ShonTron
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It has been a while since I posted a full photo thread, but I spent a day last week wandering around Kitchener-Waterloo by foot and bus. I am really impressed with some of the stuff going on in Downtown Kitchener. Here's some highlights from the photos I took (many more are on Flickr).
Kitchener, despite some unfortunate demolitions in recent years (the Forsythe Factory on King Street near City Hall, for example) has recently become a leader in the preservation and repurposing of its old building stock. I was pleasantly surprised to see an old furniture factory by the railway remain in use as a furniture factory.
Krug Furniture:
An earlier, trackside view:
A nearby factory, Dominion Rubber, which is slated for re-development into commercial and small industrial lofts called the Breithaupt Block.
An old Electrohome Plant between the two subdivided, but worthy of re-use:
The Lang Tannery has been renovated and turned into the "Tannery District" - commercial and industrial units, including some retail, including a new Balzac's Coffee.
The Arrow Shirts factory on Benson has been gutted, and is being converted into a loft condo development, with a few additional floors added.
I just discovered the "Bread and Roses" residential buildings at Queen and Courtland, also a former industrial building.
And of course, there's the excellent Kaufman Lofts, once a boot factory (designed by one of my favourite architects, Albert Kahn of Detroit fame)
The Eaton's Lofts are in an old Eaton's Store (Eaton's moved into the misguided Market Square downtown mall before closing in 1997)
Then there's the University of Waterloo's Pharmacy Buildings:
King Street has been under construction for a while now, but the streetscape is better. Here's one case where the metallic, rather than faux-historic black street furniture works and works well together, being consistent and even matching the new sidewalks. The bollards, bike racks, light poles, garbage bins, tree cages and bus shelters all match. It's all designed, it appears to slow traffic down along King, and it does feel more pedestrian friendly, without being totally restrictive to auto traffic.
In front of City Hall. The newest Waterloo Region traffic lights are now the Hamilton-style black-and-yellow variety (also newly embraced by Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Brantford), a design I prefer over all-yellow lights.
A few assorted Downtown shots:
I really like this Scotiabank branch:
Victoria Park:
The clock tower was rescued from the demolition of the old Berlin/Kitchener City Hall, and placed at the main entrance to the park in the 1980s. It has become the civic logo of the city.
Kitchener, despite some unfortunate demolitions in recent years (the Forsythe Factory on King Street near City Hall, for example) has recently become a leader in the preservation and repurposing of its old building stock. I was pleasantly surprised to see an old furniture factory by the railway remain in use as a furniture factory.
Krug Furniture:
An earlier, trackside view:
A nearby factory, Dominion Rubber, which is slated for re-development into commercial and small industrial lofts called the Breithaupt Block.
An old Electrohome Plant between the two subdivided, but worthy of re-use:
The Lang Tannery has been renovated and turned into the "Tannery District" - commercial and industrial units, including some retail, including a new Balzac's Coffee.
The Arrow Shirts factory on Benson has been gutted, and is being converted into a loft condo development, with a few additional floors added.
I just discovered the "Bread and Roses" residential buildings at Queen and Courtland, also a former industrial building.
And of course, there's the excellent Kaufman Lofts, once a boot factory (designed by one of my favourite architects, Albert Kahn of Detroit fame)
The Eaton's Lofts are in an old Eaton's Store (Eaton's moved into the misguided Market Square downtown mall before closing in 1997)
Then there's the University of Waterloo's Pharmacy Buildings:
King Street has been under construction for a while now, but the streetscape is better. Here's one case where the metallic, rather than faux-historic black street furniture works and works well together, being consistent and even matching the new sidewalks. The bollards, bike racks, light poles, garbage bins, tree cages and bus shelters all match. It's all designed, it appears to slow traffic down along King, and it does feel more pedestrian friendly, without being totally restrictive to auto traffic.
In front of City Hall. The newest Waterloo Region traffic lights are now the Hamilton-style black-and-yellow variety (also newly embraced by Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Brantford), a design I prefer over all-yellow lights.
A few assorted Downtown shots:
I really like this Scotiabank branch:
Victoria Park:
The clock tower was rescued from the demolition of the old Berlin/Kitchener City Hall, and placed at the main entrance to the park in the 1980s. It has become the civic logo of the city.
And there's some nice old residential areas.
