Keep on Plowing

City sidewalks can be almost impassable after a Southwestern Ontario snow storm, and to hear a lot of Londoners tell it they are.

I don't recall sidewalk snowplows at all from my youth. I do recall sidewalks, especially those passing parks or vacant lots, being downright impossible to trudge through. For the most part, this doesn't happen today.

I don't expect instant service. I know I may have to contend with the reality of a bit of snow for awhile. Hey, that's winter in Canada. But, I appreciate the sidewalks being cleared, sometimes all in good time, by the city's little snowplows.

Cheers,
Rockinon

London District Energy

The building carries the simple name "London District Energy." But there is a rich story behind the simple name. This is a company with roots going back 130 years to 1880 when Canada's first district heating system was born.

Centralized steam plants with giant boilers providing steam to nearby commercial buildings were very popular in most major North American cities at the beginning of the twentieth century. The steam plants bought fuel, coal, at a discount unavailable to individual building owners. The savings were passed onto the steam plant customers. 

The introduction of inexpensive natural gas, spelled the end of many of the centralized systems as customers installed their own individual gas-fired heating systems.

Today, as the world explores ways to reduce our environmental footprint and improve energy efficiencies, centralized systems like London's still thriving historic gem are leading the way into the 21st century.

Originally a family-owned business, Cities Heating was located right in the city core. Time took its toll and the aging steam supply facility outgrew its usefulness a little more than a decade ago. The business was sold and a company known as Trigen Energy Corp. replaced Cities Heating in 1996. The plant was moved to the corner of Bathurst and Colborne Streets and modernized.

The plant was sold again and is now under the guidance of Fort Chicago. It has benefited from $38-million of improvements, including a 15,000-square-foot expansion. Generating traditional steam and chilled water, electricity has been added to the mix. The plant has a total thermal generating capacity of about 100MW, producing approximately 245,000 lbs/hour of steam and 4,200 tons of chilled water and adding about 18 megawatts of electricity to the Ontario power grid.

Many buildings in London are both heated and cooled by London District Energy thanks to an extensive and still growing distribution system; A new pipeline will add St. Joseph's Health Care to a system already serving The London Free Press, the London Convention Centre, Hilton London, Citi Plaza, City Hall and London Health Sciences Centre among many others.

Now you know why clouds of steam, especially in the cold of winter, are sometimes seen escaping from maintenance covers and road grates in London Ontario. A minor leak in the miles of underground piping can cause quite the cloud of water vapour.

And, if you are wondering what happened to the old Cities Heating Building, well, it sat derelict for years. In 2007 the London Ontario Live Arts Festival incorporated one wall of the building into a work of art. Currently, the building is being converted into apartments.

London District Energy

The picture is a bit of a bore but there is an interesting story here. This may stay up for two days as I gather information. First, don't panic at what appears to be smoke. It's not; It's steam.

This city heating business has roots going back to about 1880 in London, Ontario. This picture deserves more than just a simple post.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Stained glass windows

As a boy, I grew up in an area with very few stained glass windows. When my parents drove through London, as we did a number of times a year --- highway 401 was still to be carved through the southwestern Ontario farmland --- I always admired the many stained glass windows decorating homes in London.

It would be fun to do some research into stained glass windows. Were they expensive to install a hundred years ago? How many skilled craftspeople would have been involved in the creation of so many stained glass windows? Or did just a few artists work long hours decorating the older city homes?

This stained glass window is in an older home in the core. It's an area under constant threat of demolition to make way for apartment blocks or even parking lots.

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