Things you just noticed

[MTLskyline]

This thread's purpose is to post pictures of buildings (or anything) that you just noticed. It can be in your city, a city you know well but don't live in, or the countryside.

The goal of this thread is to better appreciate the places around us through more careful observation.

...

I never really noticed this building in Old Montreal (with the clock), despite passing nearby a ton of times. It just happened to catch my eye recently. It is on a side street, although is not far from Rue Notre-Dame.


IMG_2010 by blueprnt12, on Flickr

[FrAnKs]

Very nice building !!

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On my side, I was just driving on Grande allée Blvd in Quebec city today, and I never noticed that little anglican looking church until today :

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=...15.98,,0,-5.91

[Rico Rommheim]

Nice building Mtlskyline, that's the old Sun life HQ built in 1891.

[vid]

I notice things like this all the time but can't think of any right now.

[Architype]

I just noticed this thread.

[vid]

The building on the right has an off-centre doorway. Near North Main and Jarvis, Winnipeg. That was probably the main entrance to the upper floors, and the three bays held businesses, but it is still odd that the entrance isn't lining up with the centre of the building when it is so prominently emphasized with that pediment.

[someone123]

I find it interesting how quickly the scale of buildings changed in Montreal from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. In 1891 they still built a relatively small, 5 storey building for Sun Life. By the 1910s they had moved on to the much larger base of the modern tower, and then the upper storeys went up a few years later.

Here's how the Montreal area's population changed around this period (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Montreal "metropolitan" numbers):

1901 - 393,665
1931 - 1,064,448
1961 - 2,215,627

The gap between Canada's larger cities and large world cities also closed a lot during this period. Even in 1901, London had 6,600,000 people, but Canada had no real metropolis. By 1960, Montreal would have been considered a major city in any country in the world.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by someone123

I find it interesting how quickly the scale of buildings changed in Montreal from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. In 1891 they still built a relatively small, 5 storey building for Sun Life. By the 1910s they had moved on to the much larger base of the modern tower, and then the upper storeys went up a few years later.

That transition to larger and taller buildings would have occured in other cities like Vancouver around the same time period.

[Stingray2004]

Originally Posted by Architype

That transition to larger and taller buildings would have occured in other cities like Vancouver around the same time period.

True...

1. The Dominion Building (1910 - 175 feet)



"Tallest building in British Empire when completed in 1910".

2. The Sun Tower (1912 - 270 feet)

Again ... "Tallest building in British Empire when completed in 1912".



I've always wondered why a backwater, such as Vancouver back in the day, would have the tallest buildings in the British Empire. In hindsight, that would be quite a feat. Too bad that is not the situation today.

[FrAnKs]

One thing I Noticed ? ... How I'm proud of my country about our double heritage :



(From me)

[JHikka]

Oh hey, Chipman Hill in Saint John!

I used to visit the house on the far right weekly when I was younger. The owners were pretty old and the house was filled with antiques, persian rugs, etc. There are two large paintings inside the main doors on both walls. Unbelievable home.

[FrAnKs]

How old is the house ? ... I bet something around 1750 right? ...
And the building over St-john's picture is the Mauvide Genest manor on Île D'orléans island built in 1734 and also filled by many antiques rugs,plates, paints... very interresting place I had the honor to visit. It was the manor of a Surgeon coming in New-France to live and then he built that building.

By the way, I was just Streetviewing St-john this night, I was very surprised how there was some beautifull architecture there! ... It's rly an underestimated city ( and most of the Maritimes cities I would say ) ... Anyway... I'm a personal fan of british looking architecture, and thats a beautifull example ... you can be proud of your city.

[Stingray2004]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

One thing I Noticed ? ... How I'm proud of my country about our double heritage :

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

How old is the house ? ... I bet something around 1750 right? ...
By the way, I was just Streetviewing St-john this night, I was very surprised how there was some beautifull architecture there! ... It's rly an underestimated city ( and most of the Maritimes cities I would say ) ... Anyway... I'm a personal fan of british looking architecture, and thats a beautifull example ... you can be proud of your city.

Early 1800s i'd say. Next time i'm in the area i'll check it out.

There's a lot of original buildings still left that weren't destroyed in the 1877 fire. You're welcome to check through the Saint John thread if you want to see some of the architecture (or my Flickr ).

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by GregHickman

Early 1800s i'd say. Next time i'm in the area i'll check it out.

There's a lot of original buildings still left that weren't destroyed in the 1877 fire. You're welcome to check through the Saint John thread if you want to see some of the architecture (or my Flickr ).

Very nice pictures on your Flickr dude, here's one I love : http://www.flickr.com/photos/greghic...n/photostream/ ...what a wonderfull piece or architecture ... There's a plenty of other awesome building too.
I just noticed the bilingual Stop sign there aswell.

[Rico Rommheim]

Saint John seems really interesting. A tiny city with so much to offer architecturally is a rare thing in this country.

[someone123]

Saint John was a major city in Canada until about 1900. It was founded by a large group of Loyalists after the American Revolution so it was important from the beginning. Another interesting part of the city's history that GregHickman alluded to is the 1877 fire; the city was large and wealthy enough to rebuild with high-quality brick and stone buildings afterwards and a large share of those buildings are still around.

One of the reasons for the slow growth in Saint John is that it has been dependent on heavy industry for a long time. It's too bad that it hasn't grown a bit more and become better-known, but then again that is part of the reason why you find so many streetscapes there that haven't changed in such a long time.

[FrAnKs]

Fredericton looks pretty sexy aswell : http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=...53.53,,0,-6.94

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=fr&ll=...50.69,,0,-11.3

Man ! ... a trip in the maritimes is a Must for me, I know it now !!

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by someone123

Saint John was a major city in Canada until about 1900. It was founded by a large group of Loyalists after the American Revolution so it was important from the beginning. Another interesting part of the city's history that GregHickman alluded to is the 1877 fire; the city was large and wealthy enough to rebuild with high-quality brick and stone buildings afterwards and a large share of those buildings are still around.

One of the reasons for the slow growth in Saint John is that it has been dependent on heavy industry for a long time. It's too bad that it hasn't grown a bit more and become better-known, but then again that is part of the reason why you find so many streetscapes there that haven't changed in such a long time.

It's not so much that we're dependent on it as much as we're controlled by it, as New Brunswick is as a whole. If we actually had some investment from outside the province once in a while we might be alright. Monopolies are the absolute worst. Saint John's a nice place but our mindset hasn't moved into the 21st Century yet. We're still waiting for a big industrial project to save us and that just isn't going to happen. At least our current Council is being progressive and diversifying away from our dependence on heavy industry.

And thanks, Franks!

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

One thing I Noticed ? ... How I'm proud of my country about our double heritage

Cheers to that!!