street signs - Vieux-Quai

In the town of Carleton, in the Gaspe region of Quebec,

this Old Wharf Park has concerts, photo exhibits, picnic tables, 
an observation tower ...

there is some good bird watching too, and they chose to put a gannet on their street signs. Unfortunately, when I was there it was raining quite hard and the wind was whipping up the water on Chaleur Bay into a frenzy.

I drove along Parc du Vieux-Quai, 
saw none of the above, then continued on my way.

part 22 of my street signs series

signs, signs

street signs - Upper Paradise

On Hamilton Mountain is the delightfully named 

Upper Paradise Road

unfortunately, it is not as paradisiacal as it sounds

it is a main thoroughfare and is a mix of commercial, retail and residential

at the furthest south end the homes become quite opulent

although for the most part the homes are more modest

and at the other end, where Upper Paradise begins

is the first house

with a lookout over the lower city

Upper Paradise Road got its name from its alignment with Paradise Road in the lower city, which got its name from  its end point at Cootes Paradise (a wetland in the Royal Botanical Gardens). 

21st in my continuing (very sporadic) series of street signs 

for signs signs

and Our World Tuesday

street signs - Third St

Cobourg's Heritage District has these unique street signs featuring a sailboat with gulls and an image of the cupola from the Victoria Hall.

nearing the end of the alphabet with this 20th edition of the street signs series

for signs,signs

street signs - Saint(e)

It is a distinctive characteristic in Quebec that many streets are named for saints. These are not only for specific saints, but may also recall the names of community founders or leaders, missionaries or priests. 

In this case, the city of Saint-Hyacinthe (named for St Hyacinthe of Krakow)  features the street name of Saint-Simon, after the founder of the city –Jacques-Hyacinthe-Simon Delorme.  These signs downtown all very helpfully list who the street is named for. Although, the sign here gives his birthdate as 1722 whereas all other sources say 1720. 

Jacques-Simon – also known as Hyacinthe – Delorme was born in Quebec City and trained as a carpenter. By 1745 he was in the naval service of Louis XV building platforms, carriages and artillery works necessary for cannon installations. This was lucrative enough for him to buy the seigneury (manorial land tenure) which was to become Saint-Hyacinthe.

Monument à Jacques-Hyacinthe Simon dit Delorme 
erected in 1948
Photo : Francine Girard

There is also a Avenue Sainte-Anne, named for his daughter.

Here there is also a slight discrepancy, as it seems he had three children, a daughter Marie-Anne who was born and died in 1776 and another daughter Anne-Marie who was born in 1779 and lived until 1801. Since our Simon died in 1778... it is possible he never knew this daughter or, of course, the date could be wrong.

There was also a son, named Hyacinthe-Marie.

The H on the sign would be for Hyacinthe, with the squiggle in the middle of the H for the Yamaska River which bisects the city.

19th in this irregular series of interesting street signs for signs, signs

street signs - Ross

These street signs can be found in Paisley, Ontario. 

Ross St runs parallel to the main street (Queen St) and at this intersection, near the barn, you can find the Farmer's Market held every Saturday morning from Victoria Day to Thanksgiving.

I rather liked the signs even if they are bit dark 

until I tried to read another pair of signs.

The fancy script was a bit hard to decipher, especially if you weren't familiar with the town.

But then, I saw this, one block over

and felt a little sad for this end of Maggie St.

something fancy for signs, signs

street signs - Queen's Park

This poor street sign is a little worse for wear. It hasn't been up since 1827, but the University of Toronto, which has several of its buildings in this area, has been around that long. Indeed, Queen's Park itself is an enclave of the University (with a 999 year lease since 1854) which occupies most of the surrounding land. 

Queen's Park Crescent is the continuation of University Avenue and encircles the park. Inside the southern portion of the park (owned by the Government of Ontario) stands the Ontario Legislative Building. As often happens, the building and the government are simply called 'Queen's Park'. 

The "Queen" in this instance is Victoria as the park was opened in 1860.

Interestingly, it is very common to not include the road/avenue/street designation when speaking of an address so the street is also just known as Queen's Park. And if pressed, I would have said it was Queen's Park Circle. 

As it is in this map.

another street for signs, signs

street signs - Portside

Portside is in Charlotte, Rochester, NY and, conveniently as it's name suggests, beside the port. On the map, it is Portside Dr and runs through Ontario Beach Park between Lake Ave and N River St near where the Genesee River flows into Lake Ontario

I find these over-the-street arms with the lights and street names very convenient for driving - no having to search over to both sides of the intersection to see where the street sign is located, and you can continue looking straight ahead to see the lights change (or not, as the case may be).

