The Soul-Sucking Canada Thread

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Maybe we are the deWooters, which may be badly needed in a forum that is populated by a lot of Woot-wooters (extreme homerism: some sort of over-the-top narcissistic pride that somehow metastasized from a skyline/city to a person). I like being able to poke fun at places that I live in or that I have visited. My undying love for Montreal does not preclude me from calling out the Residence Soleil (Clockzilla) as a massively ugly turd of a building. I heap plenty of praise where it is warranted too, but some people on SSP have Donald-thin skin if you dare question some population statistic or point out that some aspect of their skyline or urban fabric is less than perfect.

None of them can beat Jacksonville!


WOOT!

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by stevanford1

. Yes I agree about the people who get their panties into a twist every time you so much as look at their city in a negative context. I am a Torontonian and yes I love my city, but that doesn't mean that Bloor Dundas Square and New York Towers aren't brutal!

An old girfriend of mine lived in that building at Bloor/Dundas for a while This is going back 30 years and the building was fugly then.

Speaking of fugly what were they thinking here?

https://goo.gl/maps/cjbA3hgF7CFFmP5R7

The infamous Princess Towers in Kingston.

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

An old girfriend of mine lived in that building at Bloor/Dundas for a while This is going back 30 years and the building was fugly then.


https://goo.gl/maps/cjbA3hgF7CFFmP5R7

The infamous Princess Towers in Kingston.

Complete with Burger King (which only Taco Bell beats in awfulness)

[Razor]

What's more soul sucking then a knock off of MacDonald's?
I've been here.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/17...!4d-81.0062521

Also this gem in Niagara Falls..The classic flying saucer restaurant.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/67...!4d-79.1082123

[HomeInMyShoes]

Eddie Murphy and Coming to America would be proud.

I actually like the flying saucer restaurant, although the parking in front is annoying and the sign is better than than the building.

[Acajack]

Don't know these places well but sometimes a tacky thing can be so tacky it becomes classic and iconic.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Don't know these places well but sometimes a tacky thing can be so tacky it becomes classic and iconic.

Vegas in a nutshell.

I could see the McDonald's knockoff working in a smaller town without an actual McDonald's franchise, but I don't get how it stays in business in a place that has the real thing.

[MolsonExport]

Clifton Hill is just soul-sucking without ever being iconic.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Razor

What's more soul sucking then a knock off of MacDonald's?
I've been here.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/17...!4d-81.0062521

Haha! I ate there. The burgers were much better than McShitties. Apparently it has been there for decades (my wife hails from the region), in fact, since the 60s.

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Haha! I ate there. The burgers were much better than McShitties. Apparently it has been there for decades (my wife hails from the region), in fact, since the 60s.

Not harder to be better than McShitties!

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by Razor

Also this gem in Niagara Falls..The classic flying saucer restaurant.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/67...!4d-79.1082123

The food at that place is shitty as hell!

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Haha! I ate there. The burgers were much better than McShitties. Apparently it has been there for decades (my wife hails from the region), in fact, since the 60s.

I can proudly say I ate there once too (for breakfast). It wasn't bad, but it's pretty hard to ruin a breakfast. I remember the service was good and the staff friendly.

[Slide]

Edmonton's principal entrance from the airport/south to downtown: 'Gateway Boulevard'

The entire drive is soul-sucking-awful, but it gets particularly bad between 51 AVE - 80 AVE. No sidewalk for most of it, sometimes no curb even, shabby storefronts, cars parked haphazardly along its 'parking lots'.

30 blocks of ruined first impressions for over 30 years. I think this drive bares much of the responsibility for Edmonton's poor image, made all the more ridiculous with its name; that's the last way I'd want a 'Gateway' to look...




https://goo.gl/maps/mMC1m5gHZ4WXNxiz9

[Razor]

^ Yes! The West coming in and representing.

[MolsonExport]

All major approaches to London are soul-sucking.

Veterans Memorial (East)
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0223...7i13312!8i6656

Highbury
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9767...7i13312!8i6656

Exeter
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9265...7i13312!8i6656

Wellington
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9239...7i13312!8i6656

Wonderland
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9240...7i16384!8i8192

London does have a lot of nice neighborhoods, especially ringing downtown and UWO. But man, its commercial drags are soul-sucking.

[ssiguy]

You could find those London suburban pics anywhere anywhere in Canada.

As for Edmonton's "Gateway", yes I would have to say it is the most soul sucking street in the country. Not only is it lined with ugly strip plazas and parking lots but the worse part is that it goes on for about 10 km. It is a horrid way to enter the city, especially coming from the airport.

When coming in from Calgary and YEG, it gives a depressing first impression of the city and reinforces Edmonton's national reputation as being a urban wasteland.

[esquire]

I can't think of too many airport drives that are all that flattering to a city... I know Winnipeg's isn't that great either. It involves going downtown through the airport industrial area and then the West End, which is a tired looking and somewhat down at the heels urban neighbourhood. When Glen Murray was mayor during the 1999 Pan American Games, he was behind a push to get cab drivers to bring guests downtown via Wellington Crescent instead, a posh residential street that most would consider out of the way for an airport trip.

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

All major approaches to London are soul-sucking.

Veterans Memorial (East)
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0223...7i13312!8i6656

Nice Stonehenge! Rocks beautify it.....

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

All major approaches to London are soul-sucking.


Exeter
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9265...7i13312!8i6656


London does have a lot of nice neighborhoods, especially ringing downtown and UWO. But man, its commercial drags are soul-sucking.

That's how I always enter London! Cheap ass hotels are soulsucking.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by esquire

I can't think of too many airport drives that are all that flattering to a city... I know Winnipeg's isn't that great either. It involves going downtown through the airport industrial area and then the West End, which is a tired looking and somewhat down at the heels urban neighbourhood. When Glen Murray was mayor during the 1999 Pan American Games, he was behind a push to get cab drivers to bring guests downtown via Wellington Crescent instead, a posh residential street that most would consider out of the way for an airport trip.

Most Canadian cities don't have direct freeway connections from downtown to the airport.

You could do this in Toronto from Pearson down the 427 then along the Gardiner although right now Google Maps recommends a circuitous route partly along Bathurst to avoid traffic. The Gardiner route is considerably more impressive than the suggested surface streets.

The drive from downtown Vancouver to the airport involves almost no highways but doesn't look too bad.

In Halifax you can either take 102, which makes the city seem much bigger than it is, or 118, which mostly goes through woods. If the 102 connected sensibly up to Barrington that would be pretty impressive.