The Ugly Canada Thread

[lio45]

Interesting question! The crappiest downtown (weighted by city size) in S.E. Quebec would likely be Drummondville's IMO.

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.8846129,...UckN3SIi6kacMgQS-dBpA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Windsor's downtown is also pretty bad; nice old buildings were knocked down not even that long ago to be replaced by really tasteless new stuff, and as if it weren't bad enough, someone set the church on fire (it got destroyed).

[GeneralLea]

Drummondville doesn't look that bad to me IMO.....it could use some more retail or a bit more vibrancy, but it has some strong urban bones and a fairly good look to it.....

[someone123]

There are a few rough looking towns in Northern Nova Scotia. The sad thing is that rather than being modern suburban towns that never had nice buildings, they are formerly prosperous industrial towns where the nicest buildings have been torn down or given bad renos that destroyed all of their character. The architectural situation is not unlike some struggling Rust Belt towns in the US.

New Glasgow used to have a 7 storey brick building that was built in 1915, the Maritime Building. It was something that really stood out when you passed through the town, although it had been in bad shape for a long time. It was torn down a couple of years ago.

If you look at old archival photos of Sydney NS you'll see lots of nicer stone buildings that are all gone now. There was also a large hotel, the Isle Royale, which was torn down.

[TownGuy]

I think Dummondville is a little too large for the comparison. The Albertan towns were just a few thousand and Trenton tops out at 20,000. Drummondville is 70,000.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by lio45

Interesting question! The crappiest downtown (weighted by city size) in S.E. Quebec would likely be Drummondville's IMO.

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.8846129,...UckN3SIi6kacMgQS-dBpA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Windsor's downtown is also pretty bad; nice old buildings were knocked down not even that long ago to be replaced by really tasteless new stuff, and as if it weren't bad enough, someone set the church on fire (it got destroyed).

Are you kidding me? That looks beautiful! It would be tragic if all those old buildings were plowed down for taller newer ones.

[Echoes]

Infill house in Saskatoon:



Some nice exterior finishes, but just awkward and truck-faced as hell.

[MTLskyline]

Originally Posted by lio45

Interesting question! The crappiest downtown (weighted by city size) in S.E. Quebec would likely be Drummondville's IMO.

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.8846129,...UckN3SIi6kacMgQS-dBpA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Windsor's downtown is also pretty bad; nice old buildings were knocked down not even that long ago to be replaced by really tasteless new stuff, and as if it weren't bad enough, someone set the church on fire (it got destroyed).

Drummondville doesn't look half bad. I would nominate Granby in its place.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.3994816,-...Vx6RXeyW2fod3aTWAozAg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Although as you mention, Windsor is probably the downtown in Quebec that has declined in quality the most in the last 5 years.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by TownGuy

This got me thinking which town around here (Cobourg) has the ugliest downtown and it's definitely Trenton.

Yeah, Trenton sucks. Does Oshawa count as "close to Cobourg"?

Most of the downtowns in Eastern and Central-Eastern Ontario are pretty nice architecturally. Some might actually be the best in the country.

In BC, small town downtowns have better stores and restaurants than comparably-sized Ontario towns but they are usually architectural wastelands. There are some exceptions where the architecture is also decent, and those places have become destinations (e.g. Nelson, Fernie, Revelstoke).

For example, compare the stores and architecture in Courtenay, BC with those in Brockville, ON.

[240glt]

There are some exceptions where the architecture is also decent, and those places have become destinations (e.g. Nelson, Fernie, Revelstoke).

Those places didn't become destinations because of the architecture though, moreso because of the nearby recreational destinations

[rousseau]

I'll never forget having a casual conversation at an eatery with a couple originally from Ontario but now living somewhere on Vancouver Island. They had all of the zealotry of converts, reciting a (seemingly well-rehearsed) litany of reasons for why they were so happy to be living there. I politely agreed that the scenery was beautiful, but my lack of enthusiasm seemed to spur them into overdrive, and they harangued me about why a self-employed person with a home office without any geographical restrictions to the work did not move to BC this very minute. Almost like an SSP thread come to life, though more direct, less passive-aggressive.

Finally I said I was happy here, and that I'd miss the the main streets and the old Victorian houses. They looked at me like I was from outer space, and didn't know how to respond to that. I figure they either thought I was insane for not "seeing the light" like they had, or maybe I'd inadvertently tugged at their heartstrings a little bit.