As you can see, there is a lighthouse on these street signs.

This is the Genesee Lighthouse

another in my irregular series of street signs

for signs, signs

street signs - Old

Today's Monday Walk is a short one, brought to you by the letter O for my (irregular) street signs series.

Lakeshore Road was part of the old Highway 2 that was once the main east-west route across southern Ontario.  I'm not sure how this island was created between Lakeshore and Old Lakeshore Roads
Nor am I certain when the names became what they are today. I suspect that Lakeshore was 'straightened' at some point. Perhaps in 1917 when became the first concrete road in Ontario as part of the highway between Toronto and Hamilton.

note how the 'Downtown' and 'Burlington' are reversed on each sign??







At one point, way back in the 19th century, there were ships and trains here and the area was a "Junction". All that remains is this Junction House

The streets were also known as Water Street, which is why we have a Water Street Cooker






and Gore Street, which is why we have the Gore Variety

The area is slated for some massive rejuvenation and development

which you can read about in this post from a year ago

It needs the rejuvenation, not so sure about the development.... 

(was at a heated neighbourhood meeting the other week about the plans)

that's Lakeshore Road above

with a view of Old Lakeshore Road behind the presentation centre, below

there are some townhouses built in the 1970's

and a few waterfront buildings for lease 

(if you want to lease a building in a construction zone)

and this vacant lot that has been vacant since long before I moved here 18 years ago.  

great view of the lake!

yes, there is a high tower being planned for this site, too, that will block the view of the lake.

it is also a favourite spot for my old friend Chris the Lonely Goose.
though, to be honest, I don't think this is actually him; I think he has gone on to meet his mate.

street signs - North/West

An intersection for the directionally challenged.

West St runs in a northwest direction from Lake Simcoe and North St is, well, north of the lake and most of the city centre. 

My brother used to live on North St E, so I learned that West St is the dividing line.

signs,signs

street signs - Main St

You probably can't get a more mainstream (or boring) a name than Main Street. At least in the US and Canada, it is very common. It is even used as a metonym to described the major retail street, or what the Brits call the 'high street'.

but I have never seen it written as it is in the town of Delhi (pronounced DEL-high, by the way) not far from Woodstock, where we saw last week's street sign.

signs, signs

street signs - Light

I have no idea where Light St in Woodstock got it's name. It just made me smile to see that that sign was in the sunlight, while the Dundas St sign was in shadow.

and a green porcelain sign is unusual.

twelfth in the resurrected series on street signs

EDIT: thanks to Andy and his sleuthing, we now know that Light St was named for Alexander Whalley Light. By the 1830's retired British military men were encouraged to move to the colonies to help settle the land and ensure loyalty in the community to the Crown. Colonel Light was the first of these new British immigrants to arrive in Oxford County.

below is an excerpt from a diary entry in 1833 by Cpt Phillip Graham
Monday, 21st. A fine day. Went to visit Colonel Light’s new building on his land adjoining mine. This building is of brick — a good large house 42 feet by 28 but when the wings are added the front will be 84 feet facing to the south in a fine elevated situation about the River Thames which is there rather narrow. The country here is well cleared and finely undulated with high hills. Walked to the Village of Beachville about 1 1/2 miles from Light’s. Here are grist mills and saw mills and two whiskey distillers — with a small Tavern and good stores. The road from the bridge at Cedar Creek runs principally along and near the South Bank of the Thames and is one of the best roads I have seen in the Province — along which an English carriage may be driven with safety. The country all the way from Hamilton to this part abounds with apples and all kinds of vegetables of the first quality — also abundance of cherries. 
--- sadly, there is not now the same abundance of all kinds of all kinds of vegetables or fruits.

in 1849 he also wrote a book called 'A plan for the systematic colonization of Canada' and all other British colonies which you can read here.  Interesting to read what others think of your pioneer country.

signs, signs

street signs - Kerr St

It's been many weeks (okay, a year) since I last posted a street sign. Has anyone noticed or cared? I didn't mean to take so long to continue the series, but once I'd gotten so far with the alphabetical order, I had to carry on thusly. The next letter was K and I had a street in mind, but not the picture of the sign. Every time I thought I'd get one, something got in the way. And time went on, and on... But the interruption has been hanging over my head for so long  so I abandoned that street and finally chose another.

