The Canadian Destroyed Buildings Thread II

[flar]

A few years ago there was a thread showing great buildings that have been destroyed. I think it's time to do another one.

Hundreds of buildings have been demolished in every city. Please only post photos of buildings that are some combination of a) magnificent b) shouldn't have been demolished or c) historically significant.

Also limit your posts to 20 photos or less. I'm putting 15 in my first post and I think that's a lot. I could have posted at least 50 photos from the book I was looking at, but I hate it when somebody posts 50 photos and it takes forever for the page to load.

[Rico Rommheim]

The Windsor Hotel in Montreal


from gutenberg.ca
http://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/lighthall-montreal/lighthall-montreal-00-h-dir/images/p0073.jpg


from wikipedia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Windsor_Hotel_and_extension%2C_Peel_Street%2C_Montreal%2C_QC%2C_1906.jpg


Built in 1878, The Windsor Hotel was canada's first grand hotel, the largest in the country and the most opulent. It was also the birthplace of the NHL. It was burned down in the early 80's. The CIBC stands there now.

Damn.

[Nicko999]

A shame really.

[flar]

In the Hamilton section, someone posted a link to an electronic copy of this book published in 1913: Hamilton Canada: Its History, Commerce, Industries and Resources
http://www.archive.org/details/hamiltonhistory00listuoft



Every single building in this photo is gone except the one in the bottom right corner






Everything here is long gone


The old courthouse




Old City Hall






The market and all the buildings shown are gone

[Rico Rommheim]

Hamilton...what a terrible shame. Jesus...

[davidivivid]

Canadian Parliament in Quebec City

The Bishop’s Palace—home of the archbishop—was built between 1693 and 1695 on the site where Montmorency Park is located today. The government rented the palace in 1792 and then purchased it in 1830 to turn it into a parliament building. Work on the palace, considered the finest in all of the British Empire, was completed in 1850. Sadly, it burned to the ground in 1854 and was replaced by a parliament/post office building, which was inaugurated in 1860 and destroyed by fire in 1883.

http://www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/EN/apropos/portrait/histoire/1756-1867.aspx


http://www.mcq.org/place-royale/en/themes.php?id=10&ver=1&imprimable=1


http://www.collectionbaby.uottawa.ca/4300_f.aspx?theme=Parlementarisme%20britannique&complet=oui

[Dwils01]

Hamilton had so many great buildings. I wish they were still here. Old City Hall, Bank of Hamilton (CIBC), Canada Life Building, Railway depot, terminal station, and the post office were all spectacular.

They really didn't get replaced by anything special either.

[Travis007]

Wow. The Hammer had quite an impressive stock of beautiful buildings. Looks quite similar to the gems Toronto had unfortunately lost, which were either victims of the Great Toronto Fire or careless redevelopment.

Here are some significant losses from a thread I had posted on UrbanToronto years ago:

http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/4230-Lost-Toronto

The Board of Trade Building (2-8 Front Street East) c.1891



The Second Union Station c. 1875



The Canadian Bank of Commerce (25 King West) c. 1890




The Temple Building (Richmond/Bay) c. 1895



The Provincial Lunatic Asylum (Queen/Ossington)
c. 1858



Chorley Park (Roxborough Drive) c. 1915



Upper Canada College c. 1890



Some vintage scenes on King Street:

[davidivivid]

Hôpital de la Marine, Quebec City

Inaugurated in 1834, the Marine Hospital of Quebec City was devoted to caring for sick seamen and immigrants. It was located well away from the city so as to prevent the spread of epidemics.

When the great cholera and typhus epidemics broke out in the first half of the 19th century, measures aimed at controlling the spread of disease were temporary at first. Emergencies had to be faced and a very large number of the ill had to be hospitalized and especially isolated. They were housed more or less satisfactorily in leased accommodations or in tents. Nevertheless, permanent establishments were created to care for people suffering from contagious diseases, such as the Marine Hospital in Quebec City. The latter replaced the Emigrant Hospital in the Saint-John faubourg, which had fallen into disrepair.

WHAT
The Marine Hospital's architecture blended proportions borrowed from antiquity and classical shapes drawing inspiration from England.

WHERE
The Marine Hospital was located on Dorchester Street in Quebec City near the General Hospital on the banks of the Saint-Charles River.

WHEN
The hospital was inaugurated in July 1834. However, only the west wing and the central section were then finished; construction of the complex would only be completed in 1856.

WHO
Architect Henry Musgrave Blaiklock, trained in England, designed the plans for the building; Lord Aylmer, Governor General of Canada, laid the first stone in May 1832.

http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/I-17326.1



http://expong.cieq.ca/institution.php?-institution=137



http://www.quebecurbain.qc.ca/2010/07/22/hopital-de-la-marine/



http://www.quebecurbain.qc.ca/2010/07/22/hopital-de-la-marine/



http://www.quebecurbain.qc.ca/wordpress/...%C3%A7ade-et-profil-gauche-Vers-1875.jpg



http://tolkien2008.wordpress.com/2011/01...e-saint-charles-quebec-14-decembre-1927/

[Chadillaccc]

Oh my gods... poor Hamilton. At least the Piggot Building survived. Wow though, I had no idea.

The city looked almost European with all those low rise, high density buildings.

