Ugly Canada 2 (Only architecture, planning and design faux pas)

[MolsonExport]

I wonder if Tyvek is not some sort of fashion statement. "I am too cool (literally) to finish my dog-eared home!" Tyvek is like underpants for homes.

Too many places have that ghettoish, unfinished yet built long-ago look.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

We’re much farther south than you appear to imagine. Basically on par with Seattle.

It's all just part of a conspiracy to confuse flat earth people.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

^Another thing I notice when I drive past Parry Sound is things like abandoned, burned-out gas stations and junkyards for old construction equipment and trailers. It's as if there's so much land that it can be treated completely carelessly.

Former restaurants and motels too.

The townships probably can't afford to enforce standards for demolition and clearing out junk. Or maybe they just don't see it as a priority. The property owners have no incentive to do it themselves, unless something else that's viable can be built there.

Many of those places were in business when the highway was still just 2-lanes. As the 400 keeps getting extended toward Sudbury, there's no way for many of those properties to maintain access to customers. That said, it still happens along the sections that are Hwy 69. Could be that time savings from the complete parts of 400 just make it less likely people will want to stop for anything between Barrie and Sudbury, and cars having better fuel economy today compared to the 1950s-80s may be the reason gas stations haven't stayed in business... not as much need to have that many. The isolated mom & pop stores and restaurants probably had nobody to take over or purchase the business when mom & pop retired.

There's probably a nice graduate thesis that could be written on the subject -- dig into the history, show how the corridor evolved, etc.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

^Another thing I notice when I drive past Parry Sound is things like abandoned, burned-out gas stations and junkyards for old construction equipment and trailers. It's as if there's so much land that it can be treated completely carelessly.

BTW, I find this to be true on the Quebec side as well. I once drove QC-117 north from Mont Laurier and was surprised at how many homes had one side with exposed Tyvek or how many junked snowmobiles and cars littered the front of houses.

Yes, most definitely. It's present all over Canada. I've mentioned in the past that Rouyn-Noranda *isn't too bad* for a northern city in Canada, but the approaches to it and the areas surrounding it are as bad as any. I've noticed the Tyvek!

Also it's been mentioned that the construction of new highways bypassing old ones leads to abandonment. While this is no doubt true, there is lots of abandoned shit along Ontario highways 11 and 17 where they're still the only roads to get anywhere.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Stop making fun of me It’s my weakness. I can’t not respond to assumptions we’re that far North. It’ll bother me all day. I’ll wake up at 3 am a month from now and think: I should’ve told Molson. It’s probably a mental illness but it is what it is hahaha.

It bothers me too. A lot of Canadians don't realize that my home town of Bothwell is about as far south as the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I've mentioned before that the mindset in Canada when it comes to northern cities (even fairly large ones) seems to be that they are temporary locales that will get boarded up as soon as all of the natural resources in the area are drawn from the land.

Even the exact same national chains that build reasonably decent stuff in southern locales for some reason will generally produce stuff with shittier architecture, shittier materials and shittier landscaping in the north.

SO true!!!

And even both provincial and federal governments do the same.

It used to piss me off that our hospital in Timmins would be facing huge budget cuts at times and couldn't afford regular maintenance of the building but a hospital in London for example would have a huge landscaped property where there is a big lawn that is cut and there are gardens, trees, park, etc.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

I wonder if Tyvek is not some sort of fashion statement. "I am too cool (literally) to finish my dog-eared home!" Tyvek is like underpants for homes.

Too many places have that ghettoish, unfinished yet built long-ago look.

Yeah, you see it often enough here. Especially in unorganized townships where there are no regulations that deal with that kind of stuff. But there's always some even in Timmins that never bother to finish.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Former restaurants and motels too.

The townships probably can't afford to enforce standards for demolition and clearing out junk. Or maybe they just don't see it as a priority. The property owners have no incentive to do it themselves, unless something else that's viable can be built there.

Many of those places were in business when the highway was still just 2-lanes. As the 400 keeps getting extended toward Sudbury, there's no way for many of those properties to maintain access to customers. That said, it still happens along the sections that are Hwy 69. Could be that time savings from the complete parts of 400 just make it less likely people will want to stop for anything between Barrie and Sudbury, and cars having better fuel economy today compared to the 1950s-80s may be the reason gas stations haven't stayed in business... not as much need to have that many. The isolated mom & pop stores and restaurants probably had nobody to take over or purchase the business when mom & pop retired.

There's probably a nice graduate thesis that could be written on the subject -- dig into the history, show how the corridor evolved, etc.

You are absolutely correct about why so many gas stations and other rural highway businesses have closed over the last number of decades. Fuel efficiency of vehicles is the main reason. We used to have a lot more truck stops, restaurants, gas stations and motels along highways in Northern Ontario in rural areas. Now everything is just in cities and larger towns. Smaller places may still have some left but they normally aren't open 24 hours and may only be seasonal.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Loco101

You are absolutely correct about why so many gas stations and other rural highway businesses have closed over the last number of decades. Fuel efficiency of vehicles is the main reason. We used to have a lot more truck stops, restaurants, gas stations and motels along highways in Northern Ontario in rural areas. Now everything is just in cities and larger towns. Smaller places may still have some left but they normally aren't open 24 hours and may only be seasonal.

