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  #81  
Old Posted Aug 30, 2013, 4:47 PM
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also it's funny how an actual public square turned into an intersection :/

however you can see how it was more of a square, with the monument in the middle, that building near the church was right on the square (now a parking lot) and the Newfoundland hotel right on the square as well... now it's just an intersection with no interaction with the street other than the coffee shoppe
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  #82  
Old Posted Aug 31, 2013, 2:42 AM
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Originally Posted by jeddy1989 View Post
also it's funny how an actual public square turned into an intersection :/

however you can see how it was more of a square, with the monument in the middle, that building near the church was right on the square (now a parking lot) and the Newfoundland hotel right on the square as well... now it's just an intersection with no interaction with the street other than the coffee shoppe
Good observations, it is or at least was a public place of some distinction, and could have been much more, and there are still possibilities which could be implemented. Sadly there was almost no attempt at the actual planning of public spaces in St. John's in the old days, and that's an important element that is missing. It would not have taken much to have had more public spaces better than this; even so the city's older areas still manage to be interesting. Other than parks (like Bannerman & Victoria) on the fringes, the only real planned public space with any history is the war memorial.
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  #83  
Old Posted Sep 18, 2013, 1:43 AM
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It seems planning was an issue in St. John's as early as 1894.

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Where is the City Planning?

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

September 10, 1894
On September 10, 1894 the local St. John’s newspaper, The Daily News, published a letter to The Editor commenting on development near Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John’s. The writer was not amused that expansion was taking place near the lake without any definite plan.

The anonymous writer, identified as ‘A Passerby,’ wrote:
“Is there not a law about uniformity in house building.”
The writer was particularly infuriated that shebeens were being constructed and worse tolerated.
Continue to article: http://archivalmoments.ca/2013/09/wh...city-planning/

Luckily things have come a long way.
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  #84  
Old Posted Sep 18, 2013, 3:22 PM
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Thanks for that; lots to read on that site!
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  #85  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 1:09 AM
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Here's a rare classic photo, labelled the Royal Stores Ltd. (1926). A major St. John's retailer, The Royal Stores existed as a business until 1977, although these sections would have been torn down before 1969. The four sections of buildings on the left are where the Fortis Building (former Royal Trust Building) is now. The sections on the right with the arched entrance at center are still there.


Source: https://www.facebook.com/VintageStJohns


Streetview: http://goo.gl/maps/9CRdA

Last edited by Architype; Oct 18, 2013 at 1:20 AM.
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  #86  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 3:08 AM
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^^ wow very cool! and there was something across the street to the left as well!
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  #87  
Old Posted May 23, 2014, 12:32 AM
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St. John's - Summer, 1971, from NLScenery.com















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  #88  
Old Posted May 23, 2014, 12:55 PM
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A trip down memory lane, or at least Water St and Kenmount Rd. I had forgotten that The Big 6 was next to the Arcade. I’m giving away my age a bit now. I don’t even remember when Kenmount Rd was two lanes even though I grew up not far from there. As a kid I watched the Avalon Mall get built. These are great pictures.
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  #89  
Old Posted May 23, 2014, 4:04 PM
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Does anyone know what happened to the cool lampposts at MUN?
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  #90  
Old Posted May 27, 2014, 12:10 AM
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Here's an undated picture of Le Marchant Road. Note how the new street trees were protected by small picket fences.



Source: https://www.facebook.com/VintageStJohns?fref=nf
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  #91  
Old Posted May 27, 2014, 11:18 AM
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I was saying to a friend this past winter that we need fencing around young trees to protect them from the ruthless snowplows and snowblowers. I've seen it in other cities and wondered why we didn't do it here. I guess the council of that era had a few smarts.
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  #92  
Old Posted Jun 25, 2014, 5:24 PM
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Here is a postcard showing Purity Factories, located at Hamilton & Brine, dated 1937, back when the downtown area had an industrial manufacturing base. The caption says "founded 1925", but I can't find any actual photo of this building, so I am wondering if it actually existed as shown. Even the official Purity company website history page makes no mention of it. Anyway, it would really have been something for this area if it had been preserved. It was replaced by 1948 by a new facility on Blackmarsh Road.



