Posts Tagged heritage planning

Photo Credit: City of Toronto Archives Fonds 1244, Item 1

Although the date of April 19, 1904 would suggest it must have been a very pleasant and mild spring day in Toronto, it was actually quite the opposite. The temperature was -4 Celsius and there were flurries in the air that evening in the downtown core. But the winter-like conditions were the least of Toronto’s worries. People were furiously jumping off the streets and onto the sidewalks to avoid the charging horse teams that pulled 7,500 pound fire engines down Wellington Street West at about 8:30 that evening. When the night was over, Toronto had lived through the worst city fire in its history.  (more…)

McIntosh Castle in Kingston, Ontario

It’s always nice hearing from readers who have questions about my posts or if they are looking for specific information to something….and even when they are setting me straight on something! I got a great email from Judi in Kingston in response to my Casa Loma story telling me there was a castle I didn’t mention. So in this post, I will tell you a little bit about this castle which is also a perfect stepping off point to launch a new series dedicated to Canadian architects who have built some of this country’s most beautiful public and private buildings. The first architects to be profiled are John Power, and his son Joseph, who built many impressive dwellings in nineteenth and early twentieth century Kingston, Ontario.   (more…)

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie, 2010

It’s been a busy month here at “History to the People” and I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you about some seminars and workshops I have taken part in recently that have been both helpful and have given me further knowledge in this wonderful world of built heritage and cultural landscapes.

The first event was a four day workshop hosted by the University of Waterloo’s Heritage Resources Centre which took place at the beautiful Museum of Steam and Technology in Hamilton, Ontario from October 23-24 and November 6-7, 2010. Here, Professor Robert Shipley and his staff led a series of lectures, group discussions, and team exercises on the world of heritage planning. As someone who eventually wants to become a heritage planner, I had literally been waiting all year for this workshop to take place, and it was worth the wait!  (more…)

Photo Credit: City of Vancouver, British Columbia

Do you live in a large Canadian centre and get the sense of just how much the urban landscape is changing around you? We are all aware of these changes. However, they may not seem as drastic over an extended period of time. It’s really when we see before and after photos separated by several years that we see just how much things have changed.

The City of Vancouver’s Planning Department embarked on a city wide documentation process in 1978 where photos were taken from major landmarks to document the landscape for future planning purposes. Twenty-five years later, in 2003, these places were revisited and re-photographed to show the changes, this time for educational purposes and for future heritage planning considerations. The change in one generation is astonishing. The Planning Department has now uploaded these pictures for everyone to see.

To view these pictures, click the link below. It will take you to the main page “The Changing City”. Each link will take you to the 1978 picture at the top of the page. Click on the 2003 button and watch the panorama shift from left to right showing you the changes over that time period. Don’t forget to check out the new uploads that will  show some changes between 2003 and 2007. Keep in mind that these more recent changes do not take into consideration the development of the False Creek area for the 2010 Olympic Village and venues, nor the condo development along parts of the old Vancouver Indy site.

Please visit The City of Vancouver’s Planning Department Community Services page.

It is a very interesting look into the progression of the urban landscape in Canada and a useful tool for future urban and heritage planning programs.