Would changing expectations have anything to do with it too? Running a small roadside business can be exhausting (the owners are usually hands on and working extremely long days), and if you're only barely scraping by it just may not be worth the hassle.

Not many of those small gas stations with only one or two pumps are still left out there. Even in smaller towns they're big operations with convenience stores and often restaurants, car washes, etc. attached.

[quall]

Originally Posted by thewave46

Somehow the city's mentality combines one of 'low-level fusty federal bureaucrat' and 'cashed up blue-collar redneck' into one delightful package.

Wow, that description nails Sudbury's mentality perfectly. Must be why Ottawa feels like a bigger, white-collar Sudbury to me, although the bilingual factor obviously also plays into that. Small wonder a lot of us end up here.

[quall]

Originally Posted by quall

They're perched atop a strand of Canadian Shield too so they'll be especially prominent.

There's already a highrise apartment that is built into the same rock, albeit at a lower elevation. It's bizarre; the rear side of the building is only like four storeys tall:

Sweet, found a few pictures I took several years ago on my external hard drive.

View from the top floor, facing downtown:


View from the back:


Almost felt like you could just walk out.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Can Clockzilla prevail over these twin sudbury usurpers?

I know he can. Eddie Lavoie has way more experience warehousing seniors.

Sudbury's senior's warehouses are no match for Eddy Savoie's nightmare! Sudbury is WEAK! Laval is STRONG!!!

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Sudbury's senior's warehouses are no match for Eddy Savoie's nightmare! Sudbury is WEAK! Laval is STRONG!!!

Of course that was the result I predicted. The only real contender in Canada would be Misssingsausage City Hall or the entire collection of the children of Clockzilla (in St. Leonard, St. Julie, Boucherville, Brossard, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, etc...they are legion: https://residencessoleil.ca/en/our-residences/)

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Of course that was the result I predicted. The only real contender in Canada would be Misssingsausage City Hall or the entire collection of the children of Clockzilla (in St. Leonard, St. Julie, Boucherville, Brossard, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, etc...they are legion: https://residencessoleil.ca/en/our-residences/)

Lol! An insurrection within the Residences Soleil monster squad would be difficult for Clockzilla to contain. Though Leonardozilla did pay the price for such a transgression.

[MonkeyRonin]

The latest version of 1540 Bloor West:




All of the previous iterations were pretty terrible too though: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2021/05...-evolves-again

To the architect's credit, at least they seem to be playing off of the site's contextual architectural vernacular: https://goo.gl/maps/rnmJoqruCf114E9r5

[GeneralLeeTPHLS]

Thank you for posting that MonkeyRonin....I'm pretty disappointed by this....fake wedding cake turd that's about as unique as a cinderblock in a bombed out school. When I saw the renders earlier today, I was gobsmacked. I think the earlier renders had a little more...articulation and wel, some activation or consistency....as opposed to this thing.


Also, love the newest fightscene for the Clockzilla we all know n love

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by esquire

Would changing expectations have anything to do with it too? Running a small roadside business can be exhausting (the owners are usually hands on and working extremely long days), and if you're only barely scraping by it just may not be worth the hassle.

Not many of those small gas stations with only one or two pumps are still left out there. Even in smaller towns they're big operations with convenience stores and often restaurants, car washes, etc. attached.

Absolutely! Excellent points.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Lol! An insurrection within the Residences Soleil monster squad would be difficult for Clockzilla to contain. Though Leonardozilla did pay the price for such a transgression.

Leonardozilla is a fearsome beast, but nothing beats Clockzilla. Not Rona and that truck-strewn parking lot, not Missingsausage City Hall, not the Lobsterooms, not Chavril, not New Zealand Clock tower monster, and not even that hulking Meccaclock Monster.

Eddy Savoie is an evil genius.

[biguc]

Originally Posted by quall

View from the top floor, facing downtown:

I always thought the worst thing about Sudbury was how there had pretty obviously been a decently solid city of smaller brick buildings, but at some point they decided to raze almost all of it for stroads, a mall, and some government office buildings. It's a disappointing place.

[niwell]

^Yeah, there's definitely vestiges of an interesting cityscape under everything, but the downtown is very underwhelming. It's a surprisingly vibrant place all things considered, but could be much more.

https://goo.gl/maps/LxE5YK5BD1pGpgRQ7

https://goo.gl/maps/Nm8o34jjkTaXjdvq9

https://goo.gl/maps/qsQGW3QPAvxqw6Cj7

https://goo.gl/maps/jh9p7hDrrphcWzGQ9


The Little Italy area near the stack is also a fascinating and eclectic, albeit quite ugly area: https://goo.gl/maps/jh9p7hDrrphcWzGQ9