Posted by
Shift (a BC forumer) in the Moncton thread. He was apparently in town.
This perspective is from the riverfront, with a portion of the Hal Betts Sports Complex in the foreground. The Riverfront Trail can also be seen in the foreground. This trail actually extends for about 27 km on both sides of the Petitcodiac River, with cross connections via the Gunningsville Bridge and the Petitcodiac River Causeway.
The photo captures most of the downtown, except for the twin office towers at 1222 Main & 1234 Main (just out of the frame on the left). On the left you
can see the new 8,500 seat events centre currently under construction next door. Just to the right of Assumption Place (the 20 storey building to the centre-right of the image), you can make out a yellow tower crane where FiveFive Queen is under construction. It is a combined condo/hotel project, which will also contain a Gahan House brew pub (very popular chain here on the east coast). There is another tower crane in the city at present (in Dieppe) where a large apartment building (Horizon Place - 10 stories) is under construction.
There is an urban redevelopment project just outside the image to the left (Junction Urban Village). This is in it's early stages. A Hilton branded hotel and a six storey commercial/residential building (Tannery Place) have been approved, with construction imminent. At the very right hand of the image there is a new proposal for a 14 floor hotel, currently referred to by it's generic name "Harper Street Hotel". Approval for this project is going to the city planning committee this month. Harper Street's name has it's origins from Stephen Harpers family.
For those interested in a bit of history; Stephen Harper's family actually has deep New Brunswick roots. His grandfather was a school principal here in Moncton. He has a distant ancestor who was a hero of the American Revolutionary War (at least if you were cheering the British side). His 7-8x great grandfather lived in Sackville NB, and aided in the defence of Fort Cumberland (Formerly Fort Beausejour) during the Eddy Rebellion (a little known sideshow of the revolution). Many of the settlers in NB after the Seven Years War were recent immigrants from the colonies further south and had mixed loyalties. The settlers in Sackville however were loyal Yorkshiremen. Jonathan Eddy recieved a patent from George Washington authorizing him to foment rebellion in Nova Scotia and to encourage NS to become the 14th colony in the insurrection. Fort Cumberland was the most substantial fortification in the region outside Halifax, and the gateway to the NS peninsula, but poorly defended. Eddy attacked the garrison at Fort Cumberland, and very nearly won, save from intervention by Harper and the other Yorkshiremen in Sackville, and ultimately also relief by a naval squadron from Halifax. If Eddy had won this battle, there is a good chance there would be an American flag flying over Moncton city hall.
There's lots of interesting history in Canada that you hear very little about because it didn't happen in the central Canadian corridor.......
