ShonTron
Moderator
Member Bio
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 12,452
- Reaction score
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- Location
- Ward 13 - Toronto Centre
Timmins is where my father was born and grew up and partly for that reason it holds interest for me. Until recently, there was still family up here.
Driving into town, Highway 101 makes a long detour over a new road, in order to accomodate surface pit gold mining. Timmins was founded thanks to the discovery of gold, and with still significant deposits around, remains a major part pf the economy.
When the sign says "don't feed the bears", man you've better not feed the bears!
Shumacher, just to the east of the main town of Timmins. Has a real frontier feel to it. My father said that nearly every place on the main street (since by-passed) was a tavern. Most closed or burned down (of those, many were arson).
Downtown Timmins
Call centre. The building has the civic logo on it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it were subsidized by the city.
Trilingual sign on the police station.
Around town:
Like most places, the city has turned to tourism. The gold mine tour is quite good. I cannot vouch for the Shania Twain museum (whose presence is groan-inducing, IMO)
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Upon leaving town on the west side, heading towards Highway 144 (one of the loneliest roads in Ontario), there's the mall, and then a new big-box retail has opened, including a new Wal-Mart (which replaced a location in the mall), and past that, Home Depot and a new Canadian Tire. No doubt, this has hurt downtown more than the slowly declining population, as even 10 years ago, was fairly healthy.
Leaving town on 144.
Driving into town, Highway 101 makes a long detour over a new road, in order to accomodate surface pit gold mining. Timmins was founded thanks to the discovery of gold, and with still significant deposits around, remains a major part pf the economy.
When the sign says "don't feed the bears", man you've better not feed the bears!
Shumacher, just to the east of the main town of Timmins. Has a real frontier feel to it. My father said that nearly every place on the main street (since by-passed) was a tavern. Most closed or burned down (of those, many were arson).
Downtown Timmins
Call centre. The building has the civic logo on it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it were subsidized by the city.
Trilingual sign on the police station.
Around town:
Like most places, the city has turned to tourism. The gold mine tour is quite good. I cannot vouch for the Shania Twain museum (whose presence is groan-inducing, IMO)
*
Upon leaving town on the west side, heading towards Highway 144 (one of the loneliest roads in Ontario), there's the mall, and then a new big-box retail has opened, including a new Wal-Mart (which replaced a location in the mall), and past that, Home Depot and a new Canadian Tire. No doubt, this has hurt downtown more than the slowly declining population, as even 10 years ago, was fairly healthy.
Leaving town on 144.
.