Stratford, ON

[JasonParis]

simply Dan and I were a wee bit bored over the long weekend, so we grabbed a car and took a drive to Stratford. For some strange reason, I've never actually been there before (despite reading much Shakespeare in high school). Honestly, it's a nice little town and certainly one of the most vital downtowns (if not the most) for an Ontario town of its size that I've ever seen. I'm sure it's quite a bit different after Labour Day, but hopefully the impending university campus will help keep some people on the streets the rest of the year.

Anyway, here's the photographic evidence...

Stratford City Hall. I can't remember the date of the building, but it's over a 100 years old.

Various shots around town...

A short walk along the Avon from downtown is the famous Festival Theatre. I think it was built in the late 1950's.

Around the Festival Theatre...

Stratford has a decent collection of older buildings (some in better shape than others).

The original Balzac's.

More shots around the downtown...

Perth County Courthouse. Could it be an E.J. Lennox?

Downtown's Avon Theatre. It must be from the 1980s.

I'm sure the locals hate it, but simply Dan and I thought this Scotiabank branch/complex was pretty cool.

No boys? What's the use then? Actually, I think it says "dogs."

The Shakespearean Gardens are a tasteful park along the Avon and pretty much right downtown...

This LCBO looks like it belongs at Exhibition Place.

Just south of downtown along the rail line, we found this old abandoned factory. Flar or SeanTrans, any idea what this was?

Hope you enjoyed!

 

[smuncky]

Love that old factory! The rust, steel and concrete is very appealing to me. In that one picture, it seems like that black vent looking piece is about to fall down soon.

Thx for the tour.

 

[unimaginative2]

That was Cooper-Standard, and before that the CN shops, the last place to service steam locomotives in Canada.

 

[Observer Walt]

Nice pictures of a nice town! Thank you.

The swans are a long-standing tradition in Stratford. They live in a barn during the winter. In spring, when it's time for them to get outside and go down to the river, a parade is held through the streets, headed up by a bagpiper, and the swans march down the street to the river.

 

[JasonParis]

That was Cooper-Standard, and before that the CN shops, the last place to service steam locomotives in Canada.

Ahhh, very cool. That explains all the abandoned track running into the factory.

Would be nice if this were the new university campus, eh?

 

[Ronald]

Certainly a nice town, thanks for the pictures.
Too bad some of those older buildings haven't been maintained very well.

 

[unimaginative2]

There's definitely a very good chance that they'll build a new campus on at least some of that vacant industrial site. Stratford's been looking for a development there for years. There've been a bunch of big plans, but nothing has stuck. I just hope they don't put it out by the Festival mall.

I have many great memories of driving to Stratford when I was younger. It was a fun place to drive back when I was in high school. A few times I'd go after school with a friend or two. Actually, for my graduation formal my date and I decided we should go out for dinner in Stratford. I didn't really feel like running into anyone else from my class, and there aren't that many good restaurants in K-W. I also didn't really want to go somewhere with everybody looking and saying "Oh gosh, look at the kids going to the prom." So we drove out to Stratford all dressed up and went to Bijou, which had just opened back then and was absolutely fantastic. At the end, they said "Enjoy the show." I was thrilled. There's my self-indulgent reminiscence for the month.

 

[rdaner]

Stratford is beautiful. I spent a summer there about 4 years ago and really got to appreciate this very quirky town. Some tidbits:

*the factory is the centre of a massive controversy between the owner and the city as to whether it remains standing. It has been in limbo for years

*I believe that the old fairgrounds site is seen as the ideal location for a satellite campus of Waterloo University

*some of the best preserved historic houses outside of Toronto are in Stratford; literally hundreds of them. My personal favourites are the gothic cottages

*the biggest hurdle to preserving buildings is money which always seems to be in short supply. Many of the upper floors of the main streets Victorian commercial strips are empty because the landlords say it is too expensive to bring them up to code.

 

[junctionist]

I've heard that the location is really contaminated with the heavy metals. The railway drained them from the engine crankcases into deep slag shafts.

 

[Softee]

Great pics, I love the Strat! One of the best cities of its size in Canada.

This is the former Normal school building. North Bay has a building that is identical to this and so does Peterborough. North Bay's was incorporated as part of an adjoining government office complex that was built in the late 1980's - there are a couple of pics of it in my North Bay thread.

 

[Canuck]

Then then g/f and I went to Stratford last year. Saw Cynthia Dale in South Pacific at the Avon theater. It was quite nice.
Our dinner options were limited though. It was either we had to go to a very fancy and pricey place, or a sports bar. We chose the latter.
Went for a swan boat ride, had some ice cream, all in all a great day...



Until the trip out of town when some giant white truck didn't like me going 10km over the speed limit and decided to pass me on a two lane road. The good news is the damage to my car was minimal as he only popped out my drivers side mirror.

 

[flar]

A nice English flavoured town. Thanks for the tour, I haven't been to Stratford in few years.

 

[Zephyr]

"Shakespeare, Shakespeare ... where for art thou?"

Over in England, Stratford-on-Avon is as tourist laden as they come. And when I think about it, there are innumerable Shakespeare gardens, new Globe theatres, Romeovilles, Midsummer's Night festivals, Stratford shoppes, throughout North America. (How many times have people been warned in preparing for Jeopardy to don't forget to review your Shakespeare - it is one of Alex's favourite categories to include.)

This Canadian Stratford is apparently another lovely town that I thought I would have seen by now, but haven't. It bares a vague resemblance to the real thing in what I can make out of the street layouts, the low profile of the buildings ... and the tourists. There are more half-timber houses over there, with different kinds of roofs, and a more history saturated setting for tour guides to reference.

Want to go, see a play, take a walk, when I get back in September.


(My this thread takes a long time to load!)

 

[JasonParis]

(My this thread takes a long time to load!)

You can always stop the picture loading early if you've already seen them. Otherwise, yah it does take a while but I'm not sure how to fix that.

 

[Tewder]

Then then g/f and I went to Stratford last year. Saw Cynthia Dale in South Pacific at the Avon theater. It was quite nice.
Our dinner options were limited though. It was either we had to go to a very fancy and pricey place, or a sports bar. We chose the latter.
Went for a swan boat ride, had some ice cream, all in all a great day...

I'm surprised Canuck. There is a culinary institute in Stratford and a lot of the graduates end up opening shop in town. There are many great restaurants there, some very 'foodie' ones too. Certainly more than you would find in your typical small town. Not overly pricey either, at least in terms of Toronto prices.