Buildings of Kingston

One way or the other, I'll be leaving Kingston in the next few weeks. With summer coming to an end, I've been making an effort to get out and appreciate some of Kingston's attractions and history. So here are the highlights of a walk around Queen's University and the old part of the city.

53 Earl St. Built in 1844 for an engineer; designed by Thomas Rogers

67 Earl St. Built 1847

The British Whig Building

The Prince George Hotel, the centre of which dates to 1817.

161 Earl St. Designed by William Coverdale for the Fraser family in 1847

169 Earl St. Once the Agnes Maule Machar Home for Protestant Women

This row of buildings houses two ice cream shops!

This was the station of the Kingston and Pembroke Railway; now the tourist information office

Kingston City Hall; facing the lake, from where most visitors would have arrived.

218 King St. Built in 1833. This has previously been a store and a medical clinic

The Agnes Etherington Art Gallery at Queen's.

Beamish-Munroe Hall.

The Biosciences Complex

The Queen's University Grad Club is on the left behind the trees

This is the university library, at the corner of Union and University

Finally, the oldest building on campus, Summerhill, built in 1839 by Archdeacon George Okill Stuart

Toronto, Labour Day Weekend

For the last long weekend of the summer, A and I went to Toronto to catch up with some friends, family, and to see some of the sights.

We started out with a look around the John Street Roundhouse Park. This roundhouse was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway around 1930, and now has been partly converted into a brewery, furniture store, and railway museum. As a rail museum, it's still in its early stages, but shows a lot of potential.

'Cabin D', an 'interlocking tower': i.e. controlling signals and switches

Canadian National No 4803

CN 4803

Canadian National 6213

Canadian Pacific 7020

Don Station (moved here from the other side of the city)

Most of the weekend was occupied with walking the down-town streets and eating. Yes, lots of eating!

The Royal York Hotel nestling between skyscrapers

CN Tower

Toronto Harbourfront

Trying a fresh coconut at a fair next to the lake

The Wavedeck; modern art at the waterfront

St Lawrence Market

Butter tarts at the market

CN Tower by night

Atlas of Canada

Two years ago while looking for something to brighten the walls of my empty apartment, I came across a bin of posters being given away by (presumably) the geography department of the university. Being a fan of informative artwork, I stuck them on my walls, and have been studiously examining them ever since. However, I am now vacating and moving on; so for posterity, and your infotainment, here is a selection from "Atlas of Canada" published by the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys.

Seasonal Temperatures

January mean daily temperature

April mean daily temperature

July mean daily temperature

October mean daily temperature

Snow Cover

Mean date of first snow cover; one inch or more

Mean date of last snow cover; one inch or more

Mean annual number of days with snow cover; one inch or more

Mean annual maximum depth of snow

Climatic Regions

Soil Regions

To Wolfe Island for a Weekend Pub Lunch

Last Saturday we were promised some warm sunny weather, so I made plans with A. to head across on the ferry to Wolfe Island for lunch at the Wolfe Island Grill.

First, we waited for the bus to take us down town:

And we walked through town, passing one of our other favourite watering holes:

The Toucan

 Then we had a few minutes to wait in line while the ferry docked:

Loading the ferry

The La Salle Causeway bascule bridge

On our way to the island

Cathcart Tower on Cedar Island

The Royal Military College and Fort Frederick Tower

Our fine vessel, The Wolfe Islander III

We sprinted off the ferry to be sure to catch one of the sought-after patio tables; 30 seconds later we arrived at our destination:

And here is the view from our table

The view from the patio of the Island Grill

After eating (and drinking, and sitting, and having dessert, and sitting a while longer), we had a short walk around Marysville:

The private dock for patrons of the pub

The Old House Museum

 

The Wolfe Island Bakery

Signposts: everything on Wolfe Island is included!

The village hall, I think

 Finally, we caught the ferry back to Kingston:

Kingston - City Hall, and Shoal Tower