Canadian skylines of the past - Page 42

OTSkyline · #**821** Posted **Mar 11, 2014, 2:52 PM**

That Toronto picture with First Canadian Place surrounded by parking lots? TO DIE FOR!

Such an amazing shot, it looks like the NYC Twin Towers... Such a shame that it is practically hidden from every angle now...

SignalHillHiker · #**822** Posted **Mar 11, 2014, 3:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

Well, they were parking lots that we got by demolishing existing communities, so I don't think we should feel too good about it.

Well that's not good, but at least they're not still parking lots.

If we ever tear down Atlantic Place and its parking garage and replace it with a modern tower... I'll still be sad for having lost that beautiful block of Water Street back in the 1970s - but it'd also still be better than when it was used for parking.

SignalHillHiker · #**823** Posted **Mar 11, 2014, 3:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

That Toronto picture with First Canadian Place surrounded by parking lots? TO DIE FOR!

Such an amazing shot, it looks like the NYC Twin Towers... Such a shame that it is practically hidden from every angle now...

Those two things seem mutually exclusive to me?

I don't think I've ever said or thought "parking lot" as much as I have today. It's come up in a half dozen or more separate conversations.

OTSkyline · #**824** Posted **Mar 11, 2014, 7:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Those two things seem mutually exclusive to me?

I don't think I've ever said or thought "parking lot" as much as I have today. It's come up in a half dozen or more separate conversations.

It looks like it because
a) Style of the building... just a tall slender square tower, no frills.
b) Height. It looks SUPER tall and trumps everything around since it's surrounded by shorter buildings and parking lots. Likewise, the Twin Towers used to look very tall (well, they were) and they trumped everything around them. Just look at an old NYC skyline pic.

SignalHillHiker · #**825** Posted **Mar 11, 2014, 8:04 PM**

Oh, the building. Yeah, definitely. I thought you meant the setting matched, specifically because of the parking lots.

Dwils01 · #**826** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 12:29 AM**

First Canadian Place looked so much better without all the antennas on top of it.

MolsonExport · #**827** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 2:22 AM**

Better than all the other Canadian threads put together.

Boris2k7 · #**828** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 7:19 PM**

Another Calgary shot; looking north up 1st Street SW. Going to place this somewhere in the 1920s.

There is definitely a red ensign flying atop the Southam building (#5) which was constructed on the site of an older church in 1913/14. The Southam building itself was demolished for the Len Werry building in 1972.

HBC (#2) was constructed in 1913 and expanded in 1929 by demolishing the Victorian-styled buildings to the south of it.

The Bank of Montreal (#6) was constructed in 1931 on the site of the former Bank of Montreal building (1889).

In 1964, the original 1912 brick facade of the Herald Building (#3) was encased in a granite shell. The Herald building is now, of course, demolished to make way for Brookfield Place.

http://cdm16114.contentdm.oclc.org/c.../id/3011/rec/6

This shows what buildings have changed. Demolished with red outline; existing/renovated with blue outline.

**

Most iconic buildings in Calgary have barely lasted for forty years before they have been torn down. It's likely that the oil crash in the 80s prevented downtown from becoming a clean slate.

** this should say "3 - Brookfield Place"

J.OT13 · #**829** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 10:29 PM**

So I assume 5 is a very bad renovation. That is just sad. Reminds me of this one in OT;

http://centretown.blogspot.ca/2010/0...ng-ottawa.html

Boris2k7 · #**830** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 10:33 PM**

Nah, 5 was completely demolished in '72. Some of the exterior finishes (specifically, the "gargoyles") were removed prior to the act and can be found on other buildings downtown.

http://archiseek.com/2011/the-herald.../#.UyDiF_ldVKI

Note: A number of buildings have claimed the title "The Herald Building," including the one across the street from this one (which is 3 in the image).

J.OT13 · #**831** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 10:53 PM**

Weird, the two 5s look so damn similar in scale. Even the sort of break before the top two floors. What a shame to tear down something that spectacular to replace it with something with the nearly exact same dimensions.

SignalHillHiker · #**832** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 10:59 PM**

I'm very impressed with the amount that's preserved in that Calgary example. Looks beautiful with that mix of old buildings.

SignalHillHiker · #**833** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 11:18 PM**

More from Vintage St. John's, including two very personal ones.

These photos taken in 1900 are from the village of Quidi Vidi, which is just a 30-minute walk from downtown St. John's, and the centuries-old home of my maternal grandfather. You can see the house he grew up in.

(People in St. John's pronounce it Kiddy Viddy; people from there say Kuh-why-da Vie-da. Its nickname is "the Gut". It's just a bastardization of the Italian for "What a sight!", its first settlers.).

A very rare shot of St. John's before the Great Fire of 1892. This photo was a stock photo published with an article about the devastation in the New York Times.

A reminder of how it looked after:

Witness description: "Of the whole easterly section, scarcely a building remained… of the costly and imposing structures and public buildings which were the pride and glory of the people, scarcely a vestige remained; and St. John's lay in the morning as a city despoiled of her beauty, her choicest ornaments, presenting a picture of utter desolation and woe."

An aerial from the 1920s of a boat sailing out through the Narrows, the entrance to St. John's Harbour.

The old St. John's Opera House on Duckworth Street.

And a few cute, old advertisements from our time independent.

Boris2k7 · #**834** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 11:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Weird, the two 5s look so damn similar in scale. Even the sort of break before the top two floors. What a shame to tear down something that spectacular to replace it with something with the nearly exact same dimensions.

It's a bit of an optical illusion, Without taller buildings in the background, it gives much of a different impression in height.

The green line from the top of the (now gone) Herald Building has been added to show the difference in scale.

Boris2k7 · #**835** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 11:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

A reminder of how it looked after:

Witness description: "Of the whole easterly section, scarcely a building remained… of the costly and imposing structures and public buildings which were the pride and glory of the people, scarcely a vestige remained; and St. John's lay in the morning as a city despoiled of her beauty, her choicest ornaments, presenting a picture of utter desolation and woe."

These post-fire photos are always pretty crazy but... wow.

Dylan Leblanc · #**836** Posted **Mar 13, 2014, 4:36 AM**

^ San Francisco got nuttin on that

J.OT13 · #**837** Posted **Mar 13, 2014, 9:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

It's a bit of an optical illusion, Without taller buildings in the background, it gives much of a different impression in height.

The green line from the top of the (now gone) Herald Building has been added to show the difference in scale.

Oh yeah... Thanks!

thomax · #**838** Posted **Mar 20, 2014, 9:03 PM**

Hamilton, 1960's:

Source

franktko · #**839** Posted **Mar 20, 2014, 10:05 PM**

A couple images from the port, a bit large I'm afraid...

someone123 · #**840** Posted **Mar 23, 2014, 1:07 AM**

Lower Water Street around Salter in Halifax, circa 1980 (the caption says "the golden age of waterfront parking"):

Source

The brewery building in the foreground is still there, but the building with the "M", the old Maritime Tel & Tel (MT&T) building on Hollis Street was unfortunately torn down. I've never been able to find a close-up shot of it.