Once an Ontario Cottage?

This area in downtown London was a wonderful residential neighbourhood a century ago. This business appears to be located in what was once a lovely Ontario Cottage. It is sad to see a neighbourhood so abused. This is not to slight the present business. The building is obviously well maintained but it is a lot like making a dune buggie out of a working antique VW beetle. No matter how well it is done, it is a sad end.

The Marlboro

I don't know much about the Marlboro, an 8 unit apartment building, other than I bet it was quite nice when new. They knew more about building apartments in the past. Look at the big, dull apartment building that went up next to the Marlboro.

I wonder what occupied that site originally. From the look of the neighbourhood, I bet there were a number of lovely, and quite impressive, structures built of brick, wood and dreams that were demolished to make way for the white, dull monolith.

It appears the Marlboro is enjoying a better fate than its neighbours. The building is being gutted and will probably be rebuilt with more modern units, possibly fewer in number but with more floor space.

East Leningrad architecture? - maybe not

I recall when these apartment buildings were built. The London Free Press Homes section did a big take on these luxury buildings. It was quite the glowing feature. But what I recall best is the response the article elicited. My favourite letter to the editor said the paper didn't recognize east Leningrad architecture when confronted by it.

So, what do apartments in Leningrad look like? I couldn't find any pictures I could use from the '80s but I did find this picture of an apartment block in Leningrad, the Soviet name for St. Petersburg. I confess; I like it. To see more, check out Leningrad/St. Petersburg Architecture on Flickr.

Copyright: Richard Anderson

Winner Best Commercial Renovation

The Citi Plaza, formerly Galleria London, won the Don Smith Commercial Building Award for best commercial renovation. The award is one of five categories in what is to be an annual competition established by the London-St. Thomas Association of Realtors and named for the the well-respected contractor and co-founder of giant EllisDon.

This blog is essentially a place to find pictures taken in London with a new picture posted every day. It is not for a lot of editorial comment. But this award needs to be discussed. The entire Galleria London is such an interesting story and the changes made to the downtown mall in recent years merit some critical inspection.

Today, let's leave it at this, many of the changes to the mall have been for the better. The London Central Library, now located in the mall, was brilliantly conceived and executed. The changing of the focus of the mall has been successful and has brought new life to an important downtown property.

Cheers,
Rockinon

David's Bistro

The welcoming entrance to David’s Bistro reminds one that owner David Chapman was chef, and then chef owner, of Anthony’s Seafood Bistro in this location for for 18 years.

Then Chapman widened his horizons and opened David's Bistro, a traditional style French bistro with a daily prix fixe menu, as well as a regular menu, and daily features.

According to the website, if you stop by the Bistro you will find either Chapman or his daughter Natalie acting as your host. Tonight dad was working and he was a very gracious host.

The lobster bisque followed by a seared pickerel entree was delicious and the California chardonnay was a good choice for the evening. When it was time for dessert, Chapman brought my wife one dessert and me another so that we could share.

David's Bistro on Richmond Street in downtown London Ontario was an excellent choice as a place to celebrate a nineteenth wedding anniversary.

Reaching for the Sky

The Sky was Saturn's answer to the very popular Mazda Miata. The Miata, it is said, was inspired by the English roadsters of the '50s and '60s. The Sky, to me, seemed inspired by fierce American muscle cars. I was never fond of the Sky but I can understand why some might be attracted to the little roadster.

Of course, the Sky was really a reworked Pontiac Solstice; A Sky was a Solstice with attitude. The following link won't work for long, I'm sure, but the Solstice coupe may be a car which will attract interest in the future. Not many were made and its looks got many positive reviews.

Someday, I'm going to look at the bad business decisions that big companies like GM have made and how these decisions have harmed communities and even countries. The Astra had potential. It is sad to see it, and the dealers that sold it, fading into the past.

Saturn sign gone

I've driven two Saturns, and contrary to what you may have read, they were good cars. By good I mean they were inexpensive to buy, inexpensive to keep on the road and the London dealer gave first rate service. And I loved the no-haggle experience. Could the cars have been better? Yes, but what car couldn't be better?

You can still buy a Saturn. I believe the London dealer still has an Astra or two on the lot. The red vehicle in the foreground is the Saturn VUE hybrid. The Astra seemed to be a good car. The worst thing about it seemed to be a paucity of coffee holders. It really was a handsome automobile and won a number of important automotive awards. Sadly, it did not win many hearts. Maybe some coffee holders and some decent advertising would have helped.

This dealer was a fine dealer for GM and today they are moving the last of the Saturns and the Saabs off their lot. I wondered what assistance GM was giving them. I thought there might be a great deal from GM to help their former dealers. It doesn't appear so.

The GM site asks, "Looking for the Saturn VUE? Maybe it's time you considered a Chevrolet."

I'm in no hurry to buy another GM car. I didn't like their attitude. I don't like the way they are not even authorizing their former dealers to continue to service the cars that they sold. Well, my car isn't under warranty and so tomorrow I'm taking my car in to the former Saturn dealer for an oil change.

I'm changing my oil but not my dealer.