No, that second option is a conceit on my part. They probably just thought I was crazy.

[rousseau]

Port Dover has got the beach thing going on, but the main drag is really kinda ugly.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@42.785678,-8...G9KDzx5AGiCSOpQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Port Dover has got the beach thing going on, but the main drag is really kinda ugly.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@42.785678,-8...G9KDzx5AGiCSOpQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Bigger place than I realized. All my years in K-W, I've never been to Port Dover for some reason.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Infill house in Saskatoon:



Some nice exterior finishes, but just awkward and truck-faced as hell.

I don't sea anything wrong with it, at least not in that picture. What is the rest of the street like?

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Bigger place than I realized. All my years in K-W, I've never been to Port Dover for some reason.

Port Dover gets a lot of people from Hamilton on weekends. My impression is that people in K-W tend to go to somewhere on Lake Huron when they want a proper beach.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I'll never forget having a casual conversation at an eatery with a couple originally from Ontario but now living somewhere on Vancouver Island. They had all of the zealotry of converts, reciting a (seemingly well-rehearsed) litany of reasons for why they were so happy to be living there. I politely agreed that the scenery was beautiful, but my lack of enthusiasm seemed to spur them into overdrive, and they harangued me about why a self-employed person with a home office without any geographical restrictions to the work did not move to BC this very minute. Almost like an SSP thread come to life, though more direct, less passive-aggressive.

Finally I said I was happy here, and that I'd miss the the main streets and the old Victorian houses. They looked at me like I was from outer space, and didn't know how to respond to that. I figure they either thought I was insane for not "seeing the light" like they had, or maybe I'd inadvertently tugged at their heartstrings a little bit.

No, that second option is a conceit on my part. They probably just thought I was crazy.

Depends which part of the island they live in. I was blown away by all the Victorian houses and different eras of architecture in Victoria on my visit last month.

The most well known would probably be the Gatsby Mansion but there were so many more.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

I don't sea anything wrong with it, at least not in that picture. What is the rest of the street like?

Here's a streetview perspective of where the new house now stands:
https://www.google.ca/maps/@52.1225199,-...7UtXlmyrjA5qLp2Pov1Eg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Modest wooden homes of 1 or 2 stories with no consistent aesthetic in a pretty forlorn, historically low income part of town. So the investment is a positive, and no real violations of a "neighbourhood character" here because there isn't one. Many of the old houses on the block are undeniably ugly, but I'm more offended by a new build that achieves ugly status from the get-go.

What I mainly take issue with is the lack of main floor windows facing the street. The front door is nice and all, but the lack of a picture window or something just makes the house so anti-social and IMO, ugly. I just don't understand the design choice. There are no obvious constraints to make them design it that way. Granted, I don't know what interior layout choices may have necessitated this. But it makes for an awkward entrant to the block, not to mention that it dwarfs everything around it.

Who wouldn't want to be able to have a good view on to their street? I don't understand it. As I write this, I acknowledge the ubiquity of the suburban snout house that is all garage and little to no front window -- I despise those too -- but this crime is especially egregious in a pre-war neighbourhood with front steps and few driveways.

[WhipperSnapper]

The interior.

https://www.point2homes.com/CA/Home-For-Sale/SK/Saskatoon/Riversdale/513-Ave-J-South/46096768.html

wish there were floorplans. I can't figure out the counter in the middle of the room on the second floor. Using my imagination, the layout is not great. The finishes could be better. I don't know Saskatoon real estate but, this build would of benefited in including appliance given the spartan look of the kitchen.

[Echoes]

^ Thanks for finding that!

That counter on the 2nd floor you're seeing is the kitchen island -- they put the kitchen on the 2nd floor. Some really odd choices all around.

[WhipperSnapper]

Of course. The sloped ceilings. Thanks. That helps alot.

The laundry/main bath must be opposite the stairs with both bedrooms facing the rear (one of the bedrooms having access to the rear yard) I get what they were thinking putting the living area on the top floor. It doesn't work in my books for this property.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Port Dover gets a lot of people from Hamilton on weekends. My impression is that people in K-W tend to go to somewhere on Lake Huron when they want a proper beach.

Overwhelmingly, although I think Turkey Point on Lake Erie is also popular (never been there either!)