Kerr Street in Oakville has undergone a renaissance in the last few years. Unlike Bronte, Kerr was never a village. Named for a former postmaster and mayor of Oakville (in 1866) who was the son of one the town's founders, it used to be just another ordinary retail strip that was rather run down. Now, with an injection of government money over the last ten years or so it has become a 'destination' through an intense rejuvenation project. Situated just west of the downtown, this north-south street is now full of many new restaurants and cafes as well as some of the older establishments to meet the needs of the community.

It's not a particularly charming street, full of strip malls like this one

but it is an improvement from only a few years ago before the facelift of some of these businesses. The new banners are serious and sedate looking, a change from the previous ones which were a bit more fun, and quite frankly, I think gave a better indication of the village feel.

If you find yourself on Kerr Street, stay awhile and explore.








see more signs over at Lesley's signs,signs
and click on the street signs tag at the bottom of the post to see the first half of the alphabet!

street signs - James North

Although the sign says 'Jamesville', I have never heard anyone call it that. It is always just James Street North.  It could be just me, of course.  There are several business that use it in their name. According to the Hamilton Public Library website "The Jamesville Neighbourhood is like an umbrella that covers the Central and North End Neighbourhoods, two neighbourhoods that have had a long history of working together."

James St used to be called Lake Rd because it was the road that lead north to Lake Ontario. It is now divided into north and south at King Street (hwy 8) and has been named for the son of one of the founding fathers of Hamilton. The street had been in a decline for many years but is enjoying a resurgence and rejuvenation lately. It is not really a gentrification, though there is a fear that may soon happen. It is here that every second Friday night of the month  you can experience the James North Art Crawl where galleries and studios are open late and buskers and musicians and crafters are out on the street. Even the Cathedral is open for the public to visit and partake of complimentary refreshments. 

I love areas that are in transition. The old roots of the Portuguese and Italian neighbourhood is still in evidence with the bars and small stores, but mixed in is now a new arts district. Running for about eight blocks between Wilson to Murray are many artisan, retro, recycle, and upcycle shops. There are coffee shops and restaurants - old and new - for all tastes. Independent artists studios, galleries, as well as small museums, the new CBC Hamilton studios and the tourism office have all opened up recently. At the far southern end is the Jackson Square mall that many blame for the decline of the downtown core. It is only in this mall that you will find any chain stores.

tenth in a series on street signs for signs, signs

street signs - Islington

I can't imagine what possessed the good people of Kleinburg into thinking that this script was a good choice for their street signs.
Kleinburg is an unincorporated village within the City of Vaughan. The village is in a narrow section of hilly landscape between two branches of the Humber River with a population of about 950, The City of Vaughan, with all the surrounding communities, has a population of over 4,500.

This sign is on the main street in the Kleinburg-Nashville Heritage Conservation District.

Islington Avenue is named for the village it passed at Dundas Street in the west end of Toronto. The name was chosen in 1858 by the wife of innkeeper Thomas Montgomery, Elizabeth Smith, in honour of her birthplace in England. It runs roughly north-south from Lake Shore Blvd W to the uppermost border of Toronto at Steeles Ave and continues in a NW direction where it ends in Kleinburg at Hwy 27.

Ninth in a series of street signs for signs,signs

street signs - Henderson

In 1954, a 322-bed hospital on Concession Street on Hamilton Mountain was named after Nora Henderson. But more recently the name was changed, amid considerable controversy, to the Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre in recognition of major donations by Charles and Margaret Juravinski.

Nora Frances Henderson Circle surrounds the Juravinski Hospital.








It was a bitter battle between the city and the Hamilton Mountain Heritage Society as can be seen in this report:

What was fought so hard for by one little woman on city council was wiped away with the flick of a pen by bureaucrats that grovelled at the feet of the well-heeled to secure funds needed to expand the aging facility.

The Hamilton Health Sciences board of directors relieved the Nora Frances Henderson Hospital of its name, enticed by the allure of gambling money flaunted by a wealthy donor.

After the HHS board refused to reconsider the matter, the heritage group asked the city to install commemorative street signs around the hospital in recognition of the first women elected to Hamilton City Council. Council thought it was "the least they could do". No one from the HHS attended the unveiling of the new street signs.

A strong supporter of health care and the rights of women and children, Nora Frances Henderson served 16 consecutive terms as an alderman and controller. She died in 1949, five years before the Henderson Hospital was built. 

You can read more about this feisty woman here                  Eighth in a series on street signs for signs,signs