Looks like you went to Avalon, the latest (and furthest) suburban development in Orleans.
__________________ Franky: Ajldub, name calling is what they do when good arguments can't be found - don't sink to their level. Claiming the thread is "boring" is also a way to try to discredit a thread that doesn't match their particular bias.
thanks I really appreciate all the pics. I lived in orleans for 20 years and I dont get back there anymore so its interesting seeing all your pictures.
Centrum seems like a missed opportunity but the arts centre is a step in the right direction.
Orleans Centrum will never succeed as a popular local destination as long as there is a regional shopping centre directly to the west and tons of big-box retail to the south. These two areas pull prospective users away from the Centrum site.
Orleans Centrum will never succeed as a popular local destination as long as there is a regional shopping centre directly to the west and tons of big-box retail to the south. These two areas pull prospective users away from the Centrum site.
Personally, I think Place d'Orleans has a lot of potential - it would be best if the roof was removed and converted into a lifestyle centre with expansion directly to Centrum (basically connecting the two, albeit with a road in between). The SE corner parking lot and the approach to the transit station should be redeveloped for an expansion directly to the Centrum/Place d'Orleans Drive intersection. I wonder if the owners of Place d'Orleans want to consider that?
The residential portion could be extended out to Tenth Line Road, possibly hooking up to a new transit station there (even though there isn't really much opportunity for a Park and Ride, it isn't exactly necessary with Trim nearby).
Orleans Centrum will never succeed as a popular local destination as long as there is a regional shopping centre directly to the west and tons of big-box retail to the south. These two areas pull prospective users away from the Centrum site.
Yippers. The cinemas shown in one photo are going to close down as their owners, Empire Cinemas, are intend to open a new multiplex on Innes Road (surprise, surprise). So one step forward with the beautiful new arts centre, and one step back with the loss of the cinemas (a significant traffic generator for any town centre).
Updating on Centrum: I note that Mayfair Theatre has taken over the old Empire/Cineplex slot at Orléans Town Centre. Went for my second viewing of Avengers there a week or two ago. Also, the old East Side Mario's location is now occupied by a sushi/steak/seafood place, and there's a new bakery(?) moving in as well. And the Celestia Building's sold 80% of its condo units, right?
I lived in Orleans for 27 years. My parents had a house built by Germain Lemay on Champlain street but we moved a few more times; always on the North Side of the highway. You'd have to give me a house to get me to move into the Innes area. The houses all look the same, i drove a friend home and he told me to drop him off at a path otherwise i'd never find my way out haha. I suppose people just can't get enough of this suburban model.
What would be nice is some pics from Orleans in the 80s, I'm not old enough to remember what it looked like although I did learn to ride my bike on the then-decomissioned part of the highway in front of Place. It was as good a place as any to grow up.
Last edited by Postmaster; Aug 10, 2012 at 9:55 PM.
No photos, but the Orleans that I remember from visiting rellies (around Fallingbrook) was big houses on swirly-curly streets that my parents often got lost on (something like 6 turns from then Hwy-17, to drive several kilometres, but cover no more than 600m as the crow flies, but then, which 6 turns...?!? domestic disturbance ensues in the front seats).
I remember that there were almost no trees in that area except around the "falling brook" itself, and it was kinda like the downtown heat island effect: the summer temperatures were always a couple of degrees warmer than at home in relatively-leafy Alta Vista (luckily it seemed like everyone had backyard pools and thriving berry patches to raid).