01-13-2016, 05:26 PM
A bit further afield, but Drayton Entertainment opened in 1991 in the old Drayton town hall just before the Stratford Festival celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 1992. While Stratford offered a mixture of Shakespeare and musicals, Drayton offered more contemporary fare. Both theatre organizations have done a good job at reinventing the areas around their theatres and attracting out of town visitors to the area. Drayton's new theatre complex in Cambridge attracts visitors to the core.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the other smaller theatre troupes that have come and gone, or even thrived since 1985. KW Little Theatre is the grand daddy (circa late 1920s) that is even older than Stratford. Others such as Lost and Found Theatre, MT Space, KW Musical Productions, JM Drama...
A little earlier than 1985, the Joseph Schneider Haus was restored in 1981 when it could have just as easily been torn. It was recognized as a National Historic Site in 1998.
On the food front, Langdon Hall opened in 1989 and has inspired other restaurants to up their game (Verses and the Waterlot also did the same, may their memories live on). At the other end of the scale, I've been trying to remember when the University Plaza opened next to UW but for the longest time, it was where one could go to get cheap, multicultural food from a variety of continents.
Institutionally, the Perimeter Institute and CIGI have attracted a new generation of thinkers (and award winning architecture) to the area. The Seagram Museum (1984-1997) was the first Governor General Award winning structure in the area. The Seagram Lofts were one of the first projects to attract residents to the Uptown core to new residential space while preserving built heritage.
Finally, on the political level, the creation of Grand River Transit in 2000 kickstarted the rebirth and reinvestment in public transit in Waterloo Region.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the other smaller theatre troupes that have come and gone, or even thrived since 1985. KW Little Theatre is the grand daddy (circa late 1920s) that is even older than Stratford. Others such as Lost and Found Theatre, MT Space, KW Musical Productions, JM Drama...
A little earlier than 1985, the Joseph Schneider Haus was restored in 1981 when it could have just as easily been torn. It was recognized as a National Historic Site in 1998.
On the food front, Langdon Hall opened in 1989 and has inspired other restaurants to up their game (Verses and the Waterlot also did the same, may their memories live on). At the other end of the scale, I've been trying to remember when the University Plaza opened next to UW but for the longest time, it was where one could go to get cheap, multicultural food from a variety of continents.
Institutionally, the Perimeter Institute and CIGI have attracted a new generation of thinkers (and award winning architecture) to the area. The Seagram Museum (1984-1997) was the first Governor General Award winning structure in the area. The Seagram Lofts were one of the first projects to attract residents to the Uptown core to new residential space while preserving built heritage.
Finally, on the political level, the creation of Grand River Transit in 2000 kickstarted the rebirth and reinvestment in public transit in Waterloo Region.