Canadian skylines of the past - Page 125

SKYSTHELIMIT · #**2481** Posted **Feb 8, 2018, 6:00 PM**

That First Canadian Centre shot is incredible. Climbing to the sky to be crowned king for decades. I too always loved the bank cluster. As much as I am pumped as the next person for all of these new towers(an astronomical amount) going up. I hate seeing the cluster becoming more obscured.

Back in the late eighties early nineties working at Harbourfront, I couldn’t get enough looking at the core. Not to mention watching Skydome(always will be Skydome to me) and Scotia(my fav) being constructed.

MolsonExport · #**2482** Posted **Feb 8, 2018, 6:13 PM**

Great TO shots.

Rico Rommheim · #**2483** Posted **Feb 8, 2018, 6:15 PM**

I love me those classic TO shots.

Too bad that at its height, Montreal had 2 competing downtowns thereby robbing it of any dense skyscraper cluster like the one in TO or Vancouver of yore.

MolsonExport · #**2484** Posted **Feb 8, 2018, 6:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKYSTHELIMIT

Not to mention watching Skydome(always will be Skydome to me)

Can you watch this without cringing?

• Video Link

Look at these fools getting soaked:

• Video Link

No other place could have produced this.

esquire · #**2485** Posted **Feb 8, 2018, 8:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

I love me those classic TO shots.

Too bad that at its height, Montreal had 2 competing downtowns thereby robbing it of any dense skyscraper cluster like the one in TO or Vancouver of yore.

I'll join the chorus of people loving those old Toronto photos. That 60s/70s transitional era is just so fascinating.

That said, I always thought Montreal's multiple downtowns was kind of cool. When I was a kid visiting Montreal, it was practically a mark of distinction that Montreal had more than one big cluster of towers although I guess that can be said about several Canadian cities now.

SKYSTHELIMIT · #**2486** Posted **Feb 8, 2018, 11:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Can you watch this without cringing?

• Video Link

Look at these fools getting soaked:

• Video Link

No other place could have produced this.

Nope, not at all. Cringedome. Still was a cool stadium for its time.

bless-u · #**2487** Posted **Feb 9, 2018, 3:44 AM**

Downtown Toronto in 1900.

25 years later...

TorontoDrew · #**2488** Posted **Feb 9, 2018, 3:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Can you watch this without cringing?

• Video Link
No other place could have produced this.

LOL, wow I loved that. was great to watch with my coffee, complete with Alan Thicke's song at the 2 minute mark. No cringing at my end, to bad they didn't have better ways of recording back then.

TorontoDrew · #**2489** Posted **Feb 9, 2018, 3:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bless-u

Downtown Toronto in 1900.

I have this picture in my loft, a huge print of it. I still look at it daily.

esquire · #**2490** Posted **Feb 9, 2018, 3:51 PM**

^ That is an awesome picture.

Laceoflight · #**2491** Posted **Feb 16, 2018, 5:48 PM**

Montréal, 1964
The islands and the metro are being built...

Par Martin Dozois sur le groupe Expo 67, Facebook

Par Clément Brillant sur le groupe Expo 67, Facebook

Montréal, 1967

Par Clément Brillant sur le groupe Expo 67, Facebook

TorontoDrew · #**2492** Posted **Feb 16, 2018, 8:01 PM**

What a cool picture. What pavilion was that and is it still there? I don't remember seeing it.

Martin Mtl · #**2493** Posted **Feb 16, 2018, 8:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

What a cool picture. What pavilion was that and is it still there? I don't remember seeing it.

The upside-down pyramid was the Canadian pavillon.

TorontoDrew · #**2494** Posted **Feb 16, 2018, 8:21 PM**

That was a really interesting structure. Would have loved to have seen it in person. I just watched this entire video, great for a chuckle. The miniature Ice Breaker at the end plowing through Styrofoam was awesome.

• Video Link

SignalHillHiker · #**2495** Posted **Feb 20, 2018, 1:18 AM**

A few from the 1920s...

...and 1949 (Confederation with Canada), via MUN Archives.

And one of Bonavista.

Franco401 · #**2496** Posted **Feb 20, 2018, 1:55 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

And one of Bonavista.

Wow. It's hard to believe a landscape like that ever existed in Canada, even if it was before entering Confederation...

SignalHillHiker · #**2497** Posted **Feb 20, 2018, 9:22 PM**

It hasn't changed all that much - Bonavista today:

Bonavista by R C, on Flickr

Bonavista by SignalHillHikerPhotography.com, on Flickr

someone123 · #**2498** Posted **Feb 23, 2018, 5:43 PM**

Some Halifax municipal archives photos. Most of these were taken in the mid-20th century for planning purposes: slum clearance, redevelopment, or improvements to public infrastructure. Many of these buildings are gone.

Little buildings by Hollis and Sackville. These were given a modern do-over around the 1950's but they were probably from the early 1800's or late 1700's. I love the little brick archways and door on the left.

A gritty 20th century Lower Water Street

Torn down for the Cogswell interchange. What a mistake!

Also torn down for Cogswell

More gritty industrial waterfront. All of this stuff was torn down in the 70's.

Gottingen Street

Spring Garden Road

Some rowhouses

The North End slum clearance area in the 50's

SignalHillHiker · #**2499** Posted **Feb 23, 2018, 5:53 PM**

Love that Lower Water Street one.

The slums you cleared look as good as the parts of the city we kept lol

someone123 · #**2500** Posted **Feb 23, 2018, 5:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Love that Lower Water Street one.

The slums you cleared look as good as the parts of the city we kept lol

In the 1950's a lot of planners thought that density was inherently bad and traffic flow was good. They also tended to want (as today) to build grand new projects instead of incrementally improving what was there.

I have no doubt that these buildings could have been improved a lot for a small fraction of the cost that went into the replacement housing and traffic projects around this area.

Unfortunately the preoccupation with lowering densities and improving traffic flows meant that planners pretty much went around systematically bulldozing the quirkiest and most interesting parts of Halifax from around 1950-1970 (narrow streets, small blocks). And they wanted to tear down a lot more than they ultimately did.