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The evolution of KW
#16
Both new City Halls moved the governments out of leased space and into their own buildings.  Kitchener has done a better job at using the City Hall area as a hub for cultural events than Waterloo, though both the Buskers and the Jazz Festival will likely be in the Waterloo City Hall parking lot for the foreseeable future.

Jane Bond Café circa 1995 and Starlight Social Club (circa ?)
- These two venues provided an Uptown location for an eclectic mix of musicians and groups to bring their acts to Waterloo.

Updating the Heuther Hotel (and adding the Lion Brewery Restaurant brew pub circa 1987) and the Waterloo Hotel refurbishments (circa 1996?).  Both buildings define the Uptown streetscape and have fostered various other businesses both within and in the area.

In the realm of things that *didn't* happen, for Kitchener, the fact that the property owner who owned what became the Apollo theatre didn't tear out the old theatre after it closed circa 2000 meant that the Apollo could fairly quickly re-establish the space as a repertory movie theatre.
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#17
(01-14-2016, 01:58 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: What I find interesting about this, having lived in both cores, is how the geometry of Carl Zehr Square impedes using it to the fullest, as UpTown has been better able to do. The fountain/ice rink being in the center means it must be crossed or rounded in order to access the gathering space between it and City Hall's doors. It's always seemed less used than UpTown. Had the rink been placed against either where carbon computing was, or where Williams is, there would be no barrier between where you walk and where you gather, and Kitchener would see its square have more use.

Indeed, this is the main reason WPS got the nod as opposed to Kitchener's Civic Square. That KCS configuration is not as conducive to the gathering that takes place at WPS. There are two main reasons for this: one is the location of the fountain, the other is the lack of seating with central focus, like WPS has.
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#18
Ah, remember back in ~2008 the controversy around removing the small parking lot to replace it with the square?
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#19
Ah yes. The loudest protests came from the manager of the Scotiabank. He argued that they'd lose the two disabled parking spots next to the bank. That would cause problems for their mobility-challenged senior customers. (If you can't appeal to "think of the children" in your argument, then apparently "think of the disabled seniors" is a good alternative.)

The city went ahead with the square anyway. Scotiabank promptly moved to King St to make way for SDM. And what about those poor disabled seniors the manager was so concerned about? Well he let them fend for themselves. They could choose between looking for on-street parking on King St with a curb to climb, or park in the main lot behind the bank and walk all the way back to the bank's entrance on King St.
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#20
(01-14-2016, 05:13 PM)ookpik Wrote: The city went ahead with the square anyway. Scotiabank promptly moved to King St to make way for SDM. And what about those poor disabled seniors the manager was so concerned about? Well he let them fend for themselves. They could choose between looking for on-street parking on King St with a curb to climb, or park in the main lot behind the bank and walk all the way back to the bank's entrance on King St.

The Scotiabank has a back entrance that is closer to the parking lot. People don't need to walk all the way to the entrance on King Street.
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#21
Nodes and Corridors; ca. 2007.

Back in the 1970s when the universities started growing, the city made a commitment to preserve residential zones and avoid "coach in the front lawn" houses. So city council promptly passed regulations that did the precise opposite. They fostered student housing taking over residential areas, and by forbidding proper student housing, lead to houses being rented by students with "coach in the front lawn" during the summer.

It took 40 years, but eventually city council realized that proper student housing was needed and that it should zone appropriately, so nodes and corridors were approved and then followed up by the Northdale district. Since then residential areas such as Beechwood, Westvale, Uptown and Lincoln have reverted to family usage while students concentrate around a thriving Northdale district.
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#22
(01-14-2016, 04:13 PM)BuildingScout Wrote:
(01-14-2016, 01:58 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: What I find interesting about this, having lived in both cores, is how the geometry of Carl Zehr Square impedes using it to the fullest, as UpTown has been better able to do. The fountain/ice rink being in the center means it must be crossed or rounded in order to access the gathering space between it and City Hall's doors. It's always seemed less used than UpTown. Had the rink been placed against either where carbon computing was, or where Williams is, there would be no barrier between where you walk and where you gather, and Kitchener would see its square have more use.

Indeed, this is the main reason WPS got the nod as opposed to Kitchener's Civic Square. That KCS configuration is not as conducive to the gathering that takes place at WPS. There are two main reasons for this: one is the location of the fountain, the other is the lack of seating with central focus, like WPS has.

