeum after the Great Fire:



The rest of the city.

East End, looking West:



Central, looking East:



Quick update:

I always knew that only four people perished in the fire, which was considered a miracle at the time. But I've never, not once, learned their names:



And another tidbit:



Tent cities were constructed in various parks throughout the city to house the homeless - 12,000 people.

[Chadillaccc]

Installation of the Olympic Cauldron in 1987

Source: ATCO Gas - http://www.atcogas.com/Our_Centennial/Timeline



Calgary during the 1988 Winter Olympics

Source: Windsor Star - http://www.windsorstar.com/sports/20...047/story.html

[SignalHillHiker]

Vintage St. John's is trying to figure out where this photo is from. It was in a collection from Newfoundland, but it's not. We weren't part of Canada at the time, and drove on the opposite side of the road. Any ideas?

[Architype]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Vintage St. John's is trying to figure out where this photo is from. It was in a collection from Newfoundland, but it's not. We weren't part of Canada at the time, and drove on the opposite side of the road. Any ideas?

http://i61.tinypic.com/mmgdbd.jpg

That house style doesn't look like Newfoundland at all, it certainly would be more typical of western Canada.

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Vintage St. John's is trying to figure out where this photo is from. It was in a collection from Newfoundland, but it's not. We weren't part of Canada at the time, and drove on the opposite side of the road. Any ideas?

The architectural style does not scream St. John's.

[SignalHillHiker]

Watched a bizarre Canadian documentary clip that seems to imply Newfoundland was part of Canada during the First World War, and incorrectly states that this was when the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was created.

BUT two interesting bits. A view of the massacre at Beaumont Hamel being announced to the people in St. John's from the steps of the Supreme Court on Water Street:



And a clip from that day's edition of The Telegram, with The Battery neighbourhood in the background:

[kwoldtimer]

An aerial shot of industrial Kitchener from the late 1950s or early 1960s. King St runs diagonally from lower right to upper left and the CN line cuts across the upper part of the picture. Kaufman Rubber (now Kaufman Lofts) can be clearly seen, as can the Lang Tanning Company (now the Tannery high tech hub - lower left). Many of the large factories, including B.F. Goodrich (now the site of UofW School of Pharmacy), Kitchener Button, and the Blue Top (later Dow) Brewery are long gone. A number of the factories flanking the train tracks are still there, including Merchant Rubber (now Breithaupt Block) and Krug Furniture (one of the few original plants still in operation).

[Chadillaccc]

A cool comparison, between 1980 and 1989.

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Also note East Vic Park is actually a full community.

Originally Posted by RM14