There are many people invested in the Baker Street redevelopment, a plan to revitalize what’s presently an underutilized section of the downtown core. A new main branch of the Guelph Public Library will be there, along with new commercial and residential opportunities, but if it’s seemed a long time in waiting for these changes, you’re right. Continue reading “FLASHBACK: The Last Stand of a Family Thrift Store”
It was interesting to see the Lafarge site come back into the news this month. For the most part, nothing has really been happening with it in a good long while, but even in the days before Guelph Politico I had my journalistic eye on it, and given recent developments, I thought a dip into the archives might be advised. Continue reading “Any Day Now! A Decade of Waiting for Lafarge Development to Start”
Last week on the Guelph Politicast, I told a story of how the Royal City marked it’s 100th, 150th, and 175th anniversaries. For a half-hour podcast, it was a rather exhaustive trip down memory lane, reaching all the way back to Guelph’s founding in 1827 and coming back around to the 21st century. But if you’d rather take a more leisurely stroll through these remembrances, or maybe you just bristle at the sound of my voice, then you can now scroll freely though the text of that podcast. Continue reading “Celebrating Celebrations of Guelph (The Text Version)”
One glance at the front page reminds you instantly of the tumultuousness of the 1960s, even if everything going on Guelph seemed as normal as it ever was. In the days before Canada’s centennial, page one of the Guelph Mercury was filled with stories of a world on the brink. From the death of screen legends, to Cold War posturing, to racial tensions in the United States, was it any wonder that the Mercury was asking if this would be the Queen’s last State visit? Continue reading “How Guelph Marked 100 Years of Canada”
There was a bit of controversy today with the Guelph150 banners, one of the entries being labelled taboo because the memory of the crime it references is still fresh in the heads of many Guelphites. But there’s still lots of Guelph History to learn from this interesting and informative Downtown Guelph Business Association promotion, and this is only 10 of them… Continue reading “10 Interesting Factoids From Guelph150”
“Speed River Flood Termed Worst in 20 Years.” screamed the headline on the front of the Mercury on Saturday March 20, 1948. The last great flood of its kind happened in the Spring of 1929, but between the floods there was a World War and a Great Depression, so when the water under the Allan’s Dam reached the six-foot level, there was definitely a sense of deja vu. Continue reading “Sometimes It Floods in Guelph”
You don’t normally get dozens of people at a Committee-of-the-Whole meeting, let alone an hour before hand, but that’s the power of the time capsule. Discovered by construction crews working on the renovations of the Victoria Road Recreation Centre, city staff, with the help of Mayor Cam Guthrie and members of council, opened the capsule today and reclaimed the treasures buried in 1974. Continue reading “VIDEO: Mayor and Council Reclaim History with Time Capsule Opening”
It’s time again for the annual celebration of local heritage by going behind the scenes in some of Guelph’s many famous and historically relevant buildings with Doors Open Guelph. Guelph Politico is taking part by trying to see how many sites I can visit during the day with 15 different stops spread out across the City. Continue reading “Let’s Tour Doors Open Guelph!”
This Saturday is Doors Open Guelph, the annual behind-the-scenes tour of all the places you’d like to see but don’t normally have access to. One of the pit stops in this year’s edition is the Petrie Building, which is a chance for the public to see the long and hotly anticipated renovation of the much neglected downtown Guelph heritage building. Due to circumstances, only the second floor will be open to visitors Saturday, but back in February members of city council, staff, and the media were given a behind the scenes tour of the work in progress, and now you can take that tour too… Continue reading “VIDEO: Behind the Scenes of the Petrie Building Renovations”
The attack began Easter Monday, April 9, 1917. By the time it was over, Canada had secured its place in history as an army, as a nation, and as a people, and we’ve come to understand that deeply in the last 100 years. But I wondered: how was the battle seen at the time, how was it read and understood by the people of Guelph through their daily newspaper? To the microfiche! Continue reading “How the Guelph Mercury Covered Vimy Ridge”
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