I really don't see an issue with the civic square in Kitchener as some of you seem to think. I have attended many events there with my family and have not found it to be uninviting or difficult to get around. Most time I park in the underground so when I come up and exit, I am in the square. Additionally, with the upgrades to King street, they just shut it down now and you have a much larger square using the street. The fact that there is no curbs makes this very easy.  I think they did a great job.  I find it particularly interesting that this forum often criticizes all things Kitchener.  Just my observation having read this forum everyday for the last few years even when it was Wonderful Waterloo.
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#23
(01-15-2016, 06:23 PM)Rainrider22 Wrote:
(01-14-2016, 04:13 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: Indeed, this is the main reason WPS got the nod as opposed to Kitchener's Civic Square. That KCS configuration is not as conducive to the gathering that takes place at WPS. There are two main reasons for this: one is the location of the fountain, the other is the lack of seating with central focus, like WPS has.

I really don't see an issue with the civic square in Kitchener as some of you seem to think. I have attended many events there with my family and have not found it to be uninviting or difficult to get around. Most time I park in the underground so when I come up and exit, I am in the square. Additionally, with the upgrades to King street, they just shut it down now and you have a much larger square using the street. The fact that there is no curbs makes this very easy.  I think they did a great job.  I find it particularly interesting that this forum often criticizes all things Kitchener.  Just my observation having read this forum everyday for the last few years even when it was Wonderful Waterloo.

I agree: when King is shut, it's been designed in such a way that the square quite naturally includes King Street, and it's a great space. But I do think the comment that the positioning of the ice rink can break up the space a bit is valid. It depends: at the Christkindl Markt this year, the stage for the choirs was positioned in the northeast corner of the square, and there seemed not to be a nice space for listeners to congregate. At Blues Fest, though, when the stage was set up in King Street, it seemed like the whole area was one cohesive (and quite large) square and just a great space period. That was in the summer, though, of course...

I haven't observed any anti-Kitchener bias here at all, by the way. People seem pretty excited about all the changes downtown has been going through the last few years.
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#24
(01-14-2016, 02:22 PM)nms Wrote: Both new City Halls moved the governments out of leased space and into their own buildings.

All three, as it happens. Cambridge City Hall was once several floors leased in Cambridge Place, which is now awaiting a new tenant.

If I may include Cambridge in the conversation, the School of Architecture moving to Galt in 2004 was a good step towards returning vitality to one of Cambridge's three cores. The others are still works in progress, though Preston (in my opinion) has weathered the past couple of decades well.
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#25
Imbibe/Beertown; ca. 2012

It used to be difficult to find a selection of many beers in town. The opening of Beertown seems to have changed that in one fell swoop. Not long after we had Churchill Arms, The Boathouse, The Bent Elbow, and Abe Erb.


Edit: tip of the hat to MidTowner which pointed out that Imbibe predated Beertown.
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#26
I actually believe that Imbibe predated Beertown in Waterloo Town Square by a few months. And The Boathouse was serving a fairly interesting selection of beers before that.

It's true that the number of places offering real variety has mushroomed the last few years, but I'm not sure that Beertown can be considered a pioneer, or even the first. It's been an evolution; definitely a good one to note, though.

Edit: Sorry, if we're including Cambridge, maybe Beertown was first in the Region.
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#27
(01-19-2016, 08:02 PM)MidTowner Wrote: I actually believe that Imbibe predated Beertown in Waterloo Town Square by a few months. And The Boathouse was serving a fairly interesting selection of beers before that.

It's true that the number of places offering real variety has mushroomed the last few years, but I'm not sure that Beertown can be considered a pioneer, or even the first. It's been an evolution; definitely a good one to note, though.

Edit: Sorry, if we're including Cambridge, maybe Beertown was first in the Region.

Interestingly enough, we are still waiting for an Enoteca. I understand Berlin has many wines by the glass, which is a great step forward but I would like a place centered around wines, just like Abe Erb is centered around beer, not food.
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#28
Kickoffs has had a great rotating selection of beer for ages now as well.
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#29
Yeah, Kickoff has been there since 2003 at least. (that's when I moved to town)
Longtime Kitchenerites tell me that the Castle on King used to be the primo fancy beer selection place in town. The proprietor eventually opened The Bent Elbow.
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#30
(01-19-2016, 08:14 PM)BuildingScout Wrote:
(01-19-2016, 08:02 PM)MidTowner Wrote: I actually believe that Imbibe predated Beertown in Waterloo Town Square by a few months. And The Boathouse was serving a fairly interesting selection of beers before that.

It's true that the number of places offering real variety has mushroomed the last few years, but I'm not sure that Beertown can be considered a pioneer, or even the first. It's been an evolution; definitely a good one to note, though.

Edit: Sorry, if we're including Cambridge, maybe Beertown was first in the Region.

Interestingly enough, we are still waiting for an Enoteca. I understand Berlin has many wines by the glass, which is a great step forward but I would like a place centered around wines, just like Abe Erb is centered around beer, not food.

For the whisky fans, there is DVLB (how long have they been open?), but in Kitchener nothing quite similar.  TWH has some whisky selection, but not a whisky destination yet.  Maybe someone else will pick up the baton on this, too.
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