[trueviking]

king street was awesome!

by far winnipeg's worst demolition....city hall and the public market....the leland hotel in the back right (in front of union tower) was lost to fire.


http://www.manitobaphotos.com/Postcards/p123.jpg


one of winnipeg's most annoying demolitions......the mckintyre block was torn down for a second tower that was never built.....has been a gravel parking lot at the famous corner of portage and main for 2 decades.


http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/pcimages/PC/002/web/PC002049.jpg

find the hole


image from dan harper photography
http://www.danharperphotography.com/photos/where/helicopter082710/pages/D3X_8256.htm

[Dmajackson]

Halifax has had a lot especially following the Explosion. It's late so I'll limit myself to two tonight. The first is the Bellevue House that once housed visiting kings and last for almost two centuries before being demolished in the 20th century. This one has been making the rounds lately as being unearthed during the Central Library project downtown.


http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/royalengineers/archives.asp?ID=76

The other building I will mention is the former I.C.R. Train Station and King Edward Hotel that was the main Halifax train station until it was destroyed in the Explosion in 1917. This sat where the MacDonald Bridge now crosses over Barrington Street.




http://ns1758.ca/rail/railway01.html

[Boreal]

I thought Winnipeg was bad. Holy schmoly, Hamilton. Wow.

[1ajs]

vike the one at portage and main came down in the 70's and has been a gravel lot for 4 decades...

though i think the most anoying is all the buildings they tore down for trizak or there the buildings they tore down for the parking lot next to mtc............

[aastra]

A selection from Victoria. All pictures from BC Archives:

Government Street at Wharf Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_68/a_02798.txt

Wharf Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_70/a_05721.txt

Government Street at View Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_73/b_08408.txt

Government Street at Yates Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_98/i_01662.txt

Also Government Street at Yates Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_84/h_03013.txt

Government Street at Johnson Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_78/e_01533.txt

Government Street at Herald Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_78/e_01559.txt

Broad Street at View Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_71/b_00434.txt

Broad Street... All Gone:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_68/a_03447.txt

Douglas Street at Johnson Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_79/e_06624.txt

Also Douglas Street at Johnson Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_77/d_07087.txt

Douglas Street at Fort Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_121/d_04666.txt

Douglas Street at View Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_126/e_01554.txt

Also Douglas Street at View Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_76/d_02225.txt

Also Douglas Street at View Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_82/g_02860.txt

Douglas Street at Courtney:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_80/f_04114.txt

Douglas Street at Yates Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_77/d_05414.txt

Yates Street between Douglas Street and Blanshard Street:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_77/d_07281.txt

Oak Bay (at least the loss of this one was an accident):

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_75/c_09021.txt

Between Douglas Street and Blanshard Street near Hillside:

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-49890AA/cgi-bin/text2html/.visual/img_txt/dir_83/g_04894.txt

[entheosfog]

I love Vancouver, but there's some unforgivables in here. I'm presenting these in then and now format, hope that's ok, it's quicker for me than tracking down just the old photo plus there's some reference to what replaced the old buildings.

Birks Building, probably the biggest architectural loss in this city:

Birks Building Site - 1922/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

This could also be considered the city's greatest loss, the 2nd Hotel Vancouver:

West Georgia Street 1939/2009 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

Some notable theaters:
The Lyric:

Lyric Theatre - 1935/2009 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

The Majestic, also known as the Beacon but was originally the city's 2nd Pantages Theatre:

Beacon Theatre Site - 1946/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

and again:

Majestic Theatre Site - 1970s/2011 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

The most recent loss, the city's original Pantages, currently being demolished:

Pantages Theatre - 1973/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

Avenue Theatre:

700 Block of Main Street - 1921/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

The Lyric:

Lyric Theatre - 1936/2009 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

The Strand, with the Birks Building to the right and the 2nd Hotel Vancouver to the right of that, all demolished:

600 Block of west Georgia St - 1923/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

Churches:
Originally a Japanese Methodist:

SE Corner of Powell and Jackson - early1900s/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr


SW Corner of Georgia & Richards - 1904/2011 by entheos_fog, on Flickr


Corner of Georgia and Burrard - 1900s/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

Some other notable hotels:
Hotel Ambassador:

700 Block of Seymour Street - 1946/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

The Ritz to the right:

1000 Block of Georgia - 1932/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

Alcazar Hotel:

Dunsmuir at Homer - 1937/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

And some others:

SE Corner of Richards and Cordova - 1890/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

Former city hall on the left:

Main and Hastings - 1890/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr


SE Corner of Homer & Hastings - 1940/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr


1100 Block of West Pender - 1976/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr


NW Corner of Georgia & Hornby - 1933/2011 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

Not the same building but looks similar in proportion:

837 West Hastings Street - 1931/2010 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

Hope that's not too many, there are more I could have posted as well

[MolsonExport]

I'm going to wait for MTLskyline to post his vast collection of fantastic, long-gone Montreal buildings.

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

The Windsor Hotel in Montreal


from gutenberg.ca
http://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/lighthall-montreal/lighthall-montreal-00-h-dir/images/p0073.jpg


from wikipedia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Windsor_Hotel_and_extension%2C_Peel_Street%2C_Montreal%2C_QC%2C_1906.jpg


Built in 1878, The Windsor Hotel was canada's first grand hotel, the largest in the country and the most opulent. It was also the birthplace of the NHL. It was burned down in the early 80's. The CIBC stands there now.

Damn.

The Windsor Hotel burned down in december 1957. Only the south part burned down. The other part still stands today.



Source: http://www.lewindsor.com/ballrooms/photos-f/21_f-c.html

[Pavlov]

This thread is tough to go through. So many lost pieces of our history.

Winnipeg City Hall, with its St. Basil's Cathedral aesthetic, is one of the very worst losses in Canada in my opinion.

[KnoxfordGuy]

Custom House Prince William Street, Saint John New Brunswick. Built after the great fire of 1877. now just a memory.





Saint John General Hospital. Built in the 30's and demolished in the 1980's.







These images are not mine and I DO NOT own them.