Kingston

[ShonTron]

I was there on Saturday June 16 for Doors Open Kingston. I only saw a few buildings, the highlight was a Martello tower not normally open to the public.

After leaving Belleville, I drove through Prince Edward County and the Glenora Ferry, a short ride that is a free service.

Kingston has to have the best downtown of a medium sized city in Ontario - full of life, a mix of independant retailers and restaurants and national chains like Indigo and Gap. I highly recommend the Sleepless Goat for really good coffee and light meals (it doesn't hurt that it's a workers' co-op and is all fair trade, with anti-Bush decor). I had dinner at a Cambodian restaurant which was very nice.

Princess Street, the main drag.

Kingston Police wasted no time adding blue lights with the recent HTA changes. First time I seen this so far in Ontario. (sigh)

The back of the City Hall was recently renovated, eliminating a parking lot and making it a full-time square.

The black traffic lights look much nicer than standard Ontario yellow in the downtown.

New signage copies our old stamped signs (while we're too cheap to retain those).

City Hall
Finished in 1844 and intended to house the colonial legislative assembly.

Old CP station across the street.

Martello tower tour.

Royal Military College and a old minor fort (not the larger Fort Henry) across the water.

St. George's Anglican Cathedral:

Armoury

Court House

Kingston Pen

Old Warden's house is now a small, cute museum. Some of the displays include shanks, shivs, shackles, and articles for the use of corporal punishment, including a restraining table and whips.

The old Kingston Mental Health Centre is fenced off, but still standing.

Controversal new hockey arena downtown.

New waterfont condos

A few Queen's buildings.

 

[Observer Walt]

Great pictures Sean. Kingston is probably the most historic city in Ontario and has a great number of architectural treasures.

 

[junctionist]

From the historical photos I've seen, it seems to recall the downtown Toronto of the late 19th century. Somewhat.

 

[flar]

Great pictures. Kingston has some magnificent buildings.

 

[Hydrogen]

Nice to see Novel Idea is still going strong.

 

[Skeezix]

Where is the new arena being built?

 

[Tewder]

Ah the Limestone City, such a beautiful city with such a spectacular setting and hinterland. The neighbourhoods in and around the downtown and the University campus - which is all so walkable - are gorgeous too.. and can't miss Fort Henry.

 

[AnarchoSocialist]

Very nice pictures Sean. It is always good too see Kingston represented.

Skeezix: The new arena is two blocks west of Princess St and right across from the Wolfe Island ferry (I can't remember the street names off hand at the moment).

I agree with Sean's recommendation for the Sleepless Goat, a very nice place to have a coffee and relax for a little.

One point about the street life. Depsite the fact that in the past 5 years primarily (and too some extent a bit before that) the city has seen development downtown with a lot of restoration, some parking lots developed, and also adding floors to existing buildings, it is really not very indicative as too the overall health of he city. The city is actually losing people (according the last census) and the economy is very weak with the only new emplyment opportunities being either call centers or truck transportation warehouses.

What seems to drive the downtown area is the University, almost entirely. When you walk down Princess St just look at the majority of stores that are there. The target demographic are females 18 - 25 who come from well off, suburban families and for whom school is being paid for by their parents. Queens always has been the reason why there are any signs of life in the downtown and what stopped the city from looking like most every other Ontario town.

That being said, if that is what is going to allow the city not too decline, so be it, and it is still encouraging to see that while most of the city is doing poorly, at least the downtown and waterfront areas are doing well.

 

[Skeezix]

I agree with AnarchoSocialist, although having RMC in town doesn't hurt either. But there really are two Kingstons -- you don't have to travel too far north of Princess Street to find yourself a world away from the picturesque heritage limestone rowhouses and buildings. As students, we used to (unkindly) refer to the Kingston Galleria mall, just outside the downtown core, as "White Trash Galleria" (since mostly demolished and big boxed).

ETA: Of course, it was called Kingston Centre, not Galleria. The galleria part was simply us snotty students.

 

[ShonTron]

The friend I met up with lives on Colbourne (and says that the locals know it as Crackbourne), near the Princess/Division intersection, and that area is not so great - he's looking to move, after being there only a few weeks. The houses between downtown and Queen's and beyond are very nice and lovely, while further north, it goes downscale fast.

Queen's has a reputation for having a wealther student body than most other universities, and from what I heard, this reputation is not entirely undeserved. Kingston Centre was squeezed from two directions - downtown and the newer, bigger Cataraqui Centre and Gardiners big-boxes.

 

[AnarchoSocialist]

The difference between just a few blocks on one side of Princess St or the other is really quite striking. And very unfortunate too. Though the neighborhood from Queen St over does not have the same stately houses as the student ghetto and univeristy area there is still a lot of potential. If there were even a minimal amount of investment the neighborhood could really get a boost, and be quite wonderful, with modest homes (most of which are brick or limestone, though often covered in siding at the moment) and a very pleasant scale. But I don't even see that starting at the moment so I don't expect it to change anytime soon.

It is less noticeable in the summer when there are not many students but when you walk downtown, September and October are a perfect time to observe this, you can visually see the difference between Queens students and everyone else. And there really is no middle ground either. It tends to be either well off students or struggling locals and working class people. A lot of the students you see walking around look like they should be spending a day shopping and eating on St. Denis or Queen St. in Toronto, not walking down a street in Kingston.

 

[Hydrogen]

The north side of Princess has always had a negative reputation. Much more could be done with the downtown, except for for the fact that successive city councils have stated that it if for "the tourists" and, as such, neglected it to a considerable degree.

 

[Ummagumma66]

awsome pictures, the city hall really blows me away, and the downtown is sooo beautiful...

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Wow, Kingston is great! I must get there this summer. I like all the Canadian flags on Princess Street too.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Kingston,Ontario-a neat city

ST and all: Other than traveling by rail thru Kingston I have never really seen good pix of it-the Downtown and surrounding areas look inviting and lively-it seems that is what makes college towns so appealing. I noticed that Interstate 81 and the MCF intersect with the International Boundary at Alexandria Bay/Gananoque nearby-Do you have any info on the ferry between Wolfe Island and Cape Vincent,NY? I also remember that Kingston is a main intermediate station on VIAs Toronto-Montreal route.
In closing-a good tour! LI MIKE