Today’s shot features an neat view looking south along Ouellette Avenue from today’s Riverside Drive. The photo was likely taken from the British American Hotel. Of note is the old open street car Number 22 riding up Ouellette Avenue.
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Sad that downtown looked 1 million times better in 1895 than it does in 2014.
It does Shawn and that’s because the buildings in this photo have character compared to today where there is no character in downtown other than the last few remaining buildings of that era.Not enough skilled people to do something like that today other than a cookie cutter box building.
I like how it captured the two gents having a conversation at the bottom of the telephone pole in the foreground.
Now just image the “street” noise this past time had. Electric street car with a bit of clack-it-ti-clack. Horse and buggy with hoof clacking ( think Monty Python sketch ), birds chirping and people talking. The passing boat horns. What a quiet time before the automobile. All these beautiful buildings with each specific function to draw the surrounding population to the downtown area to visit a specific merchant for staples and exotic goods. The population was well dressed when shopping and there was peace in the world at that time. The sun was shinning bright. If only we could see this in true colour with movement and sound !
1895. A functioning Light Rail Transit system. I bet it did not cost the billions that here in Calgary (and almost every other city) is still spending on our LRT. If only we could have maintained the 19th century LRT systems!
one thing I noticed that I haven’t seen since the late 50’s -60’s are awnings over shop owners store frontages a small bit of shade on a hot summer day
sidewalks are clear not like the clutter Windsor has these days
Gary I’m with you on the awnings. Why don’t the owners put some back up? That way people stay out of tha rain or on hot days they are out of the sun. It is a no-brainer idea.
I also agree with the haphazard clutter on the sidewalks today. Those stupid ugly concrete “flower boxes” (with no flowers) are a joke.
well dave that’s our modern forward thinking city council for you ….LOL
When where the planters put on the sidewalk? Then we can blame the right people.
Richard, when they re-did the street-scaping about 4 years ago. Jim Yanchula was in charge at the time (since moved on to London On)and the DWBIA signed off on it (why? I’ll never know).
They call them planters ??? I thought they were “urinals” for the American weekend drunks , so the sidewalks don’t smell !!!! I was down there a while back and walked up Ouellette and had to hold my breath in several locations down the 3 block walk…