Detail:




Source: https://www.facebook.com/VintageStJo...type=1&theater
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  #93  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2014, 1:52 AM
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A beautiful, big one of St. John's from the MUN Archives. 1880, supposedly - but I don't believe there were Mansard roofs in St. John's prior to the Great Fire of 1892. The church in the foreground is the old Cochrane Street United Church. It wasn't completed until 1883. I thought that meant the picture was taken between 1883-1892, but it turns out that church wasn't destroyed until a smaller fire in 1914. So the picture could, indeed, be post-1892. That said, the high percentage of non-Mansard roofs makes me believe that's impossible, since most of them in this part of the city were destroyed in 1892. So I really have no idea what the date of this photo is... perhaps just before 1892. But it's definitely not 1880.



And another of the West End at that time, before the Waterford River's tidal area was banked.

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  #94  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2014, 2:18 AM
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I've got it! The picture is definitely from the period between 1883-1892.

There were indeed a number of homes with Mansard roofs in St. John's prior to the Great Fire of 1892, including the Rendell-Shea Home. It's the one directly in front of Cochrane Street Methodist Church in the first photo above, and here it is shortly after the Great Fire. It was the only home in the area that survived.

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  #95  
Old Posted Jul 8, 2014, 12:35 PM
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https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...73219824_n.jpg

Anyone remember this experiment in downtown St. John's back in late 60's/early 70's when the city converted a portion of Water Street to an outdoor pedestrian mall with green spaces, cafes, large trees all on the street? I was pretty young then but remember it well. Wish there were more photos of it hanging around. Most people I tell about this experiment don't remember it at all and think I am making it up. I found this pic on a Facebook link of vintage pics of St. John's. Here is the Facebook link.
https://www.facebook.com/VintageStJo...type=1&theater
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  #96  
Old Posted Jul 12, 2014, 10:17 PM
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This is a neat view showing Brazil Square in the 1950s. The foreground is the site of the present day Delta Hotel extension; that's George Street church in the background. Brazil Square was St. John's' well known boarding house area; much of it became very run down and it was eventually all razed for redevelopment. Notice even though the caption says 1950s, there are still horses on the street.



Source: https://www.facebook.com/VintageStJo...type=1&theater
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  #97  
Old Posted Jul 13, 2014, 3:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Architype View Post
This is a neat view showing Brazil Square in the 1950s. The foreground is the site of the present day Delta Hotel extension; that's George Street church in the background. Brazil Square was St. John's' well known boarding house area; much of it became very run down and it was eventually all razed for redevelopment. Notice even though the caption says 1950s, there are still horses on the street.



Source: https://www.facebook.com/VintageStJo...type=1&theater
The horse and sled was probably more reliable in the snow than cars at the time.
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  #98  
Old Posted Jul 13, 2014, 8:27 PM
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One of the comments said the horse & buggies were for snow shoveling, but I don't know how that would have worked. They also had honey wagons back then in some of those areas.
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  #99  
Old Posted Jul 13, 2014, 8:35 PM
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Here is a link to "St. John's - Old Street and Property Guide". It gives some of the original names for streets, areas, etc. and the present day location. Did you know Empire Ave was once called Riverside Drive?

http://nl.canadagenweb.org/sj_property.htm
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  #100  
Old Posted Jul 15, 2014, 5:04 AM
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Secret Tunnel in Newfoundland an Escape Hatch for Politicians?

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During recent construction around Bannerman Park in St. John’s Newfoundland, a mysterious tunnel was found during excavations.
http://www.truenorthtimes.ca/2014/07...h-politicians/
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